# I found another old giant while my saw is at the doctor!



## cityslicker (Jan 26, 2013)

After my last post about having trouble starting my saw http://www.arboristsite.com/milling-saw-mills/219748.htm I have decided to send it off to the arboristsite saw doctor Mastermind to get a check up. I think it may have the flu? I have been climbing the walls wanting to mill more slabs. I have even been looking for a back up saw head. So to keep my restless mitts occupied I have been scouring the land for trees to salvage. This is what I came up with. The whole tree fell over from a recent wind storm, the tree is atleast 100 years old and has heavy decay. Lots of rot which of course is why it went over. I am hoping to be able to find some solid wood in some of the limbs and the massive 4+ foot diameter trunk. There was even a 12' fir tree growing out of a crotch! This is certainly a big hot mess of work which will take many weekends to complete. I will continue to post progress as it happens. Any one want to guess the species?

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## qbilder (Jan 27, 2013)

Lots of rot but nice score!!! Looks like some type of walnut, possibly an elm. If I were forced to guess, i'd say English walnut. I have only milled a little bit of E. Walnut but the stuff I cut looks pretty much exactly like that. I have seen elm with dark heart & bark that looks like that, too.


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## john taliaferro (Jan 27, 2013)

Yes +1 for e walnut . Looks like a really dangerous mess ,move them around and clean up before you start .


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## SDB777 (Jan 27, 2013)

Jumping right in with the easy to access blowdown you could find?

Seriously, with all the rot, moss, and whatever else you have there. You will spend a LOT of time digging that stuff off before you can even get to milling. (JMHO, but I wouldn't run even my nasty stump through the dirt chain through this piece). There is nothing else available, anywhere?




Scott (I'm about saving your equipment) B


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## qbilder (Jan 27, 2013)

I agree about the mess. It's kinda nasty & could be more work & effort than it's worth. On the other hand, that butt log likely has no rot in heart (if it's actually walnut), and given that it's short & stubby with a big heavy crown, there's fair potential for curly figure. The crotches would be interesting, too. The work may provide nothing of value or it may be something special. No way to know without milling. First thing i'd do is remove the log from the root to inspect for rot, and if solid then cut a 4" cookie off the butt log. Break the cookie in half. If the grain is wrinkled in the break like ripples, then that log is worth milling.


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## Burlhunter13 (Jan 27, 2013)

Try removing the bark too. You can see compression figure right underneath. And sometime with the bark on, if it has heavy curl. Easy to do when the log has rot, or has been down for a short while. It comes right off.


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## cityslicker (Jan 27, 2013)

Well you were all exactly right with english walnut. There is a ton of work as stated to be done. I am still in the investigative phase, slowly dissasembling the tree to see exactly whats there. I just hope all my work pays off!


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## qbilder (Jan 27, 2013)

Well keep the pics coming. Looks like potential for some good wood in there. Just like people, big fat old trees get wrinkles.


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## excess650 (Jan 28, 2013)

If that is truly English walnut, it will be well worth dealing with. Gunstock blanks from English walnut are ridiculously expensive, and particularly if quarter sawn. Short slabs can make 2-piece stocks, but grain flow is important when laying out the stocks.


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## cityslicker (Feb 3, 2013)

Day two-

I was able to talk my dad into coming along and helping with this project. We got alot more work done than I expected! We started by dragging out some of the bigger limbs to a an open area. Though some of the branches are rotten many of the big ones are still solid. We found a mouse nest with mice in one crotch! Once we got most of the branches cleared for a pathway we started to check the trunk for integrity. There was a very rotten branch base facing up that was full of termites, potato bugs, and a large water pocket. I saw it off flush with the log to see how far down the rot went and it seemed to stop at the exterior of the trunk thankfully. Then we took out a section from each end of the trunk (basically a 1/3 of a cookie) to verify that the center is solid, which it was! There is also some really nice spalting in two big branches and part of the trunk. I have not seen evidence of any figure yet.


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## cityslicker (Feb 3, 2013)

While we were on our way out to the tree we found this maple trunk in a state park that was in the middle of being taken down. They seem limb the trees then leave the trunks as a momento as there were many others like this throughout the park. This trunk was hollow on the inside and big enough to camp in! This tree is remarkable! 
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And lastly a quick shot of the old pro mac 10-10 on the log and the house once again.
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## excess650 (Feb 3, 2013)

That is a neat old house!

Is that really spalting, or just the smoky black lines so often seen in English walnut? Any good solid wood removed from that tree is a major score!


