Chestnut Posted March 30, 2016 Report Share Posted March 30, 2016 I got hooked up with a local guy who owns a band mill and has been milling some interesting domestic trees. I ended up buying about 42 BF of chokecherry off of him as well as roughly 50 BF of green ash (I think). I also bought a small piece of Russian olive, just to see what would happen to it when finish hit it. The chokecherry is all from the same log so i can book match some of it to make a top for the entertainment stand that I'm planning on making. I just bought the green ash because it was ash and it was $1 / BF. He did mention that the ash was intentionally quarter sawn. I'm not really too sure why he did that, it looks the same as flat sawn ash. I also found a local dealer for west system epoxy and grabbed .33 galon of 207 for $80. Closest i could find it for online was $20 more so i figured i got a decent deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted March 30, 2016 Report Share Posted March 30, 2016 Good deals! What's the moisture content on the lumber? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted March 30, 2016 Report Share Posted March 30, 2016 Buddies with a mill are awesome, and it sucks at the same time. i milled all the ash for my bench with my buddy after giving him $50 for the logs . No milling charge. I also have a few boards of some super random woods. I just recently made a small box from Jacaranda he cut and decided to mill up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted March 30, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2016 Oh shoot i knew i was forgetting something. The chokecherry is just short of sopping wet at 21-22% the green ash is a nice 10%. I don't have a moisture gauge so I'm going to try and use a scale to find EMC. I'm thinking the ash is getting close. Flattening all this out is going to be a chore. I'll need to build myself a router sled and a flat table, i don't have a jointer to handle this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted March 30, 2016 Report Share Posted March 30, 2016 1 minute ago, Chestnut said: Oh shoot i knew i was forgetting something. The chokecherry is just short of sopping wet at 21-22% the green ash is a nice 10%. I don't have a moisture gauge so I'm going to try and use a scale to find EMC. I'm thinking the ash is getting close. Moisture meters aren't that expensive and super handy to have! 21% is wet but, it's not "sopping" where I'm at.. Most of what I have in my shop runs about 11% which is normal for where I am. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted March 30, 2016 Report Share Posted March 30, 2016 2 minutes ago, TIODS said: 21% is wet but, it's not "sopping" where I'm at.. Agreed, a week after cutting up a bunch of sycamore, it measured high 60's%. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted March 30, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2016 I guess maybe i exaggerated a little bit but the surface is wet to the touch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted March 30, 2016 Report Share Posted March 30, 2016 6 minutes ago, Chestnut said: I guess maybe i exaggerated a little bit but the surface is wet to the touch. I should have elaborated a little.. It's important to know what the typical moisture content is for where you live. 11% for me is normal but, would be way too wet for where Marc lives. Although I doubt that 21% is normal for your area, what is normal for your area? Yes, you can weigh the pieces but, when you're dealing with slabs the scale needed would be much more expensive that the meter. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted March 30, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2016 7 minutes ago, TIODS said: I should have elaborated a little.. It's important to know what the typical moisture content is for where you live. 11% for me is normal but, would be way too wet for where Marc lives. Although I doubt that 21% is normal for your area, what is normal for your area? Yes, you can weigh the pieces but, when you're dealing with slabs the scale needed would be much more expensive that the meter. I should just invest in a meter the questions you are asking are making that apparent. I don't know what typical MC is for my area. The RH in my house ranges from 15% in the winter to 60% in the summer. Currently I'm at 65 F and 32% in my shop. With a meter is comparing readings across species possible? I have a lot of hardwood that's been hanging out in my shop for over a year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted March 30, 2016 Report Share Posted March 30, 2016 4 minutes ago, Chestnut said: I should just invest in a meter the questions you are asking are making that apparent. I don't know what typical MC is for my area. The RH in my house ranges from 15% in the winter to 60% in the summer. Currently I'm at 65 F and 32% in my shop. With a meter is comparing readings across species possible? I have a lot of hardwood that's been hanging out in my shop for over a year. Absolutely! Because you have that material in your shop, it will be at a stable MC which will tell you exactly what the material you're bringing in should be at before working with it. Really cuts down on unexpected movement when milling up lumber! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted March 30, 2016 Report Share Posted March 30, 2016 My moisture meter came with a chart that gives you corrections for each species. Test in multiple locations. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted March 30, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2016 Got a meter on order from Electrophysics. Went with the recomeded CT-100 seems that a lot of people have good things to say about them. It comes from Canada, which means it can't be bad right? If it's wood related, curling related, or hockey related Canada knows best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 30, 2016 Report Share Posted March 30, 2016 1 minute ago, Chestnut said: Got a meter on order from Electrophysics. Went with the recomeded CT-100 seems that a lot of people have good things to say about them. It comes from Canada, which means it can't be bad right? If it's wood related, curling related, or hockey related Canada knows best. i have that meter. It works well but is not exactly simple. You actually have to read the directions!. I have found it is best to keep a few samples of common apecies in your shop that are well acclimated so you have a baseline for comparison. