Choking on chainsaw fumes

Brian_Bailey · July 09, 2004, 09:15:44 PM

This afternoon I fired up the ol binford mod. xxx mill to see what kind of beauty laid hidden in this jewel of a soft maple log

.

The next 2 photos will make a veneer buyer squeal with .... :D :D

Some of the cuts weren't so good.

This photo shows the ripple on the surface of the log that generally means curly grain underneath.

This one will hopefully show the curl that I'm seeking.

The log was 30" at its widest and 8' long. I cut all the flitches 3" thick.
There were a couple of nice coffee table pieces. The poorer flitches have a lot of curl in the sap wood so all was not lost.

Will I do it again? You bet! Thanks for looking

.

sawmillsi · July 09, 2004, 11:09:43 PM

Brian,

Nice log!!! How did you find one with the twists and bends?

What kind of saw and slabbing frame?

What do you do with the 3" slabs?

Si

iain · July 10, 2004, 12:20:51 AM

now THAT is my kind of log espes with the bits missing from the middle they give so many oppertunities to the design

how long did it take you to get through the fat bit?
chain mills suberb at bendy bits of wood
nice pixs iain

Brian_Bailey · July 10, 2004, 08:46:59 AM

Sawmillsi,

Check out my earlier post "Tooling Up" farther down on this board.
The mill frame is a Granberg 56" Alaskan with a 66" double ended bar. I bought it as a pkg.deal from Bailey's ( no relation ).
The power head is a Jonsered 2095 turbo and thats the reason for my tongue in cheek post title.
Jonsered stopped making this model because it won't pass the EPA emission standards.

As far as getting those non veneer specimens, it pays to know the guy that's in the woods cutting down the trees for the logger I deal with

.
That one was destined for firewood.

I've changed the focus of my business recently and I'm pursuing a different market that utilizes this kind of wood.

I sawed 3" because I have a gut feeling that the flitches that will make nice coffee tables & etc. are going to warp quite a bit while drying.
I'm hoping for a finished thickness of 2", so cutting 3" should give me some breathing room.

iain,

I bought this mill just for these kind of logs but I will admit I'd much rather be running my Woodmizer

.

It took about 3 1/2 hrs to cut it up. I had a buyer inspecting each flitch as I sawed them so some time was spent gabbing :D.

Texas Ranger · July 10, 2004, 10:18:08 AM

You got a Texas woodworker salivating!

Norm · July 10, 2004, 01:27:29 PM

It's tough to get loggers to save those kind of pieces even if you offer money for them. I was visiting with my buddy Dave at a logging site this winter and they had some beautiful pieces of walnut that they were just going to push back into the woods because of the shape and size. I still have a hard time getting them to save any crotches they cut off even after offering good money to do so.

Brian_Bailey · July 10, 2004, 03:11:36 PM

I know what your saying Norm and it's a shame.

I can understand a loggers reluctance if you are just looking for a freebie but when you're offering money for them, there shouldn't be a problem.

beenthere · July 10, 2004, 04:03:42 PM

Is it possible the logger isn't the one to talk to, and maybe the landowner is? Your comments have me wondering why the logger doesn't want to bother. :

If the logger thinks there is no value for the crotch's, then leaving them in the woods would be his plan. Getting money for them would mean he is mistakenly placing 'no-value' on them. He doesn't want to be making mistakes.
That sounds like twisted thinking, but I've heard of similar things happening in the business world.

Maybe 'chumming' the site after the logger has finished would yield some good crotch material.

iain · July 11, 2004, 01:30:34 AM

let them get pushed back go see the land owner and get them for less (to clean the place up a bit)?

Norm · July 11, 2004, 07:02:24 AM

I don't have a grapple trailer so going to the landowner latter would not be an option, that and finding the landowner to buy stuff off of would most likely pith off the logging company owner. It may be I'm not offering enough for them to mess with em but I can't afford to offer too much as it's a new market for me.

Brian_Bailey · July 11, 2004, 11:07:04 AM

Another thing, not all of the crotches are worth sawing. If you have bark showing in the center of the log a foot or so down from the crotch it is pretty much worthless if you're after the feather grain. So you're going to have to examine every one.

I quess I'm lucky in the fact that the guy doing the felling is also interested in this stuff and knows what to look for.

sawmillsi · July 13, 2004, 04:23:03 PM

iain,

The grandberg mill is a good mill - my dad first had one about 18 years ago.

