Today's milling

[AJStrees]

25 minutes ago, Big Beech said:

So easy to cut with a good chain !

absolutely. It went through like a hot knife through butter. 

[ucoulddoit]

Not done much milling for a few years, and only ever as a hobby for my own use. So hopefully the pro’s won’t roll their eyes too much…. This wasn’t a money making venture.

 

I was offered some of this beech butt earlier this year by my brother in law who’d had it delivered to his house already cut into three sections. He needed help cutting it up for firewood. He mentioned there was some rot, so I immediately thought, spalted beech, maybe mill it?

 

Today’s (half day) milling was the top section. The bottom 8 feet was so rotten it was almost possible to crawl inside the hollow trunk! We’d cut it into rings for firewood a few weeks ago. But the top section, about 5 ½ feet long showed more promise. The rot was coming down from the top, not up from below. My mill is the 24” Alaskan, a bit small for milling a 3 foot diameter butt! However, the odd shape, meant that with minimal freehand trimming, the mill fitted fine on the top part. The bottom half was then freehand sawn down the middle, split apart, and milling continued down the right hand side below what had already been completed, to create matched slabs 3 inches and 2 ½ inches thick, about 20 inches wide. I suspect they might distort a bit and perhaps split as it’s at the transition between the 1^st and 2^nd lengths with grain running in different directions, but pretty sure there will be some worth keeping and at those thicknesses, there should be plenty to plane off to flatten them.

 

Some nice looking bookmatched slabs, even allowing for the rot at the top end that will need to be cut off. Decided to let my nephew keep most of the slabs but I’ve kept a 20 inch wide by 4 ½ inch slab which might become large bowl blanks one day. And there was lots of firewood.

 

Was good to be out with the mill today. Reminded me how much fun it is opening up a lump of wood, wondering what will be inside, the delight when it’s something special, then dreaming about what could be made with it…….

 

Andrew

[trigger_andy]

Some nice bits of Oak maxing out the B751 today.

[Big Beech]

No milling, but some nice Burr field maple logs from a customers garden.

24" diameter x 3m long x 3.

May leave one to splat for a few years.

 

[trigger_andy]

1 hour ago, Big Beech said:

No milling, but some nice Burr field maple logs from a customers garden.

24" diameter x 3m long x 3.

May leave one to splat for a few years.

 

Funnily enough I've just been contacted about milling some Spalted Burr (maybe burr) Maple. They're not planning on going ahead with it due to the cost and no-where to store the Slabs. About 36" diameter but they cut the log in two so only a 2m and 1.7m length. Ive suggested I come mill it and leave them a slab. They're planning on cutting it up for firewood though. 

 

I wonder if its worth the day out milling? 

[Stubby]

3 minutes ago, trigger_andy said:

Funnily enough I've just been contacted about milling some Spalted Burr (maybe burr) Maple. They're not planning on going ahead with it due to the cost and no-where to store the Slabs. About 36" diameter but they cut the log in two so only a 2m and 1.7m length. Ive suggested I come mill it and leave them a slab. They're planning on cutting it up for firewood though. 

 

I wonder if its worth the day out milling? 

Just a stab on my part but I would say yes from the pics . Easy for me to say sitting here I know .

Edited January 19, 2022 by Stubby

[Wonky]

I did these the other day 👊👍

[Stihllymok]

4 hours ago, trigger_andy said:

Some nice bits of Oak maxing out the B751 today.

Nice, mind me asking did you knock the sides off with Alaskan or freehand?

Thanks, I've got some big Oak to sort but just planning them as my mills only 27"

[Big Beech]

22 hours ago, trigger_andy said:

Funnily enough I've just been contacted about milling some Spalted Burr (maybe burr) Maple. They're not planning on going ahead with it due to the cost and no-where to store the Slabs. About 36" diameter but they cut the log in two so only a 2m and 1.7m length. Ive suggested I come mill it and leave them a slab. They're planning on cutting it up for firewood though. 

 

I wonder if its worth the day out milling? 

Be over that like a rash!

Where is it?

Send it down south to me!

[trigger_andy]

Nice, mind me asking did you knock the sides off with Alaskan or freehand?
Thanks, I've got some big Oak to sort but just planning them as my mills only 27"

My mill takes a 30” log. But I’m not turning a 30” Oak log 4m long 4 times to get it down to the 24” cant.

So yes, I’ve been knocking the sides off freehand. Or a mix of free hand and lifting and turning with the Avant I get in. This was a chunky bit of oak I loaded just before it got dark.