What kind of tree. how should I rip boards out ?

[raul segura]

36 ft tall girth about 11 inches at its widest.
Yellow and brown all the way up.
Has a peach tree or cherry tree like bark on newer growth.
Serated leaves .
Is it cherry, birch ? Looked it up but ???

Ill attempt to rip some 3/4 boards and various 1/4 sheets, what ever I can get economically with such a small tree.

[how thick should I strip out a log or two to dry if I am to make 1/8 to 1/16 in. sheets] should I go thick ? I realize thickness will prolong the drying stage.

Washed and dragged them to garage as it'll freeze tonight. Painted the ends with art canvas jeso and a finish paint over that. The wood cracks very easily. The loges split very easily while chainsawing. More splits developing day after felling. It feels a little more dense than dry poplar while still wet . I suppose that will change as it dries. Ill be using 3/4 in wide blade with a grizzly 2hp band saw first real attempt.

It feels good to save this from the wood pile if it turns out to be good lumber.
PS.
Any one want a Hickory 50 ft. 31 inch diameter, its also in my neighbors yard.
Gainsville Ga. I hear it'll eat your blades !!

[Bill Rogers]

I will hazard the first guess that the subject tree is a birch. Try scratching the bark and if it has the smell of wintergreen then it is a Yellow Birch (Betula alleghaniensis).

Bill

[Chip Lindley]

Looks like black cherry to me. Lots of sapwood in a tree that small. There will be lots of splitting along the center pith.

Others may comment on how thick to cut it. Off hand, I would guess thin veneers may survive better than 3/4" boards.

You may well get a few usable boards from the log, but count your lucky stars if you do.

[Steve Bagi]

Black cherry.

[Greg Book]

It does look very similar to a cherry tree felled at my workplace. I took some of the logs and milled them on my Grizzly 14" bandsaw. It worked well, but there is a lot of sapwood, and the boards cupped and twisted a lot after drying. From four 6-8" diameter x 24-30" logs, I probably only got 60% useable rough sawn lumber. I know that percentage will go down even more when I start milling it.

But, regardless... its fun :)

[Jamie Buxton]

A common mistake of first-time sawyers is to cut the lumber too thin. During the drying process, the wood's going to shrink and cup and warp. When it is surfaced enough to remove all of that stuff, you get wood that's too thin to use. Cut it at least a full 4/4, and I'd try to get some 8/4 too.

[raul segura]

[Try scratching the bark and if it has the smell of wintergreen]

NO WINTERGREEN.

[Looks like black cherry to me. Lots of sapwood in a tree that small.]

IT DIDN'T LOOK LIKE SAPWOOD TO ME BECAUSE OF THE TRANSIENT BORDER LINES?

[my Grizzly 14" band saw. It worked well, but there is a lot of sapwood, and the boards cupped and twisted a lot after drying.]

GLAD TO HERE ABOUT THE GRIZZLY, I'M HOPING I DON'T DULL A BLADE FOR USELESS WOOD.

[A common mistake of first-time sawyers is to cut the lumber too thin.]

ILL DEFINITELY KEEP THAT IN MIND,PERHAPS KEEPING IT THICK THEN TAKING THIN LAMINATING SHEETS FROM IT ETC.

I SUPPOSE BLACK CHERRY ISN'T ALL THAT DESIRABLE ?
MAYBE ILL GET ENOUGH OUT OF IT TO TINKER WITH.


THANKS TO ALL FOR THE INPUT, I GET TIRED OF PINE SOME TIMES.

[Josiah Bartlett]

Black cherry in that size should give you enough wood for small projects like bandsaw boxes. For stuff that size I like to plain saw it into 3 or 5 slabs when its wet (with one of the slabs being the center section) and then dry it, and live with any warpage. You will get some checking along the pith. After plain sawing, I take the plank that was in the center of the tree and rip it down the pith when its still wet (that's the center). This almost always cracks, and if you rip it before it dries you relieve any stress so it won't crack into the good wood. You will get two small quarter sawn sections this way and either two or four plain sawn planks. I use the stuff that is toward the outside of the tree for legs and turnings, because you don't care much if they cup. Table tops, lids, and door pieces should be taken from closer to the center of the tree.

You shouldn't have to worry about this dulling your bandsaw blade as long as you peel it first. The bark contains the grit that tends to dull the blade, the wood inside shouldn't affect it unless you hit a nail or something.

[Danny Hamsley]

I am confident that it is a cherry, probably an ornamental variety bred to produce larger fruit than our native black cherry.

[raul segura]

Josiah,
Cutting the larger boards down the center sounds like a good idea and in three parts would put me just about 1.5 to 2 inches thick.
What is the easiest way of de barking with out getting any thing fancy ?

What would you use for lubricating the blade. I'm also setting up a lubricating system on my guide area of the band saw. Ran some oil through it just as a test and it really made a difference on dry wood. I heard on larger units they sometimes run water, I don't like rust. Perhaps soapy water or some sort of cooking oil.

[Philip Johnson]

It appears to me to also be some type of cherry tree.

Take a look at timberwolf bandmill blades, not sure how small of saw you can use them on. One inch is the smallest blade and I think they only have about 1.5 or 2 teeth per inch. I put one on a 24 inch saw and it went thru green wood like butter.

Dig around on their website under band mill blades and they have a few sawing tips, for lube they say mix chainsaw bar oil and diesel.

Phil

[raul segura]

for lube they say mix chainsaw bar oil and diesel.
That sounds good thanks I just started reading the thread on this page
http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=149862
I may have to ask about a blade there, my saw will take up to a 3/4 but not sure how well it would actually due with it.

[Mark Bolton]

Really with a bandsaw (the large saw mill style you mention, we and many here have them) anything you put on the blade when sawing is acting as a coolant not a lubricant. It is there to reduce heat to maintain blade tension and reduce wear. As you build heat in the blade it expands and you lose tension, this to be avoided. I am not positive how others do it in the shop but with the right blade I dont think you will need any coolant and I really dont think you want to be soaking your bandsaw in diesel fuel. Water is what we use only adding windshield wiper fluid in the winter as an antifreeze.

Hopefully someone who has broken down small logs in their shop will comment on the coolant but I dont think you need it.

Mark