Whatcha Sawin' ???

[Treehack]

Well, I was finally able to haul my mill up to our family property this past weekend to start cutting material for an eventual timber frame cabin.  First up was a good sized 12' red oak. 


Got a some good 4/4 boards for walls or floor, an 8x8 boxed heart, and some bracing. 

Next up was a maple that ended up having too much rot after cutting into it to yield anything of much use.

Earlier this year, we had to rerun an electrical line into the property that was installed nearly 60 years ago with poles that my grandfather bought used at the time, so these suckers were probably 80 years old.  But they were cedar, so worth a try right?

Each of the 7 poles had a nice 4x4 and some 3/8" closet lining hidden inside.


Next up was a nice 21" x 16'6" maple.


Got a boxed heart 8x8 beam and some nice figured 4/4 that will likely be flooring.

Last up was a hefty 26" x 9'6" American Elm and a couple smaller Elms.

Got 4 nice 8x8 FOH posts, some bracing, 4/4 wall boards, and a nice 2" x 19" center cut slab for a potential table top.


A day and half sawing, 1100 bf total.  Hopefully that is respectable for 1 guy sawing on manual mill and no support equipment(normally have a tractor with forks up there, but it was in shop getting brakes fixed).  If not, a bad day sawing still beats a good day at work.  Still a long way to go, but good to be started.

[Crusarius]

You are cutting without a cut list? or just deciding what grade the material is as to where it goes?

[Magicman]

Yes, that is a very respectable whack of lumber for 1½ days sawing plus handling.  You will be able to look at those timbers and smile knowing that they were by the "sweat of your brow".  (old saying)   

[Treehack]

You are cutting without a cut list? or just deciding what grade the material is as to where it goes?

I have an overall cut list as far as the heavy timbers, braces, etc. goes.  As far as the flooring, wall boards, roof decking, etc. goes, I know I will need a ton of that, but no specific cut list.  So my approach will be to decide what I think I can get from each log as far as the list goes and the rest will be 4/4 or something else interesting like the table top.  I only cut dead standing or fallen trees, but with over 100 acres of timber, will have plenty of material to cut, just need the time to git er done.

[fishfighter]

Make sure you seal the ends for checking on post and beams. If your plans call for a 8' post, always over size by 6"-8". Also, if a beam is called for say 6"x8", saw them no less that a 1/2" bigger. 1" is better. That way once they dry out a bunch, you can come back in resaw them to the size you need and take out any warping.

4/4 side lumber can be used everywhere in you build. One never has enough on hand when one needs it. ;D

[WDH]

I want that maple.  .

[Farm29]

Cut ERC burr oak and walnut for a costumer last Thursday all went well cedar slabs 2-1/2 in thick went good walnut had fence in it but was able to get him a few slabs and burr oak cut hard and slow but woodmizer is sending me a 4 degree to try out at the end of it I was happy and the  costomer was happy o and some 8x8 x16 cedar beams with very little bark on the ends he had some nice cedar

v

[Don P]

I want that maple.  .

That is a beautiful piece of wood but is not a structural timber.

[WDH]

Structural timber?  Shame on you.  That is table top timber  ;D. 

[Treehack]

I want that maple.  .

WDH, that's only the dead stuff.  If you are ever in Illinois, look me up.  Would love to have you see this timber.  Lots of big old trees that I would guess would tickle your forester fancy.  Might even send you home with a little of that dark colored dropper of messy nuts...

[Treehack]

I want that maple.  .

That is a beautiful piece of wood but is not a structural timber.

Not structural because it is maple, or not structural because of spalting?

[Magicman]

You had a good day Farm29.  Nice ERC.   

[fishfighter]

I want that maple.  .

That is a beautiful piece of wood but is not a structural timber.

Not structural because it is maple, or not structural because of spalting?

Due to spalting wouldn't used as structural post. When wood gets to that point, it is almost heading in the rot section.

[Treehack]

That is what I thought.  The spalting was only toward the outside of the log.  Once I took some 4/4 boards off, the 8x8 at the heart had no spalting and was rock solid.  Was all I could do to lift one end of it for hauling.  Guess I can keep an eye on it as it air dries to see if anything changes.

[Don P]

Yes the spalting, "early decay", was the reason I made the comment. Try not to use wood structurally from trees that have decay in them or even the beginning signs. The reason is that before we can really even visually detect decay there is already unpredictable strength loss, so when we see it, kick it into the tabletop pile.

