54 2 x4 s out of one 10' log

Banjo picker · July 25, 2010, 09:34:20 PM

It wasn't a lot of fun...the log was too big to work easily but it can be done....My M70 40
Kubota wouldn't pick it up just scooted it to the mill...The loading arms picked it up no sweat...the turner did ok till I started cutting it into cants too big of a flat side is hard to rotate...the log scaled 330 bf on the int. scale, but I got a little over 360 bf out of it...the tool box on here said it was some where around 3500 lbs...White Oak...I have most of them all ready put up...building a fence in the back yard....I still got to cut the second cut log...I got to get 14 more 2 bys then the rest will be one bys for verticals....Did I mention its been hot. Tim

taw6243 · July 25, 2010, 10:34:25 PM

I cut a white oak to get 4" x4"x 10 footers for my fence posts and got 29 of them out of that one log .

Tim

fishpharmer · July 26, 2010, 06:16:12 AM

That's a lot of lumber no matter how you look at it.

Might be more sweat on them MS boards.

I wonder if sweat is a wood preservative? ;)

bandmiller2 · July 26, 2010, 07:41:27 AM

I love cluster cutting 2x4's from a big log you can really make some numbers quick.What are you treating the bottoms of the posts with??Frank C.

Meadows Miller · July 26, 2010, 09:24:15 AM

Gday

Tim sounds like it was good going apart from the heat Mate ;) ;D ;D 8) 8) I reckon a trick to try next time on a larger log would be to slide the log out from your squaring arms abit using both the turner and the back of Your two dogs on the Cooks and drop your dogs down to just blow the top edge of the bottom flitch then bring you turner up all the way and drop yor dogs as the dogs should work to help stop the whole lot wanting slide around on you Mate ;)

Regards Chris

Magicman · July 26, 2010, 02:39:59 PM

I love sawing those big old logs. I know it can be a lot of hassle, but it still is fun. And sweat.

Chuck White · July 26, 2010, 05:50:08 PM

That log was a whopper, Tim.

customsawyer · July 26, 2010, 07:00:05 PM

That is the way to whack them and stack them.

Banjo picker · July 26, 2010, 09:33:42 PM

I cut the other log today...these are the logs the county brought to floor a tailer that needed the log stretcher a few weeks back... ;) it was only a couple of inches smaller than the butt cut but it went soooo much better...there is a fine line between good and just a little too big....

Quote from: bandmiller2 on July 26, 2010, 07:41:27 AM
.What are you treating the bottoms of the posts with??Frank C.

I kind of hate admit it...esp with the other post about rr ties and all...but I had cut some old utility poles for the post...I have turned down sawing jobs to do it for others but when I needed them and had the old utility poles...I did it....the mill still smells of creosote even with all that white oak dust on it....I blew it off as best as I could when I finished..but it seems to linger....That will be the last for the poles and other items as such as well....I pulled all the metal ...went over them with a metal dector and it still took about 3 bands to get 27 or so post....Bad deal all the way round....Tim

backwoods sawyer · July 26, 2010, 09:53:29 PM

I just milled up one of those big over sized logs that had to have paths cut for the guide arm on the first two positions and then gun barrowed it down to a workable size. Thankfully, it was incense cedar so it was quite a bit lighter then your oak, but still quite the chore. After recovering as much as I could from the off cuts I wound up with 108 usable 1x6's for a fence project. I keep telling myself that I am going to start turning down some of these over sized logs but they still seem to find their way onto my mill. :-\

Chuck White · July 27, 2010, 08:04:09 AM

Quote from: Banjo picker on July 26, 2010, 09:33:42 PM

I kind of hate admit it...esp with the other post about rr ties and all...but I had cut some old utility poles for the post...I have turned down sawing jobs to do it for others but when I needed them and had the old utility poles...I did it....the mill still smells of creosote even with all that white oak dust on it....I blew it off as best as I could when I finished..but it seems to linger....That will be the last for the poles and other items as such as well....I pulled all the metal ...went over them with a metal dector and it still took about 3 bands to get 27 or so post....Bad deal all the way round....Tim

I know what you mean by the mill smelling like creosote!
"Petefrombearswamp" was the previous owner of my mill and he used to saw lots of utility poles.
Well, the mill still smelled like creosote a year after I bought it. Well heck, even the owners - operators manual smelled like it.
It's all cleared up now though.

Magicman · July 27, 2010, 08:24:47 AM

Congrats on that second log Tim.

Another side note concerning sawing utility poles. During the treatment process, they are placed into a long chamber which is filled chemicals and then a vacuum is pulled for a specified length of time. After this drawing out, pressure is applied. Even with this process, there is much less, if any treatment in the center of the poles. When poles are sawed, this "less treated" wood is exposed which is much less rot resistant. :-\

Banjo picker · July 27, 2010, 08:42:03 PM

Quote from: Magicman on July 27, 2010, 08:24:47 AM
Congrats on that second log Tim.

Another side note concerning sawing utility poles. During the treatment process, they are placed into a long chamber which is filled chemicals and then a vacuum is pulled for a specified length of time. After this drawing out, pressure is applied. Even with this process, there is much less, if any treatment in the center of the poles. When poles are sawed, this "less treated" wood is exposed which is much less rot resistant. :-\

If we live long enough I'll let you know how that turns out...Tim

bandmiller2 · July 27, 2010, 09:11:40 PM

Tim,just had a thought what if you took that creosote sawdust and put it in the hole when you backfill you'd get rid of it and probibly deter unsavory critters from dining on the posts. Frank C.

Banjo picker · July 27, 2010, 09:23:44 PM

That sounds good Frank ,but I already put the post up... ;) If color means anything the post will outlast me or at least my need for them....If Debbie ever gets where she can't keep the pool up ....I'm filling it up with horse manure anyway.. ;D And no I ain't kidding...Tim

Tim/South · July 27, 2010, 10:10:49 PM

That is a lot of 2 x 4's.
I always enjoy reading about such as that.

My mill is manual and I only sawed a couple of over sized logs before learning. Not that I minded the challenge, but turning a log with the front loader takes too much time.
I did not graduate first in my class, but did not graduate last either.

Congratulations on the 54.