Likes Likes:  0
Needs Pictures Needs Pictures:  0
Picture(s) thanks Picture(s) thanks:  0
Results 1 to 15 of 15
  1. #1
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    Birkdale
    Age
    51
    Posts
    279

    Default How to deal with fresh cut logs?

    I dropped a Silky Oak for a friend this afternoon, and I would like to know the best way to deal with the logs. The main trunk was reasonably straight, and around 5m long and tapering from approx 450mm down to approx 300mm. I cut it in half to make it more manageable, and I painted the ends with whatever was on hand which was just a can of spray paint.
    I probably can't get back there with the work truck until Wednesday, and assuming that I can work out a way to load them and get them home, how do I look after them?

    I would like to give the ends a better coat of paint for starters, but what should I do after that? Get them milled green, or wait till they are dry? Cover them with something, or just leave them exposed to the elements?

    Any help is greatly appreciated.
    Thanks

  2. # ADS
    Google Adsense Advertisement
    Join Date
    Always
    Location
    Advertising world
    Age
    2010
    Posts
    Many





     
  3. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Perth
    Posts
    27,756

    Default

    The spray paint will be way too thin,
    Get a couple of good coats of thick house paint on it.
    After that it's neither here nor there.

  4. #3
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    Bundaberg
    Age
    54
    Posts
    3,402

    Default

    Mill the timber green, protect the ends from drying too quickly by slathering them in wax or paint, sticker the milled boards to allow air flow across the faces and store them under cover but with some sort of ventilation.

    Dai Sensei posted this handy milling guide Novice Milling Guide for Turning Blanks and Slabs Tables etc
    Nothing succeeds like a budgie without a beak.

  5. #4
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    Birkdale
    Age
    51
    Posts
    279

    Default

    Thanks guys. I will try to get back there today with some better paint for the ends.
    What would be the best way to mill logs of that size? I would like to recover some quarter sawn if possible, or would it be better off slabbed? I'm not a wood turner, so turning blanks aren't on my radar.
    Also, regarding stickers, is it best to use the same timber for the stickers or is there something else that is better? I have seen timber with sticker marks across the boards and was told that the "wrong" stickers had been used.

  6. #5
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    Bundaberg
    Age
    54
    Posts
    3,402

    Default

    Any clean and dry hardwood timber should be fine for the stickers although using green bits from the same tree shouldn’t be an issue; Bobl can probably answer that more definitively. Softwoods can be subject to fungal growth which can stain the boards, those “sticker marks” you saw may have been caused by using softwoods or green timber from a different species.
    Nothing succeeds like a budgie without a beak.

  7. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2015
    Location
    Strathalbyn South Australia
    Posts
    1,141

    Default

    The main thing I found with Silky Oak was that it needs to have the pith taken out more than other timber I have milled. It moves and shrinks quite a lot when drying. Depending on what you envisage as the end use for the timber as to how thick to cut it, just slabbing it will not give you the best figure, it is really nice quarter sawn. Getting it quarter sawn could be a challenge with an Alaskan mill, better with a bandsaw mill (I’m not sure what you have at your disposal). I used Oregon for stickers and didn’t have an issue, keep the stack covered with a tarp or better still under cover in a carport out of the rain (not in a shed). Ratchet straps are your best friend, use them over each sticker and keep pulling them down as the stack dries to reduce warping.

  8. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Perth
    Posts
    27,756

    Default

    Chief Tiff has it right.
    Some sticker marks are cause by poorly ventilated storage so mould etc can appear around under stickers.
    Sometimes sawdust left on the log under stickers causes the marks.

    There's no "correct" way to Mill a log but here are a few generalities that you might find useful.
    An all Quarter sawn log wastes a lot of timber, and all flat sawn log can end up with timber losses due to warping/cupping.
    Am all slabbed log has at least one slab that is quarter sawn, or two slabs close to quarter sawn.
    Milling thicker pieces rather than thinner can lead to few losses due to cracking and warping.
    Flat, weighted, in a ventilated, out of the direct sun, storage space is advisable.

    Silky oak is so soft it matters naught from a difficulty of milling perspective whether its sawn green or dry.

  9. #8
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    Birkdale
    Age
    51
    Posts
    279

    Default

    I was thinking about trying to achieve this out of the larger of the two logs, and just slabbing the smaller one at 38mm.
    Thoughts?



  10. #9
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    Mornington Peninsula
    Posts
    2,741

    Default

    Personally, I would not cut down to 38mm.

  11. #10
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    Birkdale
    Age
    51
    Posts
    279

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by cava View Post
    Personally, I would not cut down to 38mm.
    For what reason?
    I am probably more likely to use 38mm rather than 50mm, and 38mm can be resawn for boxes if I want to do that.
    For me , I think 50mm would be too wasteful.

  12. #11
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    Mornington Peninsula
    Posts
    2,741

    Default

    My own experience is that the thicker boards are more stable when drying, with less twist and shakes etc equals less overall waste as they can be resawn down to size as required.

  13. #12
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Perth
    Posts
    27,756

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by cjbfisher View Post
    For what reason?
    I am probably more likely to use 38mm rather than 50mm, and 38mm can be resawn for boxes if I want to do that.
    For me , I think 50mm would be too wasteful.
    What are you using to mill this timber?

  14. #13
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    Birkdale
    Age
    51
    Posts
    279

    Default

    I won't be doing it personally. Will most likely take it to a fella with a Lucas.

  15. #14
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Perth
    Posts
    27,756

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by cjbfisher View Post
    I won't be doing it personally. Will most likely take it to a fella with a Lucas.
    So 5mm kerf. If you really want to minimise wastage and have access to a half decent BS I would also mill to 50 mm (Well more than 38 mm) and do any resawing with a BS.

  16. #15
    Join Date
    Jun 2014
    Location
    StArnaud
    Posts
    9

    Default

    Lyctus beetle likes silky oak sapwood. You need to remove sapwood or treat with borax. 25mm boards dry OK.

Similar Threads

  1. Sealant for end of fresh cut logs
    By Ed.. in forum SMALL TIMBER MILLING
    Replies: 13
    Last Post: 30th August 2016, 01:23 PM
  2. Hot & Fresh
    By Pariss in forum WOODTURNING - PEN TURNING
    Replies: 14
    Last Post: 13th August 2012, 05:58 PM
  3. Good Deal or Bad Deal?
    By Donkeee in forum WOODTURNING - PEN TURNING
    Replies: 8
    Last Post: 12th March 2010, 08:36 PM
  4. Copper logs or treated pine logs.
    By Pulpo in forum LANDSCAPING, GARDENING, OUTDOORS
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 23rd April 2003, 11:57 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •