A trip to the sawyer. A few milling pics.

[fishingpol]

I needed to source some hardwood planks for future wood projects. There is a local bandsaw mill down the street from where I work that I went to today to pick up some stock. I took my dad and son along for the ride. I could spend hours here talking with the owner.

This place is a woodworkers dream. A lot of the boards came from cut off end from previous wood orders. Win/win for both of us. I picked up cherry, oak and walnut. It is all put up and stickered now. I ended up with about 45 4' boards. I even got the 5/4 stock at the bottom of the log where he could not cut it any thinner due to the dogs holding the log to the saw frame. The owner was a great guy to do business with. I am glad to have met up with him and he knows what I am looking for now. Everything in his yard get used, from customer orders to slab wood for maple sap boilers and firewood.

Part of his yard.




The two 8' piles on the left are slab edges.




The saw. 1 1/4" blade, mills 24" wide if need be. Hydraulic lifter. That is a walnut slab being worked up.






Walnut on top, cherry under it and oak to the right.





12" x 12" oak beam for a customer.





Cherry planks. 10 -12" wide. They could second as grilling planks. The bug holes are incorporated into part of my designs, the rot areas are not.




Walnut crotch. Amazing figuring. It stunk. I call it skunk pee wood. Luckily the oak and cherry smell took over the basement.






Oak chunk, this has nice figuring.





He has a post and beam structure 12' x 16' that he made, that is for sale. I really wish I had the room and the coin to buy it. 3 hours to assemble the frame, once off loaded from the truck.

 

[ScotO]

Nothing like getting wood from local trees, and from a local sawyer to boot! Looks like you got some really nice stuff, Jon. Whatcha planning on making? I'm looking forward to your projects......you know me, I love a good project!!

I take my saw logs to a good friend of mine who has a 1940's Frick roundblade mill......what a great time it is to cut with him! He doesn't do it for a business, just as a hobby.....

We're saving up a pile of logs and we're gonna have a sawyer-fest later this spring, I can't wait to get on that! I should have around 8 to 10 pine logs (gonna use them boards for my woodshed project down the road), I do have 9 or 10 nice white oak logs up on the ridge that I had planned on milling this spring but with the lack of snow, it ain't gonna happen this year. If we have a nice dry spell this summer I imagine the neighbor will let me go back in there and possibly drag them out with my truck, we'll have to wait and see......

I have around 1000 bd ft of poplar that should be ready to use this June or July, and 3-400 bd ft of walnut that'll be ready by April-May, if all goes well. That stuff is stacked and stickered out in the garage......

I wish I had more of the walnut, I would have used that for flooring in my living room (I need 600 sq ft).

 

[begreen]

Nice trip. The wood looks beautiful. What will you be making from the planks? Be sure to post some pictures of the finished products too. I curious to see how they turn out.

 

[fishingpol]

I remember your post on your friends mill. That looked like a good time. This sawyer does work for for companies decking out low trailers for hauling heavy equipment. He does all sorts of milling projects for builders and homeowners. I don't think many people are aware that he exists. The last local lumberyard that milled around here shut down a few years ago. He has a niche business if people just seek him out. He has stock there that you would not find at a box store.

As far as projects, I have a bunch of pieces going on now. They are in various stages, but I'll send you a sneak peek pic or two.

What are you going to do with the poplar? A couple of my recent pieces used reclaimed poplar. Soft, not much nice grain, but easy to work with.

 

[ScotO]

I remember your post on your friends mill. That looked like a good time. This sawyer does work for for companies decking out low trailers for hauling heavy equipment. He does all sorts of milling projects for builders and homeowners. I don't think many people are aware that he exists. The last local lumberyard that milled around here shut down a few years ago. He has a niche business if people just seek him out. He has stock there that you would not find at a box store.

As far as projects, I have a bunch of pieces going on now. They are in various stages, but I'll send you a sneak peek pic or two.

