Thread: Milling advice

Originally Posted by shedbound

dead standing have a lot of star shakes which I've found cypress tends to want to do.

I did read today that the big,old ones that were planted as windbreaks,were prone to grain separation (shakes).It occurs in Nth Qld Walnut as well,particularly trees growing on the eastern facing slopes,as they don't like being buffeted by strong winds.Just a case of milling around the defect,although it can affect recovery...MM

Originally Posted by MAPLEMAN

A lot of timbers are difficult to season,R N ,but if due care is taken,one can still get good results.I would suggest quarter sawing the boards(giving them more stability),and perhaps milling the slabs oversize a little.If seasoning is an issue,it certainly doesn't seem to inhibit its use or popularity.Black Bean can be a SHOCKER,and look how well received it is amongst the woodworking fraternity.And at around $1000 a sawn cube min,it is definitely worth milling,particularly if you own the logs (and mill)..i can find nothing but positives about the stuff...MM

You are correct, there are timbers more difficult to season than others and with a little extra care success can be had. I am not suggesting the undertaking would be futile, only pointing out the shortcomings that need to be considered before going to great expense. It is easy timber to mill and therefore good stuff to learn on. I dont know if you have ever milled it or dried it, but the wind break trees down here leave a lot to be desired. The tendency is to limb to the ground. The log yield is usually low and the chances of cutting wide quarter sawn slabs would also be low. Normal practice would be to cut in the same fashion as any cypress mill - narrows and over thickness. Wides would be an exercise in futility.

Originally Posted by rustynail

You are correct, there are timbers more difficult to season than others and with a little extra care success can be had. I am not suggesting the undertaking would be futile, only pointing out the shortcomings that need to be considered before going to great expense. It is easy timber to mill and therefore good stuff to learn on. I dont know if you have ever milled it or dried it, but the wind break trees down here leave a lot to be desired. The tendency is to limb to the ground. The log yield is usually low and the chances of cutting wide quarter sawn slabs would also be low. Normal practice would be to cut in the same fashion as any cypress mill - narrows and over thickness. Wides would be an exercise in futility.

Futility?? RN,i have seen wide slabs of this stuff and it is magnificent. Have you personally slabbed it before,and experienced the problem first hand,or are you going by hearsay?
I said in my earlier post quarter sawn boards and wide slabs, not quarter sawn slabs.
I bet they can be slabbed successfully,i have seen wide slabs and wide slab furniture made out of it.
The Wood Database
Some pics RN??..MMf-monterey_cypress_slab.jpgf-monetery_cypress_jointed_table_top.jpgf-monterey_cypress_closeup.jpg$_12.JPG

image838GG.jpgThis is what you can make out of the branches/headwood..a world of possiblities ...MM

Or maybe Acoustic guitars out of the 'clear' wood from the Butts (only need 600mm long sections)..MM

Originally Posted by MAPLEMAN

Futility?? RN,i have seen wide slabs of this stuff and it is magnificent. Have you personally slabbed it before,and experienced the problem first hand,or are you going by hearsay?
I said in my earlier post quarter sawn boards and wide slabs, not quarter sawn slabs.
I bet they can be slabbed successfully,i have seen wide slabs and wide slab furniture made out of it.
The Wood Database
Some pics RN??..MMf-monterey_cypress_slab.jpgf-monetery_cypress_jointed_table_top.jpgf-monterey_cypress_closeup.jpg$_12.JPG

Thanks for the photos MM and my apologies for misreading your post. Yes, I have cut a lot of golden cypress over the years and some of it has been nice enough stuff. My next door neighbour, when we had a property at Tumut, had 60 of them, growing up each side of his drive. They were very old trees and were making access very difficult for stock trucks, so the decision was made to take them out. I was approached to mill them, and spent a couple of weeks milling the best of them. We milled to both slab and boards as I have both a swing blade and a slabbing mill which allowed us the luxury of being able to take each log on its merit as we went and cut accordingly. This timber was probably the best GC I have cut. We stickered at 500 for the slabs and 400 for the boards. End sealed with mobilcer and stacked in an empty hay shed. It was the first job for the season so I guess it must have been early March. By July I was noticing quite a bit of checking and warping (it was a very dry year) so I didnt expect much different but I did think it should have performed a bit better than that.
Last year I milled 48 logs for a client to be used in the construction of a log house. This was much more successful as it was all 200x200 squares with 250x50 rafters and 200x50 joists. An old cypress miller from out near Cobar once told me, "Never cut cypress over a foot." And every time I have tried, I wished I hadn't. There will always be some good ones, but a lot have to be resawn. My sister in law has a dining room table made from a cypress slab, it is 1100mm wide and 70mm thick, backsawn and came from a dead standing tree. Flat as. Her side board, made from the same tree and in the same room, has a warped top.
Dont get me wrong, Im not saying dont touch the stuff, I am just saying be aware of the shortcomings.
If somebody offered me a GC would I knock it back? No I wouldn't. But I wouldnt throw a lot of money at it either. Now if it were Cedar or Rosewood, that would be a different matter.

