First time slabbing 4' tree with alaska sawmill

[newdesertfox]

Interested in inputs from people who doing slabbing in the 2023 market on thoughts on this tree and sizing for slabs. Its a tab bit over 4' wide and the main trunk is 44' long with a few crotch pieces that push 5-6' wide. What it seems like from my research on here is that slabbing 2.75-3.75" thick and 12-14' sections may be the most valuable way to slab it but still be practical for moving with skidsteers and forks etc. I have a 6' wide alaskan with a 660 and a 090 with bars ranging from 3-6' long. Sadly would never fit on my lt40 lol But what would people who sell slabs more often do with this tree? Any tips or advice (figure its best to ask now and not tonight when Im already in it lol ) Currently working on getting it down off the hill and to level ground, winds blew it over with rootball still attached so a fun one to cut as its base is 2-4' above the ground and both my loaders are down for 2 months in the shop so only have a small skidsteer/truck winch



 


 

[WV Sawmiller]

   What kind of tree is it?

[doc henderson]

I agree and the species will let us "guess" how well it will behave while drying.  some will need to be thicker so you have room to flatten.

[FactorySeconds]

Doing slabs exclusively, we generally cut 5/4 below 14"; 10/4 below 50" and 13/4 above that. These are baselines and there's wiggle room depending on species/straightness etc. 

If you're air drying the best is to stack it in boule form with tight straps and weight. If stacked for kiln make sure there's a decent amount of weight on it with no more than 10" of unsupported space between stickers and blocking.

Aside from that, if the market is there, those slabs wont last long in the shop.

[burdman_22]

I'm going to guess red oak, based off of the size and your location.

If there are any nice clear areas in this tree you might consider breaking it down into manageable sizes with your chainsaw mill and then getting some nice wide quartersawn out of it.

I believe I've milled my 6 ft wide slabs about 4 inches thick in the past...which might be a TAD thick, but I'd much rather have a tad more than I need rather than the opposite. (Also, with chainsaw milling, at least for me, I oftentimes get a little wiggle here and there that might make the thickness an 8th or even a quarter off by the time I get to then end...especially when they are 16ft or more long, so thicker helps with that a bit as well).

I dont know if you've already cleaned limbs off of that tree or not...if you haven't, I've never seen an oak that big in diameter and that tall with no limbs. Hauled a few 3 footers out of a guys yard once and those were completely clear for like 80 ft or so, but still quite a bit smaller than this....nice piece of wood you have there sir 👍

[Downstream]

Another thought on chainsaw milling.  If the angle is not too steep gravity is your friend when chainsaw milling.  if you can cut it to length on the hill slab it in place and then move the slabs as they come off.  You will not have to push at all but if too steep then it will want to cut faster than it can handle.  also need to make sure the slab does not take off on its own.  I always mill downhill but not usually that steep.

[newdesertfox]

Ah yes it is a red oak, sorry about that meant to add the species but was rushing out the door. No I hadnt cut any branches off it, its completely clear  till 24 feet up then only one branch till 30 feet up the truck. It appears to have some rot in the back quarter of that came up through an outer root which is what weakened it so it came down so going to be working to see how far up it goes into the trunk. I'd love to mill it in place but its quite steep and high up, the truck at the rootball is about 7' off the ground, and the top of the mid section is about 9' up. So trying to winch it down to a more useable angle thats safe to work on without risk of falling off while running a saw full bore

[newdesertfox]

I've heard from some other people that super thick slabs tend to have more defects, drying similar to how RR ties dry. My plan is to airdry for 1-3 months and then solar kiln dry them, using 3k jersey barriers set ontop to press them down. Do people think that would work for those?

[Walnut Beast]

Looking forward to more pictures on your project! 

[newdesertfox]

It ended up having a bit of rot through it but at least half the log is useful, measured 5'9" at its widest point at base, currently have it cut in a 20', 10' and 14' section based on crotch or clean span sections and rolled to place to be able to saw. Tried to upload new pics but wont allow me for some reason, says I dont have permission anymore

[thecfarm]

Forum had an update.
The Boss knows about the picture loading problem and looking into it.

[blackhawk]

It ended up having a bit of rot through it but at least half the log is useful, measured 5'9" at its widest point at base, currently have it cut in a 20', 10' and 14' section based on crotch or clean span sections and rolled to place to be able to saw. Tried to upload new pics but wont allow me for some reason, says I dont have permission anymore

Are those the lengths that you are keeping the slabs at?  Is there a market out there for lengths over 10 feet.  I'm just getting into cutting slabs, so I am curious.

[Don P]

We milled some long red oak slabs a few years ago out of the courthouse oak. (Supposedly the hanging tree, but when I counted rings and the date of the last hanging... he must have been short and light, this thing would've been a sapling) I stopped breaking them down the other week when I got to one that looked like a good stair stringer. I might throw together a set based on typical dimensions, problem is there aren't many typical houses  :D.

