Hard Hickory

[flip]

I cut up some shag bark hickory last night for a friend.  I first cut them into 13" cants and sliced 2" down to the bottom.  It took me 2 blades and about an hour and a half to make 13 2"x13"x12'.  It seemed like I had to go twice as slow as usual and threw 3 times the amount of dust .  Was it just that dry or is the wood just that hard?  Did the bark help do my blade in?  If all shag bark is that nasty to cut count me out.  Did it matter that much that the logs were cut out of a blow down that has been sitting for a year?

Flip

[brdmkr]

I've never cut hickory, but hickory is kin to pecan, I've cut a little pecan and pecan is HARD!  I really had to slow down on the Lucas relative to the speed I use with oak.

[Ga_Boy]

Flip,

I did two hickories for a fellow a few months ago, they had been down for two years.

That wood is hard, even harder when it starts to dry some.  I was using a swinger with a 27 HP engine.  I was glad to get through them logs and was glad there were only two of them.



Mark

[pigman]

All hickory is hard.  Shagbark is really hard. Old shagbark is the hardest that I have cut.  If sawing at night you can see sparks flying from the bark.

[flip]

I moved into a barn with overhead lights-I thought I was seeing things.  Occasionally I would see a spark or two jump off the blade and I know the log wasn't that dirty.  I hope it makes good decking for him-I ain't cutting any more

[fencerowphil (Phil L.)]

When you consider the fact that most mills reject Hickory and Pecan,  this is no surprise, huh?

One former lumber man told me that they only cut hickory the same day it came into the yard.

I do believe that Pecan is the hardest wood in North America to cut.  As someone has already mentioned, the various Hickories and Pecan are all hard nuts to crack (so to speak).  They are
in the same close family of hard noggins.

Pecan logs are free for me, but NOPE, THEY ARE NOT FREE!

Phil L.

[Larry]

On old logs cut off 2-3" from each end.  This will accomplish two things.  The log will saw easier and the blade will stay sharp longer.

[Buzz-sawyer]

All hickory is hard.  Shagbark is really hard. Old shagbark is the hardest that I have cut.  If sawing at night you can see sparks flying from the bark.

Ever try a 26 inch osage thats been on the ground 20 years?

[submarinesailor]

No, Buzz - tell us all about it.

[Kirk_Allen]

Well lets just say if you think Hickory threw sparks you aint seen nothin! 

I cut up a fence post last week that my Great Grandfater put in the ground in the early 1900s.  The outer three inches was no good but the heart of that post looked like fresh cut Osage.  Even had the beutiful yellow color. 

Oh, almost forgot, it was HARDER than ANY Hickory I have ever cut

[Ron Wenrich]

This past week I cut about 10 Mbf of hickory.  I’m seeing a lot more hickory coming into the yard.  Now that it has some value, the foresters are starting to mark it.  We saw it about once a month or so.  It depends how quick it builds up or how slow.

I’m running a circle mill, and rarely have any big problems with it.  If it is fairly green, I can have the same feed rates as I do for red oak.  Feeding too slow will give you very fine dust and cause other problems. 

Hickory will dull blades quicker than most other woods.  Keeping a sharp blade makes cutting a whole lot easier.  The sparks are probably coming from the bark.  Even a little bit of dirt will cause sparks.

As for hardest wood, we put our black locust to the side and saw it when there is an order.  Usually the orders are in the spring or fall.  Some of those logs will lay a couple of years.  They will also throw sparks, and I run debarked logs. 

[pigman]

Ever try a 26 inch osage thats been on the ground 20 years?

No Buzz,   I don't want to try that with my bandmill.

[Part_Timer]

I have about 400 bf of mixed hickory to cut soon and it has been on the ground for about 3 months ya'll are not making me feel any better about it .

On the bright side I like cutting Hedge so it might not be so bad

[Faron]

Flip, a debarker in front of that blade will make a world of difference, especially in hickory.  I just won't saw without one.  I run lots of blade lube on hickory as well.  If you can start sawing while the tree is falling, so much the better.

[Radar67]

Part Timer, they have me worried as well. I have a few hickory logs that have been down for about a month.

Flip, What do you use for blade lube? I'm using water and dish detergent.

[flip]

I used straight water on these due to the fact I ran out of Dawn.  Usually run a 5 gal tank with a generous squirt of dawn.  Havn't had any problems cutting until now, well with the exception of that magnolia with guide wire hidden in it

[Radar67]

A guide wire huh?  I'll bet it helped guide your blade right off the mill.

[flip]

I couldn't believe how "unique" the sound is when hitting metal.  That special zing sure makes your heart race.  Still havn't hit my dogs yet-knock knock.

[Radar67]

So far I haven't hit any metal...yet. I am new to milling and I'm sure there are two types of sawyers, the ones who have hit metal and the ones who will hit metal. 

[Minnesota_boy]

Yep, had quite the run of hitting metal yesterday.  5 copper jacketed 30 caliber.  Only messed up 2 blades though.  Most of the time bullet only make the noise without dulling the blade.