WOW, I long ago forgot about this thread!! I need to up date as I've been in my sawmill shed for quite some time now!! LOL
See the bigger log, on the right, in this pict.?
It was left over from a materials list that i was milling out, for a customer/friend of mine. Anyway, i needed to build a strong "beam", so i milled that big log "mostly" into 2x14/16's - 16 feet long, and then put them on stickers. Later when i had the time, i loaded them back on the BSM and re-sawed them all at the same time, to get some really NICE 2x12's...
Then i put ratchet straps around them and moved them to a long trailor that i have,
I bought several sheets of 3/4" CDX plywood on sale some time ago, and brought them out of the shop two at a time, to re-saw them into 12" widths,
Now it's time to get started building the 30 foot beam that i need! So i put down two 2x12's, adding plenty of "liquid nails", and put a layer of CDX on top, using LOT'S of nails to nail them together!
and kept adding layers, making sure to alternate the joints,
With the beam getting pretty thick, i changed to longer and longer nails, so this "palm nailer" really saved my old wore out joints!!
Until i FINALLY had my 9"x12" - 30 foot beam!
Gluing and nailing layers of ply between the layers of solid wood, GREATLY increases the strength of a beam, it makes it MUCH stronger, enabling it to carry much greater loads!
So, there's how I used the lumber from that big log in the pict., to build a big beam that i needed for the sawmill door header.
SR