The Echo cs352 goes milling!

[geoff]

Gave my little Echo a spin on a mini mill, I wanted a small kerf to maximise output, here are the results, cut at 20mm thick, going to be planed one side only, the timber was sitting about for a year & a half & I have a job for it, any tips on seasoning welcome, I was thinking to stack them on a flat surface with minimal gaps & get some weight on them, having painted the ends with pva glue. Outside but covered from the elements.

[sloth]

Very nice indeed. What will they be used for?

[geoff]

I'm building a motor home mate, they will be at the roof/wall interaction as trims, and ribs in the upright.

[sloth]

Awesome, you could soon get lost in the spalting

[geoff]

Yep, it should look nice, I have boarded the van in pine t&g, this will frame it all & add some interest once it is seasoned out.

[rachelroots]

Ah nice one matey! What sort of timber is that? I had a lend of an alaskan mill and had a go on a big bit of willow, it had had honey fungus and the pattern was kind of similar to yours. The willow haddent been down long and was muckle heavy! I cut it in 4" planks to stop warping. Although chunky, after a year it's super light- great for something like a motor home! Willow is'nt really rated as a usable timber but it's lightness would be handy for a project like yours. I've also milled ash- that stuff is seriously heavy in comparison!

[geoff]

Hiya Rachel, the willow sounds very nice, & would be useful as you say where a lightweight build is desirable!

Mine is spalted beech,I had it sitting around & thought it good for the job, lets hope it holds together in seasoning, though with the spalting there a bit of filler won't really notice if I need it.

 

Do you still have your willow? it would be great to see some of the figure in it.

[rachelroots]

Ah, thought it had a bit more colour to it! I've got some bits left but I think I sold the last of my nice bits ( hard times) I made some mushrooms with the smaller bits and sold them at £13 each like hot cakes. I'll dig out some pics of the shrooms and I'll take some photos of my planks when I'm next down at my cabin- probs Friday as I'm at college tomorrow. I'd love to do some more milling as there's a mighty oak been down a year or so down the river from my shack. I'm planning on asking a mate whose a welder to make me a mill as he's after some planks in return. I lent the last one from a local saw mill but it's a bit cheeky to lend something more than once! I'm new to doing this sort of thing so any advice on storing milled lumber, and whether to mill green or seasoned etc is fantastic!

[geoff]

Nice shrooms Rachel, thanks for the pictures!

 

I was hoping to get a bit of advice on seasoning the timber myself, got to be careful it doesn't cup or distort, stacking on slats & giving it some weight is what I'm doing with my lot, & pva glue on the ends to reduce end cracking.

 

Some woods are better than others to season, but I'm not in the know on that subject, plenty on the forum are.

 

The Cabin sounds great by the way!

[rachelroots]

Yes, Sounds nice- it's a bomb shelter, but hey its somewhere in the woods,where no one can hear my noisy hobbies! PVA is a great idea, haddent thought of that. I try to keep willow cool so it doesn't dry and crack to quick, ash is very nice and behaves well.