My Sycamore project

rockman · January 12, 2013, 09:52:41 AM

Here is a photo of my Sycamore logs ( 4, 8 footers) loaded on my trailer headed for Mr. KelLOGg's, the second photo is the logs at Mr. KelLOGg's mill. He quartered sawed them for me, and I took yesterday off from work so I could go help (watch) him saw the last log. I had alot of fun working around the mill. Tomorrow afternoon I will go pick up the lumber and of course we will get some photo's. Thank You Mr. KelLOGg for letting me be involved yesterday, it was the best birthday I've had in awhile. 8)
Kevin

red oaks lumber · January 12, 2013, 11:05:21 AM

i know nothing about sycamore but, those look like nice logs. and happy belated birthday!

Jay C. White Cloud · January 12, 2013, 11:29:06 AM

Happy late birthday to you Kevin, What do you plan on making with the wood?

Regards, jay

rockman · January 12, 2013, 11:30:29 AM

Quote from: red oaks lumber on January 12, 2013, 11:05:21 AM
i know nothing about sycamore but, those look like nice logs. and happy belated birthday!

I didn't know anything about Sycamore either until I asked about it here. It is truely beautiful wood, I can't wait to get it dried so I can use it. Thanks for the Birthday wish.

Kevin

rockman · January 12, 2013, 11:33:36 AM

Quote from: Jay C. White Cloud on January 12, 2013, 11:29:06 AM
Happy late birthday to you Kevin, What do you plan on making with the wood?

Regards, jay

Well, So far my wifes want list includes an entertainment center, 2 end tables, King size bed, Queen size bed plus whatever else we can think of. Thanks again for the Birthday wish.

Kevin

Woodey · January 12, 2013, 12:20:07 PM

That is some nice looking Sycamore logs

What size lumber did you get them cut up into?

rockman · January 12, 2013, 04:48:14 PM

Quote from: Woodey on January 12, 2013, 12:20:07 PM
That is some nice looking Sycamore logs

What size lumber did you get them cut up into?

It is random widths from 4" to 10", 4/4 and 5/4, we did saw 4 pieces 10/4x 10.5" I can't wait til tomorrow to take some photo's.

Kevin

customsawyer · January 12, 2013, 07:42:32 PM

Nice logs. The pith are all centered so you should have been able to get some nice qsawn lumber out of them.

WDH · January 12, 2013, 11:06:41 PM

Quartersawn sycamore is so beautiful!

Okrafarmer · January 12, 2013, 11:42:38 PM

Are those ambrosia marks I see around the edges?

MotorSeven · January 13, 2013, 01:12:23 PM

Can't wait to see the board pic's. I can tell ya this, the stuff is heavy since it's full of water like a cactus :D Make sure you sticker the boards good and put some weight on top of them to try and keep 'em from twisting. I don't think Anchor seal would be a bad idea either.

rockman · January 13, 2013, 07:21:54 PM

My son and I went to pick up the Sycamore, it is very nice. I left the live edge for 2 reasons, 1 I plan on using alot of live edge for my projects, 2 since there was some stress in the logs, I am hoping after it dries it will be easier to edge? Time will tell. Any way, here are the photo's I promised.

beenthere · January 13, 2013, 07:30:09 PM

Doubling up on your stickers in your drying stacks would be real helpful if wanting to get somewhat straight boards.

Anxious to see how your projects come out.

rockman · January 13, 2013, 07:41:54 PM

Quote from: beenthere on January 13, 2013, 07:30:09 PM
Doubling up on your stickers in your drying stacks would be real helpful if wanting to get somewhat straight boards.

Anxious to see how your projects come out.

Thank you for the tip.

Kevin

1woodguy · January 13, 2013, 08:04:29 PM

hope the Sycamore works out well in the projects you have planned.
Is it stacked under a roofed over area? Couldn't tell from the pix

rockman · January 13, 2013, 08:08:47 PM

Quote from: 1woodguy on January 13, 2013, 08:04:29 PM
hope the Sycamore works out well in the projects you have planned.
Is it stacked under a roofed over area? Couldn't tell from the pix

I have A framed tarps over and around it, with plenty of venting for circulation.

Kevin

kelLOGg · January 13, 2013, 08:22:47 PM

Wow, Kevin, I didn't know it was your birthday. Glad I could contrbute to your celebration.