I've never heard about the Jonsered 2095 turbo. How many cc (engine capacity)?

I'd be running a .325 chain with a 3 off and 2 on tooth pattern with a top plate angle of about 10 degrees through a 7 tooth sproket if it was my setup.

1" is a lot to waste for shrinkage, I'd only ever go about 3/8" oversize (and we've got some pretty high shrinkage rates here in Aust. - about 9% being the highest I know of).

Good work!

Best thing about the basic chainsaw mill is that your making money straight away, not paying off a mill for ever!

Simon

Brian_Bailey · July 13, 2004, 10:06:44 PM

Simon,

I'm assuming your post was directed towards me? If it wasn't, your getting a response from me anyways :D :D.

I had a 24" Granberg mill that I milled a whole bunch of red pine for cabin logs back in the late 70's. Did the job!

The 2095 is 95cc. Jonsered discontinued this model because it won't meet the new emission standards.

I'm running a.325 full chisel chain and a skip tooth chisel chain. I've been playing around with a couple of different grinds to see what works best for me.

I'm working on a table flitch that I had sawn out a couple of years ago. I cut it 8/4 and it warped some while drying. To get it flat for a table, it's going to have to be thinner than I'd like it to be.

On these flitches,some are going to be resawn into thin stock for keepsake boxes. The tables, I need a full or better 8/4 finished thickness so I felt 12/4 was a good number to start with.

oldsaw · July 15, 2004, 09:53:15 PM

I haven't had mine out lately and I'm starting to get the shakes... ;D

Beautiful batch of pictures. When someone first told me the thing about how fun it was to open up a log and see what was in it, I thought it was kind of a silly statement. Now I find that I think about that statement often.

Take more pictures. That way, if I can't go out, I can at least pretend I opened up your logs.

Brian_Bailey · July 17, 2004, 03:41:17 PM

oldsaw,

When I was sawing that one, I kept saying to myself, "come on, hurry up and get thru the cut so I can see what is hidden in there"!

I felt just like I did when I was a kid on christmas morning opening a present :D.

When I get something interesting I'll be sure to post some more pictures for ya, we don't want u to have the shakes now! :D :D.

oldsaw · July 20, 2004, 05:41:29 PM

Took the family down to Branson (Silver Dollar City) then to southern Ark, just got back a bit ago and haven't even unloaded the van yet.

Tomorrow, I've got to get ready for Cub Scout camp, which will take me thru Sat. Then I have Sunday, which I may have to insist remain mine, but, I've got a garage to straighten out and some offcut to find a home for.

To make matters worse, I didn't even have time to look up Noble or Arky. Total bummer.

Brian_Bailey · July 20, 2004, 09:06:34 PM

Thought I had some nice walnut crotches lined up, until the tree owner assured me that he had pulled all the nails out of the tree

. He said that he had a tree house in it when he was a kid many years ago. I suddenly lost interest in the tree :'(.

Furby · July 21, 2004, 05:14:45 PM

:D :D :D
Why ??? ??? ???
Ya might find some REAL nice wood! ;) ;) :

Brian_Bailey · July 21, 2004, 09:57:44 PM

Yeah, I could live with hitting a nail or two, but the thought of the rock, bottle, or whatever that some young lad might of left in one of the crotches many years ago makes me not want to be the one that refreshes his memory :D :D.

I quess I shouldn't be so picky. I've been told walnut is worth lots of money !! ;)

Furby · July 22, 2004, 07:57:21 PM

:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D
Ahhhh, come on!!! Finding those things would give ya even more things to tell about.
I think I'd probly still do it, but that's me! ;D

Brian_Bailey · July 22, 2004, 08:55:26 PM

Furby, you're starting to make me feel bad :-/

. Maybe I'll give the guy a call and offer to haul that worthless tree away for him. :D :D

Actually, I'm very busy in the shop and would rather be inside where it's nice an cool on these hot humid days. Yep, I'm a real sawyer :D. Don't saw in the winter and don't saw when it's hot out! :D :D

Furby · July 23, 2004, 05:13:46 PM

:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D
I don't blame ya one bit for not taking the stuff!!! ;D
I know exactly what ya mean about being inside, but I don't have air so for me it wouldn't make much difference.

Like I said, it's just me! The odder most screwed up piece of wood, looks REAL good to me. :

Of course it's not always worth the equipment or time to work with it.