a new "wanna-be" in callahan, florida

getoverit · November 07, 2005, 06:08:41 PM

Just wanted to say hello to Tom, who led me to this site after a pleasant phone call this afternoon. I wanted to let you know I have blown yet another afternoon reading posts on the internet (again) and still haven't decided on what type of mill I want.

I took another look at the peterson mills today, and after looking at the video's of the mill in operation I am definitely impressed and thinking this may be the "niche" mill for the area afterall. The only problem is the price of the unit...maybe I'll have to build something similar for myself.

anyway, a warm (or rather hot and humid) hello to all of the regulars from sunny and warm florida.

Tom · November 07, 2005, 06:19:04 PM

well, by golly, you signed up. 8)

Welcome to the Forestry Forum!

Fla._Deadheader · November 07, 2005, 06:59:14 PM

Welcome to the Forum, getoverit. That's a different handle, fer shore. ;D ;D

Them Peterson's are good machines. I got one, but, haven't cranked it up, yet.

beenthere · November 07, 2005, 07:52:26 PM

Welcome to the forum.
Now, what can you tell us about Tom? ;D

getoverit · November 07, 2005, 10:00:25 PM

I actually called Tom because of a recomendation from a friend. I have a LARGE hicory tree coming down tomorrow from my front yard, and I want to turn it into flooring for the house. I'm lookinf for a sawyer to do the milling for me, and Tom was reccomended. I understand he is a little under the weather right now and can't do it at the moment, but I spent a good while talking to him about purchasing a mill for myself. He was a wealth of information on mills, and I thoroughly enjoyed the conversation. I feel like I've made a new friend and can't wait to actually meet him in person.

By the way, I went to see the guy in the neighborhood about milling the tree for me, but because of the size of it he acted like he didnt really want to fool with it. Guess I'll have to go with the original miller and pay the big bucks... wish I could justify just pouring that money into a personal mill for myself...

Does anybody have any suggestions (assuming I DO manage to get myself a mill) as to the best way to "tongue and groove" the lumber for use as flooring? right now I'm assuming people use a router with a jig table to do this??

CHARLIE · November 07, 2005, 11:08:17 PM

Welcome to the forum getoverit. You'll enjoy it here and will make a lot of friends all over the world and in the U.P. too. 8)

If you are going to T&G a lot of hickory, I think I'd use a shaper instead of a router. If you don't own one and think you'll use one, it's a great opportunity to get one. But.....if you don't think you have a real use for a shaper except for the flooring, then call up a cabinet shop and see what they will charge to T&G your hickory for you.

Are you going to get it Kiln dried or air dry it? Whatever you decide, there is a lot of experience and knowledge on this forum, so just ask away.

Ianab · November 07, 2005, 11:27:21 PM

QuoteDoes anybody have any suggestions (assuming I DO manage to get myself a mill) as to the best way to "tongue and groove" the lumber for use as flooring? right now I'm assuming people use a router with a jig table to do this??

You can do it that way, but it's a bit slow and you will want a heavy duty router. It's practical if you just want a small amount or need to match a few boards to an existing profile. If it was 1/2 a house lot I'd go with Charlie's suggestion and find a local shop that would run it for you for X cents a foot.
I've made a small amount of shiplap panelling for my kitchen that way and it came out great, but for the feature wall in a friends house we dropped the planed timber off at the joinery shop (who was doing kitchen work in the house anyway) and got him to run the ~750 ft thru his moulding machine. Much easier.

Tom did tell us it was a fairly big tree, which is why he reluctantly declined the job. With oversize logs like that the bandsaw guys have to spend quite a bit of time with a big chainsaw splitting the log into small enough bits to mill. Thats hard work and they understandably charge more. If you can find someone with a Peterson or Lucas locally they will probably jump at the chance to have a go at a REAL log :D

Cheers

Ian

solodan · November 07, 2005, 11:28:04 PM

If plan on sanding and finishining the floor in place, after you install it, don't even bother putting the tongue and grove in it. Pre finished flooring is usually tongue and grove to align the planks and make the floor level. I mill and install random width blue pine flooring somtimes, and I always sand and finish it in place. Tongue and grove or butt joint? I can always get a butt joint tighter. A tongue and grove gives you more than one plane to deal with, and if the tongue is too big, by even the slightest amount, you're joint will have a gap. On the face of you're floor, the top edges come together and form a butt joint, no matter how they tie together below that plane. Butt joints are the traditional way to install random width flooring, and random width is the traditional way to mill a floor on site. If you were to plain saw the whole log, you would obviosly get wider boards from the center. Each run of planks would be a different size. One row may be 14" wide another may be 3-1/4". If you still have you're heart set on the T+G, use a moulder or shaper if you have one, or if you don't, use a router table.
The end match can be T+G'd with a hand held router. Just my 2 cents.

getoverit · November 08, 2005, 12:31:27 AM

I plan on air drying the lumber for several months before actually installing it in the house. As soon as I get the tree on the ground, I'll take a pic or two to show y'all the size of this thing. If all goes well with this one, I have it's twin standing about 50 feet away. Maybe by that time I'll have a mill of my own.

By the way, THANKS for the GREAT info and suggestions, Ive been reading most of the day today (I'm semi-retired at 50) and have nothing better to do. It's been enjoyable and informative and I'm sure I'll be here for some time to come.

Ianab · November 08, 2005, 01:03:59 AM

QuoteI plan on air drying the lumber for several months before actually installing it in the house.

Plan for at LEAST 6 months with 1" hardwood. The cypress I usually cut will dry down to 14% in about 3 months, but most hardwoods will take longer. The normal air drying 'rule of thumb' is 1 year per inch but you can often do it faster. Either use a moisture meter or digital scales to weigh a sample board and work out the M/C from there. Make sure it is close to dry before you install it or it will cause you grief.

Ian

getoverit · November 08, 2005, 09:19:32 PM

as promised, here are some pic's of the massive hickory tree we cut down today. I'll be sure to give it a full 6 months to dry as suggested. I'm not in a hurry at this point except to have it milled and started drying.

I got the "ok" from the war department today to purchase a mill of my own, but I agreed to go give Tom a visit to discuss the prospects before I lay out the cash.