ucoulddoit

Looks to be a lovely colour. Any ideas how you might use it? I've been trying to get hold of a large plum butt for years but I suppose they don't grow that well in the West of Scotland and are probably difficult to find elsewhere also. Andrew

Spent the afternoon milling the first of six 8 inch square larch posts using a small log mill and a mini mill, which will be used to build a drying/storage shed for my milled boards. A bit waney on two corners, but plenty strong enough for a 15 foot square structure.....! The larch trees were felled a few years ago on a neighbours land and there is more than enough for the structure and cladding. Struggled a bit to get it square because the first cut wasn't straight enough, but I trimmed it all round a second time with the mini mill and it is fine. A spare time project so it will probably take a few weeks/months to mill all the timber that I need. Andrew

With hindsight, I probably need to keep an open mind about how it is milled and if the burr is disappearing as it is cut from the most burry side, I can decide on the best way forward. The following two pictures were taken by Tim who I bought the butt from. The first one shows the side with the most burr with a metre length ruler for scale. The second picture is one end where the burr appears to extend virtually to the heart. The left side is the most burry and appears to be clear of shakes or other defects. Not sure about the total quantity of timber. It was estimated to weigh a ton, but the loader who lifted into my trailer measured it as 1.4 tons. Maximum width over the burr is about 40 inches. Andrew

Thanks for all the comments and yes Tim, it is the butt I bought from you. I know the general advice with 'burry' timber is to cut planks off the outside and rotate it after each cut, but I'm hoping this one will be almost solid burr to the centre over at least half the circumference, so I'll take a chance and cut it through and through on this half of the butt. My priority is to get really wide planks, at least one of which will hopefully be a solid burr oak dining table top. The other half has a bit less burr, so I'll rotate it 90 degrees to get some 50mm quarter sawn planks and some thicker pieces on the outside. Andrew

Hi Jonathan I realised it's getting a bit late/risk of warm weather, but there has been a bit of a delay getting it milled. It will be done on a large static Stenner mill able to cut the full width planks to minimise the kerf/sawdust. I'll be stacking it on the north side of our house with ply covering the top and ends, so hopefully it will be fine. I'll post some pictures in due course. Andrew

I've a burr oak butt which I'll be getting milled soon and have been wondering how much the through and through cut planks are likely to 'cup' as they dry. The largest planks will be about 6 feet long by 3 feet wide and it looks as though it will be solid burr over virtually the whole area. Does solid burr like this tend to cup less than plain oak? I wondered if the twisted grain might tend to resist the cupping? I've laid some concrete foundations and constructed a frame so that the sticks will be less than a foot apart and am proposing to mill it into mainly 50mm and 35mm planks plus some thicker pieces. It is for my own future use and current thoughts are to use the planks for at least one dining table, a desk, large cupboard, in other words, items where large areas of solid burr should look good. If it does cup appeciably, I'll cut the planks into narrower pieces and use book matched pairs, but it would be good if single through and through planks would work. Andrew

The advice I read a few years ago about the number of coats of linseed oil to apply was as follows. 'Once an hour for a day, then once a day for a week, then once a week for a month, then once a month for a year, then once a year'. Not very practical if making things to sell, although one workshop I've bought things from give a bottle of oil to each buyer and similar advice about how to steadily build up the finish. Andrew

Paul The company Trylon used to provide written guidance about embedding items in resin and other related topics. I looked at their website but there is nothing to download, but maybe they can send something out if you contact them by e-mail. From memory, you need to build the resin up in layers, but don't let each layer fully set before adding the next. Try to catch it at the stage where it has just 'gelled', i.e. a bit rubbery. Re the bubbles, my recollection is that you need to let the resin stand in the mixing pot for a while so that the bubbles caused by mixing rise to the top before pouring it. It's possible to finish resin to a really smooth/glassy surface if you use progressively finer wet and dry abrasive paper then finish with a burnishing cream. T-cut which is sold to remove fine scratches from paint on car bodywork might even work. Andrew

I've wondered about doing this as well, but now think that if I do it one day, I'll make freestanding units so that I could keep them if we move house. Things like a Welsh dresser would find a home anywhere. Re machinery, before I bought a planer thicknesser, I went to a night class for a term each winter and prepared enough timber to keep me going for the next year. You just need to persuade the tutor that you know what you are doing! Final comment is that oak can be quite difficult to dry to a standard suitable for furniture making being quite susceptible to problems such as surface checking. I've found timbers such as elm, sycamore, beech, cherry and yew are easier to dry. I would just start milling some trees and then plan what to do with the timber over the few years it will take to dry. Andrew

