yep... i'm addicted!

[cossi]

hey guys,
I did my first days milling every this weekend! I started to mill the sheoak logs which i picked up for free a few weeks ago with bob on saturday, and i must say i'm well and truley hooked! it is like christmas every time you turn a new slab! bloody great, and a good way to get wood. :D
The sheoak logs which we were milling were not the species i had thought they were and were very pale in colour and lacking much of the characteristic grain which sheoak is known for, so i was initiallly a bit dissapointed, however, once a few slabs were taken the grain was beautiful and had great heart wood with a light outer and pinky grains in the center! some of the slabs look great. we have since diagnosed the wood to be swamp sheoak :?. The second slab was the same colour however it had alot more of the grain pattern of sheoak, just alot lighter in colour. My disapointment was soon excitment as i realised how nice the wood was!:2tsup:
i then stumbled across a small sheoak log which we milled and will make some great cheeseboards for christmas! In all a very exciting day full of learing and antisipation. I have to say, i know why you blokes love this stuff, i felt like a little kid at christmas. lol. I have already started looking for second hand chainsaws so i can get my own mill up and running! can't wait... it might just have to wait a few months for the wedding to be over! :D man the fiance is going to kill me.....:roll:
any info on swamp sheoak would be greatly appreciated, i.e. what is it like to work with/ drying times and splitting! I'll attach a few pics.
cheers steve

[wheelinround]

Nice going Steve like to stir the pot a little make us easterners jealous :D

[journeyman Mick]

Steve,
looks like you're having fun! Never worked with she-oak of any flavour myself, but from all accounts (that I've read) it's one of the worst timbers to season as it splits and warps like crazy. A search on this forum for she-oak should turn up a few posts, I believe from memory that Silent C milled a fair bit of it. A search of previous posts should turn up a lot of info.

Mick

[Pops]

Looks like Bob has you hooked Steve. Way to go Bob.

Free timber always looks beeter too, (as opposed to expensive timber), well a lot of the time.

Post us some close-ups of the cheese boards when done could you. Would like to see the grain, really like she oak. :)

Cheers
Pops

[BobL]

Good post cossi. Yep - it was a fun day. :2tsup:

For the technically minded, the small mill was running a 50cc homelite 340 CS with 20" bar 0.05" groove. 3/8 chain. We tried 2 different chains a conventional cross cutting profile and a "low profile" chain. Aux oiler uses a drip feed direct onto the chain at the bar nose. The low profile chain fair ripped through the swamp sheoak leaving a very smooth finish in the cut. I must try and get some of that chain for the BIL Mill. Ordinarily it would not be recommended for long bars because it stretches too much but with water cooling on the chain that should keep it under control.

[DJ’s Timber]

Looks like you're having fun there Bob :U, that does look fairly smooth there :2tsup:, bringing in new blood to the timber milling scene hey :rolleyes:

[BobL]

Looks like you're having fun there Bob :U, that does look fairly smooth there :2tsup:, bringing in new blood to the timber milling scene hey :rolleyes:

Yeah - hooked another one!

[cossi]

i machined some down today and it came up great! just like a lighter variety! will post pics later.

[BobL]

i machined some down today and it came up great! just like a lighter variety! will post pics later.

Cool - Try finer and finer sand paper. 180-240-320 then switch to 400 wet and dry - this should really show the grain.

