I know, I know.....it's been a while since I posted. Been very busy and hectic, even a bout of spring burnout after that hectic maple sugar season. But I'm still here every day, I promise! Amid the piling up of tree jobs we have already this spring, I had a call from my buddy the other day about a nice walnut log that he and his dad cut down on their property. What better time to try out the mill I bought from Trundle...... This was my first time milling, and even though I was skeptical (even after talking with many of you guys on here), I'm a believer now. It was a blast! Used my Stihl 064 and a 28" bar. Got the top and one side slabbed when ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE.....the worst hail storm I ever saw hit us last evening, 20 minutes and almost golf - ball sized hail!! But all that rain brought out the absolute STUNNING beauty inside the walnut log! I can't wait to go up tomorrow night and finish it......
Nice grain. That is worthy of an heirloom piece. I have a two inch slab that was cut from near a crotch. She went all twisty as it dried. I still may plane it out though.
Gee ya don't want that hail poppin ya on the head That walnut looks good man , looks like a nice clean cut
Beautiful walnut, Scotty! I have some locally sawn English(so I was told) walnut, I'm not versed in the dif walnuts' characteristics, but what I have in the basement has old growth appearance(tree was about 3-4' diam), and darker, almost deep purple tone to it... Maybe I'll offer a slab up at secret Santa time
Awesome log and a first milling experience you'll never forget!! I wish I could mill, just can't figure out how to get the big logs home.
The beauty of the Alaskan mill is its portability - Though its slower cause of the wider kerf compared to a circular or bandsaw mill & much more work,the rewards for your patience & hard work are excellent.Depending on the size of your saw engine,bar length & size of mill,your guide plank or aluminum rails for the first crucial cut - its no more than 100lbs max,depending on what saw I use most is around 50-60 for me. Much easier carrying the mill set up into a tight yard & carry the planks out.If I had to bring all the big logs home it wouldn't get done,milling on site is the best way,long as property owner understands about the piles of sawdust & several hours of noise.Some are OK with it,others not so much.....I can carry the mill into places that no vehicle or trailer can get to -slopes on rough ground,narrow spaces between 2 houses etc
Thanks fellas.....I gotta say thistle and thewoodlands were big factors in me buying this mill in the first place. I've milled lots of logs with round blade and bandmills, this is a neat venture because of the versatility and portability. Hope to finish this log up tonight!
Beautiful grain. Are you going to air dry the boards? I personally like the color of air dried walnut.
Great post Scotty Overkill. That was cool, a little bit of everything. Big azz hail pellets and some nice colored and grained walnut. If you dont use the slabs for yourself they may fetch a pretty penny.
ID1 yes I'll air dry them. I'm only keeping some of the wood, giving the rest to the homeowner. Still undecided exactly what I want to cut it into. I may do a thick slab and make gunstock blanks out of the center cant. Or maybe just a bunch of 1" thick boards. Not sure.
WOW!! That is some beautiful stuff Scotty! Are those the 36" rails? I got to do some milling myself last weekend. Like Christmas with a workout! Good times.
Cool! Our weather looks much better today. Can't wait to see the results. My vote is cut thick enough for gunstocks if you don't have any other firm plans. It will be worth more, easy to sell and will take less cuts than 4/4, win-win.
At least 10/4 . I'd probably add 1/8th or so for shrinking during drying. The hardest part will be waiting 3 yrs while they dry... it goes faster than you think though
This size is also good for furniture, carving etc. It can also be resawn into 5/4 stock later on as needed.
