Milled some Red Oak

[wdchuck]

9 hour day for this project, but the truck rode great on the way home.
Suggestions welcome on how to approach this situation better, how to get better lumber out of the log.
Cant hook is great for bark removal.
No sign of checking anywhere, even after sitting with a cut face all winter, will be weighing a board during unloading, my guess is over 125# each. 1-1/4" x 28" x 78", the other 13' is firewood , I hadn't found this site yet when I was cutting these logs up, now I look at milling potential first and firewood after. Something else that was nice surprise, the 460 w/32"bar fell through that butt cut like there was no wood, not at all like the willow experience. I suppose having a pic of the milling setup would have been nice, 075 w/42"bar and 5* ripping chain on a 44" GBmill, maybe next log.
One thing though, by the time I got home, I felt like a tackling dummy at spring training, it's not the light pressure applied during milling, it's everything else that wears a guy out.

 

[CaseyForrest]

Looks good. Nice looking lumber too.

 

[oldsaw]

I had just about that much walnut in my wife's Windstar. Had less than a mile to get home, but it was hard on the rubber bumpers on the passenger side and listing like the Titanic

Nice score. That is some wide stuff, gotta love it when it works out like that.

Mark

 

[dustytools]

Very nice looking stuff there wdchuck! What were you doing with the rope that was tied to the cant-hook and running around the tree? Just curious.

 

[aggiewoodbutchr]

Nice!

 

[stonykill]

nice score. What are you going to do with the boards? If at all posible, most likely not in this case, its always best to roll the log as much as possible. A few reasons. 1st you get better quality furniture boards out of it. Flat sawn wide boards like that are prone to a lot of warping and checking. 2nd as you roll the log, the milling gets easier as the diameter of the log is constantly decreasing. You accidentally end up with some quatersawn in that process. I reallize a log that big is nearly impossible to roll, but sometimes you get lucky and a lever and gravity can work in your favor. Nice looking load of wood!

 

[wdchuck]

Thanks guys.

The wife is helping me stack,sticker,cover it today.

Would an end treatment still be helpful at this point?
Would ripping the boards now, help with straighter/flatter outcome?

Very nice looking stuff there wdchuck! What were you doing with the rope that was tied to the cant-hook and running around the tree? Just curious.

THat was the only way I could roll the log away from the stump, as it turned out it was just enough to allow the powerhead in-between the log end and the stump. The rope went to the truck, no harm to the tree that was acting as a pulley, two attempts at rolling and the log was up against some large rocks protruding from the ground on the uphill side, so that was the furthest it could roll in that direction, there was no way to roll it the other direction, although it would have been better.

I put a chain on the stump root to try and pull it over and away, but it didn't budge, and as you can see, access was pretty limited for a newbie like me.

 

[dustytools]

I got ya. Thanks.

 

[stonykill]

Thanks guys.

The wife is helping me stack,sticker,cover it today.

Would an end treatment still be helpful at this point?
Would ripping the boards now, help with straighter/flatter outcome

I would still treat the ends. When I mill wide flat I rip them after they are dry. It may make them easier to handle now if they are ripped. I have only ripped a few wet boards with a circular saw, and its no fun at all.

 

[wdchuck]

I look around for some latex paint to put on the ends then.

Ripping a wet board seems a little taxing on a circular saw, I did clean the edges up on the silver maple that was milled earlier, it went okay, but that was a softer wood species, I can only imagine how much more load the oak would put on the saw.

Thanks for the tips.

 

[CaseyForrest]

I look around for some latex paint to put on the ends then.

Ripping a wet board seems a little taxing on a circular saw, I did clean the edges up on the silver maple that was milled earlier, it went okay, but that was a softer wood species, I can only imagine how much more load the oak would put on the saw.

Thanks for the tips.

Amen to that, I had to buy the largest amp circular saw to rip wet boards. My 15yo Craftsmen 12 amp wasnt going to get it done.

 

[oldsaw]

Interesting. I don't have any real troubles with my nothing special Skil or Sears, whichever it is, circular saw. It plows through 5/4 wet oak just fine, and at a pretty good clip. Couldn't tell you much about the saw except that I've had it for 25 years.

Mark

 

[wdchuck]

Could be blade type and condition, my circ saw is also an older Craftsman, 30+yrs, has held up well.

I was just curious if ripping now would reduce the potential of warping/twisting/cupping?

