Renee Brayley
06-11-2008, 6:13 PM
Hi all,
I have been poking around on the site for about 8 months now - great info but I am having a lot of trouble understanding the lingo! I even loitered at Rockler and browsed around the book section a bit, but I am still very green at all of this.
We had a red oak die last summer, felled it in October, and finally hauled away to a saw mill this past weekend (we coated the ends with paint to preserve it better before it could be hauled away).
Each log is 8 ft long, and the largest piece is about 42" in diameter, the 2nd largest is 36" in diameter. Due to the size restrictions on the Woodmizer, the large piece has to be chainsawed down to 36" before it can be milled.
The sawyer has recommended cutting the largest two pieces quarter-sawn, which is fine with me because I'd like to use the lumber to make some Mission style furniture.
I would like to make a china closet, dining table, bookcase and some nesting tables (actually, *have made*, unless I pick up some new skills in the next 3 months!)
My questions are:
1. What width boards should be cut? Should I go with 2" widths that can be resawed to 1" later? (we are planning to take everything to a kiln to dry).
2. Should the boards on the smaller diameter pieces (24") be cut all the way across, so that we have large boards (i.e. 8' x 23") and how wide should those boards be cut?
3. The sawyer said we may end up with 1000 board feet - that sounds like a lot to me. Can anyone give me some perspective on what it takes to build a piece of furniture, like a dining table 6 ft long? And, do you think I will need to rent a storage locker?
4. Would it make sense to have some of this cut for hard wood flooring? I would need about 24' x 18' of floor.
5. Should I mark the boards that we have sawed so they can be identified at the kiln and how should I mark them? I am going to be at the mill while it is being cut to "catch the boards" and stack them...
6. Are there any recommendations / referrals for furniture / woodworkers in western PA area?
Are there any other questions I should be asking?!
Thanks so much in advance for the advice, it is very nice to have a community like this!
Renee,
totally novice woodworker
I have been poking around on the site for about 8 months now - great info but I am having a lot of trouble understanding the lingo! I even loitered at Rockler and browsed around the book section a bit, but I am still very green at all of this.
We had a red oak die last summer, felled it in October, and finally hauled away to a saw mill this past weekend (we coated the ends with paint to preserve it better before it could be hauled away).
Each log is 8 ft long, and the largest piece is about 42" in diameter, the 2nd largest is 36" in diameter. Due to the size restrictions on the Woodmizer, the large piece has to be chainsawed down to 36" before it can be milled.
The sawyer has recommended cutting the largest two pieces quarter-sawn, which is fine with me because I'd like to use the lumber to make some Mission style furniture.
I would like to make a china closet, dining table, bookcase and some nesting tables (actually, *have made*, unless I pick up some new skills in the next 3 months!)
My questions are:
1. What width boards should be cut? Should I go with 2" widths that can be resawed to 1" later? (we are planning to take everything to a kiln to dry).
2. Should the boards on the smaller diameter pieces (24") be cut all the way across, so that we have large boards (i.e. 8' x 23") and how wide should those boards be cut?
3. The sawyer said we may end up with 1000 board feet - that sounds like a lot to me. Can anyone give me some perspective on what it takes to build a piece of furniture, like a dining table 6 ft long? And, do you think I will need to rent a storage locker?
4. Would it make sense to have some of this cut for hard wood flooring? I would need about 24' x 18' of floor.
5. Should I mark the boards that we have sawed so they can be identified at the kiln and how should I mark them? I am going to be at the mill while it is being cut to "catch the boards" and stack them...
6. Are there any recommendations / referrals for furniture / woodworkers in western PA area?
Are there any other questions I should be asking?!
Thanks so much in advance for the advice, it is very nice to have a community like this!
Renee,
totally novice woodworker