First time milling lumber! (pics to come)

[Steve G.]

Well guys, I did our first load of lumber this past week, it might not sound like a lot to you guys but we did 8 logs, mainly cutting 1x4 red oak flooring. We did 2 pine, cutting 2x6 and 2x4 mostly. I finally know what it's like to run a mill. We used a woodmizer LT40 for $.10/bdft, we cut up a little more than 900 bdft altogether.
It's really exciting being able to finally use a sawmill for the first time, after reading alot of what it's like on here and then doing it myself.

I broke one blade by accidentally bringing the band down while in the middle of a cut Not a good idea.
I have a question about stacking, I think we spaced our stickers to far apart... we have them about 3-4ft away from each other for our 1x4 red oak... is that to much?
Do we have to restack the whole stack?

Thanks alot,

Steve

ps, pics to come once I get to load em' on the net.

[ESCANABAJOSH]

i think them stickers should be okay spaced that far apart (i've only done it a few times myself). just make sure that the stickers ain't green wood.

[mike p]

FROM WHAT I READ & USE HERE the stickers should be 16" to 2' apart to prevent warping from board sag
allso most important to have them all lined up so the weight is transfered straight down if there stagared the weight will cause bowing of lower boards

[Steve G.]

There lined up right on top of the other, but there 3-4ft apart and I'm worried about the sag... whaddya think?

[Kirk Allen]

I would place stickers in between the ones you have now. 

Lesson learned the hard way! 

The best way to do it without having to unstack the whole pile is to put a small taper on both sides of one end of the stickers and you can tap them inbetween the boards.  The bottom of the stack will be the toughest but its not to hard as I have done it with a few stacks and it works real well.

Mike is right, 16" to 2' is best. 

[mike p]

i stack walnut at 12"
white oak at 2'
red oak at 16"
ash at 16"

[milling man]

i stacked my first couple of loads of 2 x 6 poplar at 3-4 feet and they bowed pretty bad ever since i have stacked everything i cut 16 to 18 inches apart and directly on top of the row below. also if you stack your lumber outside put a top on it to cover it, and put some weight on it as well or you top few layers will cup on you. I have found this really helps the only trouble i have with is hickory. that wood just has a mind of it own i am going to start putting it on the bottom of my piles and see if that helps out.

[Kirk Allen]

Hickory can be a real pain.  If I want 3/4" finished lumber out of it I cut it to no less than 1 1/4" green.  This seems to also reduce the end checks as well.  Bottom of the stack helps a lot but for me its been a nightmare trying to prevent the end checking and cutting it oversize seems to do the job. 

I tried log sealers but even that only slowed down the mighty mind of hickory.  Like you said, it has a mind of its own.

[mike p]

that hickory sure dulls the planner blades quick

[Steve G.]

I heard one of you say that green stickers are bad... What is wrong with them and where do we find un-green stickers? We're going back up on monday to restack the whole pile, so any information before then would be tremendously appreciated!

Thanks

[Kirk Allen]

If the stickers are of the same species green is not a problem.  I regulary cut out my stickers from the heart wood and use them as I am cutting.  Never had a probolem with them. 

The challenge with green stickers typicaly is staining.  If you used a dark wood green sticker on a light colored wood like maple, you can get sticker stain on the lumber and it can go as deep as 1/8th inch on some species.  That is why you want either dried stickers or stickers of the same species. 

If the wood is just for construction, sticker it with anything as stain is not a concern. 

[Murf]

The best way to do it without having to unstack the whole pile is to put a small taper on both sides of one end of the stickers and you can tap them inbetween the boards.  The bottom of the stack will be the toughest but its not to hard as I have done it with a few stacks and it works real well.

If you do it this way, start putting the stickers in from the bottom, that way as you progress the load gets lesser, not greater.

Don't ask how I know. 

Anybody have any use for a bunch of sticker wood with mashed ends?

[Steve G.]

I know it's been a while since I said I was gonna' put the pictures up... here's one of them. More to come.



This is what happens when you bind your saw and then try to roll the log over with a tractor to get it unbound... not a brilliant idea. It took us 5-10 min to get it out of there.

[Steve G.]

one time when we were up at the land building our road I broke the front wheel right of the tractor.

[Kirk Allen]

If you keep a good wedge and hammer with you it will come in handy to prevent the saw pinches. If it does pinch, hammer the wedge in on top and it opens up the gap so the saw can come right out. 

I would have to say from the looks of the tractor wheel, it had to have been cracked for some time to come apart like that.  Bummer day!

[Steve G.]

I would have to say from the looks of the tractor wheel, it had to have been cracked for some time to come apart like that.  Bummer day!

And the thing was we didn't have the last load of stone delivered when this happened so we had to have them dump it right in front of the tractor blocking off the road for the 3 days we waited for the new wheel to come in.

[Steve G.]

This is the wood we've stacked so far

[mike p]

looks good neat stack

[Kirk Allen]

Looks good Steve.  I am assuming its all 2X material?  How long before you guys start building?

[Steve G.]

The stack on the right is 1x and the left stack is mostly 2x.

We just submitted our building plans, site/septic plans to be approved.
We were hoping to get the foundation in this fall but it looks like we will have to wait till the spring to pour. We want to get winter cut logs in january for the cabin and be able to start putting them up in the summer.

Anybody have contacts for someone who can get us 100 35ft arrow pine straight logs?

[Frank Pender - AKA "Tail Gunner"]

Sorry about the pine, but I can get you some Douglas Fir.

[Steve G.]

Sorry about the pine, but I can get you some Douglas Fir.

Excuse my minute knowledge of trees but, is douglas fir a soft wood?
We don't have to use pine for the cabin, we could use arrow straight anything really... we were just thinking pine would be best.

[Frank Pender - AKA "Tail Gunner"]

Yes, Steve, the Douglas Fir is considered in the soft wood catagory.  It is not as soft as our Pines, however.  You might be able to find some timbers from building demos and saw them into the material you need.

[Steve G.]

You said you could get douglas fir, did you mean 100 35ft arrow straight logs usable for a log cabin? (we're not doing a kit) Or did you mean usable for milling?
Cuz' we have to make TnG for the roof also... we were planning on using pine but we don't have pine on our land only oak.

[Frank Pender - AKA "Tail Gunner"]

I could find them, I am sure.  However, the price might be  bit steep.  I could go for the length with no problem.  I might have to do a bit of searching for all 100 pieces coming from the same logging site.  If you want me to do the search, let me know and specifics on your specs.  Do you want the logs pealed, before you get them?  And, you might want to come out here to inspect the logs, before shipping.  I would also recommend that you order a couple three or so, extras, just in case there is am unsatisfactory log in the bunch.