Hello! Introducing . . .

[Daninvan]

Hello all,

I’ve been lurking on this forum for a while, and made a few posts along the way. I’d like to take the opportunity to introduce myself. First though, I want to say what a real gem this group of people is. The knowledge that is here, and that is so readily shared is great to see.

I’ve been very impressed with the mills that people use, and the range of them from simple to exquisite.

It is also fantastic to see the different woods that people are able to mill in different parts of the world. It’s often a case of ‘the grass is always greener’ when I look at some of those amazing logs from Australia or California or eastern North America! I think the pictures that people post of their milling results are my favourite part of the site.

I started milling as an adjunct to my woodworking hobby. I guess the fact that I am now looking at buying an old van to transport slabs, and turning a good part of my backyard into a drying area is a sign that milling has taken over!

My ‘milling ethos’ has been that I only mill up 'scrap' logs that would be firewood or scrap otherwise. I’ve never cut down a tree myself (unlike Abraham Lincoln!). I never sell the slabs, I use them myself or give them to fellow woodworkers. So I get a small warm fuzzy ‘cause I think I am doing good in some vague way.

From a practical point of view, since most of the slabs I cut up get cut into smaller pieces once they are dry, I don't cut any longer than 6 feet or so. I am happy to work with slabs down to 3 feet in length, as long as they have decent width.

Since the wood I get is free, I want to do the milling as cheaply as possible. (I know buying a dedicated van is inconsistent with this!) So I have 3 old Husky 2100’s that I bought for cheap. Out of them I can keep two saws generally working. Both are equipped with 36” bars with homemade mills (see ‘cheap’ comment above!) that give me about 31” of cutting width. I also have a 60” bar that I put a mill on, I have not used it yet, but hope to on Thursday.

I ‘caught the fever’ when I found a small log on the beach in Hawaii in 2004. When I got it home and cut it open on my bandsaw it was stunning. I learned later it was Kiawe (prosopis pallida), a variety of mesquite native to Chile. Soon after that a buddy in town was renovating his house and taking out a huge 75+ year old pear tree. I rented a chainsaw to cut it up freehand. I was smiling for a week after that!

Next I started using my bandsaw to slice up small logs I found curbside around town. But there were many larger pieces I had to pass up because they were too big to carry home. So I built an Alaska mill on my small chainsaw. It was portable, but I still couldn’t do larger pieces. I found the Husky 2100 in a local shop, bought the 36” bar, and I was away to the races.

The last ingredient was the log supply. I found the local log dump, where the city takes the logs from street and park trees that are cut down. Also, there are a ton of logs that wash up on the local beaches, most are escapees from log booms. Between the two there is a nice mix of native species and ‘exotic’ but still temperate climate, woods. So I mill at the city’s log dump almost exclusively now. I found out the hard way that most city folk don’t appreciate a big chainsaw screaming away for hours on their street!

Earlier today I milled up a 24” wide red alder. I got six 2” slabs from it, sealed the ends, stickered and stacked it up beside the house. It is the 118th log that I have milled since that first Hawaiian log. People always ask me “what are you going to do with all this wood?” For me, the milling is the fun part, what the wood will be used for is almost irrelevant. Mostly I make Krenov-inspired small cabinets. So most of the slabs get cut up and the portions with the best grain graphics are used.

The best slabs I’ve gotten? Some silver birch with amazing figure and burls in it, catalpa slabs that were beautiful and straight grained on the QS pieces, elm and spalted maple, and old growth red and yellow cedar. I've never met a slab I didn't like!

Here are a few photos of slabs I have cut up along the way. Hopefully, there are many more to come!