Cheers

[groverwa]

Gday

I have pm'd cozzi but for those interested have a look at http://www.greenskills.green.net.au/bp/ss/index.html for some info on C Obese or Swamp Sheoak

C Fraserana which is the sheoak that most people in the west will know will distort if not cut and dried correctly. Quarter sawn is best for boards and turning. Backsawing will end up causing distortion. Q sawing gives the best picture or appearance

I worked in a small mill cutting up this type of sheoak for 12 months about 6 yrs ago using Woodmiser mills for cabinet and floor boards. Proper stacking, use of the correct spacing of the sticks and weights are required to get the best out of the boards along with end sealing

Mike

[hybridfiat]

Hi, well done. I share your enthusiasm for sheoak. We "rescued" 3 trees from a clearing project (site works) and had them milled by Ken Elliott in Keysbrook. We got more and more excited as Ken ran the woodmiser through each slab and the pink steaklike feature of the timber sprang out. Im going to post some pics of the table and other items made with this 'queen' of timbers but have to size them down a bit first.
Remember that some timbers will stain others if they become damp so the choice of stickers is very important. We used dry jarrah with no problems but I wouldnt use a timber that has a high tannin content. End sealing is essencial otherwise youll just get radial splits all through the planks.
Good luck
Steve P
Roleystone
Perth

[hybridfiat]

any info on swamp sheoak would be greatly appreciated, i.e. what is it like to work with/ drying times and splitting! I'll attach a few pics.
cheers steve

If 'swamp' sheaok is similar to allocausarina fraserii then it is difficult to work with. The grain is all over the shop, unlike nice straight grained timbers like marri, jarrah, tassie oak and silky oak. It polishes very very well and even without finishing will hold a shine. Unfortunately if it has been collected long after it was felled it can lose some of it's vibrant colour quickly and become dull in comparison with the fresh milled timber. I obtained a special craftwood license from CALM and colected short lengths from selected areas of bush. Timber that had falled naturally. It never compares with the freshly killed tree.

[cossi]

sorry for the late reply guys, i've been flat out! thanks for the info, the logs were completly saturated when we put a moisture metre on them today and obviously had very fast growth. As a result the planks we cut last weekend have split very badly through the heartwood! devestating to see as this is the best part with much of the character. oh well, nothing that can be done. Should still be able to salvage some good wood but.
We milled some more logs today and got some great wood (see pics), just going to closley monitor the slabs and maybe saw them in half if they show the same signs of splitting and try and minimise the damage. We reduced the spacer thickness to reduce rapid drying as i think this may have contributed to the severity. For only one weeks drying the damage was amazing!
hybridfiat- it is my favorite wood too! the swamp sheoak is however much lighter in colour, but it still retains much of the character. it will be great to see it in a finished project. i'll post some pics of it after a fresh buzzing on the planer. how do you go about getting one of those permits???:2tsup:

cheers steve

[TEEJAY]

sorry for the late reply guys, i've been flat out! thanks for the info, the logs were completly saturated when we put a moisture metre on them today and obviously had very fast growth. As a result the planks we cut last weekend have split very badly through the heartwood! devestating to see as this is the best part with much of the character. oh well, nothing that can be done. Should still be able to salvage some good wood but.
We milled some more logs today and got some great wood (see pics), just going to closley monitor the slabs and maybe saw them in half if they show the same signs of splitting and try and minimise the damage. We reduced the spacer thickness to reduce rapid drying as i think this may have contributed to the severity. For only one weeks drying the damage was amazing!
hybridfiat- it is my favorite wood too! the swamp sheoak is however much lighter in colour, but it still retains much of the character. it will be great to see it in a finished project. i'll post some pics of it after a fresh buzzing on the planer. how do you go about getting one of those permits???:2tsup:

cheers steve

Cossie, I see the amount of distortion and wonder did you stack it, sticker it and clamp it?

I have some redgum slabs that curled in similar fashion from just being stacked and stickered but I added some clamps via treaded rod through heavier stickers and the timber has gone flat again - not perfect but a lot better than the banana they were trying to become - won't fix any existing cracks though. But whilst you are drying the timber you can get it back into shape some with clamps.

[cossi]

yeah mate, we had three ratchet straps each with a 600kg rating over about 1m and they still went. could try a few more and some heavier stickers as they were only pine. good suggestion cheers! :2tsup: will have to see how the fresh ones go. if need be i can use really heavy stickers and lots of clamps and that may work??????
cheers mate!