red oak milling

[outdoorsman0490]

Here is the work I did today.
Some red oak logs of various legths and widths. The trees were cut down in march and the logs have been sitting here since then, waiting to get their chance to make some thick boards. You can see in some of the picks I played around with the milling angle of the log, I always used to mill flat. Much easier to mill on the down hill if you get the log in that position. Everything was milled with the J-red 2186 and 36" bar and mill. The fifth picture is a large poplar log after I peeled the bark off, will do the same with the other two logs, they are completely covered up with dirt from the machine that moved them. Of course, the last picture which is of all the slabs for the day will not upload, 15 slabs total, all 3" thick.

 

[john taliaferro]

Thats some nice looking slabs ,they look HEAVY . Thanks for the pictures

 

[Bigrod]

Nice looking slabs. Like to see what that Poplar will look like.

 

[820wards]

Nice slabs of wood, you'll be able to make something nice in a few years after drying.

Thanks for the pictures,

jerry-

 

[Talltom]

I don't want to be a killjoy, but - I'd be concerned about borers in logs that have been down since March. Check them for frass after a month or so of drying & if you see signs of infestation, either treat them with borates or have them kiln dried before bringing them indoors. If using borates, might as well treat them ASAP to minimize damage, plus it takes a while for the borates to work. Borers are especially bad here & they just love oak. Search the web for "wood borers" or "powder post beetles" for info on types and life cycle. Some die off as the wood dries, some don't.

 

[burningwood]

Here is the work I did today.
Some red oak logs of various legths and widths. The trees were cut down in march and the logs have been sitting here since then, waiting to get their chance to make some thick boards. You can see in some of the picks I played around with the milling angle of the log, I always used to mill flat. Much easier to mill on the down hill if you get the log in that position. Everything was milled with the J-red 2186 and 36" bar and mill. The fifth picture is a large poplar log after I peeled the bark off, will do the same with the other two logs, they are completely covered up with dirt from the machine that moved them. Of course, the last picture which is of all the slabs for the day will not upload, 15 slabs total, all 3" thick.

outdoorsman0490, very nice work. When milling the Oak how many chains did you go through?

bw

 

[outdoorsman0490]

thats okay for the concern, there were no borers or any insects in the wood, everything came out top notch. Although, I have been know to leave a log around for over a year, just to make some boards or a mantle that have the character left behind from the borers moving in.

All of those slabs were cut with the same chain. On the smaller logs, 4' by about 16" I was able to make 3 or 4 slabs all at once on the same tank of gas; cut a slab, put the mill down, take the slab off, jump right into the next one. Then I would fill up the gas and oil, and due to the oak being so hard, give each tooth a stroke or three just to keep that tooth honned in. (I generally set the rail up and take the first slab off all the logs I plan to mill for the day in the begining. That way, when I am done, I can set the mill to the depth I want and slab away, not having to worry about stopping and setting up the rail for the next one) If you keep milling without touching up the chain every tank or two, I have found that the time spent on the cut goes up; so I take the few minutes to hone the teeth often, rather than put the extra time on the saw.

And I milled the poplar today, I need to upload the pics, they came out great.