Robert Morse Posted December 21, 2017 Report Share Posted December 21, 2017 As part of the build for my shop, I had a large maple tree removed. Yesterday, I had that log milled up, and I thought I'd share some pictures and the experience. This ended up being a bit of a rush due to the timing of the shop build. My original plan was to have the log milled right on the flat area where the shop is going. The guy who felled the tree and did our site prep left the log against a fence at the back of the build area. But the contractor doing the build was able to start early, and I needed to move the log away from the build site, or I would not have been able to get it out once they started building. So we rented an excavator on Sunday. I cut the log into 7' and 12' lengths and hauled them out to the driveway. A co-worker had just picked up his new WoodMizer, and he graciously offered to come over and mill these for me. We started around 9, and I believe we finished cutting around 1:30. The saw was quite a machine - hydraulic log lift and positioners, the saw had a power drive, and even a mini-saw that scored the bark. We cut the logs down into mostly 2x5's. I'm planning to use this primarily for a roubo workbench build in a couple of years, so that seemed like a good size. I also kept a couple of smallish slabs which have some amazing grain character, and a whole mess of 1x1 stickers... SO MANY STICKERS. Oh, and we had one spot in the log where we hit 7 nails in the span of about 6". In the interest of not ruining another blade, I now have a 6x5" x 12' long beam. We changed the blade 2 times in total, once after the nails, and once because it was cutting slower. My plan for tonight is to move the boards inside the garage, brush the dust off them, resticker them and then paint the ends. Then I'll have the joy of moving them again when the shop is finished next month. What an amazing experience - I learned a ton, and I have a full woodrack before the shop is even finished. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyokahn Posted December 21, 2017 Report Share Posted December 21, 2017 Nice! I admire your patience in advance, waiting for it to dry is well beyond my skillset if you found any nicely figured boards/pieces, will that be going into the workbench too? or do you have other plans for it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minorhero Posted December 21, 2017 Report Share Posted December 21, 2017 Looks great! What are you using to cover the ends with? I keep wanting to do this with some trees on my parents property but never find the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Morse Posted December 21, 2017 Author Report Share Posted December 21, 2017 4 minutes ago, minorhero said: Looks great! What are you using to cover the ends with? Latex paint. I have a ton of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Morse Posted December 21, 2017 Author Report Share Posted December 21, 2017 36 minutes ago, kyokahn said: if you found any nicely figured boards/pieces, will that be going into the workbench too? or do you have other plans for it? There's a couple of boards with nice figure - I'll likely use those for the front and back of the bench, or laminate into the legs. There's a ton of figure in the slabs I saved - I'd like to make those into something else... maybe chisel handles, knife handles, or drawer faces for a jewelry box for my kid. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minorhero Posted December 21, 2017 Report Share Posted December 21, 2017 Fantastic! I have heard you can speed up drying time if you circulate the air where it is stored. No experience myself but it sounds good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drzaius Posted December 21, 2017 Report Share Posted December 21, 2017 No experience with drying lumber, but I do know that latex paint passes water vapor very easily, even with multiple coats, so you might want to look into that further. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted December 21, 2017 Report Share Posted December 21, 2017 Hitting those nails must’ve ruined quite a few teeth. What is that going to cost ? Maybe you could buy him a metal detector ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Morse Posted December 21, 2017 Author Report Share Posted December 21, 2017 41 minutes ago, drzaius said: No experience with drying lumber, but I do know that latex paint passes water vapor very easily, even with multiple coats, so you might want to look into that further. Thanks for the feedback - this is my first time doing it, and I heard it wasn't as good as anchorseal, but it would get the job done. I'll look into it further before I commit 100% 22 minutes ago, wdwerker said: Hitting those nails must’ve ruined quite a few teeth. What is that going to cost ? Maybe you could buy him a metal detector ? yeah, the sawyer was a little frustrated. He actually has (and used) a metal detector, but these nails were on the underside/middle of the log, so it didn't trip when he scanned it the first time. These nails were deep in the tree, they'd been there quite a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted December 21, 2017 Report Share Posted December 21, 2017 Maybe he could scan between cuts ? Just a thought, I know time is usually a factor too but checking has to be faster than changing a blade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Morse Posted December 21, 2017 Author Report Share Posted December 21, 2017 18 minutes ago, wdwerker said: Maybe he could scan between cuts ? Just a thought, I know time is usually a factor too but checking has to be faster than changing a blade. He started scanning more often after that first encounter. We were probably 3/4 done with the first log when we found them. Side note: the metal frame of the sawmill made it hard to scan with the metal detector; it was frequently detecting the frame. The fact the tree has been present on the lot thru 3 different owners in the past 40 years didn't help: we had no idea of the history of the tree. Based on the nail pattern, we think they had hung a swing or something similarly heavy from that spot. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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