# Northwest Red Cedar



## retoid (Feb 29, 2008)

I have been getting some red cedar mostly free since my source is unable to sell it as firewood. This wood suits my needs perfectly. We are milling this wood to create planks for outdoor woodwork for mt. bike features like wall rides and ladders.

Here are some photos of what we have done so far.



















For the first few logs we have been using a Husky 359 XP. Powerful saw but just not the right saw for the job. We will be using a Husky 2100 CD with a 38" bar soon.


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## retoid (Mar 10, 2008)

I'm exited to try out my new milling saw on this wood. husky 2100 CD 
Should perform a bit better than the husky 359 XP.

Only a couple months of owning a chainsaw and im hooked! I've been considering getting a Woodmizer LT28.
I love wood working!


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## steelhead kid (Mar 10, 2008)

*Another Idea*

cedar planks are used for grilling fish, some of the best. Red cedar should be ok right? Save a couple of those.

Soak a plank in some water , throw it on the BBQ, add a steelhead or salmon.
MMmm. yum


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## retoid (Mar 10, 2008)

steelhead kid said:


> cedar planks are used for grilling fish, some of the best. Red cedar should be ok right? Save a couple of those.
> 
> Soak a plank in some water , throw it on the BBQ, add a steelhead or salmon.
> MMmm. yum




Oh but ofcourse  I have already been using scrap pieces for my salmon 
Red cedar is some of the best for just that!

Alder, cherry and apple are good to.


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## steelhead kid (Mar 10, 2008)

Nice. yeah, we got alder down here too. so you been fishin lately? 
nothing beats a day of wood and fish.


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## steelhead kid (Mar 10, 2008)

would you mind giving info on your saw mill setup. 36 alaskan? Chain? looks pretty new. How fast can you make those planks? Id like to get one.


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## retoid (Mar 10, 2008)

steelhead kid said:


> would you mind giving info on your saw mill setup. 36 alaskan? Chain? looks pretty new. How fast can you make those planks? Id like to get one.



Well what you see here:










...is what we milled with the Alaskan 36" using the 359XP. It did the job but didnt cut very fast. The first few cuts took approx. 1 minute each.
The 359XP is brand new, we've had it for a month now. But it will now become our trail saw if you will. It's a great powerful saw with a 24" bar. Not bad to carry if attached to a backpack. Then we will use the 2100 CD for milling that will be stationary here at my place.

Here is the 359XP next to the 3 bars that came with the 2100 CD





More cedar to be milled.





We are using this cedar to build wall rides and bridges for mt bike trails.
Something like this, to give you an example.


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## retoid (Mar 10, 2008)

steelhead kid said:


> Nice. yeah, we got alder down here too. so you been fishin lately?
> nothing beats a day of wood and fish.



No havnt been fishing yet, it's not really in season here. I will definitely be fishing the columbia river this summer for huge trout!


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## .aspx (Mar 10, 2008)

Nice to see someone else from Whatcom County on here!


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## retoid (Mar 10, 2008)

.aspx said:


> Nice to see someone else from Whatcom County on here!



You'd think there would be more.


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## retoid (Mar 11, 2008)

Northwest Red Cedar Bark


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## 820wards (Mar 12, 2008)

retoid said:


> Oh but ofcourse  I have already been using scrap pieces for my salmon
> Red cedar is some of the best for just that!
> 
> Alder, cherry and apple are good to.



OK my mouth is watering trying to picture those fish smoking over a ceder grill. I did a wild pig in Alaska over Alder wood and was it ever good. I shipped a pig I killed to my cousin in Alaska that we roasted over alder wood for six hours for the 4th Of July. The meat was falling off the bone it was so tender. Here is a picture of my daughter and I watching the pig roast. My daughter actually field dressed and skinned the pig. She's a wildlife biologist. 

jerry-


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## retoid (Mar 12, 2008)

Oh wow, I bet that pig tasted amazing! That is something I will have to try sometime.

My buddy and I made some beer can chicken with Cornish hens. We used red bull cans cause they are thinner and filled them up with beer. I cant remember which kind, it was no doubt a good NW beer though. Then we added alder chips to the coals. When they were done they were very dark reddish amber in color, the skin had the perfect crunch to it and the chicken was amazingly moist and tasty!


