The Greenhorn's initial sawing season 2019-20

[Old Greenhorn]

Got a Late start today, went over and dug a 50' long shallow trench to hide a power cord in for the festival next week to power lights in the first aid tent After that I went back to work on that big red oak down by the creek and cut about another 1/2 cord or more of firewood from the tops. I also got another few smaller saw logs. Getting into the bigger stuff now and it's taking some time and now I mostly have the tops off, with one main leader left. Now the unweighting of this huge trunk becomes tricky for me. I have to be careful and haven't been surprised... yet. I removed all of the main side leader, but there is another underneath that I can't really get at yet. I ran through 3 tanks of gas in the saw and my personal tank was pretty empty also. I sweat a gallon or so. Time to move on to another task so  i headed home to get the mule ready for next weekend. I use it to spray water on the roads to keep the dust from choking everyone. More tasks to do every night this week.


 

[thecfarm]

Yours look better than mine. We use to have go karts parties.We live on a dead end dirt hill with a good size hill. No motors and a couple carts will get going 35mph. Than we use my truck to pull them back up the hill.The kids have a ball. Well I did to. ;D  I made a 50 gallon water for the wife's plants,all gravity fed. She use to have plants up and down the 500 foot driveway. I just use 2 pieces of metal conduit with a bunch of hole drilled into it. Took 2-3 trips to really help out the dust.  Years ago the town used some reclaim tar with too much gravel mixed into it. Did not really pack down,remember I said too much gravel. But wouldn't that stuff make some black dust.   It's really all gone now.

[Old Greenhorn]

Well, time for a quick update. Festival season is over for me and I am recovering from just getting 6 hours sleep in 3 days over the weekend, and the mild concussion I suffered when I arrived home in the wee hours Monday morning. I am SO far behind on other stuff right now that I have to kick it into high gear but I also have to lay back for a few more days until my headache clears a bit more. It is killing me to 'relax', but I do feel pretty tired. So I have been doing very small things in the evening after work, taking the water system off the Mule and stowing it, then getting the log & wood tools back into the Mule. Maybe I will head down and check the Mule tonight for the first time in over 3 weeks. I hope all is well. Next up, this weekend I have to rebuild that stage down at my neighbors place for a party on the 7th, then I have to pick the slabs out for that wedding bar I have to make and do the edge cuts for bookmatching, even though they won't match. Then pick out, or more likely cut the lumber I need for the 'yet to be designed' leg system. All that I am hoping to get done on Saturday. Sunday I hope to run over to my buddies cabinet shop about an hour from here and join, biscuit & glue, then plane the top. Join and plane all the leg lumber and get it all back home. All I have to do then is start working on the top finishes, which I can do in the evenings, build and finish the legs. I HAVE to have this set in place by the evening of 9/20. No pressure. If I have dead time in September I have logs to go pick up where I have been cutting these last couple of weeks. This wouldn't be too hard if I could sneak in a vacation day here or there when it helps, but I am overloaded at work and can't afford to take time off from my projects there.
 That's the plan. Wish me luck.

[doc henderson]

good luck!!! let me know if we need to do an engraving!

[Old Greenhorn]

I really appreciate it Doc, right now I think I will just focus on keeping the promise I made. It seems the happy couple has begun to realize what is involved and is now asking for assistance on other things on a regular basis. They have me busy.  ;D

[Old Greenhorn]

OK, as much as my head is still hurting, I got back down to the mill tonight and found little damage to the tarp after 4 weeks of occasional heavy rain. I did have one big hole where it tore through, but no big deal. I did a little cleanup then I picked out the slabs for the bar. I did some moving back and forth to figure out how to make the edge cuts for the slab joint. SO right now, this is what I am working with (beer can for scale and realism). Does it look like a bar yet?


 

[Old Greenhorn]

Well, I got down to the mill, laid out the two slabs to figure my cuts and I edged one side of each. No this isn't a fancy bookmatch, but it will do ok once they are planed and joined. It's an outdoor bar. I will fill all the cracks with epoxy resin then finish. But man, I am so very tired. I have to force myself to move and the headache rolls on. An hour and a half and I am ready for bed. I hope this thing clears up soon.Tomorrow I have to rebuild that stage, then mow the lawn and do other household stuff. Sunday I head up to the cabinet shop and this should look more like a bar top Sunday night.


Does it look like a bar now?

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[doc henderson]

if it still hurts that bad, consider a ct, it should hurt where you hit the skin, but not a terrible headache.  get better soon!

[Old Greenhorn]

if it still hurts that bad, consider a ct, it should hurt where you hit the skin, but not a terrible headache.  get better soon!

