Milling long timber

[mtngun]

Not much luck on long Unistruts at the lumber yards here. Not sure who else would carry them.

It's used mostly by industrial/commercial electricians, so look for an electrical supply outfit that caters to contractors.

Also check out your local steel yard, they sometimes stock it.

Home Depots in this area carry 10' unistrut, but not 20'.

You might be surprised how much it costs.

Your sandy, rocky soil should drain well.

I've got hardpan clay here. Thought about coating my timbers with roofing tar and burying them like a conventional pole barn, but it seemed too risky considering the terrible drainage.

 

[mtngun]

Forgot to ask: The pine beam wood feels really soft, is that normal for green pine? How do I air-dry this? It's pretty wet so I couldn't paint the ends.

Dunno about your southern pine, but in general, keep out of sun and rain, but give it plenty of air circulation.

 

[Frank Boyer]

It's used mostly by industrial/commercial electricians, so look for an electrical supply outfit that caters to contractors.

Also check out your local steel yard, they sometimes stock it.

Home Depots in this area carry 10' unistrut, but not 20'.

You might be surprised how much it costs.

Your sandy, rocky soil should drain well.

I've got hardpan clay here. Thought about coating my timbers with roofing tar and burying them like a conventional pole barn, but it seemed too risky considering the terrible drainage.

Try a used extension ladder from Craig's list. Quick, cheap, and easy. A 24" or 32" should cover anything that you need.

 

[mtngun]

Try a used extension ladder from Craig's list. Quick, cheap, and easy. A 24" or 32" should cover anything that you need.

He wants to mill 16' long, that requires a guide board approximately 17 1/2 feet long. A 32' extension ladder might be long enough.

 

[Bigrod]

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How well does the mill slide on the aluminum ladder rails. I have a mill but not tried it out and I have some nylon slabs that I thought of putting on mill to make it glide better.

 

[Frank Boyer]

The mill to ladder friction didn't seem to be a problem. You could wax/silicon the surfaces if you thought it to be a problem. The benches we did are 15' long X 6" thick and 32" at the widest part. We used 2X4's to support the middle and build up the narrow end. 3 1/2" grabber screws anchored the ladder.

 

[820wards]

Trying again. Still can't get 4 pictures.

Frank,

Looks like you have some nice benches for your BBQ's.

Guy's, this Frank can BBQ!!!!

jerry-

 

[rarefish383]

I have several extension ladders from 16' to 42'. I had a job where I needed a 42 footer. I happened to be at an auction a couple weeks befor the job was scheduled and there was a 42 footer up for bid, I got it for $40. I think the guy I was bidding against wanted it for scrap. This is the heaviest ladder I've ever owned, with the 2 sections together it's well over 100lbs. I only use it for logs I can get pretty close to with the truck, and it is almost a mandatory 2 man job. Once it's mounted on the log it is nice. It's so heavy that it doesn't flex much. Since I needed the ladder for a job pruning 20 trees @ $200 per tree it was a no brainer. Now that I have the darned thing I use it for a guide. After using it for a guide, I don't think I'd recommend buying something this heavy unless you have a permenant milling lot, even if you get it cheap, Joe.

 

[Frank Boyer]

Frank,

Looks like you have some nice benches for your BBQ's.

Guy's, this Frank can BBQ!!!!

jerry-

The benches came out nice. I need to seal them this weekend. The'll hold 30 plus people. How is the mill that you were working on coming along?