Tree tops

Brad_bb · January 23, 2019, 12:45:54 AM

The thicker the piece, will have less tendency to warp. It can still warp, but thicker will warp less. Also boxing the heart will make drying stresses more even. If you can leave enough material to go back after the piece is dry and flatten it, then it's not a problem. For example, I cut 6-8 foot braces from limbs, cutting a slab off of each side. I leave them in the barn for a year so they get most of their moving done, and then I put them back on the mill and plane both sides. It's actually more like jointing because you place a piece which may have 1/8, or 1/4" of warp on the mill bed, shim the gaps with small wedges, and then run the planer over the piece, which essentially joints one side. Flip it and plane the other side and now both are flat and parallel. You can do the same thing with the mill, but you have to leave a little more material so your band stays in the cut. Once you flatten once side, you can run the other side through the planer to make that side parallel. Or you can do both sides with the mill. Just make sure to keep sharp bands on when resawing.

Ianab · January 23, 2019, 01:51:38 AM

I do lots of stuff with "logs" that a professional logger wouldn't touch.

A good logger knows not to send a "junk" logs to the mill, because he won't get paid for it when they reject it. Done the work, paid for the trucking, gets nothing. Better to just leave it behind. 7ft logs don't make the grade. Logs with some rot are rejects. Logs with sweep, no good.

That doesn't mean it's useless to someone with a bit of spare time and their own mill. It's just not a log the commercial mill could make money on.

Of course you need to learn what the limitations are, with tensioned limb wood and how large knots affect things etc. But the best way to learn this is to saw some, and see what happens. Chances are you will make some designer firewood along the way, along with a decent whack of usable lumber.

nativewolf · January 23, 2019, 07:11:49 AM

I sell this timber framer all sorts of curved material. I get $1/bdft for this, my best market so far. Small market and not deep but he'll buy 3-5k a month in logs with sweep that would make them rejects at a mill. I've got better pics, need to upload them.

OHBucknut · January 23, 2019, 09:17:32 AM

Wow that's awesome looking. I have a few walnut tops I am sure someone will want with character. Trying to find someone that deals with that stuff in volume would be an issue for me.

I hope this snow goes away today with the rain and cold weather moving in this weekend maybe I can get a few logs out

btulloh · January 23, 2019, 10:21:41 AM

It never hurts to try something and see for yourself. Fooling around with junk logs can eat up some time, but nothing beats personal experience. I like to saw bad stuff sometimes just to see what happens. Worst case is I end up with some dimensional firewood. You can never have too many pieces of 4x4 or 6x6 for bunks or cribbing.

When I have pine tops with lots of limbs, they look like they'll make nothing but garbage. After I saw them, they look like the 4x4's and 6x6's I see at the big box stores.

OHBucknut · January 24, 2019, 08:21:36 PM

Well I was finally able to get in the woods and grab a few logs. Here is a picture of the kind of stuff I was about. Roughly 12"-13" round

OHBucknut · January 24, 2019, 08:22:07 PM

And 20' long

Darrel · January 24, 2019, 08:31:36 PM

Definitely worth putting on the mill. I'd probably buck it into two 10's or a 12' and an 8'.

OHBucknut · January 24, 2019, 08:36:30 PM

I did 2x10'

OHBucknut · January 24, 2019, 08:40:37 PM

Sorry for all the discombobulated responses but you can see why I may have been confused as to why they left this stuff and I mean it is everywhere. And I measured it just now and it's 15" at largest end and 12" at the 20' mark. Pretty easy pickings so I'm not going to complain about them leaving it for me lol

Don P · January 24, 2019, 09:22:02 PM

That certainly looks like you can make some structural lumber out of that kind of material. Sketch up the building you want to build and make up a materials list, that will help guide your bucking decisions.

Magicman · January 24, 2019, 09:42:05 PM

That is top notch stuff and certainly not "limbs" and you will recover much framing lumber from those tops. Yes, you need a cut list before you start bucking those logs.

Target your 2X4 or 2X6 cant and take side lumber down to those cants. Never try to squeeze something out of a log that is not there by splitting the pith.

Southside · January 24, 2019, 09:44:27 PM

That looks like somebody was hunting for veneer when they logged your land.

Brad_bb · January 24, 2019, 10:40:38 PM

Remember OHBucknut, get all that material off the ground on bunks of some sort so it's not wicking moisture off the ground and rotting the bottom side. Do it while the ground is frozen....

Nativewolf, He is getting a hell of a deal if you're selling 4x8 live edge brace stock for $16 a piece. I cut a lot of live edge brace stock and I figure if I've got $20-$25 in the cost of the log before I mill it, I'm doing ok. Once I cut it, let it dry in the barn for a year, and then joint one side and plane the other and then burnish or sand the live edge smooth...well I've never sold any but I'd have to get quite a lot more than my $20 log cost. I know another framer who says he sells live edge braces for $250 including the joinery in the brace. I keep all my brace stock for myself for now until I finish my projects. I want plenty to choose from. I know I have at least 200 pieces or more. I also have cruck material too.