Well, since you mentioned it: the wound area you saw is normally sensitive, but the headache is bilateral across the frontal lobes, it only increases when I bend forward. It's mild, but constant. Mainly I am still tired all the time and thus the need to make myself move to get things done. Likely, this is wrong, but I feel I do no damage as long as I work slowly and don't do anything too heavy. I think I discovered tonight that I must have also bruised a muscle in my left upper chest area when I fell. It was pretty sore lifting those slabs. It sucks to get old and not bounce like I used to. I am headed to bed now and have decided I will sleep tomorrow until I just decide to get up and see if that helps. (TO answer the other questions on the list: negative LOC, no blurred vision, no dizziness, no loss of memory except for the fall itself, no nausea beyond and upset stomach the next 12 hours, positive ability to focus and recall, etc. )

[DennisK]

you need to get a systemic/dystolic test via CT, (SP?) One is colagitive, the other not.....bad
Blood Clot?

[Old Greenhorn]

you need to get a systemic/dystolic test via CT, (SP?) One is colagitive, the other not.....bad
Blood Clot?

Wow, um, OK. I don't know what that is and can't look it up. If you mean a systolic/diastolic test (commonly called Blood pressure) I am not sure what this would indicate with any accuracy. I also don't know what 'colagitive' is. Do you mean coagulative as in coagulative necrosis? I am just trying to figure out what your reasoning and suspicion is here and what you are basing it on.
And of course, Welcome to the forum.

[Old Greenhorn]

OK, gt back to work today for real. Still taking it easy, but today is the first day I woke up without the headache since my mis-step. The pain in my left pec seems to be getting worse as I begin to work more. But really I am taking it easy, not going nuts, and keeping the sweating work down. I even asked a neighbor for help, which i never really do.
SO I got the stage rebuilt and leveled at the neighbors. It went so quick that I think I could do this in my sleep, maybe I did. (Pro tip: do you know the best way to tell if a stage is level? If the banjo player drools out of both sides of his mouth equally. As I used to play some banjo...).



 

SO with that done, I had lunch then went down to the mill and cut the logs I want to use for legs for that wedding bartop. The neighbor was going to help load them in the mule, but I realized we could not lift them. Green maple, 22" dia by 41" long. SO I rigged up my little arch to keep them off the ground because I am leaving the bark on. These will be firwood or something else after the wedding I think.
Leg #1 all rigged up.


 

And Leg #2 headed up the hill:



 

Considering I cut them with a chainsaw (too tall for the mill) on a side hill, they came out fairly good with just a tiny wobble. Once set on the concrete in the shop it is easier to find my defects. But they look fairly good. (Man they took everything I had to stand them up!)


 

 I will re-cut when I settle on a final height. WHich is something I was curious about so I threw another slab on top just to do the industry standard 'Bar Lean test', and it worked for me, but I am 6 foot and this test slab is only 2" thick. The real one will be 3" plus a couple of 1" screw down straps underneath for security, so I probably need to take 3 inches or so off. Still I am good at this test so I thought I would show how it is best done, for educational purposes.





It does feel good to get some work done and NO headache. Ticking things off the list and ahead of my plan for the weekend. Now off with the wife to do the monthly food shopping. Tomorrow up to the cabinet shop.

[Old Greenhorn]

Well, I found out last night my buddy could only spare 2 hours of shop time today and I was worried that we could get this top done. I shouldn't have. Planed, joined, matched, glued, and replaned in under 2 hours. Actual time was about 35 minutes. The rest was catching up and looking over his equipment, He has some nifty stuff. I can't wait to see when he gets that 42" flat sander going!
 Hows this for a planer?:


 

I got it home and started working on it, cut the ends square and planed them off put some corner breaks on, and sent a bunch of time doing handwork to clean out the bark in the natural splits in prep for the resin epoxy. 
This is how it's sits now:


 

But speaking of the resin, I had bought the resin for my last two or three projects at Home Despot off the shelf. SO I stopped there on my way home from the cabinet shop. Strangely, I could not find it, and the folks there said they never carried it. They looked at me like a "problem customer' when I told them (vehemently I might add) I had bought 2 kits there just a month ago. Sure enough, they don't have it. I checked online and it's not listed on the website either. It's like it never happened. I wound up ordering a bunch online hoping some of it will be here by the end of the week. I had hoped to pour tonight. This sets me back a bit, but I will make it. I'll just shift to other stuff for now. There is lots to do.
 Good news is that my headache is barely there and the pain in my chest is diminishing at a good clip. I should be back in shape by Tuesday at this rate. I just keep plugging along.