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## 820wards (Mar 13, 2008)

retoid said:


> Oh wow, I bet that pig tasted amazing! That is something I will have to try sometime.
> 
> My buddy and I made some beer can chicken with Cornish hens. We used red bull cans cause they are thinner and filled them up with beer. I cant remember which kind, it was no doubt a good NW beer though. Then we added alder chips to the coals. When they were done they were very dark reddish amber in color, the skin had the perfect crunch to it and the chicken was amazingly moist and tasty!



I'm going to have to try your method the next time I go hunting. It will blow the guys away!!!

If you hunt and get venison try using equal amounts of ground venison and Linguesa. It's a Porugese pork sausage. Mix them together and BBQ. Some chopped onions added to the ground meat is Goooood! The smell out in the country is really good. A favorite beer and burger. Pretty hard to beat.
jerry-


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## retoid (Mar 13, 2008)

820wards said:


> I'm going to have to try your method the next time I go hunting. It will blow the guys away!!!
> 
> If you hunt and get venison try using equal amounts of ground venison and Linguesa. It's a Porugese pork sausage. Mix them together and BBQ. Some chopped onions added to the ground meat is Goooood! The smell out in the country is really good. A favorite beer and burger. Pretty hard to beat.
> jerry-



Oh man, we should start an Arborist Recipe thread  That sounds delicious!


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## 820wards (Mar 16, 2008)

retoid said:


> Oh man, we should start an Arborist Recipe thread  That sounds delicious!



We should ask all the chainsaw/milling people what they take to eat when they go out cutting. I take a small gas grill and do links, a little sour kraut, some mustard... It's a social thing to cook for your friends and family. No beer until after we drive back home though...

jerry-


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## retoid (Apr 15, 2008)

Plenty of sawdust


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## 820wards (Apr 16, 2008)

Nice milling guy, what kind of wood did you mill?

I'm still working on my mill. I have to put some handles on it for when I'm milling because it is not a chainsaw, it's a 2-stroke power head with a manual oil pump. See attached pictures.

So what did you take to eat that day? Something good I hope? I'm going out varmint shooting Wednesday and I'm going to BBQ some Buffalo steaks a friend gave me.

Again, nice wood!

jerry-


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## .aspx (Apr 16, 2008)

Nice pics! Do you ever have any non-millable wood that you want to get rid of?


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## Roteiche (Apr 16, 2008)

Hi "retoid",

nice pics to a very interesting theme. Give more information to your work.


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## 460magnum (Apr 16, 2008)

Retoid,

Can you please tell me where I can get a setup like that for my Stihl 460magnum? I would love to do that!! If you don't mind me asking what would something like that cost? Minus the saw of course...


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## retoid (Apr 16, 2008)

Hey guys, thank you very much for taking an interest in the wood and milling.

So far we have only milled Northwest Red Cedar which is our main focus since it is pretty rot resistant. We use the wood for mt bike features like wall rides, bridges, jumps and landings in an area we have been building trails for some time now.

Since cedar dos not sell as firewood, only kindling sometimes it is usually easier to come across. Most of the cedar you see in the pictures there I have received free from a friend in the tree cutting business. Others I have cut down. 

My friends and I are pretty new to milling, just started this winter actually. We started out with a Husky 359 XP and love the saw but found it was not enough for milling. So I came across this Husky 2100 CD on craigslist for $300 including 3 bars, 36", 33" and 28" lengths. Great deal btw. And ended up spending another $100 on parts and repairs.
Attached to the saw is a Granberg Alaskan Mill MK-III 36". 
We have ordered a granberg ripping chain as well but have not yet used it. Yesterday when we milled all that wood in the pictures above, we used a standard Oregon skip chain, 3/8", .063. Believe it or not, we did not sharpen the chain once and it even cut a bullet straight in half that was in the tree. Looks like a 9mm. I looked at the chain to see if any teeth were messed up but they all look fine. I cannot say for sure whats best for us yet since I have not tried the Granberg ripping chain but I think that buying a 100' reel of Oregon chain is going to do the trick. 

For those of you asking about how to set something up like this. It's easy!
Get a powerful saw, an alaskan mill (or fabricate one if you please.) and start milling.

820Wards: Since this was all done right in my yard I didn't take a lunch at all  We just ate some frozen pizzas. Our goal was to get as much wood milled as possible. 3 of us spent 8 hours milling. 2 Guys manning the mill and one putting the wedge in, removing and debarking the planks.