Nick The sketch below shows the sequence of cuts I used on the ash log. Numbers 2 and 9 were done with the Mini Mill, the others with the small log mill. The horizontal cuts overlapped slightly in the middle of the log and it was difficult to keep them at exactly the same level. So the faces of each plank are not as flat as cutting through with a larger bar and mill which is why I cut them to 2 1/2 inches with the aim of having finished planks 2 inches thick. It was hard work and I'd agreed with the house owner that we would divide the planks 50/50 between us - with me doing all the work and providing the petrol, oil, etc! They want to make a kitchen table. I've no plans for the wood yet, just keen to be getting practice using the milling attachments in different situations. With hindsight I should have kept more of the planks, but I'll know next time. Just as well that it is hobby! Andrew

Re the original question about what to do with a cherry log, I thought I would post a few pictures of small logs which I successfully seasoned to show that small stuff can yield some good timber. I remembered I had a cherry log about 10 inches diameter and 44 inches long which I'd quartered a few years ago before air drying. The picture below shows how it was cut and it has dried with minimal degrade. Incidently the stack of planks in the background are 2 1/2 inch thick ash which I milled using an Alaskan Small Log mill and a Mini Mill with a chainsaw with a 20 inch bar. The log was in a garden and was 30 inches diameter tapering to 24 inches by 6 feet long. Took a full day to mill it, but lovely timber with some good colouring in the heart. The chainsaw and milling attachments have been an excellent investment. Next picture is a small apple log, 12 inches diameter and 14 inches long which was air dried undercover for two years then brought into the workshop for year and now down to a moisture content of about 10%. The ends were well sealed with PVA within a day of the tree being felled and there is no end cracking at all so although the log was very short, all of it can be used. It was a tree from a garden given by my sister, so I'll turn it into a set of building blocks for her to have at home for when her grand children are over. The last pictures are burr apple from a branch. The small quartered piece has dried with minimal degrade apart from a few cracks which inevitably happen in burr. But they are quite deformed which would have split the log badly if it hadn't been quartered. The inch thick 'planks' have distorted quite significantly, but there will be some useable pieces, perhaps to make a small box or something.

Thanks for the saw photoes Nick and apologies for taking so long to get back to you. Been away for the weekend. Must have been very hard work to halve the cherry trunk. The saw teeth look as though it is a cross cut saw rather than a rip saw. I was given a two handled saw about 6 feet long a few years ago which now hangs on my workshop wall. Not sure if it would have been used to rip logs into planks or just cross cutting for firewood logs. Anyone any opinions? Pictures below.

I wondered if another thread could be started from this one. Pictures of trees/logs suitable for milling and graded something like: Fencing grade 'Craftwood' grade Furniture grade - small user Furniture grade - manufacturer Green oak framing Veneer grade Other It is not something that I could do, but perhaps if people post pictures, opinions could be given by those experienced at milling? Andrew

Lovely table. Was the tree from your garden? I'd be interested to see a picture of the hand saw you used. Andrew

Who says 'money doesn't grow on trees' Reminds me of a similar quote 'wood like that doesn't grow on trees!' I think I read that in a book by George Nakashima, The Soul of a Tree - A Woodworker's Reflections. Coincidently he discusses a problem with milling a six foot diameter English Walnut. It was too big for the mill to handle in one piece so he 'considered calling several hand sawyers from Asia to execute the sawing'. I saw a post by Nick 1854 mentioning hand sawing a log so I thought I'd take a picture of my two handed six foot saw which I've been wondering about sharpening..... Andrew

I've been using a small log mill with a 20 inch bar (mentioned above by Rob D) for about 18 months and can give an opinion if that helps. Also have the mini mill. Wondered if you work with chainsaws or is this for 'hobby' use? Andrew

Sounds as though it will be a lovely big table. I used larch for a fireplace and it is a terrific colour. Reminds me of old pitch pine which is almost impossible to get now. Andrew

Hedgesparrow I was thinking again about gluing the planks together and realised my main concern was that if the planks are cupped appreciably when dry (curved across their width) it might not look too good if they are glued into one piece. But it occurred to me that you could dismantle to top when the wood is dry and have the planks planed/thicknesed so that they are flat, then glue them together. But still need to be careful about future movement/risk of splits. Andrew

