Milling Done Today

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
Status
Not open for further replies.
zap, my brother and I built a dining table for him with 2-2 1/8" thick w. pine last year. Came out nice. I call it his Fred Flintstone table. Pretty substantial looking, and we used a double row of biscuits to join 3 pieces to make it about 40" wide, after jointing the boards. The seams are almost invisble. Almost.:cool:
We've thought of getting those tenon cutters too.
 
Stax, we will get it done whatever thickness we go with, having the mill with plenty of wood leaves us with plenty of options.

Ray, I'm not sure how this table will be put together but my wife will like it because we buillt it with wood from our land. We milled some boards last year about 1.75 inches thick which will become the outside work table, when I'm in the woods this weekend I'll look for some legs.

I think I like the Hemlock grain over the White Pine.

zap 100_3815.JPG100_4951.JPG
 
zap, my brother and I built a dining table for him with 2-2 1/8" thick w. pine last year. Came out nice. I call it his Fred Flintstone table. Pretty substantial looking, and we used a double row of biscuits to join 3 pieces to make it about 40" wide, after jointing the boards. The seams are almost invisble. Almost.:cool:
We've thought of getting those tenon cutters too.

If you hit 2-1/8 you would have had to start around 2-1/2-2-3/4 on a csm set-up. Not uncommon to make at-least a 1/8 inch bad spot with just rocking the mill one time on a board. 40" is the number wide. (for dinning table) Now 40" at the 10 foot mark is worth a whole lot o Cash! (Singal slab small end)
 
SJ, we got the wood from the Woodworkers Shoppe south of here. Very nice slabs, but pricey....to me. If I remember right, the boards were cupping some, so we ripped 'em, then put back together after planing out the cup. Brother didn't have a clue, he just wanted a table but had no idea the amount of work involved.
I didn't/wouldn't pay for it.:cool: He did.
I've got a stack of 1" boards from the property that vary in thickness. Cut with a Woodmizer, but not mine.
I'd be happy with a csm to use on the spruce and pine I have.
Sorry for the fork in the road.
Love the Hemlock slabs zap. Do you deliver?;lol
SJ, would you not sticker this wood? Seems like the boards will warp if standing against a wall for a while.
 
Zap I envy you. I have a whole woodworking shop out back that I haven't had much time to spend in for the last two years. I just recently starting to get back out there.

FWIW when ever I build something using a wide board like that I was always told it is best to rip and re-glue it back together. When drying something like that there can be a lot of stress that can cause it to crack after you bring it indoors in a climate controlled environment. Most likely after your table is built. Also when I dried fresh milled wood I would sticker it and add some weight on top to help keep it from warping and cupping. Also paint the ends with a latex paint to keep the ends from cracking.

Looking forward to seeing the finished table

Well it seems PapaDave and I agree! you beat me by 8 minutes.
 
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.jpg
SJ, we got the wood from the Woodworkers Shoppe south of here. Very nice slabs, but pricey....to me. If I remember right, the boards were cupping some, so we ripped 'em, then put back together after planing out the cup. Brother didn't have a clue, he just wanted a table but had no idea the amount of work involved.
I didn't/wouldn't pay for it.:cool: He did.
I've got a stack of 1" boards from the property that vary in thickness. Cut with a Woodmizer, but not mine.
I'd be happy with a csm to use on the spruce and pine I have.
Sorry for the fork in the road.
Love the Hemlock slabs zap. Do you deliver?;lol
SJ, would you not sticker this wood? Seems like the boards will warp if standing against a wall for a while.

They will cup unless you wax the ends good and then stand on end. This keeps pussure off the middle. (Big slabs need to be on end) Legs where mini milled. (From a 3 inch slab) One table took 2 slabs.
 
Zap I envy you. I have a whole woodworking shop out back that I haven't had much time to spend in for the last two years. I just recently starting to get back out there.

Depending on the weather I'll be heading back in to pick wild leeks, when I'm coming out I'll measure the topped off Hemlock which I plan on milling, should be big enough for the coffee table.

I wish I had a shop that I could work in.

zap
 
Dammit zap I can see I'm gonna have to make a trip up there and spend a couple days learning the milling. We gotta plan an Adirondack GTG to cut some firewood, mill some boards and EAT SOME GOOD FOOD!
 
I see on the other site they had one for the ADK's, not sure when it was but lets skip the wood and just pig out!

zap
 
  • Like
Reactions: ScotO
Little thin for me but I like it alot!
Just talked with our local Stihl dealer, the ripping chains for the 075,090 came in with the bar to follow on Thursday or Friday. I can meet him to pick up the 090 (drop off the truck) any day after work, hopefully on Saturday.

zap
 
View attachment 65916

They will cup unless you wax the ends good and then stand on end. This keeps pussure off the middle. (Big slabs need to be on end) Legs where mini milled. (From a 3 inch slab) One table took 2 slabs.

