Any advice for using LumberMaker?

[Baron11]

I realize many of you folks here have some form of a 'real' milling tool or set-up. I purchased this LumberMaker contraption in the hopes that I can salvage some boards from two old cherry trees that have been on my property longer than I have been alive. The trees are about 18" in diameter at most give or take a few inches depending the side of the tree you are looking at.

Any advice on best practices? I am not asking for advice on what to buy, I have already made the purchase. It may not be the best tool and it may take me a loooooong time to make lumber, I am simply asking what advice you have to offer to make the best of a potentially challenging situation. Thanks in advance.

Kind Regards,

Bryan

 

[flht01]

I'd start with suggesting a ripping chain to match the saw/bar combination your going to use. Having the right chain and keeping it sharp makes a lot of difference. I have a 36" alaskan and have spent a lot of time making great looking firewood, until I started taking my time getting a straight guide beam setup, that is. :hmm3grin2orange:

Maybe someone here with lumbermaker experience will step up.

Good luck and keep us posted,
kevin

 

[coveredinsap]

The LumberMaker doesn't appear to me to be any better or worse than any other handheld chainsaw mill. It's just a matter of personal choice....vertical cutting or horizontal cutting.
About the only advice I can give you is that most cherry is hard stuff... harder than oak, so it will likely take a hefty cc chainsaw and (constantly sharpened) sharp chain to cut. Maybe not so bad, though if your logs are only 18" or so.

That...and keep your feet out of the way

Take some pics so we can see how it goes.

By the way, I generally use a different chainsaw to freehand square up the top of the log on logs that are really irregular.

 

[WRW]

Where you at in Va.?

 

[Baron11]

Fredericksburg VA

Hartwood area.

Regards,

Bryan

 

[WRW]

OK, I'm close and have a bandmill. If it's 6' long (minimum), and if you want, we can mill it on that...N/C. I'll even throw in some end sealer.

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

You guys are neighbors!

 

[hautions11]

Lumbermaker

I cut some nice oak quarterswan boards with a lumbermaker. Not as accurate as my Alaskan, but if you are carefull it does a nice job. Take a look at the picture attached. Doing 18" logs should be no problem. I do recommend the ripping chain. I use Bailey's.

 

[woodshop]

I have to agree with Kevin, a good sharp chain is essential to any chainsaw milling but my best milling resulted when I took the extra time to set up a good strait solid guide beam. If the saw has a good solid strait guide, you will end up with strait milled boards. I cheat though, and use the 2 by 6 hollow aluminum guide bars that came with my Ripsaw for all my milling, alaskan included. I suppose you could adapt them to the lumbermaker, not sure. You can buy them on the Ripsaw website. A bit pricy, but they sure beat a 2x4 by a mile.

Not sure what kind of cherry Sap is talking about there in California that is harder than oak. Here on the east coast, every cherry (prunus serotina) I ever milled was at least as easy going down the log if not easier than oaks of similar diameter. It tends to burn easier, get hot and thus the bandsaw blade starts to wander right away if not sharp, but oaks I've milled are usually tougher going.

 

[Newfie]

Not sure what kind of cherry Sap is talking about there in California that is harder than oak. Here on the east coast, every cherry (prunus serotina) I ever milled was at least as easy going down the log if not easier than oaks of similar diameter. It tends to burn easier, get hot and thus the bandsaw blade starts to wander right away if not sharp, but oaks I've milled are usually tougher going.

Like wise experience in milling here, with csm and bandmill. Cherry is easier to mill than red or white oak.

 

[Lakeside53]

Like wise experience in milling here, with csm and bandmill. Cherry is easier to mill than red or white oak.

Same up here in Western WA. Easier then maple any day. Maybe Sap tried it with his 455.

 

[CaseyForrest]

Ill jump on that wagon too, No way is cherry harder than oak.

 

[Newfie]

With any of the csm type jigs, the key to a quality end result is the setup and the guide beam. But that's been said by others here already.

 

[Finnbear]

About the only advice I can give you is that most cherry is hard stuff... harder than oak, .........

I've trimmed quite a few houses in both cherry and oak and unless you have some different cherry in CA, oak is always harder than cherry. As hardwoods go, cherry is relatively soft when compared to oak or maple or ash or hickory.
Finnbear

 

[Baron11]

Personal experience.

Ok, from my personal experience, I have worked with both seasoned cherry and seasoned oak. I have found that the cherry is much harder to work with. It has in the past smoked drill bits, oak, in my experience hasn't. Maybe when the trees are alive or just cut oak may well be harder, I don't know. The cherry trees in question did give my saw much more trouble than the oak did. Then again I cut the cherry trees down because they died. I cut the oak tree down because its roots decided they wanted to play practical jokes on me by plugging up the pipes in my septic system. So in short the cherry may have been harder because it was standing dead. The oak may have been easier because it was happily sucking up as much water as it could find and was quite green and quite alive.

Regards,

Bryan

 

[Baron11]

WRW, wow thanks!!

OK, I'm close and have a bandmill. If it's 6' long (minimum), and if you want, we can mill it on that...N/C. I'll even throw in some end sealer.

WRW,

What an incredible gesture. I would love to take you up on your offer. I really appreciate it. I would be more than happy to work with your schedule and do anything I can to help out. Let me know what we can work out.

Thanks!!!!


Kindest Regards,

Bryan

 

[WRW]

Look for a PM.

 

[woodshop]

Ok, from my personal experience, I have worked with both seasoned cherry and seasoned oak. I have found that the cherry is much harder to work with. It has in the past smoked drill bits, oak, in my experience hasn't.

Not to beat this to death, but again, the cherry I work with in my woodshop is definitely not as hard as the oak I work with. Either red or white. And I'm talking about dry seasoned cherry. Ripping a cherry board, or even running it through the planer, is generally easier on a softer wood like cherry or walnut, than the oaks. Is cherry harder to WORK WITH? ...you bet! Maybe this is what he is talking about. It's easy to butcher a piece of cherry on a band saw or table saw. If your blade is not very sharp, it will burn the wood in a heartbeat, just like hard maple will. Yes a drill bit will "smoke" in cherry if its not sharp or your rpms on that drill are too high, definitely will burn. Running a piece of cherry past a router bit on the router table same thing. If you hesitate for a second at one spot, it will leave a burn mark at that spot you will have to sand out, guaranteed. Unlike oak, cherry is not very forgiving to the woodworker. But as far as hardness goes, it's not as hard as oak, and in my humble opinion, is easier to mill than oak because it's generally a little softer, and thus easier going down the log. My woodcrafts made from cherry sure are beautiful when done right though, with that ray fleck that shimmers when the sun hits it just right, so its worth the trouble working with it. I love the sweet smell of it going through my saws also, too bad it's getting so expensive.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I also find cherry easier to saw than oak. I really enjoy sawing cherry when i harvest one out of my woodlot! For me, it's NOT harder on the bands than oak either..

Rob

 

[Newfie]

Boy Rob, pictures of those cherry boards still give me a woody(so to speak). Sweet looking stuff.


Cherry is easy to mill, difficult to machine in the woodshop after drying.