Got around to dropping the base of an ash tree. This tree was diseased and constantly dropped debris in our pool, so I had an arborist friend take it down to this (7/13): Had intentions to build a tree house in it that never came to fruition. Since I am in possession of a friends mill, lets have at it! Might as well make something from it instead of letting it rot. It took a lot longer to get it down than I planned. Darn thing gave a valiant fight! Tied it off to the Jeep and pulled taught, then went @ it with the wedges and finally a crow bar.
And some more pics. I was pleasantly surprised to find some spalting in it. I got 2 of the smaller top pieces milled today. I hope to get at it tomorrow more. That base sure is intimidating! They are gonna be some heavy azz pieces! Laid a piece of my wood stack cover down to save some grass.
Got all the small pieces taken care of today. Also started to freehand some of the edges so it will be narrow enough. I removed the felling dogs from the saw to get every last inch for mill clearance. Better phone a friend (or 2, or 3), I have a feeling these are going to weigh a metric sheet-ton! 3-6" of snow predicted tomorrow so I had to get as much off the ground as possible. I didn't have a spot planned for these yet. Better get on that! Also, if you have any tips feel free to share. I've never dealt with a hunk this large.
with the ash beetle killing all the ash trees, this lumber will will be a lasting memory . there won't be anymore for some time. what are your plans for all that pretty wood?
Wow, that giant trunk left a good dent in the lawn. That 394 looks pretty happy with that big honking b&c. Not all ash trees are doomed 1964 262 6 , but yes, a lot of them succumbed to EAB. Many more were, and are still being culled to stop the spread of EAB.
I wish Mike. I do not have plans for it yet. @ the end of this month, I am retiring from 26 years in the printing industry. My wife recently became a registered nurse and will support our fam. I hope to rekindle some interests I haven't had time for, one being wood working.
You should be able to lift it with that. Just a foot of drop on it will make it much nicer on you for feeding.
Thanks for the tip. We're about to go into a deep freeze up here so I covered up the log to prevent it from getting wet with the precip we're about to get. It was a sunny 40 degrees today but felt like 50+ in the sun. Great day for being out with the saws.
When the ground is froze hard it will be easier to lift it without sinking. If you can get it up any it will help with fumes as well.
I was going to suggest that you separate the crotch from the trunk and deal with the pieces individually, but looking at the last pic it seems like you may have already. If it were me, I'd divide the crotch again into 2 sections (red lines), then slice them right through the center (green lines). Then I'd set my mill to slab thickness and get as many as I could from those 4 pieces. If I had a whole day I might even remove a slab or 2 of wane from the trunk first and then make all the slabs in one long session. Sawing the crotch the way I suggest will of course yield shorter pieces, but I think you'd end up with some oddballs if you left it on there. However, sawing it through the centers will maximize the amount of "rippled" grain effect between the 2 branches. I've seen some slab tables where the legs were made from crotch slabs like that and I'd like to make one myself one day. One other thing - I like to see where the heart center of the log is, as I reference all of my cuts based on that. Sealing the ends is a great idea, but I'd try to mark where that is first somehow so I could reference it later. Nice work so far!
Very intersting insight, thank you for sharing. I'm definitely going to give it some more thought before I proceed. I was going for maximum length for the possibility of bench tops or long tables. We're getting burried in snow right now, so it will be a while before I get back at it.
Jason, since you seem to really be getting into CSM'ing, you should probably look into getting a gallon of Anchorseal. It's only $25 and it is better than paint, and it's translucent so you can see the pith and rings after sealing.
I used to go for maximum length too, but these days try to "read" the log and let it tell me how it should be sawn. Unless I had a specific plan in mind for them, I'd rather yield the 'best' pieces, rather than the 'most'. Not every piece needs to be 8' long - in fact I've never used an 8 footer in a project yet. Most tables are 6' and under. Just my .02. If you have a Rockler nearby, they sell a knockoff product with the same sort of qualities. I think they just call it "green lumber end sealer" or something. I don't remember if it was cheaper, but I've got an outlet store nearby and could have it in hand the same day.