I just googled "incipient wood decay" and came up with this article.
http://www.woodscienceconsulting.com/wood-science-consulting-blog-/2016/2/2/wood-decay-and-strength-loss
It is well written, short and explains better than I can. It agrees with other reading from the FPL and what the grading instructor taught us.

We were talking about the "pick test" a week or two ago, there is a good pic of it being done and showing a brash (splinter free) fiber failure, the field way to check if you're in trouble. The adjoining micrograph shows the fungi's hyphae well underway inside the cells.

If you notice the long V or X shaped structure inside the cell walls toward the left of that micrograph, dang can't remember what they are called, c... sumthin, anyway, that and the huge tracheids, I'd vote SYP

Oh maple, yes it is fine stuff structurally. Years ago at the logging congress in Madison I spent some time with a tech from the FPL. He was showing off some truss testing he had been doing comparing SYP trusses to red maple ones. The failure in a typical truss is when the teeth on those gang nail plates let go of the wood and tear out. With the maple they didn't fail until the metal plate itself tore. Pretty impressive.

[Magicman]

I started a SYP framing lumber job this morning for a repeat customer.  A previous job:  LINK


 
This is entering his Pine Plantation, but I won't be sawing any of it.


 
I'll be sawing these 22 beetle killed logs.


 
The bark had slipped on most of them, but some needed some "encouragement" and I know how to do it.


 
After I split it open the bark shells off.


 
The log rolls away leaving the bark.


 
The outside ~3" on two logs was bad with rot/sawyer holes so I had to slab deep to remove it.  With 20"+ logs there was plenty of good wood inside.


 
The customer's cut list.


 
The 2X8's and 2X10's are done so we should finish tomorrow.

[Southside]

Magicman -

Do your customers have an issue at all with denim pine?  I now have folks asking if I can produce it in ship-lap.  Times change.

[Magicman]

Just a bit of Goodwill Sawing this morning.  This tree once held a swing where a little girl spent many happy hours.  A few years ago the girl died from a seizure and now the tree has died.  I was contacted about possibly sawing/slabbing it down for a bench which will be built as a surprise gift for the family.


 
I know, not much to work with here.


 
Species?  I have no idea.  The center was completely white which eliminated Magnolia.  The bark is not furrowed which eliminates Chinese Tallow/Popcorn Tree.  It doesn't look right for Fig, but the species doesn't matter anyway.


 
The customary nail was only about ½" deep.


 
I slabbed the face opening and then flipped it 180°.   As per their instruction, I sawed into the log 18" on each end and then backed out.


 
They will chainsaw these off of each end and the bench will then be flipped over and rest on two 18" concrete blocks. I was promised pictures of the final project.

They asked "how much" and I replied, "Merry Christmas".   

I got two pictures today.  I had understood that it would be under a shed to keep it from rotting.


 
The bench installed.  Maybe at least it will bring some comfort to the parents.


 
The Mom getting the first sit. 

[Magicman]

Southside logger, about the only siding that I saw is Tulip Poplar for B&B siding.  All of the SYP above is framing lumber.

[bags]

I mill a lot of blue stain--- folks are using it for interior wall paneling, framing lumber and flooring/ceilings in their fancy trophy cabins. I haven't seen or heard of anyone using it for exterior siding, but it would be the same as any other pine siding once the MC is below 20%.

[Southside]

Guess I could have been more clear, in these cases the ship lap is being used indoors as a wall paneling. 

[longtime lurker]

 

Okay so thats SYP. I think its the first time I've ever seen a picture of the tree that was clear enough for identification. And its given me this lightbulb moment because Slash Pine is not that uncommon here in the older plantation plots, and a slash/caribean pine hybrid is a large part of the plantings around here. Some big logs in those older trial plots too but I've always stayed away from it. Interesting...

[nativewolf]

Slash pine is a very close cousin of loblolly pine. 

[nativewolf]

Profs at NC State bred Slash/Caribbean pine for years to get pine plantations established for tropics.  Fast growing hybrids but I never knew they planted it in NZ.

[fishfighter]

So, today I fired up the mill. First time in months. Been having a stack of oak that was sawed 9-10 months ago. All 4/4 cut a the time to be used in my guest house build. So today with my cut list, I had resawed, edge the stack. Didn't take any pictures, but was nice to get out and saw again for a change. Just some much using to mill to rip things down then a tablesaw. ;D

Tomorrow I will have one heck of a pile of saw dust. I will be running the jointer and planner. ;D