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Thread: First Time Milling Basswood

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    WNY
    Posts
    9,648

    First Time Milling Basswood

    A month or so ago my arborist friend asked if I wanted a 20" white oak tree. "Of course, thanks very much." When I got to the jobsite and he started cutting it, it was clear the white oak was something else. But with no leaves out yet it's often a guessing game so I can't blame him for getting it wrong; the bark looked a lot like white oak. But it clearly was not white oak. The wood looked similar to soft maple but not the bark.

    Fast forward to yesterday when I cut the logs. We put the first log on the mill and the blade got fouled with wood fibers in the gullets so quickly that it wouldn't cut. It was a resharpened blade that I had just finished cutting a black walnut log with w/o problems. I tried another resharpened blade. No-go. I tried adding water with dish soap in it. No go. Finally, I decided to put a brand new blade on. The difference was astounding. It cut straight and true and the gullets didn't load up at all. I guess I have a thing or three more to learn about resharpening blades. Never had any trouble before in the hardwoods I normal cut.

    But the effort to figure it out paid off. We got two logs of nearly clear wood that I'm pretty sure is basswood/linden. It looked like this fresh off the mill.







    It's not as white today, more of an orange/tan color. In any case, it's going to make some nice carving stock.


    John

  2. #2
    "it's going to make some nice carving stock."

    Man, it sure will. Do you have to do anything different to successfully dry a softer wood like that John? Or do you just vary the time in the kiln?

    (Reading your posts gets me more and more tempted to start sawyering myself! Like I NEED another hobby! )
    "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

    “If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    WNY
    Posts
    9,648
    I'm not sure yet, Fred. I air dry lumber before putting it in the kiln. My guess is that it will dry like yellow poplar or pine, meaning quickly and without much problem. I suspect even the 8/4 stuff will be down to 14% by October and then ready to put into the electric kiln to finish. Most 8/4 hardwoods take a year or more to air dry, for comparison.

    John

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    SE PA - Central Bucks County
    Posts
    65,688
    I've come to love basswood for electric guitar bodies myself. Really nice stuff!
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

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