Hi hedgesparrow Sounds as though what you're doing is a bit unconventional, but I've done plenty of things that others thought didn't follow the rules, which turned out well, so I'll be interested to hear how it goes. Not sure from your e-mail about the timescales involved. Were the planks you bought literally sawn from a tree trunk and immediately taken into the house and used as a table top? Or had the sawmill cut the planks some time ago in which case they might have been semi-air dried when you took them away. The planks will shrink as they dry so if they are screwed to a batten, there is a risk they will split unless the screw holes are slotted in the batten. Most of the shrinkage occurs in the final stages of drying below a moisture content of about 20%, so although the planks may feel dry, the risk of splits and distortion increases with time until dry to suit the ambient humidity, probably between 8 to 10% in your kitchen. Since the tongues and grooves are already cut, I think it would be advisable to keep the planks fitted together during drying to minimise the distortion between each plank. Otherwise you may find the planks just won't go together because they are all bent differently. I wouldn't glue the joints because the wood will continue to expand and contract. I don't have the exact figures to hand but I would guess a larch table top, 3feet wide, could move between 1/4 to 1/2 inch between summer to winter. It would need very long slotted holes in the table frame to accommodate this amount of movement and a high risk of a joint splitting. Defects such as surface checking might occur if the planks are dried too quickly, but may not be a problem if a 'rustic' appearance is OK. The risk of serious defects would be much higher with hardwoods, especially oak which is hard to dry to produce high quality timber. Finish - if the planks end up a bit distorted/rustic, then a subtle finish to seal the wood may be enough rather than a shiney/glossy coating which might look out of place. Many coats of wax would bring out the colour. but it might look good with an oil based varnish/polyurethane thinned 50/50 with turps and applied with a rag rather than a brush. That should soak in to seal the wood and bring out the colour. Main thing is to wipe off the finish after a few minutes rather than building it up in layers, just leave on what has soaked into the wood. Two or three applications should be fine and will look like an oiled finish but won't spoil if a hot cup or plate is sat on it. A pretty indestructible finish in fact which you can polish with wax. Post some pictures when you're finished. Andrew

Thanks Alec, that's useful advice. I meant to say in my post that my Alaskan mill is the small log mill which is fine up to about 18 inches width of cut. So splitting a log this way would mean I could convert larger logs up to perhaps 3 feet diameter. I find that planks about 18 inches wide by 3 inches thick by 7 to 8 feet long are almost too heavy to move by myself, so I'm keen to stay within these sizes if possible but be able to mill from larger logs. I also use a Mini mill, which is useful to reduce the size of a large log. Andrew

I wondered if anyone has any experience of quartering oak logs by cleaving/splitting using wedges rather than sawing? I've seen a picture showing an oak log being halved this way in a book about green oak framing and wondered if it might be a viable method for initial conversion to make smaller sections that would then be easier to move to a roadside or transport to a sawmill. I gather oak splits well along the grain but it probably wouldn't work with other species. Andrew

Stuart I usually apply two or three coats of PVA glue to seal the end grain. It is water based so is fine on wet/green wood and three coats can be applied over just a few hours. It sounds to be a fairly small diameter log so it might dry OK if left in the round. But if a log isn't milled into planks, it is usually best to halve or quarter it along its length to reduce the risk of splits along the length as it dries. If left as a round log, it may develop one big crack along its length from the outside to the heart which means the wood either side of the crack would be useable. But some species will develop lots of small longitudinal cracks around the whole perimeter which extend into the heart which means there is very little useable wood. Not sure how cherry would behave. If the log has twisted grain the splits will follow the twist which again reduces the amount of useable wood. A 6 inch diameter log cut in half along its length should be air dried in about 3 years. Although it is a very small log, I'd still have a go at drying it. The first log I had milled about 27 years ago was a cherry tree about 12 inches diameter and although the planks twisted and warped horribly, I did manage to make a small coffee table which we still have. One mistake I made was milling it into lots of thin planks, some only 1/4 inch thick assuming they would be good for panels......(became firewood) Second tree milled about 10 years later was also a cherry and again, although the planks were thicker, they distorted a lot, but there was enough usable timber to make another small table. Eventually worked out how to convert and season logs with minimal waste and now have several tons of planks, slabs and blocks with lots of character which would be difficult to replace from a timber merchant Andrew

A company called Trylon sells resins plus colour pastes and sintered metals to use as fillers. I've not used the coloured pastes but have used the metals a lot. My preference is the bronze metal which polishes to a lovely shine but I've also used the aluminium and old silver. Quite pricey, so I often use just plain resin to fill deep holes then add a final thin layer of the 'cold cast metal'. Don't be put off by the initial appearance which my sister described as 'diarrhoea' the first time she tried it on some oak flooring. The metals do polish well but it really needs a powered sander. Not sure if it is food safe but I'm sure Trylon could advise about that. Andrew

Hi Pan Another method of milling which I've rarely seen done, but may be of interest to you and others, is cutting across a log rather than along its length. Of course if you cut straight across, the round disk will almost inevitably split as it dries. But if the cut is at an angle of say 30 degrees (or more), it produces an elliptical shape which is much more resistant to splitting. Might be a suitable way of using logs which are too short for milling into planks, but it really needs a log with plenty of character such as burring or spalted to work well. The burr elm table top in the picture below was bought as an air dried slab 4 inches thick which I then stored in the house for a year until its moisture content had reduced to about 8% after which I reduced the thickness to about 2 1/2 inches to level out the drying distortion. It is almost 4 feet long from a 2 foot diameter log. Andrew

It's a bit difficult to see from the pictures but if the 'limb' was a branch, boards milled from it are likely to have areas of reaction wood which will twist/bend significantly as they dry. If the pith is close to the centre it might be OK. Pretty sure most people only use the main butt on a tree for milling. Andrew