New and confused dot com

[Horatio]

Hi, I am completely new to milling haven't done any, though I have always taken an interested via this forum and YouTube.

 

Any who, went to look a big dead oak (standing dead for about 18-24 months)

The main limbs are a really nice size and straight.

 

The customer has plenty of firewood and wanted to know if the cord could be made into oak posts?

 

Can an alaskan mill cut thick enough "slabs" only really seen slabs in around 2"?

 

Can dead oak be milled?

 

The limbs are about 40" and below, if it can be milled what will I need?

 

Have an 880 with a 36"bar (obviously to small so bar suggestions please)

 

Any advice would be great. A lot if questions I know,sorry!

 

Thanks

[Stephen Blair]

Welcome, to all your questions, yes!!!

If you have an 088 with 36" bar your 90% there!!

All you need now is an old ladder and an Alaskan mill.

RobD on here is your man to speak too.

He'll be along soon when he sees the thread

[Horatio]

Thanks Steve, yeah hope rob sees this, I use him already for my bar and chains.

In love with my sugi hara bars!

Great service would defo be getting what ever I needed milling wise from him.

[Horatio]

Where Rob D at?

[agg221]

Hi, I am completely new to milling haven't done any, though I have always taken an interested via this forum and YouTube.

 

Any who, went to look a big dead oak (standing dead for about 18-24 months)

The main limbs are a really nice size and straight.

 

The customer has plenty of firewood and wanted to know if the cord could be made into oak posts?

 

Can an alaskan mill cut thick enough "slabs" only really seen slabs in around 2"?

 

Can dead oak be milled?

 

The limbs are about 40" and below, if it can be milled what will I need?

 

Have an 880 with a 36"bar (obviously to small so bar suggestions please)

 

Any advice would be great. A lot if questions I know,sorry!

 

Thanks

 

Hi Horatio,

 

In answer to your questions:

 

You mention the main limbs, rather than the main stem - is it multi-stemmed or are you looking at using the limbs off the top of the stem? The limbs can be milled, but will have some reaction wood in them so will tend to move a bit. As good, thick posts they should be OK. If they are limbs, you will need to be careful getting them down as if you simply fell they are liable to shatter, even fairly big bits. This could mean rigging off the lumps you want, which is OK if you have the kit and the site allows but challenging at that size otherwise.

 

Yes you can mill dead oak. It dries very very slowly in the round - I once milled a 3' dia butt which had been felled about 10yrs earlier and left. The sapwood was rotten but the heartwood was sound and still completely green.

 

The Alaskan will mill up to 13" thick 'slabs' with the standard uprights, so plenty big enough for most posts and beams. You could look at a 36" mill with a 40"+ bar. This will go through everything you are looking at here with the right cutting pattern. Alternatively, you could go up to a 48" mill but you will then probably be looking at a 60" bar to get the most out of it, although you could use a slightly shorter bar and still get straight through the middle of 40". You will also need a ripping chain to suit, and it would be highly advisable to get a precision grinder as keeping every tooth equal in length and fully sharp will be critical.

 

Alec

[Dan Earp]

Hi Horatio,

 

In answer to your questions:

 

You mention the main limbs, rather than the main stem - is it multi-stemmed or are you looking at using the limbs off the top of the stem? The limbs can be milled, but will have some reaction wood in them so will tend to move a bit. As good, thick posts they should be OK. If they are limbs, you will need to be careful getting them down as if you simply fell they are liable to shatter, even fairly big bits. This could mean rigging off the lumps you want, which is OK if you have the kit and the site allows but challenging at that size otherwise.

 

Yes you can mill dead oak. It dries very very slowly in the round - I once milled a 3' dia butt which had been felled about 10yrs earlier and left. The sapwood was rotten but the heartwood was sound and still completely green.

 

The Alaskan will mill up to 13" thick 'slabs' with the standard uprights, so plenty big enough for most posts and beams. You could look at a 36" mill with a 40"+ bar. This will go through everything you are looking at here with the right cutting pattern. Alternatively, you could go up to a 48" mill but you will then probably be looking at a 60" bar to get the most out of it, although you could use a slightly shorter bar and still get straight through the middle of 40". You will also need a ripping chain to suit, and it would be highly advisable to get a precision grinder as keeping every tooth equal in length and fully sharp will be critical.

 

Alec

 

+1👍 and if you havent got any wedges have a look at the cream and red tipped ones rob sells. Very good compared to the standard plastic wedges

[Hodge]

+1👍 and if you havent got any wedges have a look at the cream and red tipped ones rob sells. Very good compared to the standard plastic wedges

 

K&H wedges, very good they are.

 

 

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