Big Honkin' Walnut Log, Little Mill

scsmith42 · June 03, 2011, 09:24:31 AM

Don't forget to wear your spurs in that photo.... :D

Kevin · June 03, 2011, 09:36:01 AM

Trailer it up to the pig roast where we can discuss the milling of it over lunch.

WDH · June 03, 2011, 09:54:33 AM

OK. That way a number of people can ride that log. Jeff may even put a mane and a tail on it :D.

Coon · June 03, 2011, 03:55:34 PM

Thanks for the info Danny.

WDH · June 10, 2011, 10:09:23 PM

Road Trip!

The walnut log traveled 60 miles to Customsawyer's abode for final disposition. The following pics detail how it met the saw.

Would you trust your walnut with this man???? Anchorseal to the left, tape in hand, copenhagen at the ready in the shirt pocket, and a litte bitty chainsaw :D.

Cogitating.........

After all the input from the Forum and the actual situation with the log, we decided to isolate the split by sawing parallel to the widest split. This worked out very well as all the worst damage was isolated to the bottom of one 8/4 board. There was actually very minimal waste. Jake said that he got lucky. I suspect that it has more to do with skill than luck

.

We got six 18" wide by 10 feet long 8/4 planks from this log not impacted by the split. There were four other narrower 8/4 boards, one 16/4 where the split V's off (for table legs and such to keep the impact of the split to a minimum), plus seven 4/4 side boards. A bit over 325 BF.

Here is Jake puting some final MoJo on those boards after we were done ;D.

All in all, this was one of the more exceptional logs that I have worked with, even with the split!

paul case · June 10, 2011, 10:18:58 PM

exceptional job on that log you guys! ;D
that big honking log dont look so big on that big sawmill.
looks like you must have got the most out of that log as the lumber looks real good!
way to go! pc

customsawyer · June 10, 2011, 10:20:17 PM

Not to mention we had some good laughs along with the good lumber. Where is the pic of all the waste? ;D

paul case · June 10, 2011, 10:28:36 PM

jake,
that stuff never makes the news. i bet that was the part you got to keep huh? ;D pc

WDH · June 10, 2011, 10:35:57 PM

I did not want to show this huge pile of waste and threaten your reputation as a Sawyer. If you had not slabbed it so heavy, we would have gotten even more BF :D :D :D :D.

Just kidding for you serious types ;D. Amazingly little waste, but then again, all walnut is good for the right use except the bark and sawdust

.

inspectorwoody · June 10, 2011, 10:38:53 PM

Nice job. 8)

metalspinner · June 10, 2011, 11:31:04 PM

Wow! Beautiful boards and work, guys.

I see a few natural edge platters in those slabs. ;)

WDH · June 11, 2011, 12:09:48 AM

I left three of the wide 4/4 boards with the natural edge. Maybe they will appeal to someone with $ :D.

tyb525 · June 19, 2011, 10:22:08 PM

I thought this was appropriate for this big walnut, little mill topic. I sawed these for my neighbor. There was another log just like this one, plus the 3 smaller junky ones.

Despite the knots in the pictures, there was a suprising amount of FAS lumber in them. I just happened to take pictures when I got down to some knots :

:D

Both were 22", no taper

Last summer, I sawed close to 500 bd ft walnut for him. He is trimming out a big addition in all walnut. 12" wide window sills

. He's already got most of it done, but ran out and needed some more. That's what this lumber is for. Hopefully I'll get some pictures of it.

Magicman · June 19, 2011, 10:26:47 PM

Good job. Since I rarely saw Walnut, it is always a fun job for me to saw.

ljmathias · June 20, 2011, 05:41:00 AM

Beautiful job, Ty, and what nice logs to saw! Would love to cut some like that- never seen walnut this far south... :(

Is your neighbor kiln drying it before using it? A 12" plank should shrink quite a bit, no?

Lj

WDH · June 20, 2011, 07:11:22 AM

Ty,

A very appropriate post given the title of this thread! I am amazed at how little sapwood there was in those logs. Georgia walnut has more sapwood volume per total volume than what I see posted on here from the Great White North. I would be proud of the Little Mill ;D.

customsawyer · June 20, 2011, 07:57:01 AM

I would have to say that he has earned some bragging rights.

Dodgy Loner · June 20, 2011, 09:54:45 AM

You kept us on the edge of our seats for long enough as we awaited the conclusion of this saga. Glad to see there was a happy ending ;D Those 18-inchers were worth the wait!

ljmathias - Walnut's natural range doesn't extend quite this far south in Mississippi, but I have seen a fair amount of it around old homesites, usually mixed in with a few pecan trees and a mulberry or two. Those old-timers didn't want to have to walk very far to get their fruits and nuts.

WDH · June 20, 2011, 12:05:49 PM

LJ,

Then, canvas the old homesites and find us some walnut in your spare time :D. A man should not just lay around and do nothing

. Once you finish this small, little, building project, you will need something else to do to occupy your time ;).

Magicman · June 20, 2011, 02:14:33 PM

Walnut extends much further South along the Mississippi River and at least as far East as my place. I have a considerable amount of Walnut.

ljmathias · June 20, 2011, 10:15:04 PM

Thanks for all the comments- didn't mean to hijack Ty's great thread, just jealous is all. :'(

Lj

tyb525 · June 20, 2011, 10:30:53 PM

No worries LJ (although this is really WDH's thread). That walnut had been dead and down for years in my neighbors woods (which is adjacent to ours). The sapwood does tend to be narrow in many of our hardwoods. One thing we don't have around here are pines and cedar. The only time you see them is when they are planted, and that's pretty rare. Red cedar is nonexistant except in yards, that's a tree I would love to have.

Since this walnut had been dead for a long time, it was considerably drier than fresh cut, and the boards didn't move like they would from a green log. If you look at the picture of the cant (#5), the greenish wood is still wet and the purple/brown is pretty dry. I'm not sure how that will affect shrinkage, but I know he dried last year's wood in his empty grain bin for around 9 months, and so far hasn't seen any ill effects. Time will tell! It sure looks beautiful though, he put on 3 coats of boiled linseed oil for a nice satin finish that literally looks like chocolate..

Dodgy Loner · June 21, 2011, 09:20:47 AM

Quote from: Magicman on June 20, 2011, 02:14:33 PM
Walnut extends much further South along the Mississippi River and at least as far East as my place. I have a considerable amount of Walnut.

Actually, that you have walnut at your place helps to confirm the validity of the range maps for walnut. Jefferson County is right on the southern edge of the range, whereas McComb and Hattiesburg (which LJ and I have found to be devoid of natural walnut) are both just south of the range.