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## retoid (Apr 16, 2008)

.aspx said:


> Nice pics! Do you ever have any non-millable wood that you want to get rid of?



hehe sorry, I don't come across much good wood other than cedar which we hoard. All the other wood I have is deadfall or recently fallen tree's from winter that all gets turned into firewood.

Hey, see anything familiar in this picture?


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## Countrybois (Apr 18, 2008)

*Typical I suppose.*

That second picture says it all. 

No taste in chainsaws OR BEER!  





retoid said:


> I have been getting some red cedar mostly free since my source is unable to sell it as firewood. This wood suits my needs perfectly. We are milling this wood to create planks for outdoor woodwork for mt. bike features like wall rides and ladders.
> 
> Here are some photos of what we have done so far.
> 
> ...


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## .aspx (Apr 18, 2008)

Sedro Woolley represent


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## retoid (Apr 18, 2008)

Countrybois said:


> That second picture says it all.
> 
> No taste in chainsaws OR BEER!



FYI, that beer isn't mine. I drink this:






And as for the saws, it's personal preference. Stihl or Husky, as far as I see it they are in the same class. At least I am not running a homelite.
The 2100 CD with 3 bars for $300 was to good of a deal to pass up.


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## Countrybois (Apr 18, 2008)

Nice! I'd like to try some of that.

FYI.... I just couldn't pass on the opportunity to rip on you Husky owners. Beer and chainsaws are both probably personal preference, but PBR??? eeeesh! That's a stretch.


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## retoid (Apr 18, 2008)

hehe it was a leftover from some someone brought up to the mt bike trails.


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## retoid (May 11, 2008)

I ran into a problem yesterday while milling.
We were running the 2100 and it just died. I started it up again, and it reved at full power for about 2 seconds and died again and continued to do that.
So I looked at the air filter and noticed it was pretty saturated and dirty. I cleaned it off as good as possible and blew on it, re assembled and tried again but it continued to do the same thing.

Any ideas? Maybe the air filter needs a real good airing to clean it out completely?


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## 820wards (May 11, 2008)

retoid said:


> I ran into a problem yesterday while milling.
> We were running the 2100 and it just died. I started it up again, and it reved at full power for about 2 seconds and died again and continued to do that.
> So I looked at the air filter and noticed it was pretty saturated and dirty. I cleaned it off as good as possible and blew on it, re assembled and tried again but it continued to do the same thing.
> 
> Any ideas? Maybe the air filter needs a real good airing to clean it out completely?



I'd check to see if your fuel line is not old and cracked, or the filter on the of the fuel line in the tank is not plugged with fine saw dust chips. If the saw has no in-line filter you could have some fine saw dust up in the carb causing fuel pickup problems. This problem would require you to remove the carb, disassemble and clean.


If not a fuel line/filter problem, check that your ground/off switch wiring is not chaffed and grounding out on the frame or even a possible a bad ground/off switch.


jerry-


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## TreeBot (May 11, 2008)

I would love to see some pics of the finished ramps.


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## retoid (May 12, 2008)

I would not think it is the fuel line or filter cause I just had them replaced like a month ago.


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## retoid (May 12, 2008)

TreeBot said:


> I would love to see some pics of the finished ramps.



http://www.arboristsite.com/showpost.php?p=1006416&postcount=18


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## dallasm1 (May 23, 2008)

*More Whatcom county*

Point Roberts is in Whatcom county, somewhat in the twilight zone between Canada and the US. I have posted pics of my cedar logs on the Milling forum under the Cedar thread...
We have a lot of Cedar, Silver fir and Hemlock fir, and of course the red alder and big leaf maple.


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## Texas Traveler (May 25, 2008)

dallasm1 said:


> Point Roberts is in Whatcom county, somewhat in the twilight zone between Canada and the US. I have posted pics of my cedar logs on the Milling forum under the Cedar thread...
> We have a lot of Cedar, Silver fir and Hemlock fir, and of course the red alder and big leaf maple.


 In a past life back in the early 60s, I ran into Sedro Woolly for Skagit Steel.
We were hauling government machine tools out of Pontiac , Mich. for their mortor ammo plant & then hauling their ship hoists to the Chester ship yards in Pa.
This string of posts brings back alot of old memorys to this ole man.


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## retoid (Mar 9, 2011)

Sorry all of my pictures are failing on this thread, not sure why.

In any case, here are a few more related.


All split cedar.





Essentials of trail building.





Milled cedar planks.













Split cedar





Split cedar planks and a milled bowed thin cedar.


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