Heck, another mill was charging $4/BF for straight 4x8 Walnut brace stock before I started cutting my own. 4x8x6' = $64

OHBucknut · January 25, 2019, 06:41:30 AM

Yea my building will have 10' walls. It's also as bad to use stuff like this cherry for studs as it is to cut it for firewood. This is the stuff that needs to be used in fine furniture making but it's what I have and I need a barn/shop more furniture.

My building will mostly be studded with cherry hard maple and a little bit of yellow poplar. Kind of a shame but I don't have and fur or pines so I'll use what I got

nativewolf · January 25, 2019, 06:59:08 AM

Quote from: Brad_bb on January 24, 2019, 10:40:38 PM
Remember OHBucknut, get all that material off the ground on bunks of some sort so it's not wicking moisture off the ground and rotting the bottom side. Do it while the ground is frozen....

Nativewolf, He is getting a hell of a deal if you're selling 4x8 live edge brace stock for $16 a piece. I cut a lot of live edge brace stock and I figure if I've got $20-$25 in the cost of the log before I mill it, I'm doing ok. Once I cut it, let it dry in the barn for a year, and then joint one side and plane the other and then burnish or sand the live edge smooth...well I've never sold any but I'd have to get quite a lot more than my $20 log cost. I know another framer who says he sells live edge braces for $250 including the joinery in the brace. I keep all my brace stock for myself for now until I finish my projects. I want plenty to choose from. I know I have at least 200 pieces or more. I also have cruck material too.

Heck, another mill was charging $4/BF for straight 4x8 Walnut brace stock before I started cutting my own. 4x8x6' = $64

Oh, he's buying whole limbs, 5' pieces, etc. I am just selling log form and he does the pretty work- I think it is good and important if you are a logger to know your market. So we took 2 days off and helped him stand up his last frame and we did a shop tour before that. You'd really really like his work. Come on down to VA and we'll introduce you, two peas in a pod in terms of building aesthetics. He also buys some nice walnut trees at $2k per, trees with bird peek that I'd only get $3/ft, etc. He has a cut list and ask me to find it. Works well for all.

nativewolf · January 25, 2019, 07:04:53 AM

Quote from: Southside logger on January 24, 2019, 09:44:27 PM
That looks like somebody was hunting for veneer when they logged your land.

They sure were only pulling the best stuff.

Don P · January 25, 2019, 07:47:23 AM

If it is some quantity you might also investigate what the mill would pay for these logs and what you can buy poplar or pine from a logger for. You can also take some high grade jacket wood as future furniture/ cabinet stock on your way to the framing.

nybhh · January 25, 2019, 12:16:44 PM

Quote from: OHBucknut on January 25, 2019, 06:41:30 AM
Yea my building will have 10' walls. It's also as bad to use stuff like this cherry for studs as it is to cut it for firewood. This is the stuff that needs to be used in fine furniture making but it's what I have and I need a barn/shop more furniture.

My building will mostly be studded with cherry hard maple and a little bit of yellow poplar. Kind of a shame but I don't have and fur or pines so I'll use what I got

Note to all Forestry Forum Members in NY/Tri-State area with this problem, please contact me!
I have plenty of EWP and will gladly exchange it for hardwood! 8)
@Old Greenhorn just finished a hardwood building. It looks great in pics but I imagine takes a lot longer to build with, is heavier to handle, often requires pre-drilling for fasteners, etc.

Old Greenhorn · January 25, 2019, 12:33:53 PM

Would that be a 'pound for pound' swap Brandon? :D ;D :D ;D Just kidding (well, mostly). That EWP you gave me was so nice to work with and made things go so much faster. I hope the ash you got looks good in that new project you are into, sure looked good off the planer. Maybe this spring we can swap some cants? I can tell you building that shed with white oak and ash was a bear, but honestly, that wood should have been firewood anyway. It had SO much stress from hanging at a 60 degree angle for 12 years or so. It was a lot of work, but a learning experience with the new mill. The way I look at it, I salvaged firewood into lumber and got a free functional shed out of it (Plus a free back injury!). But I do like your offer and may take you up on it some day.

OHBucknut · January 25, 2019, 07:51:30 PM

Yeah here in NE OH there isn't much as far as EWP. But have some of the best Walnut and Cherry you will find anywhere.

I guess there is nothing wrong with furniture grade studslol beats throwing them in the OWB.

As far as weight goes I have a plan to build 10-12' sections of wall as I go. then connect all the sections almost like a prefabricated wall. Obviously using bracing but once all my wall sections are built I can schedule help and have a building frame in a few hours

Southside · January 25, 2019, 08:06:19 PM

There are a lot of old buildings in these parts that have cherry, oak, and walnut siding, beams, etc. Back then you built what you needed with what you had growing. It's the heart of the "reclaimed lumber" supply.

OHBucknut · January 25, 2019, 08:16:05 PM

My house was built in 1862 and has walnut chestnut and cherry studs. It's pretty cool that I am going to build a build off the same land the house was built off of nearly 169 years ago

OHBucknut · January 25, 2019, 08:17:39 PM

Building** 157 years ago (I had a toddler crawling on me when I was typing)

Don P · January 25, 2019, 10:40:18 PM

Lots of oak and chestnut framing here for the same reasons. I was working on a 1840's log home and needed some replacement timber. She pointed across the modern road and said, "well go up the holler there and help yourself, that's where they came from".