Possible wood gloat (with your help!)

[Jim VanBramer]

I went out today and saw a gnarly old big leafed maple that was knocked down quite some time ago (years). The trunk just above the roots is about 4-4 1/2 feet in diameter with quite a bit of figure from what we can see. My friend and I are going to cut that up for turning blanks (if we can find a chainsaw big enuf:eek: ). The question I have is this: There are two branches that come off that piece, each about 2 feet in diameter, with a straight run of about 8-10 feet. I'm thinking of getting them out of there and having it milled up into lumber, but I'm wondering if I'm just asking for trouble. The trunks are old and twisted and I would think the grain would be extremely interesting, but I just don't know if the internal stresses would be such that I'd actually be creating corkscrews instead of boards! The reason I ask is because these aren't very easily accessible, but if you think they're worth the effort to pull outta there and have sawn up then I'll go ahead and give 'er a try. Any advice before I attempt this???:confused: Thanks.
Jim V

[Jim VanBramer]

Guess I'll bump this up once and see if the day shift has any thoughts on it.

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

Hi Jim, I've been milling some very gnarly wood, and I think that if you expect to get really straight long pieces, you may be disappointed, but if you figure you can get some short blocks of wood, that can then be resawn for small boxes or drawer fronts, then you may be pleasantly surprised.

You can also make some really nice pen blanks if all else fails (this is my fall back option on wood I mill).

Cheers!


PS, if you had a picture..... :D

[Jack Wood]

Hi Jim, guess everyone else is still in bed.:) I think that if you can get it milled then you can work it with no problem. But it will still have some warp and twisting even if its old. The biggest problem, unless you have a connection would be having a sawmill cut this up for you. They are very Leary of cutting any wood that comes out from an urban or suburban location due to metal in the tree, nails, wire, spikes etc. If you have a big bucks blade and you hit one of the aforementioned items well that blade is toast. But this not to say you can't find someone, but expect to pay a premium for that service. This also goes to you and your buds with that chainsaw. A few years back I was cutting a small shrub away from a neighbor's house and hit a nail. Screwed that chain up bad, so beware of that before you cut. Good luck on whatever you do!

[Jim VanBramer]

Wow! A response from the Milling Maniac himself ... thanks Stu! With where these guys are laying I could sure use the Log Hog!!! (making any trips to the mainland in the near future???):D

And yes Jack, I've been at my sawyers and heard that familiar, sickening "piiiiiing":eek: sound of the blade hitting a rock/nail ... the sound that you hear and instantly think $$$$$. Suddenly your source of "cheap wood" just got a little more expensive!

Thanks for the advice guys!!

[Robert Mayer]

I have a quick question. The lumber mill here told me about problems with hitting metal in logs. why dont they use a metal detector on them???

[Jim VanBramer]

I can't answer for anyone else, but I think that sometimes, for the small mill operator, it's a question of weighing the options. Time spent checking for metal after every cut or so, versus taking the risk and if it happens having to change the blade (and charging the customer for it!). Just my thoughts.

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

Hey Jim, glad to give you my 2 yens worth of advice!!

I use my lumer wizard thing, and it has saved me at least a dozen times.

I don't know why they don't use a metal detector. One of the possible problems is that on the mill, you would get a lot of fales positives, due to all the metal around. You could check it out in the yard, but most good metal detectors only go about 6" deep.

Just my thoughts.

Cheers!

[Tom Sontag]

These days, any mill operator SHOULD scan logs before sawing. It is easier to overlook this step if you know that log was forest grown and all, but if you own the gear, it should be used always (people nail deer blinds to forest trees); does not take much time. But you will still hit some metal or worse (with urban logs), concrete:mad:. We scan each log we send out and occasionally they find something in the center of a big one.

When we saw, we still hit metal a lot because we scan a beautiful walnut and find one bad spot, try to saw around it, and invariably end up buying a blade. :rolleyes:

Oh, and re. the original question: if the branch grew reasonably vertically and the pith is centered, you will probably get useful lumber. If the pith is way off center from growing more horizontally, the wood will have fatal stresses and will not make good lumber.

[Jim VanBramer]

Okay Tyler, put the ticket pad away!!! ;)

Here's an few pics of what it is I'm looking at ... maybe this will give you a better idea of what I'm up against.

http://home.earthlink.net/~vanbramers/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/maple2.jpg

http://home.earthlink.net/~vanbramers/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/maple1.jpg

[Bob Swenson]

I would call a paleontologist :rolleyes:

[Jim VanBramer]

Oh, did I forget to mention that this is some of that thar 50,001 year old wood?! ;)

[Robert Mayer]

These days, any mill operator SHOULD scan logs before sawing. It is easier to overlook this step if you know that log was forest grown and all, but if you own the gear, it should be used always (people nail deer blinds to forest trees); does not take much time. But you will still hit some metal or worse (with urban logs), concrete:mad:. We scan each log we send out and occasionally they find something in the center of a big one.

When we saw, we still hit metal a lot because we scan a beautiful walnut and find one bad spot, try to saw around it, and invariably end up buying a blade. :rolleyes:

Oh, and re. the original question: if the branch grew reasonably vertically and the pith is centered, you will probably get useful lumber. If the pith is way off center from growing more horizontally, the wood will have fatal stresses and will not make good lumber.

Theres a mill near Tulsa that had two awesome looking walnut logs that were tossed to the side because of metal in them.

The mill told me one time they cut right through a cannonball :eek:

[Alden Miller]

Something not mentioned yet. You asked about milling the branches. They will more than likely have compression wood in them.

-Alden

[Tom Sontag]

Kinda hard to really tell from just those pictures, but I do not see much grade lumber in those pieces; too many branches/knots. Looks like turning blank material rather than lumber to me - it could be spalted/awesome (I am not experienced with BLM). Given its location and all, I would just chainsaw it into chunks there, seal immediately, and store them until use.