Milled my first Oak on the LT15.....and I'll never do it again!

[Piston]

I posted some questions earlier this summer about sawing a white oak log I have into flooring.(http://www.forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,51543.0/all.html)

In my original thread, I posted...

I have a 14' long and about 25" diameter white oak log that I want to mill into flooring.  I plan to use the flooring for a cabin and put some sort of finish on it.......
....The log has been sitting now for 2 weeks and I won't be able to get to it for another month, just trying to plan in advance 

My main problem was that I couldn't get the log to the mill.  My log arch winch isn't strong enough to lift the log, and my tractor is just a toy compared to what I needed to lift it.  The log ended up being 28" diameter and just over 14' long.  I knew it was heavy but I didn't realize just HOW heavy.  I used the weight of a log calculator (admittedly AFTER milling the log) and it came up with just over 4,000lbs.  (Had I been smart, and figured out the weight earlier, I think I would have re evaluated my plan )

For reference, my tractor lifts about 2,000 on the HIGH end!  I was able to drag the log up the road...


......but didn't want to drag it across the lawn and tear up the front yard, so there it sat (until I could pick up the new backhoe to lift it) at the bottom of the driveway all summer......


Once I finally picked up the new (old) backhoe I was able to get enough lifting power to load up the log on the trailer, and bring it a short distance to the mill. 
 

 

 

 


I've always read on here that the little ole LT15 is good for smaller logs, but too much work with big logs.  Well, I have milled some pretty large pines with this mill, and aside from it being a lot of work, never had too much of a problem, sure it was hard to turn the log on the mill, and offload the large pieces, but it was doable, so I went along with it. 
I have to admit, this was the first day we've ever milled a hardwood log, only pines up to this point.  And let me say, I have met my match! 
This log got the best of me, the best of the mill, and not only that, but took ALL day long to mill!  This log, was simply too big for this mill, but after all was said and done, we got the job done....
(I really feel like the pictures just don't do it justice )
 

 

 

 

We had to trim down some of the larger diameter areas with the chainsaw.

 

 

For the most part, just chipping away the bark was enough to get the minimum clearance we needed.


I wouldn't say it was so much the size of the log that caused us the most grief, but more the weight of it.  As I said earlier, with the large pines it was just difficult, but with this oak log, it was literally impossible, we just couldn't turn the log on our own, I don't even know why we tried! 

I wrapped a longish wire sling around the log and hooked it up to the backhoe, then ever so slowly raised the boom, simultaneously turning the log while taking some of the weight off the mill.  I was as gentle as I could be as I knew we were pushing the limits with this kind of weight on the mill.
All in all though, this method worked excellent. 
 

 


I really wanted to quartersaw as much as I could with this log, and I was trying not to lose sight of my original goal, but it had already been well over an hour since we got the log on the mill, and we hadn't even made our first cut yet, so I was losing my motivation for quartersawing since it would take so much more work than simply flat sawing.  I decided to try quartersawing as much as I reasonably could, the rest would be whatever it came off the mill as. 

[Norm]

Wow that does look like a job and a half. Good work on it.

I hate that length of log on my mill. To short to make a couple of 8' logs and too long for ease of handling. Being the lazy guy I am I'd of cut it at 10' and had some good firewood out of the rest. 

[Piston]

We were finally able to make the first couple of cuts, sloooooooowly!   

I think we took a couple slabs off the top, and then made the first quartersaw cut. 
 

 

It didn't take us log to realize that the diameter of the log, was a bigger number than what the mill could handle! 
 

 
(You can see my wife standing in the background saying "you idiots" 

....and that's as far as we made it, we were stuck.  We tried backing out of the cut but the blade jumped off, so we backed the mill head out of the way and worked on getting the blade out.

 

 

 

 
 
We opened up the cut enough to back the blade out by using some wedges.  Then trimmed down the fat spots a little more.

[Piston]

Norm, at this point, I wanted to make firewood out of the entire dang log! 

[LeeB]

Don't let one log get you down. Next timetake small cuts and rotate the log a little at a time till you get it trimed down to a size that the throat opening will handle and by all means, use that backhoe or the tractor for handling any bigger pieces you take of to cut later. I used to have a TK 1200. It's a mill of about the same size as the LT15. I cut many a large log with it. You learn the littled tricks from experiance and you can take advatage of a whole wealth of experiance from here on the forum.

[nas]

It will be worth it Piston   The width miscalculation happens with hydraulic mills too, don't ask me how I know.

 
This log took me almost a whole day, and had many of the same frustrations as you are having.

Nick

[Magicman]

As you quickly discovered, Pine is heavy but nothing compared to Oak.  Actually, I think that you did a very good job of log handling.  Even with a larger sawmill, you just "think" that you can saw larger logs.  You can, but you will still get stuck.

Bibby'ing down the butt and using wedges to back a blade out will still happen.  I have not done it since Tuesday with Dodgy Loner on that big old Walnut log.  We had to trim the butt and top, and still had to back out once.


