# My Milling Holiday



## BobL (Jan 13, 2009)

Hi folks, I've been holidaying on the South Coast of Western Australia on a farm owned by friends who recently bought a 3120XP with a 60" mill. The idea was that I share some of my milling expertise with them as they many fallen and pushed over trees on the property.

This post is just part of the first day's activities.

I thought we would start with something easy so we started with this small 18" diameter fallen sheoak .






Preping the tree. We used a tractor with forks to lower the tree onto small saw horses.









Watched on by the peanut gallery.





First Slab - unfortunately it was full of fungal rot. We cut a couple of slabs and then called it quits.





More pics in the next post.


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## BobL (Jan 13, 2009)

*Day1 - continued*

The next log we practiced on was a small dry harder jarrah.






The timber had a few termite tracks thru it but some of it should be usable.





At that point we called it a day.


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## BobL (Jan 13, 2009)

*Day 2*

Day 2 we decided to get a bit more serious and work on a fallen Jarrah that was about 2' in diameter and about 12 ft long. The log was located on a track thru the bush on the farm.






Here propery owner, Hud, has a go with my mill. As you can see after a promising start this log was also riddled with termite tracks.





After cutting 4 2" slabs we decided to give up on this log and leave it on the side of the track as a bench. Seated left to right are helper Roy, Hud, yours truly, and SWMBO. Here you can see Hud's tractor - it's a real beauty!





At this point we decided to give up on "falls" and look at a few push overs.
Here is a 25' long jarrah pushed over about 3 years ago to make space for a fence line.





We cut the log in half and moved the logs to a gravel pit which will be used as a milling area. As you can see these logs are a lot more promising than the previous ones.





More pics soon.


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## RPM (Jan 13, 2009)

Hi Bob...it sure looks hot there....wheres the beer cooler. You guys look thirsty

Those last pictures of the 2 jarrah logs sure look like our western red cedar - shaggy bark and all.


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## deeker (Jan 13, 2009)

RPM said:


> Hi Bob...it sure looks hot there....wheres the beer cooler. You guys look thirsty
> 
> Those last pictures of the 2 jarrah logs sure look like our western red cedar - shaggy bark and all.



I second all of the above. Had to re-read it is Jarrah. Looks like WRC we have here.


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## AndyR (Jan 13, 2009)

RPM said:


> Hi Bob...it sure looks hot there....



Perfectly hot! I could use some of that. We're supposed to get down to around 0˚ F without the windchill factor for the next few days with high temps in the 10-15˚ range.

Looks like good a good time Bob. How is the 3120 doing? Pretty well, I'd imagine. How does it compare to milling with your setup?

Andy


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## woodshop (Jan 13, 2009)

Thanks Bob, I thoroughly enjoyed those pics. Interesting flora and fauna you folks have down there. Just curious... is that pretty girl sitting next to you in that one pic wearing a mosquito netting hat?


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## Dai Sensei (Jan 14, 2009)

Keep the photos coming Bob, looks like an ideal holiday.


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## carvinmark (Jan 14, 2009)

Nice pics, wish you would send some of that nice wether my way, it's -11 right now.


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## Burnsy (Jan 14, 2009)

Looks like you had fun Bob. I reckon we could have probably heard each others mills working on Sunday, I was on a block on Ocean Beach Road.

My weeks holiday was pretty productive, think I will be heading back down in during the Easter break.


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## stipes (Jan 14, 2009)

*Thank you for the pics Bob!!!*

Looked like a fun day....I hope it warms up here soon...The last few weekends been rain,,and now going to be bad cold this coming weekend...Been itching to head back in the woods soon...Enjoyed the pics,,and at least I can see someone else enjoyin....


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## BobL (Jan 14, 2009)

Cheers Guys,

AndyR: 3120 Runs great and the 5 skip chain fair flies through the logs although I prefer my mill with the 076 because I am used to it even though it is a bit slower I arrive at the end of the slab with lesssweat and agggravation where as the 3120 kept driving the standard Granberg style mill into the side of the log and I was forever de-bogging it on the vertical leg of the mill : anyway we have come up with a fairly simple fix and I will post about that soon. Hud has a Husky 3120, a 385 and a 340, plus a Stihl 290. I think the 290 is my favorite - it is just so easy to use and I was carving up 24" diam logs with it while the smaller Huskies were ripping the skin off my knucles in a half day's use. n.