Dan


Oak http://s26.photobucket.com/albums/c117/Daninvan/slabs/IMG_5707.jpg

http://s26.photobucket.com/albums/c117/Daninvan/slabs/TwoElmLogs112113.jpg

http://s26.photobucket.com/albums/c117/Daninvan/slabs/ShortCatalpainBoule.jpg

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c117/Daninvan/slabs/RedOaksmall.jpg

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c117/Daninvan/slabs/RedCedarSplitSlabs.jpg

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c117/Daninvan/slabs/OldGrowthWesternRedCedarI.jpg

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c117/Daninvan/slabs/NorwayMapleSmall.jpg

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c117/Daninvan/slabs/Maple.jpg

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c117/Daninvan/slabs/LondonPlanebigOakSlabs.jpg

Manitoba Maple http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c117/Daninvan/slabs/IMG_5621small.jpg

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c117/Daninvan/slabs/ElmfromHouseinShaughnessy108.jpg

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c117/Daninvan/slabs/DougFirsmall.jpg

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c117/Daninvan/slabs/DanwithPortOrfordCedarI.jpg

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c117/Daninvan/slabs/CherryWithGrafting89.jpg

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c117/Daninvan/slabs/ChainsawMill.jpg

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c117/Daninvan/slabs/CatalpaSlabs.jpg

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c117/Daninvan/slabs/ArbutusWoodFromThetisIsland.jpg

 

[glennschumann]

Meant in the kindest way... Show Off!

Thanks for sharing! You can also post pictures of your work too. There is a thread "What are you building with your milled wood" for such things. Do share!

 

[BobL]

I’ve been lurking on this forum for a while, and made a few posts along the way. I’d like to take the opportunity to introduce myself. First though, I want to say what a real gem this group of people is. The knowledge that is here, and that is so readily shared is great to see.

Wow - I only just noticed you joined 4 years ago and have only made 18 posts in all that time - that could even be some kind of record?

I started milling as an adjunct to my woodworking hobby.

That sounds very familiar!

Here are a few photos of slabs I have cut up along the way. Hopefully, there are many more to come!

Nice Pics - keep on millin I say!

 

[Andrew96]

Nice collection and variety of species. I haven't been keeping track of how many trees I've milled up. Is that something everyone does? Think about a trailer instead of a van. Cheaper...which I think you'll like. I see a pickup...certainly can pull a little used trailer.

 

[BC WetCoast]

Be careful of some of those beach logs. They will be full of sand.

Just out of curiosity, where is the city log dump? I thought they took the logs out to Burns Bog dump.

 

[htpd43]

BobL

Wow - I only just noticed you joined 4 years ago and have only made 18 posts in all that time - that could even be some kind of record?

judging by what i see in the pictures, he has obvioulsy been too busy milling to post.
unlike me who has only gotten to mill a few times and has too many posts.

lou

 

[Daninvan]

I don't know if anyone else keeps track of the logs they cut, maybe I'm a bit retentive or something. It is fun to look back over my "log book" and see all the different logs, where I got them, who I was with when I milled them up, etc.

A trailer is a good option instead of a van, probably the best one for most people, but the downsides of a trailer for me are:
1. I can't park it in the street here in the city and have no room otherwise
2. I would still need to use my wife's Subaru to pull it, and I want to get her car out of the loop.

Sand is definitely an issue for beach logs. I have learned to peel off the bark and brush the ends very thoroughly. Otherwise the chain will not last long! I do most of my milling at the log dump at Spanish Banks. If any locals want to come down and join me one day, let me know. I am down there almost every week these days! Maybe other municipalities take their logs out to Burns Bog, I don't know.

I took my 60" bar down today and with a couple friends milled 6 slabs off a 40" wide Box Elder crotch piece. Also got six ~20" wide slabs of birch.

Granted box elder is pretty soft (Janka 720 versus Oak Janka ~1300 versus Doug Fir 710 versus jarrah 1910) but the Husky 2100 had no problems at all cutting six slabs out (seven cuts), didn't even need a sharpening! Starting the cut was the hard part, really a two man job (I only use a guide board for the first cut), and having another person to push the bar was very helpful. I can really see the merits of a remote throttle now!

I also need to go check the slabs to see what the effect of bar sag might have been, but it was not apparent in the excitement of the cut! You can see that the cut was not the smoothest, but it is still plenty good enough for me.

At one point while I was busy with the birch, my friends decided it would be a good idea to cut the box elder crotch lengthwise. That resulted in a cut almost as long as the bar could take, but it was no problem.

