Popular Post Bmac Posted December 1, 2018 Popular Post Report Share Posted December 1, 2018 Tis the season for me to start cutting wood, both for the woodstove (next year's stash) and for my woodworking habit. I am very fortunate to have access to some very nice trees. This black walnut was on my property, it's the tree in the center of the photo with a nice branchless trunk. This should give me some primo logs. I saw it the first time I looked at the property in 1998 with a realtor. I harvested one very similar to this 2 years ago and it's time to for this one to be repurposed; Dropped it with no problem, as this is always something that you do with the upmost care. Spanky, take note that I dropped it just right so i didn't break the wood at the crotch; And here is the money shot, gorgeous color, a centered pith, no terrible cracking. The sapwood is a little thicker than I was hoping but I'll still take it; Width is about 26" wide, plenty big for my purposes; I applied anchorseal, 2 coats, left the rest of the tree whole for now. Did clean up the small branches. I should be able to get three 8' logs below the crotch, I'll then salvage/mill a few peckerpoles and the crotch piece. This log is too nice, I think I will hire an onsite bandsaw mill to do this as my chainsaw mill's kerf will eat up too much of this primo wood. I'll update this thread as I move forward with the harvesting of this nice tree. Thanks for looking 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted December 1, 2018 Report Share Posted December 1, 2018 Looking forward to seeing the progress Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spanky Posted December 1, 2018 Report Share Posted December 1, 2018 MR Timber Cutter, you done good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spanky Posted December 1, 2018 Report Share Posted December 1, 2018 Ain’t the white sapwood a little wide for a northern walnut? I have never cut a northern walnut tree. That looks like a southern walnut by the white sapwood. I think you have been fertilizing that tree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom King Posted December 1, 2018 Report Share Posted December 1, 2018 Nice Walnut tree! Good thinking on calling in a band mill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bmac Posted December 1, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 1, 2018 56 minutes ago, Spanky said: Ain’t the white sapwood a little wide for a northern walnut? I have never cut a northern walnut tree. That looks like a southern walnut by the white sapwood. I think you have been fertilizing that tree. Delaware is further south than you think, we are below the Mason Dixon Line! Actually a few walnuts I cut last year had real wide sapwood, global warming maybe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpt life Posted December 1, 2018 Report Share Posted December 1, 2018 1 hour ago, Spanky said: Ain’t the white sapwood a little wide for a northern walnut? I have never cut a northern walnut tree. That looks like a southern walnut by the white sapwood. I think you have been fertilizing that tree. No. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spanky Posted December 1, 2018 Report Share Posted December 1, 2018 If they are growing in good rich soil they will have alot of white sapwood. I have cut them here with 1” or less sapwood and as wide as 4” of white sapwood. The wide white sapwood will made a walnut bring $1 to $2 per ft less money than one with a1” or less on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bmac Posted December 4, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2018 Here's a quick update; Just scheduled the bandsaw mill for mid-Dec, will cost me $80 per hr. I will break the tree down and arrange the logs this weekend so I'll be all ready for the sawyer. Planning to use a friends bobcat to get the logs lined up for the mill. Preparation is key to minimizing the bill. More to come... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art Posted December 6, 2018 Report Share Posted December 6, 2018 Looks like fun. Looking at stuff like this makes me wish we lived in the country... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted December 7, 2018 Report Share Posted December 7, 2018 Do you need to seal the ends in that climate? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spanky Posted December 7, 2018 Report Share Posted December 7, 2018 8 hours ago, Brendon_t said: Do you need to seal the ends in that climate? Yes on walnut. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bmac Posted December 10, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 10, 2018 Spent a few minutes today breaking down this nice tree. Got 3 great saw logs about 8' each from below the crotch. Cut the crotch piece out and in the foreground you see a few smaller logs cut from above the crotch. I'll mill the crotch piece and the smaller logs with my chainsaw mill. The bandsaw mill will take care of the 3 main/big logs. Next I need to move the logs to get them lined up and in position for the bandsaw mill. The mill will be set up near where my truck is parked. You can also see the ends have all been sealed, I use anchorseal and this will get clear when it dries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spanky Posted December 10, 2018 Report Share Posted December 10, 2018 We need a few pics of you stacking 12/4 walnut 8 ft long 20” wide. