Eucalpytus Milling by a Complete Novice (Viable or Waste of Time/Money?

[GoldField]

I posted what is written below yesterday under the "Homeowner Helper" forum and quickly realized that it was more appropriate to have placed it in the "Milling & Saw Mills" forum. So I moved the thread and apologize for littering ArboristSite with duplicate threads. Based on the replies already received, it sounds like eucalyptus is not the easiest wood to mill. Here is my original post:

Greetings all. I have some eucalpytus in the 30" plus diameter. Already cut a few cords for firewood and was contemplating trying to mill some of this wood. However, it has been a son of a gun just cutting for firewood and was wondering if I would just be wasting my time and money trying to mill it-- I have a Husq 372xp 20" and no alaskan mill so I would also have the costs of the mill and any new bar and chain adaptions to factor in as well. The Husq 372xp would have to do as I am unwilling to invest in a new saw.

If anyone has any insight, thoughts, or suggestions on the viability of this project, I would greatly appreciate the information since I am a novice as it relates to milling.

Also, I believe that the eucalyptus is blue gum, but the split wood has a red hue color. Does blue gum have a red hue color when split, or is this another variety of eucalpytus?

Again, thanks for any comments or suggestions.

 

[scallywag]

Pics?.........If it's Blue Gum you could mill some useful timber from it, if it's Red Gum you could mill even more useful timber.

 

[BobL]

You don't say where you are in Ca but down around SD many of the eucalyptus around there are all twisted and would not be worth milling.

Milling 30" eucalyptus will require a 36" bar and is hard work on saws so it would be too much for a a 372Xp.
The 372 is suitable for bars up to 28" so 22" logs but even that will be pushing it.
I have a 441 (same CC) and I stick to logs under 18" using lo pro chain.

I would recommend a 90cc saw and a Lopro chain and sprocket setup to ease the load.for this work, especially given that eucalyptus are involved.

Whether is red or blue gum you will need to learn how to really sharpen and maintain the chain - i.e. not just firewood cutting

BTW the "Blue" in blue gum has nothing to do with the tree itself but the "blue haze" that blue gum forests generate in hot weather. It comes from the small amount of eucalyptus oil that the trees emit.
In a bush fire the heat drives more eucalyptus oil out of the leaves so if it is already really hot and the trees are dense enough this increases the chance of explosive tree top fires. These fire travel across the tops of trees at speeds up to 50 miles an hour - its a terrifying sight.

 

[GoldField]

You don't say where you are in Ca but down around SD many of the eucalyptus around there are all twisted and would not be worth milling.

Milling 30" eucalyptus will require a 36" bar and is hard work on saws so it would be too much for a a 372Xp.
The 372 is suitable for bars up to 28" so 22" logs but even that will be pushing it.
I have a 441 (same CC) and I stick to logs under 18" using lo pro chain.

I would recommend a 90cc saw and a Lopro chain and sprocket setup to ease the load.for this work, especially given that eucalyptus are involved.

Whether is red or blue gum you will need to learn how to really sharpen and maintain the chain - i.e. not just firewood cutting

BTW the "Blue" in blue gum has nothing to do with the tree itself but the "blue haze" that blue gum forests generate in hot weather. It comes from the small amount of eucalyptus oil that the trees emit.
In a bush fire the heat drives more eucalyptus oil out of the leaves so if it is already really hot and the trees are dense enough this increases the chance of explosive tree top fires. These fire travel across the tops of trees at speeds up to 50 miles an hour - its a terrifying sight.

Thanks for the reply. Truly appreciate the information. Still contemplating the project, although based on what others have written, it may not be worth it. Based on other replies and research, it sounds as if eucalyptus has a tendency to warp, crack, check etc, which gives me some reservations, but still contemplating the project despite all the negatives which seem to be mounting.

And yes, cutting the eucalyptus is giving me many opportunities to practice my chain sharpening skills.

Again, thanks for the information. Truly appreciate it.

 

[KiwiBro]

Whether is red or blue gum you will need to learn how to really sharpen and maintain the chain - i.e. not just firewood cutting

Hey, not all of us firewood hacks are happy with anything but OCD sharp chains.

 

[BobL]

Hey, not all of us firewood hacks are happy with anything but OCD sharp chains.

I guess they are out there but I've yet to meet one.

 

[Yellowbeard]

I was just in Santa Cruz and saw lots of giant eucs, redwoods, etc. that were making me salivate. No end to giant wood out that way. Almost made me want to move. Almost...