I wish I had taken pictures while I was sawing but I get very focused when I saw and generally don't think about it. The last log was 26" dia and the max width board I can saw is 26" so it was like doing surgery to position the log just right. After getting it in position I had to scrape some bark off for the roller guides and the top of the sawhead to pass over freely. We had about 1/8" clearance on the three sides but that was enough and the cuts were successful.

We used the inside-out sawing method so we clamped the halves together, rotated and made the 2nd cut producing 4 quarters. The rest was saw-saw-saw on the 4 quarters. All the logs were sawn this way.

Kevin and his son Cody came today to pick up the lumber. Almost all the people I saw for are just nice people and Kevin and Cody are among the best. We had a good time working together and telling stories of our experiences. I hope we have a chance to do this again.
Bob

rockman · January 13, 2013, 08:38:56 PM

Quote from: kelLOGg on January 13, 2013, 08:22:47 PM
Wow, Kevin, I didn't know it was your birthday. Glad I could contrbute to your celebration.

I wish I had taken pictures while I was sawing but I get very focused when I saw and generally don't think about it. The last log was 26" dia and the max width board I can saw is 26" so it was like doing surgery to position the log just right. After getting it in position I had to scrape some bark off for the roller guides and the top of the sawhead to pass over freely. We had about 1/8" clearance on the three sides but that was enough and the cuts were successful.

We used the inside-out sawing method so we clamped the halves together, rotated and made the 2nd cut producing 4 quarters. The rest was saw-saw-saw on the 4 quarters. All the logs were sawn this way.

Kevin and his son Cody came today to pick up the lumber. Almost all the people I saw for are just nice people and Kevin and Cody are among the best. We had a good time working together and telling stories of our experiences. I hope we have a chance to do this again.
Bob

I can't thank you enough Bob, I appreciate everything you did for me, Excellent job. If there is evr anything I can do to help you, please let me know.

Kevin

hackberry jake · January 13, 2013, 09:31:15 PM

Looks like you have a few boards that show signs of ambrosia. That is the darker stained looking areas. It was caused from an ambrosia beetle boring down under the bark. They have a bacteria or fungus or something that makes the wood change that color. Here is a pic of some ambrosia sycamore I cut.

rockman · January 13, 2013, 09:40:33 PM

Quote from: hackberry jake on January 13, 2013, 09:31:15 PM
Looks like you have a few boards that show signs of ambrosia. That is the darker stained looking areas. It was caused from an ambrosia beetle boring down under the bark. They have a bacteria or fungus or something that makes the wood change that color. Here is a pic of some ambrosia sycamore I cut.

Jake, Do you have any secrets on drying Sycamore? It is beautiful wood, I don't want to screw it up.

Thanks,

Kevin

WDH · January 13, 2013, 10:04:48 PM

The key is to sticker it perfectly level and flat. I agree with beenthere about needing more stickers. You will get warp and twist on the flat sawn boards if you do not. I go for less than 2 feet between stickers. Two feet works good for most species, but you might consider 18" for sycamore since it has spiral grain and loves to twist and warp. Here is a stack of sycamore that was produced in "The Sycamore Project" thread. 1100 board feet from the two 10' logs.

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,59483.0.html

scsmith42 · January 14, 2013, 12:48:59 AM

Kevin, you didn't ask, but I'm going to chime in too... :D

I just pulled a thousand board feet of 5/4 QS sycamore out of the kiln. That followed a thousand board feet 8/4 that came out last month. I've got a few thousand more board feet to QS in the next month.

First, ditto Beenthere and Danny's comments about more stickers. I would recommend spacing between 16" - 20" max.

Second, good choice on leaving a live edge. Sycamore has great QS ray fleck all the way to the edge, so live edge is the way to go for maximizing lumber.

Third, the two boards that were the first ones cut from each face of the quarters will most likely crook on you while drying. This is due to the juvenile wood running along one edge. The rest of the boards should stay somewhat straight.

Fourth, QS sycamore usually does not move around much while drying, so I would not worry about weighting your piles.

Fifth, by summer your lumber should be down to 15%MC, or thereabouts. Let me know if you'd like for me to finish it off in one of my kilns.

rockman · January 14, 2013, 05:30:28 PM

WDH, that is a pretty stack of lumber, I shall endeavor to make my stacks look that good when I restack and add more stickers.

Scott, Thanks for "chiming in" I value your expertise, also, thanks for taking the time to talk on the phone this morning.

Kevin