Here is a cabinet I built using (mostly) woods I harvested. Maple, arbutus, cherry, crabapple, kiawe (from that first log!). The flash of the camera seems to really exaggerate the figure in the wood. It's kind of boxy, but I am working on trying to get some Krenov influences into my work. This one was a gift for my sister last year, as many of the woods had significance to us both from our childhood.

Currently in progress is a bookcase for my wife, built with elm that I harvested and sapele I bought! I am building the shelves at present, veneering elm onto 3/4" ply.

 

[DRB]

Nice wood. Nice projects.

I would highly recommend a remote throttle. It makes my 50" bar manageable by one person. You can sit on the log and push from the middle.

Log dump? I usually bring my milling set up to the Sunshine Coast when I head up that way. Must be nice to have a supply of hard woods. That something we don't have to much of up here in the Interior of any size anyway.

 

[Brmorgan]

Next time I'm down your way I might have to come rob you of some Arbutus and maybe some of that flamed Boxelder as well! There was a craft fair here in town last week and there was a fella there from Prince George with a bunch of stuff he'd turned on the lathe, and there were a few things made out of Arbutus wood. I asked him where he sourced it, and he just smugly told me "down in Arbutus land"... Jerkoff. As if I don't know where it grows! Anyway if I do make it that way I'll let you know in advance; maybe you could find me a few chunks to play with. I'd also love to get my hands on some decent Yew pieces, but I doubt there's as much of that stuff washing up on the beach around Van. It does grow this far north, but I have to drive out west to the coast at Bella Coola; since that takes just as long as heading to Vancouver I prefer that option so I can hit the tool stores etc. while I'm down there.

 

[BobL]

BobL

judging by what i see in the pictures, he has obvioulsy been too busy milling to post.

YEah - and I like what I see as well, just gets on an mills - minimum CS mill fidlin too!

unlike me who has only gotten to mill a few times and has too many posts.

If anyone has too many posts is maybe me?

 

[BobL]

Nice wood. Nice projects.

I would highly recommend a remote throttle. It makes my 50" bar manageable by one person. You can sit on the log and push from the middle.

It looks like he does have some sort of throttle lock. Still, pushing the mill rails is not my idea of fun - but he's obviously young and these things don't seem to worry young operators.

 

[BobL]

I don't know if anyone else keeps track of the logs they cut, maybe I'm a bit retentive or something. It is fun to look back over my "log book" and see all the different logs, where I got them, who I was with when I milled them up, etc.

A trailer is a good option instead of a van, probably the best one for most people, but the downsides of a trailer for me are:
1. I can't park it in the street here in the city and have no room otherwise
2. I would still need to use my wife's Subaru to pull it, and I want to get her car out of the loop.

These are the same reason I have a van. Another reason for me is that I can leave gear in a van a bit more securely than I can on a trailer or pickup. I live in an inner city location and it means I can prepack all my gear in my van the night before I go milling, or if I come home late I don't have to unpack it until later.
Inside my van I can carry 1.4 tons of stuff including 10' long slabs.
I also have 13 ft long roof rack on my van that means I can carry my 16' long logging rails without pulling them apart.

Plus I can fit a trailer hitch if I want to.

 

[Daninvan]

Actually arbutus is the one wood that I have never seen in the city log dump. I've been given a couple small logs, and did saw a larger one up a few years ago on a family friend's property. Tough to dry too, but beautiful to work with. They are pretty rare even here. Sadly, there was a bunch cut down when they built the highway bypass around Horseshoe Bay, I went over and saw them all stacked up. No idea what happened to them - sure hope they are not at the bottom of Burn's Bog!!

There was a butt of a yew log here last winter, it was huge. Four feet across maybe? It was being used to contain a pile of Doug Fir logs. At the end of the winter it got tossed in the dumpster . . . I do have a bit of yew, it has a nice texture, almost greasy or something, with the colour of raw salmon, but a bit split-y.

Let me know next time you are in town.

I hate mill fiddlin. Even taking the 36" bar off and putting on the 60" bar annoys me. I like to have everything set up, sharpened and gassed up when I get there so I can maximize my cut time.

Sorry, no throttle lock. One of my friends suggested we use duct tape today, but I vetoed it for safety reasons. One guy on the throttle and making sure the mill doesn't get hung up on knots etc, one guy pushing is what we eventually settled on.