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bmac Posted December 10, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 10, 2018 I thought you wanted a few pics of me chainsaw milling. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Spanky Posted December 10, 2018 Popular Post Report Share Posted December 10, 2018 I like to see pics of anybody that will work. You don’t see that anymore. Most people think a ipad hardwork anymore. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Bmac Posted December 10, 2018 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted December 10, 2018 I'm not allergic to work, a lot of people are. I was born to work outside and now I'm stuck inside for my work. Grew up on my Grandfather's dairy farm, he milked cows 2x a day, 7 days a week regardless of the weather, that's working! That doesn't include feeding the cows, cleaning up after them, growing crops, fixing machinery, and any other chore that needed to be done. He set the example for me. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spanky Posted December 10, 2018 Report Share Posted December 10, 2018 Yes, that’s working! You learn to do a lot of different things growing up on a farm. That will last a life time. The ole country farm boy’s can do just about anything. I logged and farmed beef cows. I sold the farm a few years ago and quit, no money in farming anymore. I like to work but not far free. The family farms are just about gone now. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted December 10, 2018 Report Share Posted December 10, 2018 1 hour ago, Spanky said: I like to see pics of anybody that will work. You don’t see that anymore. Most people think a ipad hardwork anymore. Man i wish i could get the pay check i get and do nothing but saw logs all day... ZZZzzzz 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spanky Posted December 10, 2018 Report Share Posted December 10, 2018 1 minute ago, Chestnut said: Man i wish i could get the pay check i get and do nothing but saw logs all day... ZZZzzzz I get to saw logs all day, but I get to hear the woodworkers cry too about the price of lumber. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bmac Posted December 10, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 10, 2018 16 minutes ago, Chestnut said: Man i wish i could get the pay check i get and do nothing but saw logs all day... ZZZzzzz 13 minutes ago, Spanky said: I get to saw logs all day, but I get to hear the woodworkers cry too about the price of lumber. I think of sawing logs and being outside working all day as recreation, that may sound weird but it is fun for me. I also think if I had to do it for a living the fun would go away. If I was doing it everyday and no one wanted to pay me then the fun would go away very quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted December 10, 2018 Report Share Posted December 10, 2018 48 minutes ago, Spanky said: I get to saw logs all day, but I get to hear the woodworkers cry too about the price of lumber. Was my joke too clever? Sawing logs aka snoring? Ya know like sleeping all day. 28 minutes ago, Bmac said: I think of sawing logs and being outside working all day as recreation, that may sound weird but it is fun for me. I also think if I had to do it for a living the fun would go away. If I was doing it everyday and no one wanted to pay me then the fun would go away very quickly. To me the manual labor and being outside is my recreation as well. It helps clear the mind and makes you realize what matters. I agree doing it for a paycheck would get old fast. I don't know what makes it change but there is something about adding money to the equation that just sucks the fun out of stuff. There are a few exceptions to that. Like driving. I love getting paid to drive. I get a fair amount of windshield time with my job and it's the best break a guy can get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spanky Posted December 10, 2018 Report Share Posted December 10, 2018 8 hours ago, Chestnut said: Man i wish i could get the pay check i get and do nothing but saw logs all day... ZZZzzzz Your ZZZZZZ went over my poor ole head! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bmac Posted December 14, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 14, 2018 Spent some time today moving logs. Logs lined up for bandsaw mill scheduled on Mon. Looks like rain will cause us to reschedule. Here's the lineup; First 3 logs are Paulownia, 14"-12"; Next 3 are Walnut, 26" at widest, secondary logs at 18-20"; 5 White Oak logs, average size around 22-24:, widest part of butt log 28" Smaller Walnut, Paulownia, and 2 good sized White Oak logs in the background, hoping for good weather. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted December 14, 2018 Report Share Posted December 14, 2018 On 12/10/2018 at 6:15 AM, Spanky said: Yes, that’s working! You learn to do a lot of different things growing up on a farm. That will last a life time. The ole country farm boy’s can do just about anything. I logged and farmed beef cows. I sold the farm a few years ago and quit, no money in farming anymore. I like to work but not far free. The family farms are just about gone now. We sold off most of ours over there past decade. There's a little house that sits on the front 20 of what used to be 700 acres of our farm. All that's left. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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