[doc henderson]

hobby lobby will have resin called casting resin. looks great!!!  I could drink a beer on that! 8)

[Old Greenhorn]

hobby lobby will have resin called casting resin. looks great!!!  I could drink a beer on that! 8)

This is funny Doc, but just 20 minutes ago I found that Home Despot does in fact have it, in stock at my local store, under the name Glaze Coat, which is what I bought before. I must have walked past it 5 times, asked for their help, but got nothin'.
 I will go pick up a kit tomorrow and hope the sassy smart arshed SOB that 'helped me' today is there so I can whack him in the head with the box. "Nope, we've never had that" he said after I told him I bought it there 3 weeks ago.
 I'll be out in the shop early getting the slab prepped and sealed. I am a little worried about getting the pour right the first time after my last debacle. I also have to get the 'legs' cut level and a bit lower. I am going to try a new technique I dreamed up using a laser level to shoot a line to follow as I cut. Never used a chainsaw laser before. It's all about having a good time, right? It's a fun little project. I might have to hire a helper, if I can find one, to help me move and set it. The legs have to weigh about 180 pounds each.
 Yes, I can't wait to help break this in.

[btulloh]

My method for making cuts on both ends works good for me anyway. Might be worth a try. 

I lay the log down and level it then use a plumb bob to make a reference line on each end. Roll the log 90 degrees and make lines using the plumb bob so I have a line on the top and side at both ends. I suppose it would be easier to use a laser set for vertical. Either way, I do better sawing vertical than trying to saw horizontal and end up right on both ends of the log. 

[Old Greenhorn]

Yeah, That is the first method I used because it has worked for me in the past on smaller logs. It did pretty good this time, but I have to take about 2"  or a bit more off each log (bar height is a critical thing you know) and they did not come out as perfect as I would like. I did about 25 fence posts in the vertical last week and they came out amazingly square and level. I figured I would give vertical another try with my smaller saw. The big saw is hard to balance and it does not cut really straight, it wandered a bit even though I had a good line.

[doc henderson]

you said your mill is not tall enough.  can you set the log legs down between the rails and do it?  the mill is the easiest way to get flat parallel cuts, but may be more trouble than it is worth.  If it leans a little one way or the other, after a few beers it will straighten right up. 8) :D.  just has to be stable enough to lean on!!!

[Old Greenhorn]

Yeah Doc, the mill was my first choice, because I cut these rounds right there, but even dropping them through the bed (if they fit) and setting them on the ground still makes them too high. My mill is pretty close to the ground to facilitate loading. Besides, at close to 200# ea. getting them in and out is 'problematic'.  ;D :D
 I want to try this new method because its another idea I can then eliminate from my thought process, unless of course, it works.

[SawyerTed]

First let me say how much I've enjoyed your thread, your sawmill sanctuary and your creative projects. 

To create leveling feet on the bar, T-nuts (threaded wood inserts) in the "legs with a bolt to adjust to level  could work.  Think refrigerator type adjustable feet.  I have built many cabinets and machines that had to be leveled.  We used captured nuts welded to the legs with bolts to level metal framed machines and T nuts on wooded cabinets and machine frames.

[Old Greenhorn]

First let me say how much I've enjoyed your thread, your sawmill sanctuary and your creative projects.

To create leveling feet on the bar, T-nuts (threaded wood inserts) in the "legs with a bolt to adjust to level  could work.  Think refrigerator type adjustable feet. 

Ted, Thanks for enjoying it. I was wondering if anybody was reading it at all because I tend to ramble and bore most folks. Mostly I did this thread as a record to look back on down the road, but it is also allowing folks to chime in, such as yourself with ideas and help I had never considered, so it is working out for me, your mileage may vary.  ;D :D
 Case in point, your leveling feet idea is a great one! Never thought of that. I will save that for another project, because for this one I am setting the 'legs' on crushed stone and soil, so I will be able to manipulate the ground to suit my 'level' requirements. But I do like that idea and have other projects coming where it would be a perfect application. Thanks for that.
 Today I goofed off in the morning, slept in until 7am and was tired, so I stuck to my prescription and relaxed a bit. Nearly out of the woods on this concussion thing, but I am not going to push it for stupid reasons. It was rainy most of the day too, not heavy but steady. I went out to the shop late morning and began prep work for the pour, knowing that there is not way I can afford a blow out like I had last month. This time I tripled taped it then cut some pine boards that had a slight cup and put the crown against the bottom of the slab so that it pulled down and sealed. I screwed it home...and said a little prayer. I also taped and covered the ends to same way. 
SO the bottom looks lie this:


 
Flipped over (man this thing is HEAVY!), it looks like this all leveled up well.:


 
There is one huge split, this is natural, not a drying split, it is where this tree forked into two major leaders, so the split was filled with bark which I chiseled out as far as was possible. I was left with a full 54" long gap that tapered from one inch wide down to zero. That is a lot of resin to fill in.


