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MJR

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This spring I milled some willow. It was really neat looking stuff. I just took a look at it (home on lunch) and still looks fine. Try splitting some of it. It sucks. Nothing goes to waste. The woood stove will eat it. No milling or firewood this weekend, taking the kids fishing. Have a safe one.
 
irishcountry

irishcountry

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Zodiac thanks I will take your advice I would rather it last longer than gain RPM's!! MJR I really like the grain of willow and it would make some very nice looking wood to use for lots of projects just not sure yet how to get rid of the fuzz. I just picked up a couple of peices of angle iron to make a jig for my router so I can plane some wide slabs of wood need to get a large bit for it though mines a little small which will make it alot more tedious!! Have fun fishing sounds like fun! I have about a week to go on my seasonal business then hopefully I can get some milling and fishing in!! Take care irishcountry
 
Burlhunter13

Burlhunter13

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Irishcounty, I am not sure what is worse an elm or willow. Either will challenge any saw.

Band mills don’t take up that much room. Mine sits proudly in the front yard wearing its’ blue HF tarp, I conceder it a fine example of red neck lawn art. OK I promised the wife I will move it up to the farm next weekend…

HAHA! True, mine is the same way, old blue tarp lol. I need to get a black tarp or something, this is redneck :)
 

MJR

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Burlhunter13

Burlhunter13

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Back from the lake. The fishing was fine and the weather made the beer just right. I screwed up the pictures of my little willow last time. I will try a couple more. I am not sure on the planner fuzz, I will see about that next yearish...


http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u54/MJR007/IMG_1081.jpg

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u54/MJR007/IMG_1085.jpg

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u54/MJR007/Copy2ofCopyofIMG_1268.jpg




Sweet deal with the wood, nice looking :)

Also fishing had been good too! I've been doing a bit at night :)

Cheers!:cheers:
 
irishcountry

irishcountry

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Your willow looks better than mine!! With the weather we have had at least here beer sounds really good especially sitting in the shade. Nothing better than seeing your kids smiling after a day of fishing my 3yr. old daughter has fallen in love with it she even has granma and granpa fillet and fry them as soon as they come in from the dock she is hooked! Thanks for the pics irishcountry
 
Burlhunter13

Burlhunter13

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Your willow looks better than mine!! With the weather we have had at least here beer sounds really good especially sitting in the shade. Nothing better than seeing your kids smiling after a day of fishing my 3yr. old daughter has fallen in love with it she even has granma and granpa fillet and fry them as soon as they come in from the dock she is hooked! Thanks for the pics irishcountry

Actually its box elder :) Thats why the neat colors. It's from a fungus that's only in certian parts of the US. Fusarium reticulatum (F. negundi) is the name of the fungus that causes the red stain in boxelder (Acer negundo). But then again the red color has been know to form sometimes without the fungus. Anyway, neat stuff :).

Willow is also a pretty wood though, I've haven't milled any yet, hoping to though!

I just fried up some channel catfish yesterday that we caught (6 lbs -25" long), in some tinfoil on the grill with honey and lemon. I cant wait to go fishing tomorrow....it was storming tonight. Its good that you got your daughter stuck on fishing :). Dont let her help in cleaning the fish yet, she might get turned off by that lol!!! Cheers and best of luck! :cheers:
 
irishcountry

irishcountry

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Catfish is one of my favorites!! Sounds good. My daughter doesn't seem to mind seeing them cleaned (yet) maybe it won't bug her later either at least I hope it won't, hate to see her not like it as much later!! Boxelder looks good like it willow has some nice graining too but like I said not sure how you get it fuzz free!! Take care irishcountry
 
Zodiac45

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I went and did a little fly fishing fishing for brookies on Saturday. Great fun, but a pain thrashing through the brush of course too get too my spot. It's always worth the price of admission though. Little brookies feel like bigger fish on fly rods! We caught our limit and ended up making a small fire too chill around. Cooked up my lunch on sticks. Fishsicles! Yummy!:clap:
 
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MJR

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I could be wrong on the willow/box alder ID. I said it before here, my dendrology sinks. I took the log off my neighbors rot pile I did not cut the tree. I will check the leaves on what is left. After googling the two trees even I should be able to correctly ID the tree. Hell, I even cut down a sweet gum thinking it was an ash once. It made the prettyist ash boards I have done - joke. The big willow I did at the lake was a SOB and it did slow the 385 down. I will find those pictures tonight. We fried up some pike on the fire with a loon signing in the back ground. Nothing but smiles.
 
