# Red oak slab



## gr8scott72 (Dec 18, 2009)

Finally got around to milling again. I've been too busy. Anyway, here's the thread from the project I started:

http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=108078

Here's the latest one I did and probably the prettiest grain of any I have done:

The flash kind of washed the first picture out


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## jimdad07 (Dec 18, 2009)

those are some nice slabs


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## English Oak (Dec 19, 2009)

Very nice, some good grian patterns in that. What do you intend to do with it?


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## gr8scott72 (Dec 19, 2009)

English Oak said:


> Very nice, some good grian patterns in that. What do you intend to do with it?



It's all in the link provided in the first post. Short version: tables for a restaurant.


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## Dai Sensei (Dec 24, 2009)

Wow :jawdrop:


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## gr8scott72 (Dec 27, 2009)

Well, I got 7 more slabs off that log. (Pictures in first post.) I had already given the guy 4 off the log so that was 11 from that one. Oh, widest point on those was 51".

I started another log today and got 4 slabs done and it looks like I'll get 2 more good ones out of it. (Just over 2" thick each.) This is another VERY pretty piece of wood.


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## sachsmo (Dec 27, 2009)

Very nice,

How big is the bar you are using? Was this done with an Alaskan mill?

Those crotches sure have some beautiful and intricate grain.


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## gr8scott72 (Dec 27, 2009)

mobetter said:


> Very nice,
> 
> How big is the bar you are using? Was this done with an Alaskan mill?
> 
> Those crotches sure have some beautiful and intricate grain.



60" bar on a 394 with an alaskan.


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## BobL (Dec 28, 2009)

I would take one of those pieces and crop it to this and then frame it.






I'd then put it on ebay and call it something like "Flame" and put a starting bid of $10,000 on it and see how you go.


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## striperswaper (Jan 2, 2010)

sitting here looking at some semi big oaks and thinking what some slabs of their crotch's might look like ...
show us what you made


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## sachsmo (Jan 2, 2010)

BobL said:


> I would take one of those pieces and crop it to this and then frame it.
> 
> 
> 
> ...





Bob,


You *are* the Master!

Bet you have some real trick stuff too!


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## gr8scott72 (Jan 2, 2010)

Finished those two logs. Started on the BIG one today. The second slab was 5'10" long and 48" wide! Pictures coming soon.


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## gr8scott72 (Jan 2, 2010)

Here's some more pictures:










































Got 3 from this log today. Only about 18 more to go! (Also made the saw horses in the background. Sure is nice having all my crap up out of the mud.


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## gr8scott72 (Jan 2, 2010)

Last one didn't fit in that other post:


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## sachsmo (Jan 2, 2010)

That's some pretty smooth cuttin' there. Do you rub the slabs with something to make them pop, or is that the way they look when you open them up?

Also what brand of chain do you use, and is it specially ground?


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## gr8scott72 (Jan 2, 2010)

mobetter said:


> That's some pretty smooth cuttin' there. Do you rub the slabs with something to make them pop, or is that the way they look when you open them up?
> 
> Also what brand of chain do you use, and is it specially ground?



Sprayed them off with the water hose.



It's Bailey's ripping chain straight out of the box. Well, freshly sharpened and rakers adjusted. (Been sharpened a dozen times or so already.)


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## tomtrees58 (Jan 2, 2010)

nice wood heres some red long island ny tom trees


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## gr8scott72 (Feb 1, 2010)

Here's a few more pictures of this big ole log:
(and my cute red head 16 month old girl.)


























They are up to the max that my mill can do which is just a touch over 53" wide. I actually had to trim the edge of the log down to get it to 53".

Only about 15-16 more slabs to go!


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## 820wards (Feb 2, 2010)

That's some nice stuff Scott.

jerry-


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## huskyhank (Feb 2, 2010)

Nice!

Cute kid too!


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## gr8scott72 (Feb 15, 2010)

BobL said:


> I can't see how you get anywhere close to 400 lbs for that size.
> If its 53" at one eld and 40 at the other that's an average of 46.5" wide
> Volume is then 46.5"/12 x 6' x 2"/12 = 3.875 cuft
> The density of green red oak is at most about 50 lbs/cuft.
> ...



I guess you're right but this sure seems like more than 200 lbs. It was all I could do to pick up one end of it.







The chain was freshly sharpened and was cutting just fine. It didn't take any extra pressure and was still throwing sawdust and small curly chips out by the boat loads. (OK, not quite boatloads but it was a big mound.)

The wood isn't dirty and I don't think I hit anything in it. I'll put a good edge back on it tomorrow and try another one.

You will appreciate these pictures Bob:


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## gr8scott72 (Feb 15, 2010)

Here's a few more from today:
Oh, just for reference, I'm 6'4"






This piece broke off when I laid the slab back down. OK, I actually dropped it a few inches darn it.


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## pastryguyhawaii (Feb 15, 2010)

That is some beautiful wood!


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## huskyhank (Feb 15, 2010)

Oak is just tough. I think around here it sucks up grit or minerals from the soil.

The last I milled a couple of weeks ago I had to touch up the chain every cut. This on 9' logs 24-30" diameter. Cutting the maple this past weekend I sharpened only at the end of the day on Friday and then on Saturday after hitting the metal. Same chain, same saw.

There was a huge difference in cutting speed and the weight of the logs is dramatically different.


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## BobL (Feb 15, 2010)

gr8scott72 said:


> I guess you're right but this sure seems like more than 200 lbs. It was all I could do to pick up one end of it.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I certainly do - thanks heaps for posting - that wood is sensational. When I'm stuck in the office and paper pushing (actually it's all email these days) gets me down, those sort of pics keep me going for the rest of the day.