 
I went back to Home Despot and got the resin that yesterday's salesman/helper/industry pro said they never carried. It was right there on the shelf. i came home and combined the one quart kit with a half quart left over from another job and did the pour, no leaks, but I didn't complete it either. Not enough, but I expected that, but NO leaks, just one little wet spot of the bottom of one of the straps, but not a full drop. I figure this will cure and seal and then I can do another pour to fill and over top the cracks and do all the small ones I skipped this time.
 Once that was all cleaned up I turned my attention to the 'legs' and my laser idea. I set the laser up to think it through and realized I can also use it to get the leg square to the floor using that vertical line. I was getting ready to move the legs to a better area for cutting when my son called that he needed the laser at the floor job he is doing. I knew this would happen, so I ran it down to him and stuck my 2 cents into the job he is doing. He says my 15 minutes of being nosy saved him about 3 hours of work and a day of frustration. All I said was "why don't you think about...?" :D
 Anyway, this is what the lines look like on the logs:


 
I wasn't too clear in earlier posts about why I am re-cutting these. Yes, they are a bit too tall, but the main reasons are that A) the cuts are not square to the log making them stand straight up (they have a little lean) and 2) The cuts are not flat, that is, my large saw kind of wanders and the cut has a wave, it is not a slant, but a wave. My little saw with the 18" bar cuts pretty flat and although this will be a physical challenge for me and too big for the bar on one clean cut, I believe I can do better and square things up at the same time. Let's just say I am using this to try to improve my skills.  :D ;D (In so far as is possible for an old guy with questionable balance, poor vision, and a weaker upper body than I would like.) When I get the laser back, I will use framing shims the get the log square to the ground, then the line to guide my saw. What could go wrong? ;D ;D ;D :D :D

[Old Greenhorn]

Well, I got the stage rebuilt for a neighbor last night and painted it. Tonight I grabbed some rounds I had thrown on the side down at the mill to use for legs on a slab for a party Saturday and sort of got them cut off level. Mixed results on using the laser. I think next time I will try something else. I did get them fairly close.  I light sanded the slab I had finished in haste last month and put another coat of verathane on it.  I'll try to get another coat on tomorrow in time to dry for Saturday.


 

Then I went back to work on the bar while i wait for more resin to show up tomorrow. I have a lot of sanding to do in the live edges. This is Ash that was EAB killed, so I like to keep the bug channels exposed. It adds character to the piece and it helps explains what is killing the trees and why I take them out. It's part of the 'story' of the wood. I like that. I sand it until it looks like this, then after cleaning and finishing it really pops, but it is subtle if I do it right.



 

My problem is that the cambium layer is not letting go and coming off easily in some spots. Like here at the ends:


 
 I have tried sanding, a wire brush, pocket knife (works best, but slow), and hand sanding (slowest). Does anybody have any tricks to get this dried cambium layer to let go and come off? I burned up a palm sander doing the re-finished slab and didn't want to use that on the edges anyway, it's a bit too aggressive. Once i do my final pour and get the dams off i can work on it better, right now they are in the way a bit. Just wondering if anybody had any magic bullet for this stuff. My hands are numb.
 

[btulloh]

I've used a wire wheel on an angle grinder and it works pretty well. Match the stiffness of the wire wheel to what you're trying to get rid of. Sometimes I've had to use a knotted wheel. 

[doc henderson]

try a heat gun, most wood connective stuff is heat sensitive.  like bending wood.  window putty hard as a rock reacts well to heat as well

[Old Greenhorn]

Well the resin got delivered today and I did what I hope is the final pour. No leaks, all the cracks overfilled as I wanted and sit curing now. 


 
It looks better than the photo shows. I am pleased.

I put another coat of verathane on the junk slab for tomorrows party.  I cut the bottom straps for the bar. Sanded all the edges just to soften it and threw on some tung oil so they are ready when I need them. I let all the smoke out my son's failing orbital sander last night, so I picked up a dewalt on my way to work this morning, I need my own anyway. That seemed to work pretty well on the cambium layer on a gentle setting with some patience. Sorry Doc, I forgot to try heat, I still think that might be a good idea except for the areas where it is really stuck on solid. I am starting to get myself worked into a faster speed to get this done ahead of time so that I can set it the weekend before the wedding, which would be next weekend. No pressure. My neighbor across the road has a big party going on tomorrow, so that will kill a good part of my weekend. I will be parking cars at my place and there is the stage to get set with power and sound and all the other details he didn't think about. I know I will have a full day on that, but want to pull all the dams off the bar and see what I have and start sanding off the excess. Mu goal is to start working on finishes Sunday afternoon. That will give me the week for additional coats and hopefully fully cured/dried by Saturday next. 
 For a guy that is not a woodworker I am starting to feel like a woodworker. I have little idea how I got here.