Since this was your first "too big log" much of your time was getting your feet wet, but you were gaining knowledge that will help you next time....and there will be a next time.   
 

[Piston]

I'll try to finish posting some of the last few pics. 

It felt good to finally see the log opened up and actually start making boards.

 


We started by taking off the top of the log, a couple (maybe a few) inches above the pith, then took a few boards off until a couple inches below the pith. 
Here are some of the 4/4 boards before edging. 

 

A few boards being edged....
 
 

All in all we finished the log and I ended up with roughly 380 board feet of lumber that I'll use for flooring.  I certainly won't forget where I got that flooring from! 

Here's most of it stacked and stickered in the upstairs of an unheated and well ventilated garage (well supported underneath )

Hmmm, or not.... For some reason I can't upload the last few pics to my puter.  I'll try again tonight, I'm running out of time for the day.   

I don't know how much of the lumber is true quartersawn, I didn't take the time to count it out, but I'm happy with the results of what I ended up with.  I'll let it dry for a year or so, probably longer by the time I need it, and have it planed and tongue and grooved.  I will lose some of the width due to some more edging, but a few of the boards are very wide, at 15" or so, those ones are quartersawn.  I imagine those won't stay straight and I'll have to either edge them down or rip them in half, but I just couldn't bring myself to rip them in half until there is a reason.   

[Dodgy Loner]

Piston, I sawed a white oak log almost identical to that one in every dimension (14' long, 32" butt, 26" tip) a few years ago. We loaded it onto a trailer BY HAND using a couple peaveys and some ramps. My secret? I sawed it in half . The two seven-foot logs each weigh half as much as one fourteener . I used about half of the lumber for flooring in my kitchen in my house in north Georgia. Since I had to plane and T&G the boards myself, there was no point in trying to deal with 14' lumber anyway. Seven-foot boards were plenty of work to handle!

[mad murdock]

Bibby'ing down the butt and using wedges to back a blade out will still happen.  I have not done it since Tuesday with Dodgy Loner on that big old Walnut log.  We had to trim the butt and top, and still had to back out once.

 

Magicman, we need to get a Forestry Forum "dictionary" thread going or some such, I would like to know the origins of the term "Bibby'ing", Could be the source of hours of amusement, if we get all the new "words" up in one place, what think ye?
Piston, Great job on that log! 8)Way to stick to the job.  When the days go like it looks like yours did, you wonder why you ever started, but like magicman says, there will be a "next time" and you will be all the wiser

[Tom L]

that picture of your wife is hilarious

I have seen that same posture from my wife, just after I ask her to hold my beer and watch this

[Magicman]

we need to get a Forestry Forum "dictionary" thread going or some such, I would like to know the origins of the term "Bibby'ing" 

Hey, where is the dictionary?  I guess that I knew and forgot, but it's probably on the upgrade list.  I don't think that Bibbying is in there anyway.

I affectionately used the term "Bibbying" because it sounds better than gnawing.  It describes paring down the log butt so that the sawmill will pass.  Bibbyman has described having to do it many times and I just coined the term out of respect to him.     Sometimes It's a pain in the (log) butt to have to do it.   
 

 
Pre-Bibbyed 42" Oak butt log.
 

 
Post-Bibbyed and ready to saw.   

[POSTONLT40HD]

Piston....I can't laugh at you but I can laugh WITH you!  I have been through the same thing when I got my LT 40.
WHAT A STORY & pics to boot. We all should chip in and send you a new Logrite!
Now that you have sawed the log, the answer is no.....the log was not to big....Juuuuuuust right.

You've have your confidence built up now and a BACKHOE!

You da man! Love your post!

Poston

[Wintergreen Mountain]

    Don't let that log get the best of you. You got worse situations comming. Just saw some more of those big oaks and it will get easier.


LEON

[rph816]

Good job on a giant log.  I've spent too many days messing around with logs that are too big for the mill.  One question, why didn't you just cut the log in half (length)?  I know 7' oak boards may not be perfect, but it sure makes turning and handling a LOT easier.

Ryan

[customsawyer]

Don't say you will never do it again. I have learned lots of tricks on handling the big ones. Every one you do will be a little bit easier than the last. This is a great story keep up the can do spirit.

[zopi]

Ohhh...that hadta suck...nothing wrong with six or seven foot lumber...just sayin...

[WDH]

I would have cut it in half too..... .

Great pics!  I enjoyed your adventure almost as much as you did   .  My biggest log on my LT15 was a 28", 10 1/2 foot pecan log  .   

14' is outside of my league.  Luckily, I don't have a bed extension, so I am limited to the damage that I can do  .

Oh, and I bet that you do, do it again  .

[cypresskayaksllc]

You'll always remember the hardest toughest logs. The lumber you get, if you keep it, will hold those stories well.

[MotorSeven]

I ran into the same problem, except my big log was a 25' Hemlock that was 26" on the butt end. I had to whittle it down and use the tractor forks to turn it. Those 5x10" rafters now are part of my cathedral roof.