Milling urban trees

JTSpear

JTSpear

New member
Location
Champlain Valley Vermont
At my company we have an Alaska mill we play around with at our shop. I would like to figure out what the best way to use it to make money for our company is. Any thoughts or tips would be helpful.
 
JTSpear said:
At my company we have an Alaska mill we play around with at our shop. I would like to figure out what the best way to use it to make money for our company is. Any thoughts or tips would be helpful.
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Two things come to mind. In my area there is a pretty substantial market for barn siding. Also cedar/ Juniper chests ect.
 
50% of my work related time is spent milling trees I've removed, or exotic species my associate companies have removed. The other 25% of my time is spent drying / storing / planing / selling the slabs. The other 25% is spent doing actual tree work, primarily large removals and crane work to produce more logs to get through my mill.

It's a hugely successful business model if you can tap the market, other companies benefit from pushing big logs your way because they don't have to dispose of them.. which at least in my city is a problem. Just have to tap into the buyers market, mainly successful urbanites who like that "Rustic" look.

Use words like "Live edge" "Salvaged" "Reclaimed" "Repurposed" "Recycled", they eat that shit up.
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Drew, very nice. I do a bit of Alaskan milling but not to the that extent as I lack the big machines to move it around. Really nice work you're doing. Whats sort of drying techniques do you use?
 
Drew, for the air do you just sticker and cover? Doing just air drying how long does it take to cure? Here in BC it's so humid it takes a year at least to stabilize.
 
Air drying time depends on thickness and relative environmental moisture levels, usual rule of thumb is one year for each inch of thickness.

For outdoors yes, just sticker and cover with a tarp leaving the ends open to allow air circulation, unless you have a garage or covered shed open to the elements which is a better solution. I have a large covered outdoor space that protects the slabs from snow and rain but they're open air. Sticker no more than 30cm apart. More stickers the better, but never less than one every 30cm or you will have warping between the stickers.
 
Ah, important step missed.. I always beeswax seal my endgrain. ALWAYS. bring beeswax to a boil and maintain boil while applying to keep it at a very low viscosity. This allows the beeswax to soak into the end grain rather then just get smeared on. This helps slow the moisture loss process, reducing the chance of checking from the endgrain.
 
Treezybreez said:
Very nice drew. You are a true craftsman. How did you weather proof the wood?
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Thanks! Pretty basic construction! If you think I'm a craftsman you should see my attempted bowtie joints, you might change your opinion. This bench was going indoors, so only tung oil was used as a finishing product.
 
Drewtree said:
50% of my work related time is spent milling trees I've removed, or exotic species my associate companies have removed. The other 25% of my time is spent drying / storing / planing / selling the slabs. The other 25% is spent doing actual tree work, primarily large removals and crane work to produce more logs to get through my mill.

It's a hugely successful business model if you can tap the market, other companies benefit from pushing big logs your way because they don't have to dispose of them.. which at least in my city is a problem. Just have to tap into the buyers market, mainly successful urbanites who like that "Rustic" look.

Use words like "Live edge" "Salvaged" "Reclaimed" "Repurposed" "Recycled", they eat that shit up.
11393236_10152924186902951_3856686813523106737_n.jpg
1798479_10151964404127951_1274265599_n.jpg
578181_10151799193692951_835799922_n.jpg
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How do you market your slabs? Do you have a few frequent buyers or many infrequent buyers or both? And how do you price the stuff?
 
im finding hardware is a big problem with the logs we get. We hit something in a butternut log that stopped us dead. I'm thinking maybe we should get a second ripping chain... Do you guys use metal detectors? I hear you need a really good one but obviously don't want to spend a lot.
 
I have four ripping chains and can usually identify where the metal is based on the oxidization in the end grain, if the metal is anything large we just cut it off rather than try to cut through it. Most of the time it's a small nail.. I have 6 ripping chains from grandberg, two for each saw I own and I mill with two 090G's on the double ended bar an 880 and occasionally a 660 for smaller stuff.
 
Good info and thanks Drew. I've painted the ends but will use beeswax next time. I do have issues with checking so maybe this will help.
I too have the old torque stihls. A 070 and a 090. The 090 needs a bit of work so usually run the 070 and use a 460 for smaller stuff.
I'm very envious of the large species of Angiosperms there are in Ontario and the east. Makes me want to take a trip out with a flatbed trailer!
 
I've read some options from sawyers and lumber buyers that dispel the painted end idea. It sure doesn't hurt but a growing concensus is that it doesn't help. Milling a few inches longer for cutoff takes care of mos t checking Painting doesn't seem to lessen the checking in side by side comparisons.

I am always happy to hear that logs get aged and made into. Product
 
Boiled beezwax and linseed oil work. When I started using it my end grain just stopped checking altogether. When applied correctly with the correct ratio of wax / oil you won't have any problems.
 
Since I started doing this 7 years ago I've re-purposed thousands of logs. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside whenever I come up on a job site where the tree guys were about to buck a nice black walnut into firewood lengths and cart it off and I get to tell them to leave it the hell alone. Believe me, this shit happens all the time in Toronto.. most wasteful city when it comes to wood utilization.
 
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