Were you really milling at 24º? At that sort of angle a saw/mill with wheels should be able to cut by itself?

RE: milling speed.
Two tanks of gas still seems like a lot. 6 ft in 30 minutes is 5 minutes per ft or about 2.5" per minute which seems very slow even in big wood. When my cutting speed drops below 5" per minute on big hard wood with a freshly sharpened chain that tells me it's time to look at my rakers. What raker depth do you have? You say it's been sharpened about a dozen times but are your rakers being progressively dropped? I often wonder about using skip chain on really long bars like that. I tried skip chain on my 42" bars and found it just went blunt quicker. 

Looking at this picture I see the finish that is consistent with milling speed that is greater than 2.5'/min , my guess is around 6"/min?




It could be that there was a lot of fine gritty dust in that branch union further down the log? I know the log is wider further down the log but did is seem to cut the second half a lot slower? A good check is where you had to stop and refuel.

One more thing were you using your 84" bar? It could be that you have an increased fuel consumption from the extra chain length adding more load to the saw.

Anyway - love your work!


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## gr8scott72 (Feb 15, 2010)

BobL said:


> I certainly do - thanks heaps for posting - that wood is sensational. When I'm stuck in the office and paper pushing (actually it's all email these days) gets me down, those sort of pics keep me going for the rest of the day.



Getting to show them off is half the fun.



BobL said:


> Were you really milling at 24º? At that sort of angle a saw/mill with wheels should be able to cut by itself?



It almost cut by itself. I actually had to hold the saw head up and apply slight pressure to the middle of the mill to keep the saw side from cutting too fast.



BobL said:


> RE: milling speed.
> Two tanks of gas still seems like a lot. 6 ft in 30 minutes is 5 minutes per ft or about 2.5" per minute which seems very slow even in big wood. When my cutting speed drops below 5" per minute on big hard wood with a freshly sharpened chain that tells me it's time to look at my rakers. What raker depth do you have? You say it's been sharpened about a dozen times but are your rakers being progressively dropped?



I just adjusted the rakers about 3 or 4 sharpenings ago so they should still be fine. I use the Husky file guide to do the rakers. It is a progressive style guide. My experience is that when I have to start pushing on the saw AND the chain is sharp that it is the rakers that need to be dropped. I wasn't pushing on the saw and it would load up just fine and throw chips just fine.



BobL said:


> I often wonder about using skip chain on really long bars like that. I tried skip chain on my 42" bars and found it just went blunt quicker.
> 
> Looking at this picture I see the finish that is consistent with milling speed that is greater than 2.5'/min , my guess is around 6"/min?



That was at the very first of the slab where it is not only just 36" or so but it seems to be very soft compared to the rest of that log.



BobL said:


> It could be that there was a lot of fine gritty dust in that branch union further down the log? I know the log is wider further down the log but did is seem to cut the second half a lot slower? A good check is where you had to stop and refuel.



There might have been some grit in that branch union, idk. It did seem to get slower at the end but it also was the full 53" from about midway to almost the end of the slab.



BobL said:


> One more thing were you using your 84" bar? It could be that you have an increased fuel consumption from the extra chain length adding more load to the saw.



It's a 60" bar. I don't have a 84" and don't think I'd want one. lol



BobL said:


> Anyway - love your work!



Thanks! Help from you is part of how I got started.


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## BobL (Feb 15, 2010)

gr8scott72 said:


> Getting to show them off is half the fun.
> It almost cut by itself. I actually had to hold the saw head up and apply slight pressure to the middle of the mill to keep the saw side from cutting too fast.



If the saw side is cutting too fast during auto cutting, I tip the log over slightly to outboard side like this.




Even with wheels on the mill this angle increases the friction against the log on the saw side enough to slow it down so that it cuts evenly. 



> I use the Husky file guide to do the rakers. It is a progressive style guide.


Cuttin buddy Hud has a Husky file guide, I must grab a hold of it and see just how progressive they are. The Carlton file-o-plate is supposed to be progressive but it's only semi progressive and by the time the cutters are half worn the cutting angle is around 4.5º. I'm currently running at between 6 and 7º and it generates beautiful big chips in 50" wood. 

In case y'all missed it on the FOP sticky in the CS forum,
Here's a vid showing how I set the rakers on my milling chains with a DAF.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSr9j2EDoqk
and here's a vid of me sharpening.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWwLEuY5Iao


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## Andrew96 (Feb 16, 2010)

Scott...I know you are working out cutting speeds...angles....checking out how cool the boards are.....I'm jealous of your weather. Light coat on...dry ground...already out milling. Geez...I wish spring would come here. I've got logs in the woods all sealed up ready to go. Fresh chains....just waiting on the weather. Glad your having fun....oh...and nice job on the huge monster. The photos help us in the snow get through another week.


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## gr8scott72 (Feb 16, 2010)

Andrew96 said:


> Scott...I know you are working out cutting speeds...angles....checking out how cool the boards are.....I'm jealous of your weather. Light coat on...dry ground...already out milling. Geez...I wish spring would come here. I've got logs in the woods all sealed up ready to go. Fresh chains....just waiting on the weather. Glad your having fun....oh...and nice job on the huge monster. The photos help us in the snow get through another week.



Actually, we just had the 2nd largest Feb. snow ever for the state of Mississippi. Got about 4" here and it lasted about 2 days. lol


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