Originally Posted by rustynail

Thanks for the photos MM and my apologies for misreading your post. Yes, I have cut a lot of golden cypress over the years and some of it has been nice enough stuff. My next door neighbour, when we had a property at Tumut, had 60 of them, growing up each side of his drive. They were very old trees and were making access very difficult for stock trucks, so the decision was made to take them out. I was approached to mill them, and spent a couple of weeks milling the best of them. We milled to both slab and boards as I have both a swing blade and a slabbing mill which allowed us the luxury of being able to take each log on its merit as we went and cut accordingly. This timber was probably the best GC I have cut. We stickered at 500 for the slabs and 400 for the boards. End sealed with mobilcer and stacked in an empty hay shed. It was the first job for the season so I guess it must have been early March. By July I was noticing quite a bit of checking and warping (it was a very dry year) so I didnt expect much different but I did think it should have performed a bit better than that.
Last year I milled 48 logs for a client to be used in the construction of a log house. This was much more successful as it was all 200x200 squares with 250x50 rafters and 200x50 joists. An old cypress miller from out near Cobar once told me, "Never cut cypress over a foot." And every time I have tried, I wished I hadn't. There will always be some good ones, but a lot have to be resawn. My sister in law has a dining room table made from a cypress slab, it is 1100mm wide and 70mm thick, backsawn and came from a dead standing tree. Flat as. Her side board, made from the same tree and in the same room, has a warped top.
Dont get me wrong, Im not saying dont touch the stuff, I am just saying be aware of the shortcomings.
If somebody offered me a GC would I knock it back? No I wouldn't. But I wouldnt throw a lot of money at it either. Now if it were Cedar or Rosewood, that would be a different matter.

Maybe it needs to be stored in a place where the temperature and humidity remains fairly stable..this could help enormously...it may well be the dramatic changes in E.M.C that is causing all the problems during seasoning..just a thought..MM

Originally Posted by MAPLEMAN

Maybe it needs to be stored in a place where the temperature and humidity remains fairly stable..this could help enormously...it may well be the dramatic changes in E.M.C that is causing all the problems during seasoning..just a thought..MM

Yes, I agree. I would have liked a better season, but we cant control the weather. Most of my milling is cedar and rosewood, so Im a bit spoiled. The Tumut climate doesnt lend itself well to timber drying, though saying that, I have dried elm in the same shed, same time, no problem. I will be interested to see how the log house goes. We are blessed here with an ideal drying climate and I am finding it much easier to dry timber than when we were 1000m lower.
I've been in the timber game for about forty years now, on and off and, like most millers, have my preferences. Golden cypress just isn't one of them.

Thanks for all your comments, much appreciated.
Some more information, the trees are close to a power line so the feller wants to use some heavy equipment to control the fall and move them once on the ground.the cost of bringing the equipment to site makes cutting 1 or 2 to see what they are like uneconomic.
I expect to use a lot of it everything from fence posts and chook sheds to cladding so the value of the material for sale is less important than the saving on purchase of other timber, seems silly to burn this then buy other timber even if its only fence posts.
The commercial miller is happy to mill to my requirements but then I have to know exactly what I want while he is there. He is looking at the trees as structural grades or sleepers, I may get more usable timber doing it myself. I would probably not value my labour too highly and would be happy to fiddle around to get what I need.
I have access to a tractor, about 50 hp to move logs but no FEL.
The trees have to come down so the question is what to do with the timber not if they should be cut down.

thanks again for your help

Bob

Hi Bob where abouts in Gippsland are you if your not to far away I may be able to have a look at your trees for you and see if I may be able to suggest something for you.

Originally Posted by shedbound

Hi Bob where abouts in Gippsland are you if your not to far away I may be able to have a look at your trees for you and see if I may be able to suggest something for you.

PM sent
thanks