The stack will get rotated when the silver maple on the bottom comes out this summer to get used, so I'll get a good look at how the oak is doing at that time.

Red oak and filing dust don't mix well, leaves a nice blue stain, character right.

 

[CaseyForrest]

Interesting. I don't have any real troubles with my nothing special Skil or Sears, whichever it is, circular saw. It plows through 5/4 wet oak just fine, and at a pretty good clip. Couldn't tell you much about the saw except that I've had it for 25 years.

Mark

I could watch the boards I was cutting close up on the saw blade. It always depended on which side of the grain I was cutting too, some would open up and some would close.

wdchuck, I dont think edging the boards now will matter in what the woods going to do as it dries. Edging now does, however, save space and get the area of the wood that bugs like away from the good wood you want to keep.

 

[wdchuck]

I could watch the boards I was cutting close up on the saw blade. It always depended on which side of the grain I was cutting too, some would open up and some would close.

wdchuck, I dont think edging the boards now will matter in what the woods going to do as it dries. Edging now does, however, save space and get the area of the wood that bugs like away from the good wood you want to keep.

My fault, the board ripping I was referring to, was to reduce the width from 22-30" down to 12" widths, and taking out the pith area in boards that could be negatively affected during the drying process. I know it would be quite a bit of extra handling right now due to water weight, but if it leaves the boards in better condition later on it would be worth it. Milling a log to greatest efficiency is a skill that I have yet to learn, as well as best drying practices and everything else that comes with this.

Would Mallof's book be a good reference to get?

 

[dustytools]

My fault, the board ripping I was referring to, was to reduce the width from 22-30" down to 12" widths, and taking out the pith area in boards that could be negatively affected during the drying process. I know it would be quite a bit of extra handling right now due to water weight, but if it leaves the boards in better condition later on it would be worth it. Milling a log to greatest efficiency is a skill that I have yet to learn, as well as best drying practices and everything else that comes with this.

Would Mallof's book be a good reference to get?

I have heard that Mallofs book is a great reference. Im planning on getting one when I can find a good deal on one.

 

[oldsaw]

I could watch the boards I was cutting close up on the saw blade. It always depended on which side of the grain I was cutting too, some would open up and some would close.

wdchuck, I dont think edging the boards now will matter in what the woods going to do as it dries. Edging now does, however, save space and get the area of the wood that bugs like away from the good wood you want to keep.

I do it to save space, get the bugs, and take care of anything where I see there is going to be a problem.

I've got some oak that is drying now that will probably become cabinet doors. I cut through anywhere there were cracks are visible signs of stress, left the rest as wide as I could. Looking good, just checked it out yesterday.

Mark

 

[CaseyForrest]

My fault, the board ripping I was referring to, was to reduce the width from 22-30" down to 12" widths, and taking out the pith area in boards that could be negatively affected during the drying process. I know it would be quite a bit of extra handling right now due to water weight, but if it leaves the boards in better condition later on it would be worth it. Milling a log to greatest efficiency is a skill that I have yet to learn, as well as best drying practices and everything else that comes with this.

Would Mallof's book be a good reference to get?

I think leaving them as wide as possible does help with cupping, but I could also be wrong.

Mallof's book is indeed an excellent resource, Hautions has mine and I would be happy to share it with anyone that wants to borrow it.

 

[wdchuck]

Good, I'll treat the ends with latex paint right away, hopefully the boards get a little lighter after sitting for a bit.

While we were stacking it, the wife asked how soon the wood could be used, she wasn't happy with one year to wait, so she asked how soon I could make a solar kiln. That's a 'honey-do list' item I like.

 

[woodshop]

THat was the only way I could roll the log away from the stump, as it turned out it was just enough to allow the powerhead in-between the log end and the stump. The rope went to the truck, no harm to the tree that was acting as a pulley, two attempts at rolling and the log was up against some large rocks protruding from the ground on the uphill side, so that was the furthest it could roll in that direction, there was no way to roll it the other direction, although it would have been better. I put a chain on the stump root to try and pull it over and away, but it didn't budge, and as you can see, access was pretty limited for a newbie like me.

Wow... beautiful clear oak in some of those slices, nice. As for turning, moving etc a log that size, you need some mechanical help. Remember a 36 inch dia oak log 8 ft long is around 3000 lb wet. I use an aluminum floor car jack positioned under side of log to roll and move my large logs when milling. Light weight, yet with the use of chocks (chunks of wood) you can easily move logs around weighing over a ton. I do it all the time.