Burlhunter13

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Catfish is one of my favorites!! Sounds good. My daughter doesn't seem to mind seeing them cleaned (yet) maybe it won't bug her later either at least I hope it won't, hate to see her not like it as much later!! Boxelder looks good like it willow has some nice graining too but like I said not sure how you get it fuzz free!! Take care irishcountry


Irishcountry-I hate the fuzz on box elder! I've tried different cutting speeds and increased water flow on my bandmill (didnt think it would work lol) and still.....fuzzy edges on the boards. I just kinda picked some of it off after I was done milling. Nice looking color in it Here are some photos below....


Zodiac- Fishsicles :) lol sounds good.....I might have to use that one for the bluegill lol

MJR- Yea, I'm not too good with identifying willow yet, I haven't worked much with it. But if you dropped any form of maple, cherry, walnut, box elder, or exotic burl in my lap then I might be able to help :) I've never had pike though...is that good?


Sounds like all you guys are living the life!:cheers: I might have to change my signature!
 

MJR

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Walleye - cast iron pan, peanut oil, flour, egg, bread crumbs (cooked on flat sided fire wood - milling site - from the tree that was dropped with a 385 -milling site) a cold beer, a beautiful wife, smiling kids, and a happy loon. Life does not get any better. In the winter the northern taste just as good.

Every once in a while you need to slow things down and enjoy the finer things in life.

It was a box elder, maybe to much beer...
 
oldsaw

oldsaw

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Walleye - cast iron pan, peanut oil, flour, egg, bread crumbs (cooked on flat sided fire wood - milling site - from the tree that was dropped with a 385 -milling site) a cold beer, a beautiful wife, smiling kids, and a happy loon. Life does not get any better. In the winter the northern taste just as good.

Every once in a while you need to slow things down and enjoy the finer things in life.

It was a box elder, maybe to much beer...

Try cracker crumbs, French's mustard, and Zatarain's seasoning. Brush mustard on filets, roll in breadcrumb/seasoning mix, fry up, and eat.

Mark
 
irishcountry

irishcountry

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You guys are making me hunger!! Pike is excellent we troll for them with spoon plugs almost exclusively , my dad has been a spoonplugger for years now he is very good at cutting out the y bones and keeping lots of the meat in all the fish frys we have had I can't count the bones i've gotten on one hand. We just use drakes batter in any oil but I bet peanut oil gives it a little extra will have to try it!! Happy fishing/milling~!!!
 
Burlhunter13

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I caught a small Walleye about 3 hours ago and a small channel cat. Threw both back :(. Now I'm in the mood for some of those recipes that you guys posted. I might have to go morning fishing before work! 4:00am if I can wake up lol. There are some really big carp at the spot I fish, I don't know how to cook it to make it worthwhile...since we are on the topic of fish lol....ideas?

Ahhhh.....the finer things in life :cheers:
 
woodshop

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Irishcountry-I hate the fuzz on box elder! I've tried different cutting speeds and increased water flow on my bandmill (didnt think it would work lol) and still.....fuzzy edges on the boards. I just kinda picked some of it off after I was done milling...
I work with all kinds of wood in the woodshop, and some species, like some soft maples (boxelder is one) as well as some cottonwood species and many willows, will have that "fuzz" you talk about. It's just the nature of the beast, the way the wood grows. Progressive sanding is one way to get the finish smooth, but most planers and jointers will produce that fuzzy finish you're referring to.
 