Edit, that's me standing on it sweeping dust in my avatar, Rick is awestruck on the left and DB is walking up from the DangDeadheader self loading trailer on the right. That pond in the background is the courthouse parking lot. That was a Thanksgiving weekend and every bored male within earshot or gossip was there before we were done  :D.

[scsmith42]

NDF (that area that you're in sure doesn't look like desert to me....   ;D)

We mill a lot of oversized slabs, so here is my 2 cents.s

1 - red oak - unfortunately - is not in as much demand as white oak.
2 - I would suggest doing a combination of slabs and quartersawn from those logs.  Quartersawn 4/4 and 5/4 lumber will dry more quickly, and sell faster than the thick slabs.
3. I would mill three 12/4 or thicker slabs from the center of the trunk, capturing the pith in the center slab.  If it's a crotch log, then mill at 14/4 so that you have room to allow for distortion.
4 - The remaining log 1/3's I would quartersaw into 4/4 (less than 8" wide), 5/4 (8" - 16" wide) and 6/4.  I'd use Robert's "reverse roll" quartersawing method.

12' - 14' is a good length for lumber and slabs.

Regarding drying, I would treat the slabs green with a boric acid solution such as Timber, and air dry them under a covered shelter for 6 months of so.  After that they can go into a solar kiln for 8 - 12 months for finishing off, of into a Nyle or equivalent for the final week or two to take them to 8% and sterilize.

DO NOT DRY THEM TOO QUICKLY!  Oak will honeycomb in a heart beat.  If you go into solar before air drying for 6 months, use a tarp to block off 70% or so of the collector in order to slow down the drying process.  Keep it tapped for several months until the MC% in the core is close to 30%.

Best of success to you.

[newdesertfox]

It ended up having a bit of rot through it but at least half the log is useful, measured 5'9" at its widest point at base, currently have it cut in a 20', 10' and 14' section based on crotch or clean span sections and rolled to place to be able to saw. Tried to upload new pics but wont allow me for some reason, says I dont have permission anymore

Are those the lengths that you are keeping the slabs at?  Is there a market out there for lengths over 10 feet.  I'm just getting into cutting slabs, so I am curious.

Probably not, they were just what seemed the best ways to break the tree down into primary sections based on clear, crotch, and sections with splitting in it. In the past a few years ago I had someone who drove from VA to buy slabs from me who liked them long for bar tops etc but Im just getting into it now that have something that can slab, LT40s a bit limited on wide widths so shy'd away from slabs unless was cutting for someone else

[newdesertfox]

NDF (that area that you're in sure doesn't look like desert to me....   ;D)

We mill a lot of oversized slabs, so here is my 2 cents.s

1 - red oak - unfortunately - is not in as much demand as white oak.
2 - I would suggest doing a combination of slabs and quartersawn from those logs.  Quartersawn 4/4 and 5/4 lumber will dry more quickly, and sell faster than the thick slabs.
3. I would mill three 12/4 or thicker slabs from the center of the trunk, capturing the pith in the center slab.  If it's a crotch log, then mill at 14/4 so that you have room to allow for distortion.
4 - The remaining log 1/3's I would quartersaw into 4/4 (less than 8" wide), 5/4 (8" - 16" wide) and 6/4.  I'd use Robert's "reverse roll" quartersawing method.

12' - 14' is a good length for lumber and slabs.

Regarding drying, I would treat the slabs green with a boric acid solution such as Timber, and air dry them under a covered shelter for 6 months of so.  After that they can go into a solar kiln for 8 - 12 months for finishing off, of into a Nyle or equivalent for the final week or two to take them to 8% and sterilize.

DO NOT DRY THEM TOO QUICKLY!  Oak will honeycomb in a heart beat.  If you go into solar before air drying for 6 months, use a tarp to block off 70% or so of the collector in order to slow down the drying process.  Keep it tapped for several months until the MC% in the core is close to 30%.

Best of success to you.

HA yeah not a lot of deserts around, thats an old name that stuck from like 15-20 years ago lol moved a few times and was very big into WW2 history.
Every time you see a nice red oak first thing you say is man if only it was white oak haha. I actually have a 3' wide white oak truck that I've been sitting on for a year waiting for something to cut it and a way to detect the metal in it, saw a few nails and just finally got a nice metal detector so hopefully going to finally break it down without trashing a few chains.
I hadnt considered quartersawing, been a few years since did that but sounds like a good idea and def easier/faster for drying. I think I used Robert's method when I did it but I'll have to refresh my knowledge on how to do it
Oh wow really that long even with solar kiln? Yeah I got hit hard with oak honeycombing when first started trying to dry oak, drove me up a wall till I learned to cover the stacks vs letting the sun bake them. I'll def take your advice though on the time frames, rather wait a few more months then get a fancy load of firewood

[newdesertfox]

These are at the base, and at 20' up, clearly not as good as had hoped but still a decent amount of useable stuff. Is there every any use for slabbing sections that the core rotted out for something like those river epoxy slab tables or not really any value? Im figuring on trimming down the ends till the rot is much smaller maybe trying for a few cookie cuts as I know the land owners may be interested in it for coffee tables at one of their conference rooms or lounges so not a total waste