newbie bought a log....

[bassman]

I just paid 10 bucks for a 14ft long and about 30 inch across elm log .
I am 35 and have been into building stuff for years but as i get older I find that good wood is hard to find and if you do it is big bucks for a small piece.
a local wood guy that drops off firewood had this log on his truck and I made an offer of 10 bucks and he dropped it off!!

I have a friend that has a bandsaw mill and I am thinking that I should get him to slice up this log and I will bring it back home and dry it.

but how do I do this??

it was cut a week ago so it is green so do I wait or get it cut green and stck it in my unheated shop to dry in summer or what??

how thick of cuts should I do??

thanks for the input

shayne

 

[Brmorgan]

I'd cut it ASAP - you cut it down at the perfect time of year, the sap is not up, so while it's still green it's not nearly as wet as it would be in early Spring. And if you let it dry until summer before cutting it, it'll be hard as nails. If you do cut it now, keep it covered in an area where it can get good airflow, and it'll even dry out a lot over the winter - frost does a great job pulling moisture out of wood. At any rate, the ends of the log should be sealed with paint, anchor seal, wax etc. to help prevent splitting as the wood dries out. I generally wouldn't cut pieces any thinner than 1-1/4" (5/4) to allow for shrinking and finishing, unless you had a specific use for thinner pieces, like veneer sheets.

 

[woodshop]

Unless you have a specific need for something thinner or thicker, don't mill less than 4/4 and not more than 12/4 unless you're willing to put up with more than normal waste from twisted or cracked boards (around 10% depending on tree and how you slice it up). Thinner than 4/4 (one inch) and it will tend to twist to much as it dries to fast... thicker than 12/4 (three inches) and not only will it take a long time to air dry, but you will inevitably get some cracks in the piece on stuff that thick or thicker. If you need lots of 1/2 inch lumber for example, it's best to mill and dry it 6/4. It will dry slightly less than 1 1/2 inch as wood shrinks when drying... and then resaw it later to 3/4 rough, then jointer/planer to 1/2 inch S4S.

 

[dustytools]

Excellent advice so far. What are you planning to build from your Elm? I typically mill wood with a specific project in mind. If you know what you plan on doing with it mill accordingly and as already stated allow for shrinkage and imperfections in the milled boards.

 

[glennschumann]

Yes, think about what you might want to build with it. When I see logs of this size, I always see single board table tops. Then I think about the legs, and plan on cutting a few boards thicker... maybe carefully quarter sawn to get even grain. Is there enough to make a sideboard, coffee table, or set of chairs to make a complete furniture set for a room? Just thoughts to mull over before you start cutting.

I good luck. Elm is a bit of a poker game... I've gotten beautiful grain out of some wood, and then I've had some boards that had grain more ornery under the plane than a terrible two who hasn't had his nap. This isn't going to stop me from milling up a 24" tree that a friend is giving me that is basically a stump that splits into V's about 36" up... then more V's above that. I really won't know what I'm going to get until I actually cut it open, then see how it dries.

Good luck, and keep you fingers crossed... if anything, don't loose contact with that log supplier!

 

[bassman]

I am thinking of a table or maybe doors..

I have alot of good people that I have met over the last few years that are into building with wood .
one guy has a shop that only does kitchen cabinate doors and he is very good at it so I think he would do a super job of planing with one of his 5 planers .

another guy has that bandsaw mill so he would do the cutting.
me.... I can screw up any piece of wood I can get my hands on but I like to learn and a few of my projects have turned some heads.

 

[Backwoods]

Then this should be a good log for you to get plenty of wood at a reasonable cost in the end, allowing you to experiment some. I like to cut a variety of sizes, like has been stated above think of a project or two and cut extra of each size depending on what the log will allow. However by the time you pull the wood off the stickers you may be thinking of different projects so cut some odd sizes just because. I have several customers that call me each year to come cut another log for there stash pile. As long as you have room, having a little wood around for those spur of the moment projects can be a good thing.