Getting ready to mill my first log

[49KB-2]

The mission: Mill some boards from a Hackberry tree my aunt&uncle had taken down today.

The tools: an MS460 W/ 24" roller tip bar, a soon to be bought Alaskan mill, and anything else I need to get.

The inevitable newbie questions: For mounting on a 24" rollertip bar should I get a 24" or 20" mill? Should I let the logs dry any before milling, or should I get on this asap? Is there any sort of rule of thumb for the relationship between size of the board milled vs. after drying and planing? I would like the finished boards to be 1" thick. Final question(for now); Anything special I should know about Hackberry wood?


This chainsaw thing is an insidious affliction; 6 months ago I just wanted to replace a worn out Homelite, now I have an MS460, an old 041AV, I'm repairing the Homelite Super2, and now I'm buying a CSM. But thanks to this site I'm cutting more wood than ever before, safer and better then before, and even enjoying it more.

Thanks,
Phil

 

[zopi]

In my (inexperienced) opinion...get a 36"...at least....it's easy to adjust downward, but it's hard to stretch one....

as you say...it's an insiduous thing...

 

[oldsaw]

If you want the Hackberry to look nice, you are going to have to move fast. It will discolor very quickly in warm weather to kind of a bluish tint. Other than that, it is pretty stable and is very plain but pretty in that plain sort of way.

Mark

 

[aggiewoodbutchr]

Get the 36" for sure.

Typically, if I'm looking for 1" finished, I mill boards less than 6" wide at 1 1/8" and anything wider at 1 1/4"

I bit if info I learned about Hackberry... The lumber is susceptible to staining if not dried quickly. Many custom mills will send it directly to the kiln without delay if this needs to be prevented. I personally like the staining as it add character to the finished product.

Good luck and post pics.

 

[zopi]

and everything you buy from here on out is aggiewoodbutcher's fault, you can tell your wife that, I did.

(bought the superstruts and crap for my rails today...assembled the whole thing including feet in a half hour...thinking of a new foot/dog design already...I have a lathe and i'm dangerous...:yoyo:


my bloody mill better get here.

 

[aggiewoodbutchr]

and everything you buy from here on out is aggiewoodbutcher's fault, you can tell your wife that, I did.

(bought the superstruts and crap for my rails today...assembled the whole thing including feet in a half hour...thinking of a new foot/dog design already...I have a lathe and i'm dangerous...:yoyo:


my bloody mill better get here.

That's funny 'cause when my wife gives me crap, I blame you guys!

 

[zopi]

whatever works...:biggrinbounce2: :chainsawguy:

 

[BobL]

That's funny 'cause when my wife gives me crap, I blame you guys!

You may be amused over a recent conversation I had with my wife about this. It started as a question from her about ,
"Why . . . . . . ."?
My response,
"You know that guy from the Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind Movie . . . . ."?
"Yeah, so what"!
"Well he now lives on the Web and he drives all these other guys including me into doing things with chainsaws"
She doesn't know about foilies yet, bit when she finds out I'll be in trouble!

 

[sawinredneck]

Hackberry has a white heartwood with blue streaks. It will discolor to a bluish/black streaks quickly. I rather like the blue, but don't care for the black myself. Figure what you NEED to mill, and add 6" for waste, clamps etc., then add at least another 6" IMO.

 

[49KB-2]

and everything you buy from here on out is aggiewoodbutcher's fault, you can tell your wife that, I did.

One of the advantages of being single: I don't have to have explanations(but I'll keep that one handy in case I need it someday)

I have a lathe and i'm dangerous...:yoyo:


my bloody mill better get here.

I love using the lathe and mill at work, they make me want to try and make everything.

 

[49KB-2]

Thanks for the tips, I'll try and mill it as soon as I can. Luckily I'm not looking for a certain amount of wood, whatever my uncle makes will be dictated somewhat by how much wood we get. They had to take down the tree because of rot in the base, and the trunk was rubbing the power lines. They would just like to have some piece of the tree as an heirloom.

 

[sawinredneck]

and everything you buy from here on out is aggiewoodbutcher's fault, you can tell your wife that, I did.

(bought the superstruts and crap for my rails today...assembled the whole thing including feet in a half hour...thinking of a new foot/dog design already...I have a lathe and i'm dangerous...:yoyo:


my bloody mill better get here.

I have a sawzall, and I am NOT afraid to use it!!!!

 

[kennertree]

I'm gonna have to get a csm. You guys sound like you're having alot of fun.

 

[BobL]

I'm gonna have to get a csm. You guys sound like you're having alot of fun.

Hey - why stop at one?

 

[woodshop]

Darn right we have fun, and burn calories doing it... and the icing on the cake is that after it's all said and done, we have a pile of lumber to play with.

As others have said, for lots of reasons, don't get anything less than a 36" csm. Bang for the buck it's the only way to go. Bottom line is, if you don't, sometime in the not too distant future you will wish you had.

Milling IS addicting... go ahead and tell your wife it's all our fault, we don't mind, we are used to that. :biggrinbounce2: