Sawmilling

[Magicman]

Those Oak logs are for next week.

I set up this afternoon on these Pine logs that I will saw tomorrow. There are more hidden from the camera angle.

 

[Tughill Tom]

Just saw this on GovDeals. https://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?fa=Main.Item&itemid=18&acctid=13820

Looks nice

 

[Magicman]

Luke and I spent this week sawmilling. That's about 7500 board feet of Oak and Pine. Yes, it was a good week, especially working with my youngest (18 years old) grandson.

 

[Magicman]

And then there were these two almost identical bookmatched boards.

Looks like some kinda creature.

 

[skeets]

OH my that is pretty !

 

[SidecarFlip]

View attachment 47471
Luke and I spent this week sawmilling. That's about 7500 board feet of Oak and Pine. Yes, it was a good week, especially working with my youngest (18 years old) grandson.

Considering the recent uptick in milled lumber prices, I'd say you are sitting on a fortune there.

Example, a sheet of .40 retention CDX plywood went from 20 bucks to 50 a sheet here. Insane.

Right now, it's actually less expensive to buy composite boards.

 

[Magicman]

We finished sawing for this last customer Wednesday.

We added these last two stacks of Pine and Red Oak making a total of 10,439 board feet. He won't have to be concerned about buying lumber for a while.

 

[Magicman]

I finished sawing framing lumber for a new home yesterday; 2X4's, 6's, 12's plus 10X10 posts. A total of 13,907 board feet. The stack in the back is over 12' and the next is over 11'.

All of the lifts are 48" wide.

Oh yes, and a 4X15 beam. The longest lumber is 20' and the Oak posts are 9'.

 

[Magicman]

Here is a small sample of some Southern Yellow Pine lumber that I sawed last June for a new home. Below are some pictures that my customer sent me of some of the finished product. The 2" in the center will become the kitchen counter and island top and the wide lumber on the right will become stair treads and risers. The 1X7's will become mostly flooring and ceiling.

V-groove Porch ceiling being installed.

Flooring.

More flooring with a bit of ceiling showing.

More flooring with some wall paneling between the shelves.

Flooring and the kitchen island top on the left. The island top is from the 2" lumber shown in the center of the first picture.

 

[JimmyJazz]

I had the occasion of dealing with a sawmill for the first time about seven years ago. I was renovating a log house built around 1850. I called Ritenour Lumber in Champion,Pa and explained to Darlene who answered that I needed some flooring and I wanted it to look old. She suggested wormy red oak. Knowing zero about this kind of thing I immediately agreed. I then asked her if they could leave some saw marks in the wood. It this point she conferred with the owner and Sawyer and I swore I heard them laughing at the knucklehead from the city. They asked if I wanted splinters in my feet or not. They invited me up when the sanding part of the process started to help get it just right. Came out great. I have been back several times since. They also loaned me their trailer to haul it with each visit. Few things are as manly for a city slicker as going to the sawmill. I highly recommend it. As an aside I will also recommend giving a listen to "My sweet Annette" by the Drive By Truckers on YouTube. The song makes reference to a sawmill.

 

[Magicman]

Yes, Ambrosia Beetle holes in lumber is very attractive. Many times furniture will have black spots that were added by the finisher to imitate those beetle holes/damage.

 

[PoTreeBoy]

Magicman, that's gotta be satisfying to see the end product of your labor. How did he dry the lumber?

 

[Magicman]

It was taken to a millworks guy for kiln, plane, tongue & groove, and sanding.

Yes, I love to see the finished product and get the satisfaction of knowing how my product was put to use and enjoyed by my cusomer and his family.

 

[skeets]

Ya know looking back at this thread, I remember going to some little mills and getting truck loads of slab wood for the wood stove, and they were happy to get rid of that and sawdust too. Last time I stopped at one little operation, they wanted 100 bucks for a bundle maybe 8 feet long, and 4 feet across, and GOK's what was in there, I guess it would fill a truck bed, and the saw dust was being sold by the yard. Things surely have changed and getting worse

 

[D2Cat]

Skeets, things are changing fast, and not for the good. Heck, I nicked the skin on my thumb the other day and went to put a bandaid on it. I could hardly get the thing out of the wrapper. Use to be a string you could pull to open the thing, now you just have to fight it, and it's not easy to get a grip on that paper!

 

[Magicman]

Maybe I should clarify a bit about beetles. Powerpost Beetles are bad dudes. They infest hardwood, seemingly the drier the better. They live and multiply within the board while steadily turning it into...well, dust. Boric Acid products such as Timbor and Solubor will keep them out. Once they infest lumber, heat in the range of 160 degrees is about all that can/will kill them. They prefer hardwood and once a finish is applied, there is no problem.

Ambrosia Beetles infest logs/lumber while there is still moisture within, and they will drill their little holes and exit as the lumber dries. They often leave a little pyramid of sawdust around their exit hole and usually their holes have a black stain around them hence the decorative effect. They can not live in dry wood and cause no further damage.

 

[sheepfarmer]

Maybe I should clarify a bit about beetles. Powerpost Beetles are bad dudes. They infest hardwood, seemingly the drier the better. They live and multiply within the board while steadily turning it into...well, dust. Boric Acid products such as Timbor and Solubor will keep them out. Once they infest lumber, heat in the range of 160 degrees is about all that can/will kill them. They prefer hardwood and once a finish is applied, there is no problem.

Ambrosia Beetles infest logs/lumber while there is still moisture within, and they will drill their little holes and exit as the lumber dries. They often leave a little pyramid of sawdust around their exit hole and usually their holes have a black stain around them hence the decorative effect. They can not live in dry wood and cause no further damage.

When I first moved to this farm 40 years ago, my old barn, old as in hand hewn beams, probably built in the 1800’s some time, was infested with powder post beetles. I ended up having it tented and treated with some kind of toxic gas. I didn’t see any activity for many years but they’re back in some of the beams. I put a good roof on it, and replaced key parts of the foundation so it is square. Not sure I am up for treating it because of the cats and horses in it. Also think even if untreated it will outlast me. Also wondering if I reintroduced them by storing my rough sawn lumber in the hay lofts.

 

[Magicman]

Also wondering if I reintroduced them by storing my rough sawn lumber in the hay lofts.

That may be a possibility, but if the beams were hardwood, they probably had already become their home and meal.

 

[RCW]

Heck, I nicked the skin on my thumb the other day and went to put a bandaid on it. I could hardly get the thing out of the wrapper. Use to be a string you could pull to open the thing, now you just have to fight it, and it's not easy to get a grip on that paper!

So true....farm boy, restaurant cook, shade tree mechanic. I've shed a lot of blood. Real good at getting myself bandaged up.

When I'm bleeding, my wife will ask how she can help.

I tell her get the friggin' bandaids out of the wrapper....

 

[Magicman]

Inside of the passenger door of my truck:

Three boxes of Band-Aids and a large bandage compress. Thankfully I have never needed the bandage compress.