Sawmills

[Post_Oakie]

I have picked up some great urban logs that were cut by tree care companies. Even with a little metal, they were very much worth the effort. Does anyone on this post use a sawmill, or work with sawmills to utilize the larger logs?

 

[brendonv]

I currently trade logs for time on the mill for a guy turn my logs into lumber for my own use. I'd like to get one someday.

 

[cory]

Back in the day I used to run a Wood Mizer a lot, it was fun, and they have evolved quite a bit.

 

[chep]

I just bought a used Lucas 618 mill. Also came with a 30" slabbing attatchment. The power head needed a total overhaul and is in the shop, but I am pumped on the possibilities.
I have been hoarding logs and strange tree growths for years in anticipation... it is a dream come true.
In college I worked for a guy with an all manual bandsawmill. Thats when the I got the bug! I love seeing the insides of trees!

 

[just_a_tree_guy]

welcome to the buzz oakie !!! nice mill . i would like to buy a norwood someday . how does it work for you ? do you like it ? i sell logs sometime and do river logging for fun and profit . really cool to cut some of them up . i am really into woodworking and building things out of wood . i do not have a mill yet but have access to one .

 

[Post_Oakie]

[ QUOTE ]


welcome to the buzz oakie !!! nice mill . i would like to buy a norwood someday . how does it work for you ? do you like it ? i sell logs sometime and do river logging for fun and profit . really cool to cut some of them up . i am really into woodworking and building things out of wood . i do not have a mill yet but have access to one .

[/ QUOTE ]

Tree guy, the Norwood is just about as perfect for the kind of cutting I do as I can imagine (after a few minor tweaks). Good solid machine, and it handles short, odd-shaped pieces, as well as up to 34" diameter logs. Simple to use and maintain, and inexpensive to run. The customer service is great.

I'd like to hear more about your river logging! What river and what logs?

Here's a photo of a walnut crotch from a piece that the loggers left out in the woods. It had been sitting on the ground several years before I picked it up.

 

[Raven]

Holy heartwood Oakie-man!

Do you think the "sitting on the ground several years" helped to minimize sapwood/accentuate the inner beauty of the beast?

Nice sawing!

 

[BigWood]

We've got a Norwood too, my boss just had 2700 sqft of red oak installed that he milled, looks incredible. His kitchen island is 5'x9'x3" think walnut. I almost fell over wher I saw it.
My friends dad has been building a house and finishing every room with a different species of wood found on his property, floors trim and door,. Even has a basswood cathedral ceiling in his great room. It's awesome to be involved in every step from felling ( sometimes climbing) the tree, skidding, milling, drying, machining the wood. Seeing the pride in his face is something I can only envy.

 

[Treezybreez]

Wow! that sounds pretty neat Big wood. How about some pics? I doubt he would mind showing off his master piece.

 

[surveyor]

That well cured walnut would sure make an interesting piece of furniture, maybe a tabletop?

Make sure to wear a mask for cutting cedar, as the sawdust is hard on the lungs.

 

[just_a_tree_guy]

oakie very nice ! that would make a nice bar top ! the logs we get are very deep in the river . so deep that there is no oxygen that they are exposed to . because there is no oxygen they will not breakdown and rot . sitting in sediments the wood takes on a whole new look . the sediments work into the wood after many years of being submerged . you can make alot of cool stuff out of it . wish you lived near me so i could bring you one to cut in half . i can tell you are a kick azz dude . take care ..

 

[just_a_tree_guy]

ohio and beaver river . located in pa . there are also alot of tributaries that run into these two rivers that you can get good logs from to . during times of heavy rain the river becomes full of water and very tubulant flow . this flow moves some logs around and exposes them in areas that make them easier to get to . most trees we find are maple and oak , but there are also other species there as well . locust , cherry , basswood ect .

 

[Post_Oakie]

Bigwood,I notice that you're from Toronto. I'm headed up there this weekend! I'll be at Norwood's open house in Buffalo, NY on Saturday, and up around Toronto Sun & Mon. I'll PM you my contact info. I'd love to see what your boss is doing with the mill, if he'd be willing to show it. I second the request for photos!!!

Raven, there is less sapwood, because it has pretty much all rotted off. I do think that sitting there all those years has given the wood a richer, darker color, though. Amazing that tons of wood like that gets left in the woods every day. Sawing crosswise through the crotch can result in some incredible grain pattern, especially in walnut.

It will probably end up as a coffee table top. I've got some bigger pieces for counter tops.

Just a Tree Guy, I'll be out your way for the Paul Bunyan show (Zanesville, OH)in October. I've also got a good friend with a Norwood mill not far from Harrisburg. He is a high end woodworker, and might be interested in your river logs. I recently wrote an article about him for Sawmill & Woodlot Management magazine. I'll PM you his web site.

 

[treesandsurf]

Very cool I've been looking into mills lately, we have a lot of cool tropical trees that have great wood and end up being chipped or pay to dispose of in a large tub grinder. One day when I can get the money together...

jp

 

[Post_Oakie]

One day??? Meanwhile the trees are going to the grinder. I'll trade a boatload of our Missouri walnut for some Hawaiian koa any day! Don't put a sawmill on your "bucket list". Chain saw mills (Norwood, Granberg, Logosol) aren't all that expensive. It would give you something to start out with, and you could move up to a band mill later. I started out with a chain saw mill and still use it to break down logs over 34" diameter so they'll go on the Norwood.

 

[Bixler]

I swear to god I bought this saw from Billy Ray Cyrus's cousin. Cool huh? Stihl 090 54" milling bar set up. Also came with a 42" regular bar and chain, this saw rips.





Old black oak limb we milled...



They turned out alright, for it being my first time and all.

 

[Post_Oakie]

Bixler,

Nice photos! Black walnut? I use an Alaska chain saw mill to break down logs too big for the mill. I put a chain saw engine on each end of the bar-- a Husq 372 on one end, and a Stihl 066 on the other. It takes two people to run, but it does chew through the log. Thanks for posting.

 

[just_a_tree_guy]

what system is that bixler ? i do not have money for a mill yet and would like to start with something like you have there .

 

[Toparboring]

Welcome Post Oakie to the buzz. that is some nice milling , you too Bixler Hopefully I will have some Walnut milled soon been on the ground for 4yrs. have 2 more to come down to get milled. What kind of mill do you run Oakie? Getting the Alaskan mill for smaller wood , but need a real mill for the larger wood.

 

[Zach]

Bixler, really cool rig there. So that power head and bar are both designed solely for milling then? I have seen the older 090's but a little different. It's hard not not to be interested in milling the stuff we cut down. I find it really hard to buck some of the stuff into firewood. A hobby I'm sure I'll take up in the far distant future!