milling 35" poplar log

[woodshop]

A woodshop can never have too much poplar, it's good for framing cabinets, great for drawer sides and bottoms, it machines easy, it is light and strong. Since it has such tiny pores the grain is tight and easily machined. Was given this 35" dia poplar log to mill. Most of the regulars on here have seen this routine umpteen times, but I took pics today, and don't mind sharing yet again. The log has been sitting since last fall, but was still solid and clean once I cut off the ends to make it 8ft.

First I sliced off one side, then turned the 2000+ lb log 90 degrees with my floor jack, and sliced off a second side.

Since I'm not making table tops and dresser drawer fronts out of this stuff, I rarely use a piece wider than 9 inches, so made an 9" wide cant with the csm. At a full 32 inch wide cut, the csm was moving about an inch every 5 seconds. Thus it took a full 8 minutes to go the entire 8ft. length.

Slid the 600 lb cant off the log by pounding plastic wedges all four corners, which allowed me to push it off. Then used the floor jack to right it so I could mill it into boards with the Ripsaw bandmill. I sliced this one a true 4/4 since I have a particular need for 5/8 inch poplar (gonna make some bead board with it for a kitchen). I set the Ripsaw deep and just raised the depth an inch for successive cuts. Poplar is REAL easy on bandsaw blades. This blade was not a new one when I started, but still at the end of the day I had almost 300 bd ft of mostly 4/4, so lots of linear feet on the blade, and it was still cutting sharp and true. Keeping the blade out of bark as much as you can REALLY extends the life of the blade.

Splayed out like a deck of cards... I left the top board a little thick because I didn't want to run through that bark.

 

[Marklambert61]

Sweet

Nice Job....

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Nice picts., thanks for posting them!

Rob

 

[dustytools]

Nice work Woodshop. Is the other log in the background gonna be yours too?

 

[woodshop]

Nice work Woodshop. Is the other log in the background gonna be yours too?

naaah... that log in the background is too far gone, has fruiting bodies all over it, which means the inside is already starting to rot. To bad because it was the straightest log of the 5 he dropped. No noticeable taper in the whole 12 ft. Oh well, water under the bridge. If it was maple, I'd open it up and see if there was some sweet spalting going on, but poplar doesn't spalt well, a bit too soft.

 

[big daddio]

nice millin' job there woodshop. glad folks around there don't have to nail objects to trees in their yard. i might be the oddball but i like poplar, have even used it for cabinets, bookshelves, etc. like that canthook you had in the pics. never seen one like it. [could that be a woodshop original?]

 

[MikeInParadise]

Nice Log! Great pictures. The sun is out here and the snow is going away quickly so maybe in a week or so I can get back out and start some milling for a fence.

A woodshop can never have too much poplar, it's good for framing cabinets, great for drawer sides and bottoms, it machines easy, it is light and strong.

You can also build furniture out of it. A story. I had purchased a skid of rough red oak from a pallet mill that I was going to use to build some furniture for my daughter.

I had built a little storage box out of popular and when she saw it she asked if I could make her furniture out of that wood. I tried to talk her out of it but she held firm and I am glad she did. It makes very interesting furniture that is very unique.

 

[VT-Woodchuck]

Hey ws,
Great pics! I had the need for some poplar last week and what I have has only been stickered since last fall so off to the local lumber supplier. 6 - 1x6x8' came to $78.00 dollars! My stepson has a commercial account there so I ended up paying $71. So, with what you have there is worth close to $1000 to you. Not bad for a little labor.
What really gets me is I have several thousand bd ft standing in my woodlot but with a torn rotator cuff, I probably won't be firing up the saws anytime soon.

 

[rayvil01]

Since I'm not making table tops and dresser drawer fronts out of this stuff, I rarely use a piece wider than 9 inches, so made an 9" wide cant with the csm. At a full 32 inch wide cut, the csm was moving about an inch every 5 seconds. Thus it took a full 8 minutes to go the entire 8ft. length.

Great pics and comments, Woodshop. Thanks. Poplar is handy wood to have around. We used to built tobacco barns out of it dead green. It was easy nailing. But ten years later, it's hard to get a nail into it. It weathers into the prettiest gray.

Question, please: When you take that long of a cut, 8 minutes, are you pausing part-way through to cool the saw?