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted March 30, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2016 3 minutes ago, Mike. said: i have that meter. It works well but is not exactly simple. You actually have to read the directions!. I have found it is best to keep a few samples of common apecies in your shop that are well acclimated so you have a baseline for comparison. One of the good things about being a hoarder, i have tons of well acclimated pieces. I figured this stuff wasn't going to be simple if it was everyone would do it. I'm still not totally sure that I'll ever buy rough cut lumber again. I'm traveling down new roads here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted March 30, 2016 Report Share Posted March 30, 2016 54 minutes ago, Chestnut said: One of the good things about being a hoarder, i have tons of well acclimated pieces. I figured this stuff wasn't going to be simple if it was everyone would do it. I'm still not totally sure that I'll ever buy rough cut lumber again. I'm traveling down new roads here. Nothing wrong with the way you bought the lumber, there's just some knowledge that has to go with it and you're well on your way for that! Knowledge is king! Mike is right about samples in the shop.. Like you I have a bunch but, over time, I just know what stuff runs in my shop so, don't test scrap acclimated pieces much.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted March 30, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2016 11 minutes ago, TIODS said: Nothing wrong with the way you bought the lumber, there's just some knowledge that has to go with it and you're well on your way for that! Knowledge is king! Mike is right about samples in the shop.. Like you I have a bunch but, over time, I just know what stuff runs in my shop so, don't test scrap acclimated pieces much.. Oh i meant the work that is going to go into flattening and keeping things square. The lumber will look great but my jointer is meh (craftsman 6"), and I'll have to flatten the slabs with a router sled. I also don't really have a large enough flat table to run a router sled on, so I'll have to build one. It comes down to i have the knowledge, thanks to everyone here, on what to expect and i know i don't really have the tools to accomplish what i need to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted March 30, 2016 Report Share Posted March 30, 2016 1 minute ago, Chestnut said: Oh i meant the work that is going to go into flattening and keeping things square. The lumber will look great but my jointer is meh (craftsman 6"), and I'll have to flatten the slabs with a router sled. I also don't really have a large enough flat table to run a router sled on, so I'll have to build one. It comes down to i have the knowledge, thanks to everyone here, on what to expect and i know i don't really have the tools to accomplish what i need to. Having the need for the tools is the first step to owning them Works well with the wife when she sees you struggling with a task and you explain how much easier it would be if I only had X 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddclippinger Posted March 30, 2016 Report Share Posted March 30, 2016 We have Russian olive here in Billings too. I have veneer cut some and hit it with finish and WOW is it ever pretty! Congrats on the score! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted April 4, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2016 Cam home today to find a package at my house. Not knowing what it was i opened it to find this guy sitting inside. I was totally not expecting it to arrive until at least next week. So +1 for fast delivery. Also they messed up and were out of stock of the CT-100 and sent me a CT-808 instead. +1 for awesome service. Now I'm going to go run around and check moisture content on wood because new toys mean i revert back to a kid again. It appears that the temperature and humidity chart is right on for my shop EMC in the oak i had had sitting around for a couple years is 6%. This is a neat little tool. I gotta give this company 6 starts outta 5 for being so dang helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted April 12, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2016 I finally got in touch with the guy that was hording some curly cherry at the lumber yard. They ended up letting the curly stuff go for the cost of regular 4/4 cherry. I grabbed 60 BF @ $5/BF not a deal but the lumber looks pretty sweet. Is it possible for there to be too much figure? A couple boards were 14' long and 10" wide. I'm going to use this as the base on the TV stand and the slabs i bought earlier for the tops. I have enough wood to make 3 so i may try selling 2 of them to pay for all the wood and then some. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddclippinger Posted April 12, 2016 Report Share Posted April 12, 2016 5 minutes ago, Chestnut said: I finally got in touch with the guy that was hording some curly cherry at the lumber yard. They ended up letting the curly stuff go for the cost of regular 4/4 cherry. I grabbed 60 BF @ $5/BF not a deal but the lumber looks pretty sweet. Is it possible for there to be too much figure? A couple boards were 14' long and 10" wide. I'm going to use this as the base on the TV stand and the slabs i bought earlier for the tops. I have enough wood to make 3 so i may try selling 2 of them to pay for all the wood and then some. WOW! Good looking wood! Congrats! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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