Milled With The Revised Mini-Mill Today Post 1

[820wards]

Jerry,
Always good to save a crotch:devil:. I think the reason they don't split as much is the grain going so many different ways.
Hot and dry should only affect the speed in which they dry, my kiln is 100- 120*F until the wood's dry and 140 to kill bugs.
Splitting seems to get me most when the slabs are thicker than 8/4", to me, split and planer snipe seem to be enough of a reality that I cut everything long in order to not ruin some choice grain figure.

This is the first time I've tried milling live oak. Most of the oak I mill in Black Oak, and usually don't have a problem with it splitting. Since I don't have a tractor to move milled wood I keep everything to 8' long max.

I would think a full barrel would be a good trade for those crotch slab tables.

I'm calling him tonight about taking the wood over. I just got a call from a friend who knows someone who has walnut trees cut down/up and found out I have a mill. It never ends...

jerry-

 

[Hillbilly Rick]

Walnut I just came across some nice walnut in the woods but I'm having trouble heaving them up on my shoulder and putting them in the truck. I'll have help in a few days, too muddy now.

 

[john taliaferro]

Well i thought you were a hillbilly , yes the snow melted now drying out here . you loading the logs or the lumber? I just got it , Jerry puts a few old boards in the wine cellar then goes to check on um every day, he may be smarter than we think .

 

[820wards]

Walnut I just came across some nice walnut in the woods but I'm having trouble heaving them up on my shoulder and putting them in the truck. I'll have help in a few days, too muddy now.

Well the walnut fell through today.... :-(

I called the fireman guy this morning to get directions and he tells me his friend changed his mind about the walnut and decided he wanted it. So I was bummed. So I spent the day using my mini-mill to trim some of the slabs I had milled last week and a 3" thing black walnut slab Bluerider gave me.

So, about noon my two friends who work where I retired from came by to see my milling in person. One of them tells me he know a friend who is cutting down two ash trees in a couple of week and that I can have the trees to mill if I like. Not as good as getting the walnut, but at least it's wood I would like to get.

jerry-

 

[820wards]

Well i thought you were a hillbilly , yes the snow melted now drying out here.

I was born in Berkeley,CA so I don't think I would qualify as a hillbilly, but I do like the hills and the only trees I hug are the ones I'm cutting down or milling. I have a second home in the CA gold country and love every minute I'm there.

you loading the logs or the lumber?

Didn't get the walnut today. The guys friend who didn't want it decided he wanted it after all. :-(

I just got it , Jerry puts a few old boards in the wine cellar then goes to check on um every day, he may be smarter than we think .

Being diabetic I can't drink much alcohol, but I do have a glass of wine or a beer now and then. I'm taking the oak I trimmed today over to his winery Saturday. Another friend asked me to go Dungeonus Crab fishing Friday in trade for my scrap cutoff stuff I made today. What a trade... Maybe I'll see if I can get some wine on Saturday from the winery, some sourdough french bread to go with the crab and have a party Saturday night. I have a big crab pot I can cook the crab in and I'll drive my neighbors nuts with that smell.

jerry-

 

[jimdad07]

Hey great work Jerry. Looks like Bob has a little competition in the design build area. Very smart idea with the saw horses.

 

[820wards]

Hey great work Jerry. Looks like Bob has a little competition in the design build area. Very smart idea with the saw horses.

Jim,

I actually remembered seeing something that Bob built awhile back that gave me the idea to suspend the smaller logs between saw horses. Bob had used a set of low saw horses for his mini-mill version. The ones I have are a set of Sears metal saw horses my son found at a garage sale for $5 ea.

What I've found using a rail setup is that once I have my first cut I can then tek screw the rail board to the flat first cut and proceeding second/third/fourth cuts. I set my rail board up 1/2" off my cut line I mark and the saw is right in line with the marked line. Yesterday I was even cutting pieces that were only 18" long and was able to make a nice square block using this setup. I made them 6" thick so that I can run them through the joiner and then later through my tables saw and plainer.

I think I will be looking at making a log riser using a couple of screw jacks that come out of Hummers, they are real tall. The jacks are really to support the heaver logs when tek screwed to my rail board and keep the rail board from bowing when heavy logs attach.

jerry-

 

[Hillbilly Rick]

Well i thought you were a hillbilly , yes the snow melted now drying out here . you loading the logs or the lumber? I just got it , Jerry puts a few old boards in the wine cellar then goes to check on um every day, he may be smarter than we think .

John, I'm haulin' logs, I don't have a winch yet so it takes a second vehicle to get 'em on the truck.

Jerry, crabs, wine and french bread, now that's teasin' the neighbors.

 

[820wards]

John, I'm haulin' logs, I don't have a winch yet so it takes a second vehicle to get 'em on the truck.

Jerry, crabs, wine and french bread, now that's teasin' the neighbors.

I'm crying... :crying::crying: We didn't get to go crab fishing today because the skipper couldn't find a deck hand.

I use my neighbors low tandem axle trailer when I need to get big logs. I use a chain connected to the large D-loops at the front of the trailer and use a come-along to pull them into the trailer. I think my next toy going to be a portable electric wench. I have a 12V auxiliary connection on the back of my truck I can operate the wench with. I'm getting too old to be using a come-along that much. Last time I had my son to pull the logs into the trailer with the come-along.

jerry-