Anyone Ever Use Bur Oak?

[Jim Becker]

That looks like nice stock, John.

What mill are you using? I can't make out the logo.

[John TenEyck]

Woodland Mills HM-130, trailer mounted. They are a Canadian Company. They sell you an erector set; definitely some assembly required. But I thought they offered the most features and capabilities for the price and it has performed very well. I have about 50 running hours on it now and have milled someplace around 7 - 8000 bf.

I debated about buying the trailer option but it has turned out to be the right choice for me. I've done 4 mobile jobs this Summer that would not have been possible otherwise. Right now I have the mill about 50 south of where I live to mill 15 black cherry logs. Here's a photo that shows the Woodlands Mills name on the mill and the pile of logs.



The little ones will get turned into cribbing for the owner, the big ones are mine. He has a bunch of other logs that I'll mill cribbing from, too. In the end very little money will change hands but both of us will be happy. I'm already happy with what I brought home today.



John

[Jim Becker]

Those are very nice looking cherry logs, John. I'm truly jealous!

It would be nice to have a mill, but I'm not sure I'd be up to the physical labor and my tractor isn't large enough to lift whole logs, either. Fortunately, there are a few folks in the area with Woodmizer hydraulic setups that I can call when I'm ready for the next batch of trees to be sliced up...which will be soon and mostly ash, unfortunately. (Unfortunate because of the loss of the trees, not because of the lumber)

[John TenEyck]

Yep, I'm pretty stiff today after two days of milling and moving logs and lumber. My friend and fellow Creeker helped me both days and came up to my house today to help unload the trailer and sticker it on a new rack. We both marveled again at how beautiful the boards were as we moved them. This is turning out to be a major score. Milling your own lumber is a major investment in $'s and time; time that could be spent in the shop. Having someone mill lumber for you makes a lot of sense and is probably the smart play if you only need a few logs milled.

John