What are you going to do with the poplar? A couple of my recent pieces used reclaimed poplar. Soft, not much nice grain, but easy to work with.

Wifey wants to learn how to make some rustic benches/shelves/knick-knacks, etc....I figured that poplar would be the perfect wood to do so....
I'll cut her some patterns and show her how to use the tools, she can go at it from there. She's hoping to sell some at our local craft shows and such in the fall....

 

[ironpony]

We have quite a few mills in southern Ohio, it is great you found one that will work with you. it will hopefully be a good relationship and provide you with some nice wood for your projects.

 

[PapaDave]

Woodmizer?
Nice mill and great that you can use some of the smaller stuff.
Definitely interested in whatever you have planned for that wood.
Lots of mills around here. I stopped at one that only deals in hardwood a couple years ago, and the guy wanted to only sell minimum 1000 bd ft.
Too pricey for me. Don't know what I'd do with that much hardwood anyway.

 

[fishingpol]

Woodmizer?
Nice mill and great that you can use some of the smaller stuff.
Definitely interested in whatever you have planned for that wood.
Lots of mills around here. I stopped at one that only deals in hardwood a couple years ago, and the guy wanted to only sell minimum 1000 bd ft.
Too pricey for me. Don't know what I'd do with that much hardwood anyway.

This gent is a handshake kind of guy. He runs a small operation. You can watch him cut and then select the boards. He will even cut what you bring him. He has so many cut off ends standing around and he was just waiting for someone like me to call that needed smaller pieces. Once I get through this stack, he has some more oak that will be up next.

 

[PapaDave]

Nice.

 

[Gasifier]

Nice.

+1 And I liked it!

 

[Adios Pantalones]

Fantastic pics- really gets me thinking. I heard a thing on NPR yesterday about people that own a mill where they make stuff with local wood and tag each item with the zip code where the tree was harvested. At one point they made XMass ornaments with wood from a local historical tree and they sold like hot cakes.

Maybe we should just sell hot cakes.

 

[PapaDave]

Historical hot cakes.
Now those, would sell like hot cakes.

 

[Gasifier]

I like hot cakes. Where you selling them? I just placed an order for 3 gallons of maple syrup.

 

[PapaDave]

Poor Jon.
We've gone and jacked his thread.
So to get back on topic, one of these days, I'd like to make another trip to the Amish gent who did my T&G stuff.
Gas, you better get in line.....don't forget that these aren't just any ol' hot cakes. Them bein' historical and all.

 

[fishingpol]

I don't mind a derail, I like a good discussion. There is something to be said about historical trees. I think FF Jake had a story of a large elm that was cut down in Maine and wood items were made from it.

There is a white oak in my town at the historical society grounds that is documented in a letter going back to 1640. I'd love some wood from that oak. That tree has documented provenanace of early settlers gathering under it.

The sawyer also has chestnut beams in a pile in the yard awaiting disposition from the owner. I told him to keep me in mind if something does not pan out.

 

[firefighterjake]

I don't mind a derail, I like a good discussion. There is something to be said about historical trees. I think FF Jake had a story of a large elm that was cut down in Maine and wood items were made from it.

There is a white oak in my town at the historical society grounds that is documented in a letter going back to 1640. I'd love some wood from that oak. That tree has documented provenanace of early settlers gathering under it.

The sawyer also has chestnut beams in a pile in the yard awaiting disposition from the owner. I told him to keep me in mind if something does not pan out.

I did . . .

(broken link removed to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbie_(tree))

 

[PapaDave]

Don't think I've ever seen Chestnut in board form.

 

[MasterMech]

Don't think I've ever seen Chestnut in board form.

Only the floor in my Dad's old house.

 

[nate379]

Only way I see trees are chopped in 16" lengths and in my stove

Ouch, $20k to cut down that Herbie tree!. Should have listed it on Craig's List. Free firewood, just need to not drop the tree on the house.