Finally started on some of my stash!

[Nato]

Ahh I see. The longest slabs were 72 inches. There was some bug damage in the log that is hard to see in the pics.Was the elm a red elm? I've seen some very nice furniture made out of red elm. I've only got my saw in some american elm to date.

 

[agrams]

All I can say as a woodworker in Texas, there aren't enough dang walnut trees down here worth a hoot. Very pretty wood.

 

[IanB22]

No idea if it was red or American. Sure looked like red oak while milling, smelled similar too. Not sure if that means it was red elm. I am still searching for a finish I want to use. Any inspiring links with photos of finished elm is welcome!

 

[Nato]

Ian I can't give you any links (I don't know how) but I have had good results with WATERLOX. Also check out a book called UNDERSTANDING WOOD FINISHING by BOB FLEXNER. Its worth the price and worth the time.

 

[agrams]

ianbb, milling is secondary to my main interest in woodworking. Nato mentioned waterlox as a wipe on finish, and it is a great varnish. A lot depends on what use/style you want to use the wood for.

These are two desks I did in waterlox:

Mesquite:

Oak

I typically put a coat of boiled linseed oil, then a wipe on of shellac then the waterlox. The shellac helps build a good basecoat for the varnish and gets a quicker buildup, and provides a good water resistant barrier. Be sure to use de-waxed shellac if you use a shelllac.

 

[Nato]

Nice mesquite desk! Is the top book matched?

 

[agrams]

yeah Nato, it was a bookmatched pair. It is kind of one of the major reasons I started getting into milling. I think I paid 400$ for the pair of boards (prior to shipping costs for getting them shipped from south texas to north texas). I get tired of paying so much for a pair of bookmatched boards. And that price was well below the average I found for boards of that size.

 

[Nato]

Sticker shock! I'm familiar. It takes a special customer to pass these prices on to. (and honestly it just makes me feel poor)

 

[IanB22]

Wow....that mesquite is just amazing color and honestly, I would LOVE that to be the look of my elm. Need to read up on using shellac without wax. I will have only been using it with wax, and without the BLO. That finish you got on the mesquite is stunning.

Thanks again for the book idea, I have a gift certificate here, and I was looking for something that I could pick up and read about for finishes. Sounds like a perfect storm for an Amazon purchase.

 

[agrams]

waxed shellac will work fine if it is your final topcoat, but the wax will cause issues and wont allow additional finishes to bond properly to it if you try to put another finish on top of it.

another good book (probably second to the Flexner book) is Jeff Jewitt's book on finishing:

http://www.amazon.com/Tauntons-Comp...F8&qid=1398776108&sr=8-2&keywords=jeff+jewitt

 

[Nato]

Been real busy and no time to post pics but here is a few more from the stash. Enjoy! n8

 

[Nato]

All Cherry,Walnut,and Northern Red Oak (qs) The pic of the saw is what happens when you put your 880 to close to a 300lb slab....and it falls on it. (I saw it fall in slow motion) Yup, mamma gave me the dip $hit trophy for that one.n8

 

[hardhat]

Anyday milling (even with a csm) is a good day for me! My only problem was with my little temp sensor that I have mounted on the saw was acting up. I thought I fixed it from the following week but no. It's brand new too. I have another one on my other saw and it has worked great. I'm very lucky to have a great friend that lets me do as I please on his property. I felt bad last week with the ground thawing, I really made a mess of my access road back to the laydown yard. Hopefully when and if a couple of those slabs sell I will be able make it right with him. Money and beer always cheers both us up!

Looks awesome. Got to love milling. The bold line above made me chuckle. Fixed it in the future huh.. Just kidding. Know what you mean.

Nothing like the way that wood looks right after you cut it. Plus the whole experience is so engaging in every way. Physically demanding, requires constant attention and yields a product like no other.... Cheers man

 

[Nato]

Yeah Hardhat, it would probably do me some good to proof read a little bit! Thanks, N8

 

[BigOakAdot]

Wow dude all those slabs look amazing. I'm really close to starting all the walnut I've hoarded in the past few months. Nothing is even close to that size though.

Slabs of walnut that big are hard to come bye. We have tons of walnuts in my area but don't think I've seen much more than 30" diameter max.

Be sure to post what you end up making with them!!

 

[IanB22]

Beautiful as always! Thanks again for the elm finish advice.

 

[Grey]

Keep the pictures coming. I absolutely love to see logs opened up into boards/slabs, especially coming off the mill. When you step back and realize that no human has seen the inside of some of these logs for 100-300+ yrs, I think of every board coming of the mill as an extraordinary gift!

P.S. I made a trip up to visit Horizon Hardwoods, Kersey Summit, PA the other day to pick up some beautiful 20+" cherry flitches. As usual, I spent a little time watching their sawyer open up some beautiful ash logs. Then Pete showed me his "secret stash" of HUGE slabs. The smallest log was a 40+" Black walnut at least 12' long, cut into 3-4" thick flitches. He had several 6'+ wide logs of various species cut into flitches too. All of these were carefully, and slowly air-drying in a remote corner of their yard. I can't wait to see how those turn out in a couple of years. However, just like fine wine, no rushing it...

 

[Nato]

....Grey.... I plan on drinking plenty of wine while I wait....yes sir!