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## bowtechmadman (Feb 3, 2013)

Great pictures there is some gorgeous wood there...nice work! The house is amazing wife and I both commented on what a cool old house!


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## qbilder (Feb 3, 2013)

Beautiful wood!!! Nice job. That maple looks to have lots of burl, too!!!!


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## cityslicker (Feb 10, 2013)

Well my dad and I made it out again yesterday and we made alot more progress. This job has been nothing but great experiences at every single turn. The weather each time has been excellent, the owner is very patient and understanding, he has neighbors that would literally give you the shirts off their backs. I am so grateful that so many things are coming together the way they are! We started out by skidding a few more logs to our landing site to make way for access to the main section. The main crotch right above the trunk has many large branches going every which way and many of them have rot spots. I slowly pieced out a number of really nice bowl turning chunks then started freehand slabbing a few bolts of feathered crotch wood all while working through and around the rot. I will get pics of these later.

Nearing the end of the day one of the neighbors came over with his mini excavator and helped clear one large trunk branch out of the slash, then I had him put one end up on a log to assist in future milling.( just for BobL!!) We then bucked off the giant crotch knuckle from the top of the trunk log, he also rolled the stump and trunk over for a moment while the scrappy little stihl 032 with a 24" bar and skip tooth chisel chain finished the seperation cut. He then rolled the now free log back over and we cribbed it up into place. I must have forgot to mention that the tree fell right onto his well cistern that is 4' x 12' and 8' deep! So the blue little tank in the ground shows the proximity of the hole we have been carefully treading on!

So by this point I was all smiles seeing how much critical heavy lifting just got done with the excavator. Earlier in the day before we knew the machine would be here, my dad and I loaded two branch logs into the truck with the come-along and then as the super hero neighbor was leaving he put one more on the truck. I am going to have all the small stuff milled with a BSM as it is so much more time efficient.

Does anyone have any ideas what to do with the root ball? Should I chunk it up into turning stock or try to freehand slab some small billets out of it? We will be using a pressure washer to clean it and the trunk we are slabbing.

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## cityslicker (Feb 10, 2013)

Here are a few more pictures. View attachment 278439
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Also while we were on our way out to the site we spotted the park ranger at the park with the crazy maple stump. As I unrolled my window to talk to him the first words out of his mouth were "the answer is NO" afterwards we spoke for a moment and he told us the reason they leave the stumps is because they don't have a saw big enough to cut through them. I said I may know a guy that has a saw that would cut through that trunk like a hot knife sliding through butter. He said "not a chance"! Well I guess it is best to leave some of them as a memory of what used to be. I am glad we atleast tried, we should always atleast try-


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## qbilder (Feb 10, 2013)

I really like the truck.


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## excess650 (Feb 10, 2013)

I would suggest salvaging as much of the wood as possible. Small bits can be made into pen blanks, knife scales, etc.


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## mikeb1079 (Feb 10, 2013)

nice nice nice!

i may have missed it but who's land is this?


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## cityslicker (Feb 23, 2013)

Sorry MikeB I missed your question, It is someone I have met through craigslist. My dad and I got out to the tree again today to haul off more of the small logs to my local bandsaw mill. If I have a log that is 28" diameter or less I always bring it to a bandsaw mill because they can zip through them much quicker than I can with my CSM. We managed to get two loads over to him today which just about wraps up the branch wood. We are heading back out there tomorrow with a pressure washer to blast clean the root ball so I can cut cut off the protruding roots enough to fit it in the truck. We will also pressure wash the trunk and the one branch that is too big to have band sawn. 

I have only one picture from today showing the simple 2x10 with angle iron bolted to it log ramp with the first load in the truck. We used a come-along and the ramp to make this load. The next load was done by the super hero neighbor and his mini excavator, Thankfully!

Lots more to come tomorrow!

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## cityslicker (Feb 25, 2013)

Well we got rained on for the first time on this job all day yesterday, it was not terrible though. We were able to get both CSM logs completely prepped and ready for milling. We also were able to whittle the root ball down to a manageable size that would fit in my truck. I got it home and will try to clean it more then slab what I can off it this spring. 

Next trip out there we mill!

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## john taliaferro (Feb 25, 2013)

OK now how are you gonna get that out of the truck or did you think of that.


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## cityslicker (Feb 27, 2013)

I was thinking I could mill it in the back of the truck? 

Actually I got it out today, I have an old apple tree stump just behind the fence in my backyard that I just wrap a strap around and then just pull the truck out. Then I pulled it upright so I can continue to pressure wash it.


