Black walnut mantel beam over the weekend

[motolife313]

had a decent crack in it from falling after being cut but looks really nice. Sap wood had bugs since it was dead on the tree. On the ground for a week. No bugs in the hartwood. It 6x7 by 95”. I measured then realized i needed to chop off the butt end

 

[motolife313]

The cracked opened up more pretty quick on the way home. Hopefully it doesn’t make the mantel crooked

 

[djg james]

The cracked opened up more pretty quick on the way home. Hopefully it doesn’t make the mantel crookedView attachment 1033957View attachment 1033958View attachment 1033959View attachment 1033960

Your low tech milling is an inspiration. I've lost a nice Red Elm log like that to the burn pile because I couldn't move it. I've got one of those beam cutter attachments. I would just need to make a mill like yours, which I could do.
How big of saw do you have?

 

[motolife313]

That’s a 171 and I made the vertical mill myself

 

[kyle1!]

moto can weld really really well......from the internet admirer

 

[motolife313]

I literally just got done taking a welding test. I tig tooshe passed. Metal core 2g

 

[lindnova]

Looks like fun! Unfortunately the crack will likely get bigger but that just adds character. Get it stickered up with weight or straps to hold it straight during drying or it will likely curl a lot.

 

[motolife313]

Ya I’ll get some weight and probably straps too. My top slab on this stack it starting to warp. Not sure I can do much about it. Maybe try and flatten with the chainsaw by skimming over it and put it back on the pile with some more weight on it then strap it