2nd run

[scogar]

View attachment 284095View attachment 284096So I sawed up the last three logs on Saturday. I sawed them to 3/4 in. Lots of sawdust - I know - but the true goal here was to gain experience and use wood which otherwise would have been burned in a campfire so I wasn't so much worried about waste. These boards are slated to be used to make wooden cases for the homebrew and wine bottles - I can finally get rid of the assorted cases, cardboard, and other containers I use.

I had a couple of small gouges that you can see in one of the pics but nothing a plane couldn't take out if I were so inclined. The situation was that there was some hanging that the carriage did while moving forward, but not truly a big deal and something that I didn't do frequently. At this point I am thinking of using them rough anyway, but we'll see. As a result of showing these pics to colleagues and friends I find that my access to wood seems to be growing. I have a friend who is taking down a SYP he claims is about 28 in diameter approx 2 feet off the ground and another friend with a huge hickory as well as a third with an equally massive dead/standing white (or red - she doesn't know) oak.

So I have a couple of questions:

1) Do you guys seal your log ends before you slab or do you paint the ends of each resulting board...I did the latter and as I was painting and painting and painting I thought smarter option would be to get the log end first and then cut. Just not sure if there is a flaw in this thinking

2) Any way to estimate the weight of a running foot of wet wood. The 28 inch pine needs to be cut and carried in my truck bed back to my house. I expect to grab a 8 foot length with the option to lob off a foot or three depending upon weight. I imagine this will be a common situation for me in Atlanta suburbs

3) Time for a new bar and chain to deal with some of this wood. My mill is a 30 inch mill and I selected this based upon the maximum length Stihl recommended for the MS460 Magnum. Now that I know my Panther II Mill it would be easy for me to extend the mill with square tube to increase the 30 inch capacity to say 36 or more. Heck Kim may even sell me a longer bar and save me the trouble (I haven't asked). No doubt I will build an oiler so I'm not concerned with that part - but I am wondering which bar/bars you would suggest as well as the chain. I have seen so many threads on pico chain, 325, 404, etc. Since I'm new this is still a confusing issue for me and bars being at the cost they are I would like to buy something in the 30-36 inch range and not have to really deal with changing sprockets et al unless that really is the right way to go.

thanks for such a great site

Scott

 

[Dave Boyt]

Scott, looks like you're getting some good straight boards. I like the blue pine stain for character. When I mill with a chain saw (Husqvarna 2100), I use a 3/8" pitch, semi-chisel, full-skip chain filed to 10[SUP]o[/SUP] on a 7-tooth sprocket.

I end seal logs as soon as practical after the tree is cut. Once checking starts, there is no point. Have you given much thought to drying the lumber? You want the stack at least 4" off the ground with roughly 1" stickers spaced no more than 20" apart between layers to allow air circulation. Cover to keep rain off of them, and forget them for a year.
View attachment 284131

Here is a web site for specific gravity of green softwoods. Looks like pine runs in the .5 area, which means 32 pounds per cubic foot, or 2.7 pounds per board ft.
Green wood density

 

[excess650]

As you increase your width of cut you will notice that your saw will be laboring more. I've found myself wanting more power after milling with my 066BB, so have converted my 3120 to 3/8" and bought a 42" bar. This will allow me to utilize my 36" mill to its maximum, and I'm not sure that I want to cut any wider than 34" slabs, EXCEPT for crotch slabs. The point is you're going to be working that 460 pretty hard....if your current bars are 3/8 .050 I would suggest that you stay with that, and run a 7 pin rim sprocket to maximize torque. A 7 pin .404 is nearly as large as 8 pin 3/8 and the wider kerf will put even more strain on the saw. Some guys are running 3/8 low profile chain for its narrower kerf. I have 32" and 36" 3/8 .050 Stihl bars for my 066BB, but have not(yet) tried the 3/8 low profile chain. I read another thread where guys were running .325 chain, but requires changing both the drive and bar sprockets (assuming the larger Stihl bars) to accomplish. I've not seen the parts required as being readily available, so the 3/8 lowpro seems more viable to me.

The 42" bar I bought for my 3120 is a Forester, and it seems thinner than my other solid bars (Stihl, Oregon, GB, Total, WP/Cannon) so I'm not sure how well its going to hold up. I don't expect to use it a lot, but would suggest that one of the other brands might be a better idea. I was at my favorite Stihl dealer yesterday and he had a 36" 3/8 .050 Stihl bar for $76! My 32" and 36" Stihl bars are holding up well.:msp_thumbup:

You questioned weight of wood, but its a function of volume. 30" wide slabs of oak will weigh considerably more than pine, and 8' slabs 2" thick take 2 guys to carry.

I noticed you mentioned cutting 3/4". I normally cut on the thick side so I can plane to thickness if desired. 5/4" is about as thin as I'll cut with the CSM. Most of my slabs are 2"-3". I can resaw a 3" on my BSM.

 

[scogar]

sorry for the late response - things have been hectic. Appreciate the replies. And yes I do have it stickered and stacked under cover. Also my previous run was 5/4 - I'll likely do something with that wood that requires planing but who knows. This batch though will be either used as 3/4 rough or 1/2 smooth. Since my thicknesser is a Stanley No 5 and my resaw capability a frame saw I decided the best decision was to cut to 3/4. I would never do that with valuable lumber but dead pine meant for practice and familiarity...eh not gonna worry about the waste. The whole log otherwise would have been firewood

I'll do some more research on a bigger bar and get my oiler built in the meantime