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## cityslicker (Apr 28, 2013)

Well you folks probably thought I gave up! We finally finished the tree yesterday. It was a 15 hour day for me and atleast 12 for my Dad, cousin, and co-worker, I left at 6:30 am and had the tools out of the truck at 9:30 PM!

I had my saw rebuilt and tweaked by our own Mastermind. It ran very well and I am so far really pleased. It is a stihl 088, the tiny tach was reading 11,500 rpm with the 70" bar out of wood. In the wood I was seeing about 8000-8500 rpm which it seemed to like. I was touching up the chain every other pass. I went through 3.5 gallons of fuel and thankfully did not hit even one staple in either of the logs! We pressure washed both logs before milling. The log yielded 7 slabs ranging from 42" to 54" wide 9 feet long and 3.25" thick, I estimated that they weigh about 450# each.
A few of the slabs are incredibly spalted and when I unload them off the trailer I will try to get pics of the spalt.


I also found a tilting flatbed trailer with a 9,990 gross weight to assist me in recovering logs better. I mounted a 5 ton BeeBee brothers manual winch up front along with a 3 ton chain fall I can hook onto the other corner which allows me to suck some big logs onto the trailer. 

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## cityslicker (Apr 28, 2013)

Here are a few pics of a silver maple trunk that 7 feet long and 36" on the small end.

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## BobL (Apr 28, 2013)

Great pics - thanks for posting. 

FWIW, In the West Australia timber workers Hall of fame there is a list of those who have died or severely injured on the job. It is interesting to see how many of these were from winch accidents (more than chainsaw accidents), usually from a snapped cable/rope/shackle. I realise that rope in particular has improved enormously in the last couple of decades but I still think that if possible it is basic safety not to stand next to a winch while a load is being applied or in the case of a hand winch maybe at least face shield of some kind?


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## SDB777 (Apr 28, 2013)

Curious to why you didn't mill that last log where it was? I like milling where I don't have to shovel, rake, dispose of saw chips made during milling Or was it a 'You-have-to-take-it-if-you-want-it' deal?


Got any photo's from the new log?!?!?!






Scott (sure is a purty one) B


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## cityslicker (Apr 28, 2013)

Bob, I am concerned about being so close to the winch. I am using synthetic line with hopes that if a beak does occur it will be less severe. I think I will start using my chainsaw face mask as well. Thanks for the heads up. 

Scott B, I have not milled the silver maple yet, but I will post pics when I do. The owner of this tree did not want me to mill it where it sat. Also it was a good shake down test for the new trailer. I learned alot of what to and not to do.


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## Fallguy1960 (Apr 28, 2013)

If you 2 parted the line with a block in the middle the log should pull right up the middle of the trailer with just the one winch. With the new synthetic lines the biggest thing you need to watch is a sharp edge on you decking keep the line clear of that and you should be OK. Also hand operating it gives things time to move and you get a feel for when it is bound up before to rope goes.


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## cityslicker (Apr 28, 2013)

Fall guy I planned on snatch blocking the future logs which is why I angled the winch a bit. I am going to use a snatch block like you said then anchor the winch hook upto the opposing d-ring. It should slow things down real nice.


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## Mastermind (Apr 29, 2013)

Thanks for sending me the pics you did Jon. It's great seeing saws we've done in real working conditions. What a fine job you guys did on saving that walnut!!!!

Your 088 was a head scratcher for us. I hated having it so long but wanted to be sure it was going to be trouble free when it went home. That's the first of that series I had seen with a coil that was over advanced. I have no lies to tell.........we were scared to start it to run a timing light on it when it came time to verify the actual timing number. :msp_mellow:

I had hoped to get some feedback from Stihl on the coil but they wouldn't even reply to one of their own silver techs about what the timing specs were suppose to be. :msp_thumbdn:

Thanks for your patience..........let me know how she fairs in the future.


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## Nato (Apr 29, 2013)

I can only wish to get a hold of some big walnut slabs like those someday. Those would make some great tables.


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## cityslicker (May 13, 2013)

I milled the root ball today, It was very punky on the underside where it was submerged underground. But after peeling all the bark off and carefully cleaning the rootball I found what was hiding. The entire rootball was spalted! In the center it is quite solid and I think most pieces will dry pretty well. The BSM only found one golfball sized rock buried right in the middle of one slab. I yielded just over a dozen spalted english walnut pieces about 20"x20"x3" with four at 4.5" thick.

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