Maple Advice

[Homelite]

I have started milling a large silver maple log and I need some advice. The log was about 24 inches in diameter (slightly oval) before making the square cant, and squared up the two wide faces are 18.5 inches and the narrower faces are 16.5 inches. I am wondering if it makes sense to quarter saw the log or to saw for grade and get the best yield. I have quite a bit of flatsawn/riftsawn maple already, but was wondering if getting some good quartersawn boards (starting at 9.5 inches wide after quartering) is a worthwhile effort. I am trying to debate if there is that much benefit to go with a more stable quartersawn maple board over the flatsawn. I think there are benefits to each, but would like some advice. For scale my cant hook is 36 inches in length. I turned the handle myself on the lathe out of cherry and finished it with tung oil. Here are some pics showing the log and some of the grain I am seeing after squaring it up. Its still hard to believe that this log was actually one of the branches off the tree. The trunk was over 48 inches dbh.

 

[BobL]

I am wondering if it makes sense to quarter saw the log or to saw for grade and get the best yield.

If you have a specific purpose for which timber stability is needed, eg, furniture or musical instruments etc then 1/4 sawn serves a purpose but otherwise it involves a lot of PITA turning of timber

 

[Zodiac45]

What Bob said

 

[MJR]

Make sure you use dry stickers to avoid sticker stains. I can not imagine trying to quarter saw with a CSM. Also, I found the best place for branch wood is in the fire wood pile. A stress crap shoot. Good luck.

 

[BlueRider]

WHen I mill a log I never have a clue what I will be using the wood for. With that in mind by milling through and through the two center slabs will be quarter sawn and the one or two on each side of that will be rift sawn and the rest will be flat sawn. In a frame and panel piece I like the look of quarter sawn rails and stiles and flat sawn panels. in tables I like quarter sawn legs and rift or flat sawn tops depending on the design and the client. by milling through and through I always have a nice mix of grain figure on hand.

I also don't saw my logs into cants, its a time thing.

 

[Homelite]

I am beginning to lean well over the fence to the through and through method and sawing for grade as there is too much material loss by quarter sawing. Secondly, I will end up with quite a few nice 18+ inch wide clear boards. I don't have a lot of projects in mind yet, but will likely saw it to 5/4 and will have to make a planer sled to face joint the wider boards with my Parks 20" planer. I will still have to turn the cant, but its not too bad using the jack and cant hook.
As for squaring up the log first, I have found that the extra time is worth it when it comes time to mill with my MS390. It's at the smaller end of the cc requirement for milling, but removing the extra material at the beginning is worth it for me because I am still wasting less and have better sized pieces for the fireplace. The slabs I cut while squaring the cant are passed again with either a 4/4 or 5/4 setup for more yield, so I did a comparison and I get two more boards per standard log using the squaring and turning versus the standard through and through.
As for the branch wood, so far I have found it to be pretty stable, but I will know more this spring when the temps start climbing. I have to get it stacked, stickered, and weighed down before then.

 

[excess650]

If you had a Granberg Mini Mill you wouldn't have to turn the log. Make the top cut with the Alaskan, and then both side cuts vertically with the Mini Mill.

I'm surprised to see you milling wood that big with a MS390. They're about 64cc, so keep the chains SHARP and don't push it too hard. Are you running extra mix oil, and tuning the saw on the rich side?

 

[Homelite]

I keep the chains as sharp as possible, and have four of them that I rotate through. The saw has cut a lot of lumber, and not a single problem. I run a slightly oilier mix, but haven't made it run any richer. I am able to get about 2-3 ft/min in the maple and the same in red oak. I file the rakers down enough and with a slightly slower feed rate I am able to get pretty good production. The log in the picks will take slightly more than 3 hours to mill. This includes time to cut, refuel/reoil, chain swaps, sharpenings, etc.
The only issues I have with the saw are the air filtration and the clutch. After 1200+ bf, the clutch and drum are a little worn and the air filter gets pretty full rather quickly. I am looking to sell some of the lumber I have and thinning the herd of old saws and investing in either a 395XP or MS660. I haven't become completely brand loyal as most seems to have a 395XP for milling. I also have quite a few older pices of woodworking machinery I am trying to thin out to support the CSM habit.

 

[BlueRider]

Not sure what your plans are for the wood but milling at 4/4 is a bit on the thin side. With shrinkage during drying and waste due to planing you will most likely not be able to net a 3/4 board. Most guys mill at a minimum of 5/4 with a CSM with the idea that it will net a fat 4/4 when dry before it is planed and then net 3/4 when finished.

With a small saw you may want to think about milling at 9/4 or 10/4. by the time it dries you will be able to resaw into two 4/4 boards or have the option of using the thicker stock as is. thick boards tend to warp less and thus less waste. the down side is longer time to dry as well as slabs that can get a bit heavy for one person.

a 395 or 660 are both on the small end of apropriate sizes to mill with. they are not too small but if you are planing on buying a new saw just for milling you may want to consider a larger saw if one comes up. Don't get my wrong I milled for many years with an 89cc saw and it made me a lot of money with the furniture I made from the wood. I now mill with a 111cc saw and if I had it to do over I would have bought the larger saw the first time.

most guys mill with the idea of neting 4/4, 6/4 pr 8/8. these are the sizes that most comercial lumber is milled at and most yards sell. one of the advantages of milling your own lumber is that you can mill it in sizes to suit you. if you like the look of a 7/8 board rather than 3/4 then start milling everthing an 1/8 thicker that way you don't have to do the same thing as everyone that buys their lumber from a big box store.

 

[Homelite]

As far as 4/4 goes, that is only done if I have a slab from my squaring cuts that still has a 4/4 board hiding in it, and after drying and surfacing, I have had some success with using them as panels for doors since I usually only use 1/4 to 3/8 thick material for them. I will likely stick with the 6/4 thickness for the rest of the log from a standpoint of yield and manageable pieces. I will get a lot out of the one log no matter how thick I cut it. I haven't experienced too much shrinkage to date on the wood I have milled in the last two years, but I also haven't surfaced mor than one side due to only having an 8 inch jointer and an all but functioning planer. By this spring I should have the 20" planer going and be able to start surfacing all 4 sides. Right now I just need to get everything I have on the ground milled before I get busy working on the house this summer.