First Time Milling: Poplar

[j_franich]

First off thank you to all of you that share your experiences here, the wealth of information contained within this site is astounding. Secondly I am personally blaming all of you for the hit my bank account has taken over the last several months. 14 chainsaws and two mills later I milled my first boards last week. It was the middle section of a blown down poplar on our property. This probably would have been a better job for the Ripsaw mill, but I am still waiting on a parts order for it. It was about 45 minutes from the time the UPS driver dropped off my 30" Granberg MKIII to when I started milling. The only downside to the project was that it forced me to take a closer look at my 288XP........it turns out it is actually a 266SE:doh: It seems I should not buy saws off of craigslist w/o looking them over first. The top cover had been changed out and the model/serial number tag was scratched up pretty bad. Live and learn.

Other than where I entered and exited the log the cuts were very smooth. Most of the slabs are 2 1/4" thick, I don't have any plans as of yet for this wood and I figured I can always cut them thinner.

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[john taliaferro]

Sometimes you just get a snipe on the ends . To many wedges ,not enough wedges , how you were holding your mouth :msp_unsure: only 14 saws ? and we need pictures of the mill before it counts as CAD {running } .

 

[Daninvan]

14 chainsaws

That's impressive!

 

[excess650]

Your poplar has some interesting color/contrast/character to it as compared to the tulip poplar I have. Obviously you have been wanting to mill for a while if you ventured out into the snow to do it. Nice job!

 

[Dave Boyt]

Nice. That 266 will get you started, at least. Be sure to stack and sticker the boards to air dry. Good luck with the Ripsaw. Look forward to seeing photos of it, as well. What are you using for chain? Milling in the snow is a sure sign of CAD, but is typically an advanced symptom. You'll be milling with a 100+ cc saw within six months.

 

[j_franich]

I'm using the Woodsman Pro 30RP chain, and was quite impressed with it. It was starting to cut slower on the last pass, but not so much that it was working the saw too hard. That being said I just bought a 288XP that needs a rebuild, and I am looking for a 100cc+ saw to add to my collection. I may even sell off some of my saws to fund it. No video of the mill in action yet, the couple of videos I have posted in the chainsaw forum were made with my cell phone taped to my camera tripod. I'm definitely hooked......no tree will ever look the same to me......I just want to know what is inside.

 

[j_franich]

Your poplar has some interesting color/contrast/character to it as compared to the tulip poplar I have. Obviously you have been wanting to mill for a while if you ventured out into the snow to do it. Nice job!

I was pleasantly surprised with the coloration of the wood, am I right in assuming that it is mineral staining? The soil is very shallow here and we are in mining country (sulfide, iron, gold and copper that I know of).

 

[rarefish383]

I love Poplar, and most that I've milled looks very much like yours. I always post a pic of my first Poplar project when folks say they just milled their first. I had the planks stickered on the back patio for a while. From the time I made the first cut till the bench was together, sitting on it, was 4 hrs, if I remember correctly. I have a new computer with windows 8, and all I know how to do is log on. Haven't figured how to get my pics from photobucket to here. If you look up this thread, "Tulip Poplar & Box Elder for Free???? Is It Worth It???", I have pics of some 9' planks and my bench. Happy milling, Joe.

 

[Dave Boyt]

I'm using the Woodsman Pro 30RP chain, and was quite impressed with it. It was starting to cut slower on the last pass, but not so much that it was working the saw too hard. That being said I just bought a 288XP that needs a rebuild, and I am looking for a 100cc+ saw to add to my collection. I may even sell off some of my saws to fund it. No video of the mill in action yet, the couple of videos I have posted in the chainsaw forum were made with my cell phone taped to my camera tripod. I'm definitely hooked......no tree will ever look the same to me......I just want to know what is inside.

Been real happy with my Husqvarna 2100. I use it both for milling and felling larger (4'+) diameter trees (different chains). Still fairly easy to get parts for them. Sounds like you've got classic CAD. Sorry, can't help you, other than encourage you to get bigger chain saws and more toys!

 

[excess650]

I foolishly passed on an excellent 288 here recently because I wanted an even larger displacement saw. I've been milling with a Stihl 066BB since my first milling experience with a 272xp. I'm about to start using my 3120 more often for milling since purchasing a 42" 3/8 .063 B&C.

Like you, I look at trees and logs differently since I started milling. Actually, it was the regret of cutting millable logs into firewood that prompted me to start milling. I have (3) 8' black walnut logs to mill for a friend and then will work on some box elder logs 40"+! Wood with figure and/or color contrast always gets my attention. That reminds me, I need to call a guy about a shagbark hickory....

 

[qbilder]

I foolishly passed on an excellent 288 here recently because I wanted an even larger displacement saw. I've been milling with a Stihl 066BB since my first milling experience with a 272xp. I'm about to start using my 3120 more often for milling since purchasing a 42" 3/8 .063 B&C.

Like you, I look at trees and logs differently since I started milling. Actually, it was the regret of cutting millable logs into firewood that prompted me to start milling. I have (3) 8' black walnut logs to mill for a friend and then will work on some box elder logs 40"+! Wood with figure and/or color contrast always gets my attention. That reminds me, I need to call a guy about a shagbark hickory....

You speak my language! I search out the figured, different looking logs too. You better post pics of that box elder!!!!