Puzzled about nails in log

[jackpine]

4 days ago a customer dropped off some white pine logs that had come from his yard so the first thing I asked was "what about nails?". No nails he replies and I think " i've heard that story before so i'll check the butt logs before sawing" ;D. One of the pines was a 28"dbh and all logs were 10 ft. with the 3'rd log still at 22" under the bark.

I loaded the 3'rd log first and hit nails on the 3'rd slab cut >:(. Started looking and digging and found 8 nails with more showing on the metal detector so pulled the cant off the mill.These nails started at about 22 ft. off the ground plus the stump height so I figured the 2'nd log and butt log would be so full of hardware it wouldn'd pay to even try sawing them. To my suprise there were no nails or hardware of any kind in either of those logs 8).

My question is, " how can this be?". Maybe a kids playhouse that was connected to a sister tree at one time and that tree is long gone. Those nails had been in the tree for approx. 20-25 years.

BTW I found 7 more nails in the cant I took off, 6 with the metal detector and one with the band >:(

Bill

[brdmkr]

I can only speculate why your nails were there, but after hitting metal at 20+ feet, I scan everything. 

[beenthere]

jackpine
Sounds like a deer stand to me. OR, a practice stand (I have such a beast near my house, where my son and I would practice archery from that stand).  I should knock it down and put it up for firewood, just so some unsuspecting future sawmiller doesn't have a surprise and it's related disappointment.

Or, a cross-arm for hanging light and telephone wires up there.

[jackpine]

What really puzzled me was the nails ran about 8 ft. on that 10 ft. log but were not in the lower logs. How did they get to that height without putting nails below, very tall ladder? Also, they were not only on one side but covered 3 sides of the log. Will probably remain a mystery but interesting to speculate.

[pineywoods]

I found a big one 30 ft up in a cypress, not a sign of any other metal . came out of a front yard. I questioned the lady----christmas lights

[WDH]

Like Beenthere said...........Deer stand, Deer stand ;D. 

[Qweaver]

All of the hardware that I found (so far) in the trees that I'm cutting around my old homeplace has been 15' to 20' off the ground.  My Dad was always hanging wires for lights around the place and I built several tree houses.  I've only hit a few, all deep in the tree and none at all in trees 48 years old or younger.  I'm 62...hummm, guess I know who to point the finger at.  : :D
Quinton

[jpgreen]

So far I  have yet to hit a nail... knock on log.

Now why did I say that?.. prolly be my turn next. 

[dundee]

Nails???,I witnessed the aftermath of a sawmill that was destroyed by a live mortar, this is in the Solomon Islands, from what I have been told, during WW2, the place was bombarded with all kinds of ammo, this particular log had a mortar (that did not explode) embedded in the forks of the stem, which over the years was covered with wood fibre growth.

Three folk were killed in this event, metal detectors were a luxury, today, all logs are scanned on the log deck before milling, surprising what they are finding!!

Richard

[Engineer]

I just took delivery of a bunch of white pine that was on a job site a few miles up the road.  Owner cleared yard trees to make room for an addition, and gave me the logs.  I looked at the trees before they dropped 'em,and one tree had a light fixture lagged on it, not a little porch light but a full-blown streetlight, high-pressure sodium bulb, that the tree grew around for a few inches.  The other one had a wrought-iron plant hanger that must have been attached fifteen years ago or more, it was all but hidden.  In spite of the metal, I took them, because those two trees had forty feet each of clear, no branches and no scars trunk, and I can slab off the junk and salvage a couple thousand BF out of the pile.  Clear quartersawn pine, 5/4 and 6/4 is worth a lot to me.

[rebocardo]

When taking urban logs, always look for nails at second story height from the wash line  ;)

I found a lead ball (cannon?) up in a tree with my saw before. Thankfully, never a live shell !

Just nuked a brand new chain on a 28" pine. I was almost through to my hinge when I keep hearing zip zip zip and my chain started throwing sawdust and took a dive towards the hinge. Once we had the tree down, I saw that I sawed through six nails in the center of the tree. Someone had to nail a fence or something to that tree 60+ years ago when it was only 4 inches wide.

I always wonder about the odds of on the backcut hitting nails dead center and cutting them exactly in half along the shank. Just must be a good working height for everyone.   :D

[Warren]

dundee,

That does it.  I'll stop complaining about nails.  Hopefully, I will never strike anything close to that with my mill.

Warren

[tomboysawyer]

If ya need to borrow a metal detector for those you know where to come!

[Engineer]

I took my surveying metal detector to the pile yesterday, turned the sensitivity all the way up.  I found some obvious ones but most of the logs didn't make a peep.  If I can find a tiny piece of barb wire fence buried under a foot of snow and two feet of dirt, the logs don't pose a problem.

I just have to run my search when the log is far away from any other metal, including the mill.

[Chris Burchfield]

Today was payday. I'd seen a Father's Day special in a BassPro Shop flyer couple of weeks ago. It was for a Bounty Hunter "Lone Star." Priced at $199.00 it came with a companion $60 metal detector. Well, after contacting "Wife" for permission today, she said no. I was home sick sciatic nerve prolbem in the right leg. Later in the P.M. she called checking on me. I explained the need for the metal detector vs ruined blades @ $21. each. I've burned at least 10 blades to metal in the log. With her permission and sob story, she okay'd the deal canceling the $150 for father's day that would not save me money. I have no idea what she was going to get but I have a metal detector. It's not a $300 or $1800 detector. It should save some blades in the future.