 

[Adkpk]

Woods you're the cream of the crop. Those pics will be worth something every time.

 

[BobL]

Nice Milling Photo essay WS!

Nice furniture Mike - they look great!

Cheers

 

[TNMIKE]

Is that extruded aluminum on the starter course?

Where did ya get it?

 

[woodshop]

...Question, please: When you take that long of a cut, 8 minutes, are you pausing part-way through to cool the saw?

I know this might sound silly, but when I'm worst case scenario, like maxing out my csm on a huge log like this where there is potential to be going full throttle for a long period of time, I do stop, but only for about 10 seconds or so every few minutes. My thinking is, these saws were designed by Husky to fell and buck huge wood, logs like this. It takes a minute or so to buck a log this size. So if I was moving down the log bucking it into firewood size, I would be sawing flat out full power for a minute or two, then pause (idle down) for 10 seconds or so as I pull out the saw and move to the next chunk. Again, I know the saw was designed to take at least that, so I kinda simulate it by stopping for about 10 seconds idleing down, as if I was bucking it into firewood. Now, that said, I'd be willing to bet a paycheck or two that even if I ran down that log full power for 8-10 full minutes non-stop, the saw would still be fine at the end of the day. I'm just being a little cautious with my investment.

 

[TNMIKE]

That might be a steel thin wall box tube

My eyes are getting worse by the day..Looks like a really good application,.

 

[scottr]

Where did ya get it?

Mike, that's the Ripsaw Guide Beam that comes with the mill. http://www.ripsaw.com/

 

[TNMIKE]

Thanks

I think I can get some cable tray that is very close to that. Im gonna look as soon as they let me out of the house.

 

[woodshop]

...I had built a little storage box out of popular and when she saw it she asked if I could make her furniture out of that wood. I tried to talk her out of it but she held firm and I am glad she did. It makes very interesting furniture that is very unique...

Nice furniture Mike, as one woodworker to another, I'm impressed. Never made anything furniture grade from poplar, but maybe I should, just to see what it can do. It's a little soft though... but then so is cherry and walnut compared to maple or even oak so that probably wouldn't be an issue.

Hey ws, Great pics! I had the need for some poplar last week and what I have has only been stickered since last fall so off to the local lumber supplier. 6 - 1x6x8' came to $78.00 dollars! My stepson has a commercial account there so I ended up paying $71. So, with what you have there is worth close to $1000 to you. Not bad for a little labor...

You might want a throw a moisture meter on that poplar, mine usually dries to 15-20% MC in less than 3 months. That 4/4 in my pics will be dry by June for sure being warmer spring months. Looks like your poplar came out to about $3 a bd ft. If I go retail around here (SE Pennsylvania) that is about what I would be paying. If I run an hour or so west though, to the more rural parts of PA, like one of the Amish mills, I can get it for less than $2 in quantity. That's kiln dry though... wet off the saw from a mill out there probably a lot less. Say buck and a half. So that 300 ft I milled yesterday in about 6 hours time would have cost me say $400 bucks. Here is the stack from that first cant, about 150 bd ft, which I could have bought for around $225 if I drove a couple hours west of me.

... like that canthook you had in the pics. never seen one like it. [could that be a woodshop original?]

I found that American chestnut handled antique canthook at a flea market for $4. I like it and thus use it better than the $75 professional one I bought because IT WORKS, grabs logs better etc.

Where did ya get it?

If you're talking about the guide beams I run the mills down the log on, they come with the Ripsaw bandmill. They attach to the log via hand tightened jig with a couple pins you pound into the end of the log. Here is a better pic close up. They sell them without the Ripsaw, but they are pricey. Think around $75 for 2 5ft sections with log attachments.

Here are a few more pics of yesterdays milling. First is slabbing off the second cant from that log and righting it with the floor jack. Then a couple of close-ups of the Ripsaw, since lots of people ask for more details on that.

 

[TNMIKE]

I checked on the guide beam price

They want 175 bucks for the guide beam kit.

 

[Matildasmate]

Hi Woodshop ...... One never gets sick of seeing great pics mate That cant hook looks alright to ! Mike that furniture looks great mate ! Cheers MM

 

[deeker]

Woodshop, great pics and story. Looks like a lot of work, and worth it. Keep up the great work!!!! opcorn: opcorn:


Kevin Davis
Ruff Cutts