The stuff I'm asked to saw

[Bibbyman]

Mary and I were processing firewood the other day when a guy drove in and stopped.  I went to see what he needed.  He was to the point.  "I have a 2' chunk of cedar this big around (made gesture of about 12") that I'm trying to find someone to saw it up for me."  I told him, "Can't do it.  Too short.  Can't clamp it.  Will fall through the mill."  He did a frustrated dance like he'd heard that a number of times before, and said thanks and got back into his car and left.

I sure didn't want to dwell on it all day but if he'd staid a bit longer and I'd found out what he really needed,  I could have fixed him up.  I figure he came on this chunk of cedar someplace and wanted a few short cedar boards.  I would have probably given him an armload of this and that that I have around and sent him on his way.

[bandmiller2]

Piney,for that purpose and for someone you know and have cut for in the past its worth a go, yield I fear may be down. Frank C.

[Just Me]

A real good neighbor brought me this log. It's osage orange, hedge, bois d'arc, bodock, horse apple,  or whatever your name might be.

I've heard it called Post Oak as well. That is a very large piece of Osage Orange. I make door pulls out of the stuff as it is the most dense wood in America, and takes on a nice shine with age. Too bad that first cut color fades away with age.

They say a fence post made of this will last 40 years.

[Larry]

They say a fence post made of this will last 40 years.

They do last that long and when the farmer takes out the fence I can saw the corner posts into nice lumber.

[Meadows Miller]

Gday

I would have told him to leave her rot in the paddock Piney  ??? : ;) :D :D :D :D

Regards Chris

[pineywoods]

Gday

I would have told him to leave her rot in the paddock Piney  ??? : ;) :D :D :D :D

Regards Chris

That don't work Chris. The stuff is virtually rot proof, very dense and hard.

[Bob_T]

I'll probably have a shot at sawing this DanG thing. Already cut up the 2 biggest limbs, 6 ft cuts. Bodock as we call it, is rather rare locally, so I can't just swap logs. Most of it will be made into game calls (duck and turkey). I have already posted some pics of some of his work, real works of art. I do have a metal detector and some old damaged blades that I save for just this kind of sawing. Won't matter if the cuts are wavy and rough. The wire is still bright and shiney, not rusty, so it probably won't be very deep  :

And yes, I do like a challenge

Hope you will post pictures of the boards.  Bet it will be worth the effort and risk.

[Meadows Miller]

Yeah Its abit  like our stuff down here give it 50 odd years if its lying on the ground and upto 100 if its standing dead I cut some Red box for a bloke of his farm out of a tree his grandfather had ringbarked when he was a kid  he said that would have been the about 1900 i think they rinbarked  this paddock she was a biggun though   ;) :D :D

Regards Chris

[Bandmill Bandit]

i cut an interesting one monday. We call em diamond willow and they are tough to find in a decent saw log size. A friend of mine went scouting with his snowmobile and found a couple of live standing that had about a 7 feet of straight trunk about 14 inches diameter. Cut out 3 fire place mantles and a few 12 10 6 inch 4/4 boards he took em home and clamped to a steel drying rack that he has set up in front of his shop heater so the fan blows through the lumber stack. I would love to post some pics of the cut wood but i cant seem to get the upload to work right. it is beautiful wood.

[Kcwoodbutcher]

I just finished cutting a log that looked like that. Osage tends to grow like that when they get large. No big deal, only nine nails and a piece of wire. I had already cut out the piece of chain that was growing in it . It only took three blades to finish. Made some interesting boards with wild grain. Worse part is it was my log. Figure it will make some good cutting board stock.

[KingTimber]

I think half you guys should give up milling and get a desk job.
You got to remember its not the trees fault.

[Cedarman]

I think half you guys should give up milling and get a desk job.
You got to remember its not the trees fault.

Now that was funny. :D :D :D

[captain_crunch]

Got one along the same line feller on Red Power is going to have his neighbor with a sawmill Quarter some RR ties curious to see how fer they get. Advised him I would not let a RR tie within 10 feet of my saw

[Bandmill Bandit]

Yea that is funny but the funnier part is how does some guy with a chainsaw manage to cut those suckers down and still have a chain saw. even a bad farmer ain't that stupid. I bought my mill to escape from a desk job. and dont want to waste it cutting steal. If i did i would bought a lathe/ milling machine combo unit not a wood mizer.

[northwoods1]

i cut an interesting one monday. We call em diamond willow and they are tough to find in a decent saw log size. A friend of mine went scouting with his snowmobile and found a couple of live standing that had about a 7 feet of straight trunk about 14 inches diameter. Cut out 3 fire place mantles and a few 12 10 6 inch 4/4 boards he took em home and clamped to a steel drying rack that he has set up in front of his shop heater so the fan blows through the lumber stack. I would love to post some pics of the cut wood but i cant seem to get the upload to work right. it is beautiful wood.