Zodiac45

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Yep agreed, some wood just seems suseptable too it. I repainted my whole house about 12 years ago (now I do a side each year!) and pressure washed and scraped it down. These are old clear cedar clapboards I'm talking about but the pressure washer had a tendency too fuzz up the boards if you got too aggressive with it. Added another step too the process (sanding). :dizzy:
 
Burlhunter13

Burlhunter13

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Yep agreed, some wood just seems suseptable too it. I repainted my whole house about 12 years ago (now I do a side each year!) and pressure washed and scraped it down. These are old clear cedar clapboards I'm talking about but the pressure washer had a tendency too fuzz up the boards if you got too aggressive with it. Added another step too the process (sanding). :dizzy:

I hate fuzz....I didnt know that it's still there after running it through the planer. I havent run any of my box elder through yet, its still drying. I also have the same problem with the soft maple I've been cutting too.....true about the nature of the beast :dizzy:

Zodiac - We have a cedar fence at one of my dads rental properties, we have to oil that thing every 2 years and it has been there forever. We skipped the oil the last 5 years I think....kinda keep putting it off. Now its gray-scaled! By brother was messing around with a pressure washer last year and ended up crushing the wood fibers, making it fuzzy. At least it was in a hidden spot. Oil works nice on cedar....I'm not too sure about paint....solution...expensive Benjamin Moore exterior oil base paint and primer....it will cost a small fortune though, I think a 5 gallon runs around $180 out here for the paint. Not sure though, It's been awhile since we used it on the houses.
Heart goes out ta ya! :cry:
 
woodshop

woodshop

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I hate fuzz....I didnt know that it's still there after running it through the planer. I havent run any of my box elder through yet, its still drying. I also have the same problem with the soft maple I've been cutting too.....true about the nature of the beast :dizzy:
Well there ARE steps you can take if your really serious about planing very soft woods that tend to get that fuzzy finish. For one, use a very sharp planer knives. For most woods, as the knives get dull your finish is not as smooth, there is more tear out in figured wood, and you get lines down your board from nicks in the knife, but with something like soft willow, all that gets exaggerated, and a dull blade will create more fuzz and even rougher surface. In effect, when your knives are not sharp, instead of planing the boards, you are kinda "beating and hacking" at them (it's also hard on your planer bearings). Another solution if you can justify it, is switch the planer head to an indexable spiral cutterhead with those little solid carbide knives. I can tell you from experience that they produce much less tear out in figured wood, and much less fuzz in very soft wood. They do sometimes produce very slight linear lines you can sometimes see in certain grain, but they are almost negligible. Point is, they really do a better job planing with less fuzzies. Problem is they usually raise the price of the planer by at least a third, although they are getting cheaper every year. I liked them so much I got a spiral head to upgrade my jointer also.
 
Burlhunter13

Burlhunter13

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Well there ARE steps you can take if your really serious about planing very soft woods that tend to get that fuzzy finish. For one, use a very sharp planer knives. For most woods, as the knives get dull your finish is not as smooth, there is more tear out in figured wood, and you get lines down your board from nicks in the knife, but with something like soft willow, all that gets exaggerated, and a dull blade will create more fuzz and even rougher surface. In effect, when your knives are not sharp, instead of planing the boards, you are kinda "beating and hacking" at them (it's also hard on your planer bearings). Another solution if you can justify it, is switch the planer head to an indexable spiral cutterhead with those little solid carbide knives. I can tell you from experience that they produce much less tear out in figured wood, and much less fuzz in very soft wood. They do sometimes produce very slight linear lines you can sometimes see in certain grain, but they are almost negligible. Point is, they really do a better job planing with less fuzzies. Problem is they usually raise the price of the planer by at least a third, although they are getting cheaper every year. I liked them so much I got a spiral head to upgrade my jointer also.



Yea, I've seen those spiral cutters. They seem like a great idea, also your able to rotate the cutters so you get 4X the wear right? I was looking into getting one for our planer...but yea....a bit pricey. We are do for new knives on ours, our are nicked up slightly and dull...maybe thats the way to go. Our joiner is kinda starting to dull too....
 
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