WS: The "girl" wearing a mosquito net is doing so for the flies! The farm has cattle but the local dung beetles have not yet kicked in because of the wet summer they have had down here. As a result as soon as you step outside you can be covered with a couple of hundred flies. Fortunately once the saw starts the flies disappear.

I have heaps more pics. Will post when I get home tomorrow.

Burnsy - I am/was on Scotsdale Rd - almost at the end. Marri/Jarrah/Karri country. No more karris left unfortunately but plenty of the rest. I am definitely coming back - the big jarrahs are calling me already. We spent most of today setting up a couple of acres of thefarm as a milling area . Next comes the drying shed and wood machine shop.

Cheers
Bob


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## DRB (Jan 14, 2009)

Looks like fun.

Thanks for posting.

Looking forward to more


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## BobL (Jan 15, 2009)

*Day 3 - Post 1*

We decided to turn our attention to trees that had been pushed over instead of falling down. In the vicinity of this boundary/ fence line track we found dozens of potential candidates so we set up a milling site to the side of the track.





One of the most interesting candidates was a 40ft millable Marri. Which we cut into 3 lengths.

I decided to have a go at boomerang shaped piece.
Here is the setup.









Every inch of the 42" bar was needed for this one.





Result was


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## BobL (Jan 15, 2009)

*Day 3 - Post 2*

While I was cutting the boomarang, Hud and wife Sandi had a go at setting up their new ladder/rails on the bigger section of the same Marri tree.





Then Hud had a go at milling. 








Marri is fairly soft for an Aussie Hardwood so it was a good log for Hud and Sandi to practice. Sandi is the real woody of the pair and has made some furniture. She's a real dynamo and really pitches in, drives tractor, drills fence posts, welds gates, belts in wedges, lifts slabs and eventually wants to mill as well.

Here is their first cut.




That 3120 fair chewed its way thru this log. The biggest problem was the mill jamming up on the side of the log and dodging the inhabitants from the nest of centipedes we found at the base of the tree. 





Sandi lifting the rails!


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## BobL (Jan 15, 2009)

*Day 3 - Post 3*

Here are a few other shots from Day 3.

Dueling CSMs!


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## BobL (Jan 15, 2009)

*Day 4 - Post 1*

Here's a small sound jarrah log that was a push down about 2 years ago.





We rearranged the site to take advantage of the natural terrain slope.





A few yards further on was this big old jarrah. 




It was felled at least 100 years ago but many of these trees were never recovered for a variety of reasons. 

Generally these old trees are full of termite tracks and crumble to dust when cut but I decided to put the 385 thru a large (3') diameter branch and it was surprisingly sound!


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## Burnsy (Jan 15, 2009)

Love the dualling mills 

That big old jarrah looks like it could have some great timber in it if there is no termites and dry rot. Love to run the Lucas through it! I will probably be back down in easter as there is a big pine out on Torbay Bay Hill that my brother wants turned into floor boards.


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## rmh3481 (Jan 15, 2009)

*Fantastic Pics*

Are you going to get alot of nice grain in the slabs out of the dry wood? Looks like we could use a little of your sunshine in Pa... Last night here it was 0 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Thanks for sharing, looks like alot of fun.

Best wishes,
Bob


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## BobL (Jan 15, 2009)

*Day 4 - Post 2*

I cut the other end of the branch off from the main trunk and we dragged the 8' length of branch away from the main trunk with the tractor .






The trunk still seems to be reasonably sound - the dark patches are moisture stored in the heart wood and in cracks.





This shot gives you the idea of how big this sucker is.





The main trunk ranges between 50" an 63" in diam and is about 35' long.
Fortunately Hud has a 72" bar but we will have to add bigger rails to the mill to tackle it! 





As you can see it is quite twisted but that will help in holding it together.




We have no idea what this will be like but it's not going anywhere quickly and we'll probably wait for winter to have a go at milling it. If we can get 1 or two decent slabs out of it - it will be worth the effort


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## BobL (Jan 15, 2009)

*Final Picks*

We spent the last two days stacking slabs, collecting logs and slabbing a small sheoak in the proposed milling yard - a corner of the farm which is all gravel and Hud has been storing various logs in for several years.











As you can see the log collection in the milling yard is growing. 






Hud plans to build an open shed to store lumber and slabs in that flat space between the Ranger and the garden shed. The garden shed is temporary tool storage. I has to be fixed to the ground otherwise the cows move it around.





The sheoak slabs turned out to be pretty rough so we stacked them on the remains of an old cart.




Hud says he might harness up his pet kangaroo to the cart and take them to market and see what he can get for them.

