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Thread: This Really Was Fun

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    WNY
    Posts
    9,599

    This Really Was Fun

    This Spring a guy contacted me to ask if I was interested in some black cherry trees he was having taken down. Yes, of course. As we talked he told me he needed cribbing for bases to jack up his camp. We ended up striking a deal where I get the cherry logs and in return make him 75 pieces of cribbing from lesser value logs. Summer came and went and we're now into early Fall. I finally got down to his site last week to start milling the cherry. His camp is 55 miles from my house so it's not short commute. I was concerned about getting my mill and trailer into his rough dirt road site, too, but it turned out to be manageable.



    Here's a photo of the first load I brought home. 12 - 18" wide, the longest being 9-1/2'. Some of the logs were 12 to 14' long, so rather then cut them down to fit my 10' mill limit, I cut them in half to maximize the BF I get out of them.



    It's not all as clear as this stuff, but there isn't much common grade. This rack has about 650 bf on it:



    There is at least another 1000 bf yet to sticker. I have 25 pieces of cribbing made now, too, mostly 6 x 6's, but also some 4 x 8's and 6 x 8's. Two more days should get me close to the 75 pieces he needs. I'd call it a win.

    Those white stickers you see are PVC. I found a local guy who makes tapered porch columns. He cuts me the stickers from his scrap for $0.50 each. The ash 4 x 4's for the base are from a job I did earlier this Summer. I'm happy I made them because I had to buy some PT 4 x 4's the other day. Holy cow, $19 for an 8 footer.

    I think I have enough cherry for a good long while now.

    John

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    McKinney, TX
    Posts
    2,060
    Looks like a Great deal
    Steve Jenkins, McKinney, TX. 469 742-9694
    Always use the word "impossible" with extreme caution

  3. #3
    Congratulations , and much better than your last deal! Beautiful stuff. You must have read a deal making book !!
    Will watch for the fine designs and work.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    WNY
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    Thanks Mel. No, no deal making book, but I went to look at the logs before agreeing to do the job. I'm hoping to sell a good deal of the live edge stuff next year which will make a good deal an awesome deal. But the clearest lumber I'll keep for my own needs. Not shown in the photos are 3 or 4 live edge mantle pieces that are 3-1/2 to 4-1/2" thick, 10 - 12" wide and 6' long. Beautiful chunks of cherry. They're going to look really good in someone's homes.

    John

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    New Hill, NC
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    2,568
    John, that looks like a great trade!

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Location
    West Granby CT
    Posts
    777
    Great haul, that will keep the kiln busy next summer for sure!

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    WNY
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    Thanks Scott; it's looking good. We made a total of 25 pieces of 4 x 6, 6 x 6, 4 x 8, and 8 x 8 cribbing in 5 hours today, 4 ft long. That seems like such a paltry amount until you actually try to do it on a completely manual mill. We also split a 16" diameter log for the owner to make a bench from. Some of the maple logs we cut had some impressive curl in them. I had to force myself not to cut them into lumber and put them in my trailer! If tomorrow goes as well we should be able to finish all 75 pieces and wrap it up.

    John

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
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    WNY
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    We made 30 pieces of cribbing and sawed a couple of logs into lumber today. That gives us 80 pieces of cribbing which completes my obligation to make at least 75 pieces. Here's a photo of the 55 pieces we made in the past two days, plus the two bench half rounds, all of it maple. Under the blue tarp are the other 25 pieces.



    I brought the last of the lumber home with me today. Tomorrow I will go retrieve my mill - and sticker the last of the wood.

    John

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Apr 2017
    Location
    Michigan
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    2,754
    Great haul John.

    Just a small quibble, concrete blocks are much stronger placed on end.

    That's a nice mill, and I agree, it's fun to mill logs.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
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    WNY
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tom Bender View Post
    Great haul John.

    Just a small quibble, concrete blocks are much stronger placed on end.

    That's a nice mill, and I agree, it's fun to mill logs.

    True, but they sink into the ground a lot faster than when placed flat. FWIW, I've never had one break when used like in the photo.

    The mill has met/exceeded my expectations. Of course I wish it were larger and beefier, but for this size of mill it works very well and is easy to maintain. Maintenance costs have been low, too, about $100 for two sets of belts/tires for the 8000 bf or so I've cut in the past year. I bent the snot out of the Woodland Mills winch tube loading 26"+ logs onto the mill. Clearly they didn't intend anyone to use it for logs that large, even though the mill can handle logs that large. Fortunately the ramps can handle that weight. I built a new winch system with larger, beefier tubing and an electric winch that runs off the motor battery and all is well now. I use it for loading logs onto the mill and for rolling logs that are too large to turn by hand.

    A small job coming up this weekend and then one to mill 50 walnut logs. I'm slowing recouping my investment.

    John

  11. #11
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    Apr 2017
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    Michigan
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    50 logs! You'll appreciate the electric winch on that job. Does the mill recharge the battery?

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
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    WNY
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tom Bender View Post
    50 logs! You'll appreciate the electric winch on that job. Does the mill recharge the battery?
    Yes, the mill recharges the battery. I was worried that it wouldn't be able to replenish the drain caused by the winch but a whole Summer of use has proven it's up to the task.

    But even better on this job, the guy I'm milling for has a front end loader and is going to help. With him loading and taking away the slabs it should go a lot more quickly. I'm hoping we'll be able to mill at least 10 logs a day. That's double what I can do working alone with the winch on logs in the 20" diameter range.

    John

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    Lake Gaston, Henrico, NC
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    8,957
    Nice bartering! We should start a pool, betting on when you get a larger mill. I'll bet on a year, and a half.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Jul 2020
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    Wallstrasse 28, Hessen, 35321, Laubach, Germany
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    20
    Hahaha... Looks like you really had a lot of fun.

  15. #15
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    Dec 2010
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    WNY
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tom M King View Post
    Nice bartering! We should start a pool, betting on when you get a larger mill. I'll bet on a year, and a half.
    That could be about right, Tom. I was getting the urge when I recently saw a used LT-40 with full hydraulics. Oh baby.

    But my little manual mill and I cut almost 500 bf of white oak, red oak, ash, and black locust yesterday for pay. The white oak was about the most perfect log I've ever milled; absolutely veneer quality. Here's a photo of the face after after I took the slab cut and rolled it on the mill.



    Too bad we weren't sharing the wood. But I made him some awesome quarter and rift sawn wood after those face cuts.

    John

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