BobL, I like your additional reasons for a van.

Here is a picture of me making the first cut on the box elder. Notice the very fancy guide rail, as well as the hi tech wedge system used to hold the aux oiler in place!

Dan

 

[Brmorgan]

All I can say is that I'm so incredibly jealous of that flamed wood, you don't even know! Boxelder is probably the second most common (to crabapple) introduced yard tree up here due to its hardiness. But for all the ones I've seen cut down, I've never come across that flame coloring. And I was at the city wood waste literally daily all summer long with the lawn care work, so it wasn't for lack of looking! I think I'm going to get in touch with a couple arborists and ask if they could keep an eye out for it for me though, since they're the ones that actually handle the trees.

 

[BobL]

I hate mill fiddlin. Even taking the 36" bar off and putting on the 60" bar annoys me. I like to have everything set up, sharpened and gassed up when I get there so I can maximize my cut time.

I'm the opposite - I fiddle for as long as it takes to get everything set up nice and ergonomic like etc - I reckon I must be at least 30 years older than you so everything has to be real easy or I wouldn't do it. I mill as much to perfect the mills I make as I do to access the timber. I now have so much timber I don't know what I will ever do with it all - so I mill a lot more selectively than I used to.

Sorry, no throttle lock. One of my friends suggested we use duct tape today, but I vetoed it for safety reasons. One guy on the throttle and making sure the mill doesn't get hung up on knots etc, one guy pushing is what we eventually settled on.

OK - I thought you did have a remote but it's obviously a friend helping you out that is holding the throttle down in your previous picture.
I know exactly what you mean about having control, especially having a second person around.
One thing that is not as bad as gaffer is a cable tie but both are a long way from a remote throttle.

BobL, I like your additional reasons for a van.

Yeah I quite like my van - it looks a bit out of place at the staff college car park next to the mercs, audis and peugeots etc but what the heck - it doesn't worry me - I've had a van of some kind or other for nearly 20 years - they are just so handy for stuff!

Here is a picture of me making the first cut on the box elder. Notice the very fancy guide rail, as well as the hi tech wedge system used to hold the aux oiler in place!

I notice you are pulling the mill in that photo and your legs, feet are probably getting covered in sawdust- that looks like way to uncomfortable and hard work. I rarely if ever have to push my mill, it either goes under it's own grabbing power or with a very slight lean. On long slabs of aussie hardwood the chain can get blunt near the end of the cut and I my need to lean on it a little harder to finish the cut. As soon as I'm pushing, but usually well before, I touch up the chain. My actual cutting time is a time I relax and enjoy the chain biting through the wood - the hardest part by far for me lifting the mill on and off the log rails or moving the slabs even if it is just sliding them onto the forklift times.

With short pieces I use a jack to lift up one end and generate a high cutting angle like this. This is a rare picture of me cutting up a softwood - liquid amber or maybe it's not even a softwood. Sorry about the crummy picture - it's a still from a movie taken with a mobile phone. All I'm doing here is holding the throttle (it was before I had my remote throttles) and the mill is going down under it's own weight and grabbing power.

BTW that's my old Mitsubishi mini-van in the background 1600cc petrol - 1982 model - it ran for 26 years. I took the seats out and it was fine for local milling about town mill, the scummy carpet soaked up the leaking bar oil - it smelled a bit by the time I sold it for AUS$500. The steering had a mind of its own above 50 mph which was one reason why I got rid of it.

 

[Daninvan]

...Boxelder is probably the second most common (to crabapple) introduced yard tree up here...

Well it sounds like a great opportunity to do some trading next when you come to town!

I reckon I must be at least 30 years older than you

Uhhh, pushing 80 are you then?!

I mill as much to perfect the mills I make as I do to access the timber. I now have so much timber I don't know what I will ever do with it all - so I mill a lot more selectively than I used to.

I can understand that, my other "thing" is to restore old woodworking equipment, I have about 10 old pieces hanging around waiting to be restored.

It's a difficult concept to fathom when one first starts milling - having too much wood! I've become more selective as well, I also find that I probably have more than I will ever use, plus it's becoming a storage issue. I need to find a nice safe place nearby to store more wood that I'll never use ...

