Milling advice

[Bealers]

Hi,

 

I've been looking for an excuse to get a mill for a while and now the opportunity has presented itself:

 

 

It's about 2.7m long and 45cm diameter at the middle. I know it's probably considered a small stem to you all but this is a decent size for me to make a table out of.

 

For the Oak itself should I leave it to season for ages first, or mill now and stack it? I assume I need to coat the end grain in something, what do you guys use? Anything else to consider?

 

Cheers

Edited November 12, 2011 by Bealers
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[agg221]

Mill it first, then let it season, stacked with dry sticks in between. If you let it season first then it will choose where the shrinkage cracks run (inevitably across your boards) whereas if you create the 'cracks' by sawing it will stay less cracked.

 

Painting the ends will help reduce cracking - anything will do this (old gloss paint is cheap!). If you don't do it, it's not the end of the world, you'll just tend to lose a couple of inches off each end with oak.

 

Try to line up so that one of your cuts goes straight through the centre. This is the point where cracks start from, so it's good to remove it otherwise the board with the centre in is always likely to split.

 

Alec

[aswales]

Another reason to mill it first - wood hardens as it seasons and dries out so much easier to mill when its green, less cutter wear...

[agg221]

Another reason to mill it first - wood hardens as it seasons and dries out so much easier to mill when its green, less cutter wear...

 

True enough. There's also the point about how long you would have to wait to season it in the round - since you want to slow down drying from the ends by painting, it all has to go out through the sides. For context, I've just come back from taking down a couple of standing dead oaks to mill, one of which was already dead by 2005. The second length, which is about the diameter you're talking about, is still wringing wet.

 

Hopefully my neighbour is back from holiday this weekend, as he's a haulier so he'll be bringing my butts back here for me to get on with, so I will shortly be milling oak of similar size to yours, which is quite a pleasant diameter to work with.

 

Do you have your powerhead and bar lined up? If not, can I suggest that, assuming you're thinking of getting an Alaskan, you go for a 36in mill and an 066 powerhead. This will do most of what you want and cost a lot less than the bigger saws - just take a bit longer. If you need to keep costs down, consider an 051 powerhead with a 30in bar but still get the 36in mill as if you get the bug and want to scale up then this is big enough for most things. Lack of chain brake isn't really an issue when milling.

 

Another point, if you felled the butt in your picture, consider having a look at some of the forestry felling techniques before you're next felling for milling. You would normally aim to fell as low as possible to preserve the maximum length - you could probably have got an extra 18in on that one, which would have been the fattest bit, so most useful. Just a thought.

 

Oh and the key thing, work out how you're going to extract your extremely heavy milled timber! If you're able to leave it where it is after milling, take the sticks into the woods, take one of the scrap branches and chop off a straight 2ft length about 6-9in dia, then split it in half and place the two halves split face down, spaced apart by about half the length of the log. You can then stack the boards up the two half logs, flipping them over, as they come off the mill, sticked as they go. Finish with the scrap bottom at the top and your stack will start drying nicely in-situ (and getting lighter!) while you sort out extraction. Of course, if you've got moving it sorted then ignore the above, but I reckon milling in the woods causes less grief with the neighbours, however tolerant they are, and you don't have to clear up the sawdust!

 

Alec

[Bealers]

Thanks for all of the replies, much appreciated.

 

@agg221 in direct response to some of your points:

 

I recently invested in a Husky 576XP to complement my 346XP. This gives me more grunt for felling and I hope more power for milling. I purposely decided against the bigger 90cc+ units as they are too big for my felling needs and I can't justify a dedicated milling tool, so I went for the middle ground.

 

I was considering the 24" mill and a 28" bar but your comments do resonate with me. I'm not a pro - evidently, see below - but I do have a 7 acre broad leaf plot that is in need of some serious management. There are quite a few huge sycamores in there blocking out light to some really overstood hazel and I've my eye on them for milling.

 

Spot on regarding extraction. I tried to skid it out today with my 650CC 4x4 quad and it wasn't having any of it. I've a skidding cone but the ground is too soft and the quad was just digging in. I could make the effort to improve the access and get the landy in but I think I'll just mill in situ and trailer out each slice piece by piece.

 

Regarding my felling technique. Yep, totally agreed, it's a waste of good timber. I don't do this day in day out and for me it was quite a complicated fell (wind damage, hung up split bough). As I was making the first cut I could almost hear the intake of breath - ooh that's far too high. When I put the photo up I thought no-one would notice Second failure was no felling bench which bit me right in the arse today trying to get the stem out.

[aswales]

I've done some milling with a husqvarna 372 with the logosol timberjig and M7, 372 is just slightly less powerfull than your 576. Its fine with a 20 and 24 inch bar on it, however it can be quite slow in hardwood such as walnut and the ripping chain choice matters. Found I got the best results in walnut with an oregon type 73 ripping chain rather than a chain with alternate scoring cutters. At some point will buy a 90 something cc unit for bigger stuff, you need the power for hardwoods....will be fine softwood

[agg221]

I'm not a pro either btw, and have no tickets. I was lucky enough to be taught by a couple of very skilled people, coincidently whilst doing canal restoration, in the mid-1990s before you needed tickets to be on the site.

 

I'm not a Stihl snob, but prefer them for milling as the chain tensioner is better sited. For reference, I bought my 051 as a back-up on ebay last year for £35 inc. shipping.

 

Sycamore should mill nicely - it will either be very plain and white, or you'll be lucky and get some beautiful grain.

 

For reference, I don't use a felling bench (no particular reason, just haven't tended to). I tend to roll lengths onto a chain using a 6ft length of 3x2 steel box section, or dig under to pass chain through. I prefer chain for dragging, as it doesn't foul up like rope, and doesn't spring if it slips or breaks, just goes slack.

 

Alec

[tommer9]

I'm not a pro either btw, and have no tickets. I was lucky enough to be taught by a couple of very skilled people, coincidently whilst doing canal restoration, in the mid-1990s before you needed tickets to be on the site.

 

I'm not a Stihl snob, but prefer them for milling as the chain tensioner is better sited. For reference, I bought my 051 as a back-up on ebay last year for £35 inc. shipping.

 

Sycamore should mill nicely - it will either be very plain and white, or you'll be lucky and get some beautiful grain.

 

For reference, I don't use a felling bench (no particular reason, just haven't tended to). I tend to roll lengths onto a chain using a 6ft length of 3x2 steel box section, or dig under to pass chain through. I prefer chain for dragging, as it doesn't foul up like rope, and doesn't spring if it slips or breaks, just goes slack.

 

Alec

 

sycamore should be bone white with a fine beige/ sepia grain pattern to it. It is prized for its bone-whiteness...that is why it is so difficult to work with. Unless you are VERY carefull with your felling time, how you stack it and dry it you will end up with an inferior off white product. Fiddleback sycamore (or any yellowy brown sycamore) is that colour due to the finish it has been given.