aswales

Might be worth trying a specialist timber merchants such as John Boddy of Boroughbridge if you don't have any luck finding any seasoned apple wood from forum members.

Apple is used for the cog teeth on a windmill, not for the body of the cog. It is a dense wood with good resistance to wear in this kind of scenario.

If you are interested in a dehumidifier type of kiln, might be worth talking to ebac the dehumidifier manufacturers. At the time of the Arrowsmith kilns they were also making a dehumidfier product suitable for drying timber.

Just like to make the point , not trying to put anyone off using green timber... Alec is right in his posts regarding timber durability classes etc.. How you use green timber and whether or not it is successfull in your project with regard to it lasting for a significant period of time, being durable against fungal attack etc is more often than not about the environment where that piece of wood is used and how it is treated by that environment together with its natural durability. External Larch claddings, cedar shingles are successful in their use partly because of the natural oils in the woods and also the fact that the designed environment allows the rain water that hit the surface to get away and does not get sealed in and remain trapped. If you use green would appropriately it will be fine providing you stick to a few basic practises/rules. Trada do an afternoons seminar on green oak in construction, think they run it a few times a year. Not expensive and well worth the investment, for those serious about green timber building. Oak frames, claddings and how you use the various elements in a building are discussed plus you get some very useful written material.

Have a look at a text on green oak building, theres plenty of material on this around and the basic rules apply to most timber framed buildings including softwood. Leylandii could be used, lot of small knots, no reason why not, not grown as a commercial timber species for timber production that I'm aware of but some members of the same family are used in certain parts of the world. If your oak is from standing deadwood, a lot of the timber can be sound, moisture content may be reasonable. Would be a good use, certainly better than firewood...Have you a moisture meter ?

For cladding it will be fine in the green state, however for structural frame members be more of a problem, you will have to factor in shrinkage into design and whilst green the timber will be less strong. As timber seasons it dries out and loses water from it cells and shrinks, during this process the structural strength, stiffness and hardness of the timber increses which is at its best when it has become dry and stable. The shrinkage you need to be concerned about is the across the width of the timbers, where that dimension is important to your design sizes. Watch out for timber containing tensions from reaction wood, this is generally obvious because it will bow and twist as soon as its been cut from the sawlog as the tensions in the timber are released. If you do build a green frame with green cladding give it chance to dry once the frame is up and externally cladded, wait before you fit door and window openings to allow for shrinkage of top and bottom wall plates. Don't fill in anywhere with insulation between the members, there 's nowhere for the water to go that is released during the seasoning drying process, it would just get trapped and the timber will rot and grow mould.... If I was you, would at least dry your framework timber and just use green on the external cladding.

The timber is extremely rare and is not commercially available. Get what you can for it.

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

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...

From the threads it seems like there is a lot of poor information being taught at colleges / training providers regarding basic chainsaw maintenance the CS30 and 2 stroke ratios. ... The trainers and examiners need to get there act together on this (must be costing the industry £££s in blown machines), I did CS30 in 2010 having been a user of 2 stroke machinery including chainsaws for some 25 years. The chaps that took us on the training and the assesment were quite clear regarding 2 stroke ratios - the answer for the CS30 - read the manufacturers instructions typically with the manufacturers own high performance 2 stroke oil is a ratio of 50:1, other 2 stroke oils may be a different ratio. If you look in a husqvarna manual or any manual theres good information. If in doubt read the instructions or ask, people are generally helpfull, most equipment manufacturers have a helpline and website. If you are not familiar with equipment and how it operates etc, don't dive in, take a moment, have a coup of tea and find out....Saves a lot of heartache, money, hassle and could save your skin....

Hi Mike, Where are you based ? It would be worth your while having a hands on go with both systems before commiting your cash. When I was looking at this stuff paid for a day to learn with someone, and had chance to use the logosol timber jig, rail system, big mill LSG which is 2 timber jigs joined to form a similar mill to the Alaskan and a woodmizer LT40 hydraulic with an independent pro who makes his living from milling. Not saying that it would necesserily cost you cash if there is somone in your area willing to give you a hands on demo ? Have you a CS30 ? There are pros and cons to the different arrangements, in the end I bought a timber jig and rail to start and then bought the M7 woodworkers mill. There is a bit of an art to using just the timber jig and rail to get parallel boards and that is down to having a sharp chain, decent bar and how you mount the brackets on a log, but once you get used to its fine and surface finish is good.

I had a look in the flowfit catalogue and a new 1.5 kw motor power pack without the electronic controlled spool valves can be bought for less than 1000 pounds depending on the exact spec. Might give you some idea on price.....

Hi Rob, An old log that has been felled for 20 years and dry stored for 10 is likely to have dried out to a stable moisture level and become seasoned with less further seasoning necessary when it is split into planks. Timber in large section doesn't need to be cut up to season, it just takes longer for the moisture to come out in big sections than for thin planked timber. As the timber dries out it does harden and would dull the cutting edges on your chain more quickly than green timber. Also get lots of chain and guide bar wear due to dirt if grit is present. Would normally sharpen with a hand file, but if its bad wear then chain grinder. Moisture meters are readily available, one with two little pins that press into timber work well. Try looking at logosol for chain sharpening and moisture meter stuff. There is some good info on their site. AS

Just a quick note to add, be carefull when clamping over the sprocket nose that the clamp is centered on the sprocket (nose wheel) rivets, otherwise you will squeeze the sprocket with the outer leaves of the guide bar. Its also worth noting that solid guide bars rather than laminated are better for this scenario, they are stiffer and are available from a number of chainsaw milling suppliers. With a new bar and chain it is worth manually adding some chain oil to the bar groove when fitting the chain, milling is very demanding on lubrication and can produce a lot of heat. As you get through the log, its worth tapping in a few wedges at appropriate points to stop the cut plank pinching the chain , throwing things offline etc

Use an oil finish such as tung oil, linseed oil, danish oil or finishing oil (usually a blend of some of the former...) is probably best to bring out the grain, there are versions of oils for outdoor furniture available however it will need retreating every year... Axminster power tools a good source plenty of choice

Have you any pics, size of log and info on beams required ?

Where ?

Can I have a few more details please, might be interested. Tried sending PM but not working for me.

How big ? Is it a job for a chainsawmill or for a portable bandmill ?

Have you found someone to mill this for you ?

Hi, Whereabouts in the country are you located ? May be able to help, it would be with a logosol big mill and M7. Regards Adrian