I found I was getting very fatigued when I first started milling, I eventually got smarter about stuff like putting the log on a slope, keeping the chain sharp and oiled, using a rip chain, removing the bark, etc. Now it is not too bad, I am OK with the amount of work it is. The perspiration no longer drips from my forehead into the saw's gas tank when I am refilling it!

As for the bar sag, I checked both sides of the two pieces of box elder crotch I brought home, the curvature is between 1/8" and 1/16". I am OK with this amount, it means I'll lose 1/4" on a 2" thick slab. . I think I probably benefited from the weight of the powerhead acting to reduce the bar sag.

Also BobL I know that you use guide rails for each cut to, among other reasons, reduce the amount of friction you need to overcome to move the mill over the log. I have been giving some thought to making up some "skis" that would attach to the underside of the mill top and ride on the top of the log. This would have a similar effect as rails in regards to reducing friction. It would also help with starting.

Anyways, I still need to get some wheels on it so it doesn't keep getting hung up on knots and other protrusions!

Dan

Dan

 

[Rookie1]

Wow Dan youve been lurking for a while. Good to see you posting more. Show us more pics!

 

[BobL]

Uhhh, pushing 80 are you then?!

Whoops - I assumed you were the young guy with no grey hair and red sweatshirt pushing the mill but clearly I was wrong or you have no grey hair. OK so we're about the same age ;-) Your probably a lot fitter than I am especially given I'm carrying about 50 extra lbs!

I can understand that, my other "thing" is to restore old woodworking equipment, I have about 10 old pieces hanging around waiting to be restored.

Me too, this is one I'm working on.

It actually needs very little done to it to get it going and I'm tempted to use it as soon as I can.

It's a difficult concept to fathom when one first starts milling - having too much wood! I've become more selective as well, I also find that I probably have more than I will ever use, plus it's becoming a storage issue. I need to find a nice safe place nearby to store more wood that I'll never use ...

Yep - I started milling to get access to unusual timber for my wood working hand tool making hobby - now I have enough wood to make tools for several life times.

I found I was getting very fatigued when I first started milling, I eventually got smarter about stuff like putting the log on a slope, keeping the chain sharp and oiled, using a rip chain, removing the bark, etc. Now it is not too bad, I am OK with the amount of work it is. The perspiration no longer drips from my forehead into the saw's gas tank when I am refilling it!

It still gets like that for me when it's hot - but I sweat just sitting in the shade on these days.

As for the bar sag, I checked both sides of the two pieces of box elder crotch I brought home, the curvature is between 1/8" and 1/16". I am OK with this amount, it means I'll lose 1/4" on a 2" thick slab. . I think I probably benefited from the weight of the powerhead acting to reduce the bar sag.

That's about the level of curve I get with no anti-sag device although on the odd occasion it will jump to 1/4". This is also about the same degree of warping I see on some Aussie hardwood slabs but obviously I don't want to end up with 1/4" warping PLUS a 1/4" of curvature.

Also BobL I know that you use guide rails for each cut to, among other reasons, reduce the amount of friction you need to overcome to move the mill over the log. I have been giving some thought to making up some "skis" that would attach to the underside of the mill top and ride on the top of the log. This would have a similar effect as rails in regards to reducing friction. It would also help with starting.

Yep that would would help to reduce friction but I think it's better to use log rails that sit on the log and rises above the cut surface, that way any chips or sawdust that accumulate on top of the "thing" are pushed off by the mill rails as they slide over the rails. Skis will want to ride up over chips, sawdust and defects and reduce the quality of the finish of the two surfaces being cut. Using the rails also allow the log to be milled at a steeper angle and stop the slab from sliding off when the cut breaks thru. Like this

Anyways, I still need to get some wheels on it so it doesn't keep getting hung up on knots and other protrusions!

Yep - I find wheels help a lot

 

[jaycky]

Probably meet you soon enough been meaning a trip back to my old stomping grounds to hit the beach with my gear

 

[SDB777]

Four-ish year old post.....pulled from the grave!




Scott (nifty) B