Burr oak

[Coed y Cardi]

Any advice on milling a stick of burr oak. It's a big lump and is cover in burr if that makes sence.

[Big J]

Be good to see a few photos?

 

Avoid milling it until next month. Cut thick, as it moves quite a bit and put a fair bit of weight on top of the stack.

 

Jonathan

[Copford sawmill sussex]

From experience the best burrs are on the out side so trim one side then once the burrs start reducing, turn it again and take off more, then again once they start reducing turn again.

We usually take burrs off at 1.25" but it all depends how nice they are.

And like j says stack well and store well

[Big Beech]

Be good to see a few photos?

 

Avoid milling it until next month. Cut thick, as it moves quite a bit and put a fair bit of weight on top of the stack.

 

Jonathan

 

I am always seeing this as a recommendation (milling months) and I can see the virtues in this with regarding timber movement, and other defects that come up for discussion quite frequently. especially this year with one of our better summers.

But, what I cant grasp is that if all sawyers and mills worked to this mantra, then surely they would only work for two months a year, and I am pretty sure Mr Copford and son, don't only work for two months a year!

 

is this something specific for Scotland only?

just askin

[Big J]

I am always seeing this as a recommendation (milling months) and I can see the virtues in this with regarding timber movement, and other defects that come up for discussion quite frequently. especially this year with one of our better summers.

But, what I cant grasp is that if all sawyers and mills worked to this mantra, then surely they would only work for two months a year, and I am pretty sure Mr Copford and son, don't only work for two months a year!

 

is this something specific for Scotland only?

just askin

 

Glad you asked!

 

Oak is the toughest timber in the UK to dry well. It checks so easily that milling in the months of winter gives it the slowest start to drying, and the least chance of buggering up. Thus, November and December milled timber will have several months of cool temperatures and relatively high humidity to get a slow start drying.

 

Trust me, the rest of the year is very busy! Kilns to load, unload, timber to sell. Other hardwoods can be milled during most of the months bar summer, and I find it's really only July that I am quiet.

 

Then there is processing the firewood from offcuts, cutting softwood, remedial work at the yard putting up barns/buildings, and then if all else fails, consider taking a day off!

 

Jonathan

[Rob D]

As above oak is a bugger - a lot of the stuff I cut at the shows this summer has already got a lot of surface checking i.e. little tears and splits...

 

 

This can happen in 24 hours in hot weather - if it dries to fast in those early stages you end up wiping a lot of the value off it...

 

 

After it has 5 months slow drying then it is much more tolerant to warm conditions and this then helps it dry fully.

 

 

A lot of oak cut green in the summer may go straight from the saw mill and into oak frames and other places where green oak is needed and you're not fussed on whether it dries will or not.

[agg221]

It's also worth noting that in large commercial operations the wood goes straight from mill to kiln under very carefully controlled conditions of temperature and humidity, which stops checking from occurring.

 

As I posted somewhere else, I have milled oak in mid August in a heatwave, with no checking, but the lengths I had to go to to stop this were not realistic if there was any other way.

 

Alec