That is a very big diamond willow I'd be curious to see what that looks like sawed up. I've only seen small stuff nothing that was big enough to saw really. If you email me your pics I will post them , be glad too
That piece of Osage may does look kind of ugly , if it weren't for the wire it wouldn't be so bad. I have heard of using osage for fence posts but that is ridiculous.  :D

[Meadows Miller]

Gday

You mean stuff like this Crunch  ;)





And comes out looking like this  ;) ;D



or you could tackle stuff like this  







Ive cut too much to count over the years the Sleepers are not bad sawing  ;) and Pauls the one I cut the sleepers and beams  up for on a regular basis and the reason that I have the use of two Lucas's to use as they are His mills and I have the use of them when ever I want in trade for sawing his stuff all I have to do is service and look after them in return an to top it off i get paid $25 an hour when Im sawing his timber but i only do a couple of days here and there over the year prob only done about 5000bft for him this year  ;) So I reckon Im getting the good side of the deal ;) ;D ;D 8) 8) and as he says all the time while I have you around I dont need to learn how to saw   ;) :D :D

heres about 1/3rd  of what hes got left to do  ;)



If you wanted to be real smart you could just tell those customers well buy me a bloody mill and ill do it  ;) :D :D ;D 8)

Regards Chris

[captain_crunch]

Meadows Miller
Mate your RR ties aka Sleepers must not be treated with creasote like the ones here two cross cuts with a powersaw and chain looks like you tried to cut your ute in half >:( >:( We notched two ties for gate post and all but ruined a p/s chain here is why we use ties

Ties we get are Fir or Hemlock so there is nothing inside em worth cutting anyway

[Tom]

Is that  Ankole-Watusi, or  Texas Longhorn stock?

We had some Watusi here in Jacksonville one time.  They were quite the attraction.

[captain_crunch]

Tom
She is a 4year old Watusi and too darn freindly for her own good ;D We have 5 of them. nothing gets your heart rate up like turning around and running into one of them horns . They are my Sawmill helpers If I dont feed them below mill they follow me and rearange my lumber piles till I feed em. Worst than a bunch of kids and don't leave gate open at mill or they wander right on in even with mill running : :

[backwoods sawyer]

I would rather put that ugly wire wrapped log on either of my mills before I would quarter any of those nasty railroad ties. Saws are cheaper for the LT-70 and I have a box of old saws that would do a good job of milling it. If he wants them railroad ties sawed, he will have to go a bit farther south then where I am. Rocky will mill them up but he charges extra for doing it.

[SwampDonkey]

Some of you millers get treated like the farmers with a tractor. Always getting calls to pull some nut out of mud holes on their farm.  : :D

[captain_crunch]

S_D
I get it worse beings there are 4 crawlers and 3 wheel tractors around here But I seem to have to rescue Me more than anyone else : :

[Meadows Miller]

Gday

Crunch You have to cut down to only having one machine from the sounds of it you have too many  ;)  ;D you will find when you only have one then you tend to get stuck less often Mate  ;) ;) :D :D ;D 8)

Regards Chris

[weisyboy]

these are always good fun.

beams from an old warehouse in brisbane, over 100 years old, these were 80' long beams when we started, imagine the trees they came outa.


cut them down to 12 x 12.


what we removed from 1 beam.


this is about the norm from a backyard tree.




i seam to be the man to call when ya stuck. pulled that many people out is rediculous, i really should start charing for it.

i also get the call when the creeks are up or they need a 4wd to get the paramedics to someone.

chris -- i only tend to get stuck when tehre isnt a sole for miles. and the winch is broken. >:(

[campy]

I would charge $75 an hour and $25 per blade after the first blade.

First I would dig the metal out with my small 14" chainsaw.

Then let the yellow dust fly.

They use this wood for turkey calls and archery bows.


Wood with a vengeance.
Some qualities of Bowdock.
1) Lasts 100 years buried in the ground
2) Strongest wood in north America
3) Replacement for metal
4) Grows fast and is sustainable
5) Pretty color and grain
6) Best wood for archery bows
7) Can be used around food like for rolling pins, cutting boards and spoons.
8) Heavy and dense
9) Sawdust can be used as yellow dye
10) Fruit is edible and good for lawn bowling
11) Good for perimeter security. Troops in the Civil War had to maneuver around Bowdock groves because the are so impenetrable.
12) No need to dry it is stable and will not shrink
13) Although not native to Illinois does grow in the state. Presidents Roosevelt is most likely the one responsible for the tree being there as it was one of the trees of choice used in his ambitious WPA project "Great Plains Shelterbelt." The project used the trees size and density to act as a windbreak, the goal being to modify weather to prevent soil erosion in the Midwest. In all approximately 220 million trees of different species were planted in all.
14) It produces fire works when burned.
15) John Swain made a boat called the Sultana out of Osage
http://www.lnsart.com/sultana_project.htm