Will ratchet banding the bigger ones keep them from cupping? My BIL has one and I asked him, but they've never used it on anything thicker than 5/4", so he couldn't say for sure.
 
Will ratchet banding the bigger ones keep them from cupping? My BIL has one and I asked him, but they've never used it on anything thicker than 5/4", so he couldn't say for sure.

It really comes down to the weight of it. Nice big slab I would not take that chance. Now 5/4 sure but not a furniture piece.
 
Just talked with our local Stihl dealer, the ripping chains for the 075,090 came in with the bar to follow on Thursday or Friday. I can meet him to pick up the 090 (drop off the truck) any day after work, hopefully on Saturday.

zap

You are the milling God! Very Very Sweeeeeeeeeet set-up and hope someday you throw a milling gtg!
 
  • Like
Reactions: ScotO
Nice table SJ. How did you attach the legs?

The legs are so long (Pub style) I used a heavy duty couch leg hardware, so it could be move into that little space.Or out far as that goes. lol Kitchen table leg leavels on the bottom.
 
Zap, my farmhouse tabletop is 1.5". A 2" mill would look great. If you have to glue two boards, so what. Still gonna look awesome. Keep doing your thing man. Impressive.
Stax, weather permitting tomorrow the topped off Hemlock is coming down which I plan on making the coffee table out of. I settled on three inches for the thickness.

Around the corner from that is a topped off White Pine which is coming down after the Hemlock, I want a three inch slab from that which can go on the porch for a coffee table. If the wife likes the pine better than the hemlock we can switch it out.

zap
 
Zap. If your gonna sand after you stain and before your poly, I'd maybe go a little darker with the stain. Although I'm happy with the color of my stain, it isn't exactly what it looked like after the first time I stained.
Farmhouse 2 Poly.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: zap
Since the picture, I've sanded, re-stained and hit the wood filler spots as well. Putting another coat of poly on tonite.
 
Zap. If your gonna sand after you stain and before your poly, I'd maybe go a little darker with the stain. Although I'm happy with the color of my stain, it isn't exactly what it looked like after the first time I stained.
View attachment 66467
I'll let these slabs dry this summer then part of next after that the table build will start. I do want a outside work bench which I plan on making out of our first milled boards. (1.75 inches thick)

The table looks great, for the color of the stain I'll leave that up to the boss.

zap
 
Stax: Nice table

Zap, that's going to b a beautiful table. Either. Hemlock has great looking grain, the pine has curves & character

smokinj: Beautiful plank table, Walnut?

A tip to remember when finishing a table:
Make sure you put the same coating on the top & bottom. 3 coats on the top then 3 on the bottom, 5 & 5 ... etc.
No matter the finish used, it is not totally air tight & the moisture in the air is going to cause it to swell & shrink.
If one side has less finish, it will swell & shrink faster than the other side & cause it to warp or dish. ;)

One of Dad's rules for drying his good wood:
Wax or paint the ends. It will help it dry more evenly on the ends & reduce splitting on the ends.

His rule of thumb for drying hardwoods, 1" per year, 2" thick green board takes roughly 2 years to dry.
rotate & flip the boards every 3 or 4 months.

You guys are making me miss the saw mill. :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: zap
Stax: Nice table

Zap, that's going to b a beautiful table. Either. Hemlock has great looking grain, the pine has curves & character

smokinj: Beautiful plank table, Walnut?

A tip to remember when finishing a table:
Make sure you put the same coating on the top & bottom. 3 coats on the top then 3 on the bottom, 5 & 5 ... etc.
No matter the finish used, it is not totally air tight & the moisture in the air is going to cause it to swell & shrink.
If one side has less finish, it will swell & shrink faster than the other side & cause it to warp or dish. ;)

One of Dad's rules for drying his good wood:
Wax or paint the ends. It will help it dry more evenly on the ends & reduce splitting on the ends.

His rule of thumb for drying hardwoods, 1" per year, 2" thick green board takes roughly 2 years to dry.
rotate & flip the boards every 3 or 4 months.

You guys are making me miss the saw mill. :)
Thanks for the info bogydave, that hemlock slab is one HMF.

zp
 
I bought these last fall but since most of the stuff for the coffee table won't be ready until this fall I left them in the box. I bought three sizes, 3/4.5/8 & 2 inch.
 

Attachments

  • 100_6926.JPG
    100_6926.JPG
    220.2 KB · Views: 129
  • 100_6927.JPG
    100_6927.JPG
    191.9 KB · Views: 127
  • 100_6928.JPG
    100_6928.JPG
    201.1 KB · Views: 141
Did you buy them as a set, Zap? How much were they (if you don't mind me asking)? I'd like to get a set of those, and matching forstner bits....
 
Status
Not open for further replies.