That's it - I have loads more pics but I think that is more than enough!


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## BobL (Jan 15, 2009)

rmh3481 said:


> Are you going to get alot of nice grain in the slabs out of the dry wood? Looks like we could use a little of your sunshine in Pa... Last night here it was 0 degrees Fahrenheit.
> 
> Thanks for sharing, looks like alot of fun.



It was as you folks say a "Hoot"!

Some of the best grain is to be found in old (very hard) dry Aussie hardwood. Assuming there are no or minimal termites, an minimal dry rot and fungal growths the wood should be OK. This is a big ask. A friend of mine has slabbed a number of these old trees and he reckons his recovery is less than 20% but even so, on big logs it is usually worth it.

BTW it rarely reaches above 85F on the south coast where all this milling took place. Today I drove the 250 miles home and when I arrived it was 105F! Tomorrow the same is forecast.


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## irishcountry (Jan 15, 2009)

Hey thanks for documenting all of that looks like you had a great time one of the last pics says it all with the big smile on your face!! Does you friend now share your love of milling?? I'm betting he does! Great job you guys are some hard workers got alot done and it look like it paid off some beautiful grains in that wood. I gotta say seeing all the sunshine sure makes me wish I was on vacation there my kids didn't have school today due to the temp. has to be -20 (with wind chill) to call school off and I got the recording at 5:00am this morning!! By the way do you guys ever run into dangerous stuff when your in the brush like snakes ect. maybe I watch too many TV shows and it doesn't happen as much as you'd think I know you guys have some real poisionous ones not to mention spiders ect. just curious?? Great pics and nice vacation!! Thanks again for the pics irishcountry


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## petersenj20 (Jan 15, 2009)

These pictures are awesome Bob. Spectacular wood. That's my idea of a vacation instead of going to some tourist trap and blowing all your money. If I could only talk the old lady into the same. 
I'm sure those evenings made for some good times winding down relaxing with friends and knowing you had accomplished all that work.


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## stipes (Jan 15, 2009)

*So true!!!!*



petersenj20 said:


> These pictures are awesome Bob. Spectacular wood. That's my idea of a vacation instead of going to some tourist trap and blowing all your money. If I could only talk the old lady into the same.
> I'm sure those evenings made for some good times winding down relaxing with friends and knowing you had accomplished all that work.



Thank you again for the pics Bob!!! That one pic and the big ,,I mean BIG log tells it all!!!


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## BobL (Jan 15, 2009)

Cheers Guys.

Yeah, it must seem odd to most people that 5 days of hard physical labour, covered in sweat, dirt and sawdust would be fun, but it came pretty close to the two weeks I spent this time last year at the guitar making school. I must admit I am very tired as I haven't done 5 consecutive days of physical labour since 2002. 

We worked most days from about 10 am to 9 pm so the beers and quality local red wines tasted really good at the end of the day. Sandi was amazing. She worked all day with us and then would cook up a storm for dinner everynight. Then we would drink and chew milling fat well past midnight.

I found two more photos I though you all might find amusing. The week before the milling part of the holiday we spent in a caravan park close to the ocean on the south coast with 3 other families. Having my van with me with all my milling gear in it and of course my portable workbench I took every available bit of free time to tweak and sharpen.

Here was out setup. We were in the campervan in the middle. If you look closely you can see my portable workbench out the front with my 60" bar on it.





And here is the view while working at the bench.


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## BobL (Jan 15, 2009)

irishcountry said:


> By the way do you guys ever run into dangerous stuff when your in the brush like snakes ect. maybe I watch too many TV shows and it doesn't happen as much as you'd think I know you guys have some real poisionous ones not to mention spiders ect. just curious??



There are heaps of poisons snakes in the area but first the thing to do when moving into an area is to start a saw and they generally move away. The worst thing we ran into was a nest of centipedes in the side of the big marri. Sandi found the big mamma but instead of killing it she scooped it up with a gloved hand and threw it into the bush. There are bull ants everywhere - their stings are not dangerous to most people but they still hurt. Sandi was bitten in two places on her neck - looked like a vampire hit - and three places on a finder when she went to brush it off. I had to stand near a bull ant nest to make a cut and was bitten on the soft inside upper leg. It stings very painfully for about an hour and then fades slowly - 3 days later I can still feel it.


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## irishcountry (Jan 15, 2009)

Ouch!! Bad spot for anything!! Thanks for the answer keep it up nice vacation!! cheers


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## dustytools (Jan 15, 2009)

Great pictures Bob! Thanks for sharing.


