Cherry and PO Cedar at the Beach Log Dump

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Daninvan

ArboristSite Operative
Joined
Oct 31, 2005
Messages
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Location
Vancouver BC
After a delay of three weeks my bowl buddy and I were all set to go back last Saturday a couple hours to the east to get some more maple http://www.arboristsite.com/community/threads/milling-maple-in-the-mountains.252521/. Alas, as Saturday approached, monsoon-like weather was forecast. So we cancelled, and that turned out to be wise as it poured that day.

So we deferred to Wednesday, then checked with the property owner, who suggested we call the neighbour to the property and verify that the snow was gone. (!) This was a bit of a surprise, but we decided to follow his advice and check.

So I called the neighbour said he that yes, in fact the snow was almost gone, but unfortunately a huge windstorm had come through and blown two big trees down across the access road! He suggested we defer until after this weekend, when he hoped to get those trees bucked up which would allow us onto the property.

So that is a very long introduction to say that I went back to the beach to do some milling today! Got there a bit earlier than usual, caught the sunrise over downtown.

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A bunch of cherry had appeared in the log dump, so I picked a couple of them.
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Also a short piece of Port Orford Cedar, and my bowl buddy found a small piece of locust that looked promising for a couple of deep bowls.
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We made pretty fast work of the smaller of the two cherry logs. Then it was on to the larger cherry, which was only about 5 ½’ long. Since I got rid of my van and went back to borrowing my wife’s Subaru I am limited to shorter logs.
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The dust was really flying off the cherry log!
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So we got 5 slabs out of each of the cherry logs, plus 6 from the Port Orford, all milled to 2 ½” thickness. We also milled up the locust into a single 6 ½” thick blank and my buddy cut a couple bowl blanks from it.
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We had unbelievably great weather, sunny with just a mild breeze, enough to blow away the dust and fumes! So many people out walking and wanted to stop and chat, one guy asked outright if he could have a slab (“No” was my answer!), we cut some scraps up for another lady. Certainly the mystery is gone from the slab table style, virtually every single person who chatted asked us about it. I joked with my buddy if one more person asked if we were we building tables I was going to scream. Several more did but I refrained.
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The saws and everything worked great. I did not have to sharpen my chain until on the last cut with about 3” left we hit a nail.
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After the milling was done we divvied up the slabs and my buddy cut his into bowl blanks for the lathe. I also cut out some rotten sections, I am getting smarter about not carting home crappy stuff that I just have to handle until it is dry, then I throw it out anyways!
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By the end of the day the kite people were out and some clouds were rolling in..

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What were the big trees in the road? Could have been "mill worthy".
 
In your post you mentioned that the access road to the mountain property was blocked by two big trees.

I would be tempted to go just to cut the tree out of the road. Good excuse to run the saw!

But, I was curious if they were a species that you would get some use out of.
 
In your post you mentioned that the access road to the mountain property was blocked by two big trees.

I would be tempted to go just to cut the tree out of the road. Good excuse to run the saw!

But, I was curious if they were a species that you would get some use out of.

Sorry, you are right, actually a good question. I think the two trees that fell, one was a maple and one was a red cedar. The red cedar would not be of interest to me, but the maple possibly. The access road we were using actually goes through a neighbour's property and so these two are his trees, he knows were are going there for milling but he did not offer them up to us. He wants to buck them up for himself. That's OK, I don't really know what that tree is like (although it sounds big), but the ones I am going back for I know will be good.
 
Daninvan, thanks again for posting. Your pictures are very much worth thousands of words. It is great to see postings from someone who not only sees the beauty around them, but is also skilled in capturing it in photos!
 
I'm qurious about the port orford cedar in how it compares with the yellow cedar since you have milled both.
I get a fair bit of yellow cedar where I'm at but have never seen PO but I know it's popular in boat construction where it grows regionally. Oh yah, love your pics and write ups .
 
I'm qurious about the port orford cedar in how it compares with the yellow cedar since you have milled both.
I get a fair bit of yellow cedar where I'm at but have never seen PO but I know it's popular in boat construction where it grows regionally. Oh yah, love your pics and write ups .

PO cedar is a very popular local street, hedge and garden tree since unlike the native red cedar, it does not lose its lower branches as it grows. A lot of them are dying due to a root fungus, which I understand is also a problem in their native range. There is a large boulevard with a lot of various types of fairly large trees on it a couple miles from where I live and it seems every year another of the Port Orford cedars on it dies and is cut down. I see them dying and standing dead all over town.

As for milling, it is of course second growth and the yellow cedar you are getting is no doubt first growth. It is pretty easy to mill, very soft and smells fantastic. I have milled a couple of yellow cedars and found them to be harder milling than the PO cedar. The bark is surprisingly tenacious sometimes. It is very popular in fine cabinetmaking for the insides of cabinets and boxes since it is light coloured and smells so good.

Dan
 
How do you deal with the beach sand in the logs?

That is a problem absolutely. The longer the logs hang around on the beach the more sand they tend to accumulate in the bark. The wind, the rain, and the kids playing on them, all drive sand into the bark. I have tried to mill logs that had deep cracks in them full of sand and it was totally hopeless. The only way is to take the sand off before milling.

Almost all the logs I mill are city trees that were cut down by the city, they are not log boom escapees or logs that drifted in from wherever. The worst for sand though are the logs that have been floating, in particular logs that have been used as boom logs to keep the other logs corralled. They have long ago lost their bark and they often have sand deep in every nook and cranny. They look clean but they are filthy dirty inside. They are tempting because the are often a good diameter and length, and old growth, but it is just not worth it.

There are a couple of ways to remove sand from a log. First of all, and this just blows me away, but the guy who runs the loader at the log dump will often dip the log in the water for me to get as much sand off as he can! He can only do that if the tide is high however. In any case, I almost always still peel the bark off with an axe. You can see that in some of the pictures in my original post. Most logs the bark peels off readily, sometimes (like the PO cedar this day) the bark can be a real bear. But it has to be done and most of the logs I mill are not that long. It is a good task to give to a milling newbie! I also like to cut a couple inches off each end, to remove any embedded sand as well as cut out any end cracks that may be forming. I also have a wire brush and a stiff bristle brush that I also use to get any pockets that are buried too deep in crotches, etc. If there is a lengthways deep crack that has sand in it, I try to turn the log to avoid it / mill around it, or try and split the log along the crack and go from there.
 
As always, I enjoy looking at your photos! It seems to be a rarity(to me) to find municipalities that let people cut like you get to. I think it is fantastic that your city wheel loader operator will take just a little time to help you out! With what seems to be an ever increasing world full of "get rich lawyers" and people who actively seek their council, along with governments budgets constantly under a microscope, I'm glad to see that you still have access to this gem! Chainsaws...the beach....all you need is some sexy bikinis! N8
 

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