Had the pleasure of doing some milling yesterday with buZZsaw BRAD. It was like a buffet for the mill : Ash , Hemlock , Cedar and Pin Oak were all on the menu. Still a learning curve but things just keep getting better. I did learn to keep an eye on the height of the dogs that hold the log. missed it by only a fraction of an inch but that's all it took. That blade is now on the hook in the to sharpen category. He has this hidden talent for finding logs and they just keep coming , he was kind enough to bring three out of four that were cut. Something tells me that it's not over yet and he lives extremely close so there won't be much time for the mill to collect dust. Thanks for the fun buddy and hope we can do it again soon. BRAD , you took some pictures so feel free to post them if you would like. I myself did not take any pictures
Yeah I get your point. My photo journalist took some. I was not thinking and had no camera ( or phone in todays world )in my pocket so I got zilch on that end. Actually I will say it was kind of nice ; no phone = quiet time I could enjoy without the constant " bing-doing-ring " that happens too often during a normal day. I'm sure BRAD will be chiming in with evidence on this.
Here's the pics Ash up first. Then some red cedar (juniper) i had saved from a couple years ago. Dump scrounge. I found myself admiring the cedar more so than watching him mill. I have a new wood to love (no snide comments FHC, please) Hemlock Pin oak All in all a fun day milling. I really enjoyed watching logs come to life. The four hours passed in a blink. I have use for the hemlock already and the cedar will become some outdoor furniture. More logs to come of course.
Stored the cedar in an extra room downstairs Smells better than musty room it will collect sawdust! Cant believe how much it made yesterday!
Thanks for posting that , You always seem to sneak in a picture or two or 10 that I have no idea you took. Great job ; you missed your calling as an arborist and a photo journalist. Glad you can put your hidden talents to work. Hey you show me your basement I should show you mine. Oak , Hemlock , cedar . elm and ash all stickered and stacked. The only bad thing besides running out of room is we went from cedar smell last week to oak this week. It's all good !
Only one can full , 40 something gallons whatever it is. Added a little more after you left to top it off. Not sure how much went back to mother nature bit sure there was more than I would think. Couldn't imagine if it was all cut with a chainsaw mill.
Yeah, the csm is slow as dirt. That’s one of its biggest drawbacks. Great planks! Didn’t look like you sealed the ends with anything Brad. Might wanna slap something on there to help with splits/checks/cracks.
Ill see if i can scrounge some pizz elm! Not sure if it was the same as you milled the first time, but ive been told its smells like pee! Wondering how stable the pin oak will be drying out since its holds so much moisture?
I dont have anything on hand. Those logs are maybe two years old. I jabbed them with the MM this morning and 17%. Question for you...what is the ideal MC before using for a project. I dont think red cedar is that prone to warping.
I’m not a pro.. I’d be looking for about 10% or less. mike bayerl might chime in as well. He has dried many more bdft than I.
Do you want to use indoors or outdoors? For outdoor projects, ideally you would stack and sticker it until it stops losing moisture (equilibrium moisture content, EMC). This depends on your local climate. I've read that around here wood will equilibrate around 12%, less in the desert, more in rainforest. Here's the USDA document where you can look up your local climate and EMC for air dried lumber https://www.esf.edu/wus/documents/EMCofWoodFPL268.pdf. You can stop there if using the wood outdoors. If you want to use it indoors, you need to get it closer to 8%. To do that, you need to run it through a kiln, or if you have the room and time, you can bring the airdried wood into your house and let it equilabrate again in there. Ideally, you should run all wood through a kiln to sterilize it, killing the insects, fungi and bacteria.
Probably used mostly for outdoor furniture. I dont have a kiln so its indoor dried til ready for use. Wehave a rasied ranch so its cooler on the lower level. I only have the cedar down there for now. Not much room. The hemlock will be ripped with circular/table saw and used for strapping on a project. That is stickered outdoors out of the sun. I can live with some cupping if it does.
Sounds good. If you want to store or dry lumber in your basement get a cheap temp/humidity meter and make sure the humidity is not too high. You can always run a dehumidifier if you need to or want to accelerate drying.