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## Dai Sensei (Jan 16, 2009)

BobL said:


> We worked most days from about 10 am to 9 pm




That's a big day milling by any stretch, let alone on holidays. Glad to see a heap of good results though Bob. Wouldn't I love to get my hands on the feathered grain from the centre of that big crutch.


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## Zodiac45 (Jan 16, 2009)

Nice going Bob and great pix as usual. Thanks for sharing your vacation. Woke up too -21F this morning! It's brisk!


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## BIG JAKE (Jan 16, 2009)

Thanks for the thread Bob! I enjoyed viewing all the activities, tractors/equipment, and comments on the centipedes/ants/cows moving sheds, etc. Nice peek into your way of life down there. Nice figure on the different wood types too!


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## MJR (Jan 16, 2009)

105F is to hot. My last trip to San Carlos Mexico was 115F with 80%RH. You can not do anything that hot. This morning it was -19F. The hickory was doing its’ job well keeping the house at 72F. That Jarrah does look like red cedar. I wonder how it smells. That would be an interesting game. Get some samples of saw dust and see who can ID them by just the smell.


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## BobL (Jan 16, 2009)

Cheers guys.

I agree that Jarrah does look like red cedar but that's about it. It's a moderate hardness hardwood and when it is dry it is a touch harder than than hickory pecan. Some pieces are straight grained but mostly its interlocking so it is impossible for the average Joe to hammer a nail into. The sawdust smell when green is a combination of peat and eucalyptus, the later is not surprising as it is a eucalypt.

Here is a link to a small commercial sawmill that does some serious jarrah slabs.


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## MJR (Jan 17, 2009)

Just one of those slabs at that mill would kill my little LL24. The power drag saw looks fun to run for a LITTLE while. My 20" red pine and norway's don't seem so big now...

I am wasting time till it gets above 0F before I start milling today. It has just been mean cold here lately. I am looking forward to my first black fly bite of the season.


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## 820wards (Jan 18, 2009)

Great photos Bob. Looks like everyone chipped in to help. I was out today preparing some Blue Oak for milling when I finish mine and when my son pulled the bark off the tree it was loaded with small scorpions. When a sticker bush poked him through his pants, he swore it was a scorpion. Down came his pants to make sure. Should have had the camera ready.
jerry-

http://www.arboristsite.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=87215&stc=1&d=1232264845

Chris
http://www.arboristsite.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=87216&stc=1&d=1232264942


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## BobL (Jan 18, 2009)

820wards said:


> Great photos Bob. Looks like everyone chipped in to help. I was out today preparing some Blue Oak for milling when I finish mine and when my son pulled the bark off the tree it was loaded with small scorpions. When a sticker bush poked him through his pants, he swore it was a scorpion. Down came his pants to make sure. Should have had the camera ready.



Cheers Chris, yeah it was a bit like that with the bullants. The bush floor vegetation contained lots of waist high prickly shrubs (another good reason the wear chaps) that poke right through the unchaped bits of clothing. After I was bit by the bullant every little prickle had me jumping out of the bush looking for more bullants.


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## woodshop (Jan 19, 2009)

Once again Bob, thanks... I truly enjoyed this. I agree, even at only 20% recovery some big logs are worth tackling because you still often get some great looking wood. If I was a commercial logging crew and my men and equipment were costing me $300/hr, another story, but guys like us here on AS can take the time to salvage great slabs from logs the commercial folks wouldn't touch because it just wouldn't pay.


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## dancan (Jan 22, 2009)

I'd rep you for the time and effort you put into this forum but AS says I have to spread it around so it coming ! 
Keep up the great posts !


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## BobL (Jan 22, 2009)

Cheers Guys,

Guess what? - it's Australia Day (public holiday) on monday so this evening (friday) I get to go back to the Hudsons for 2 whole days! It's a long 5 hour drive but well worth it. I plan to instal an aux oiler on Hud's big mill and tackle some more jarrah.

Cheers


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## irishcountry (Jan 23, 2009)

Back to "vacation" again sounds great!! I agree I appreciate your contributions too especially when I get to see the sun and some warm weather when its bitter cold here!!! Thanks again


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## dave k (Jan 31, 2009)

I always enjoy reading any of your posts Bob as you share so much knowledge in a easy manner. I've been thinking of having a go at milling for a while and after looking at this thread (and others!) Im going to stop thinking about it and look into having a go. Thanks for taking the time to post the pics etc.


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