Sugar Gum milling

[JohnnoM]

Hi all, just looking for some advice on the best approach now for a sugar gum I had to remove from the yard. (500acre yard):2tsup: I'm not all that sure how good SG might be as a furniture timber, but free timber has its appeal.:U
The main trunk of the tree was about 5 foot thick & I have managed to rip saw (chainsaw) the log into quarters that are about 6 foot long. There was a fair bit of termite activity up the guts of the tree, but the walls of the trunk will yield slabs about 12 - 18 inches wide in sections. I kind of intend to get some quarter sawn planks if I can say 8x2" & see what I might be able to do with these in time.

My Big question is, do I just go ahead now & mill this stuff ? February / March can be bloddy hot in Wagga & the local wisdom around town is to leave it till say April May when the heat might not check the timber as much. If not, how should I store it. Yesterday I managed to put 3 of these log quarters on a big sheet of black plastic, intending to cover them & maybe keep a bit of water on them to stop the drying. I can wack a heap of old white undercoat on the ends tonight...but am I on the right track ???

I arrive at work this morning (accountant) and the boss has a client with a massive silky oak log freshly dropped & askes if I want it:o...WELL YES.

So same question, mill now or later in the year? I know the silky oak can be a B to dry without checking...but its available & I really should make the effort or it's just going to end up on a fire.

I should also say the mill has not been built yet, but a few weekends, some mates over ( & a few brews) & I recon we can put something together. I must kidnap one of the kids digital cameras & get this all up for all to see.

I have been lurking the forum for a long time now, & feel like I know a lot of you blokes (& ladies) quite well. I think this a fantastic resource, & if I can contribute with my limited knowledge & experience, I will be very happy. Looking forward to your comments.

John M

[thumbsucker]

Sugar Gum is excellent furniture timber, and we will see lots more of it coming into commercial chanels of the next 100 years.

Sugar Gum originated in South Australia however has bee used as a very effective windbreak by Victorian Farmers for over a 100 years now. Sugar gum has proven to be very successful plantation timber, and I know of a few plantations that have sprung up across Victoria a big one is up around Windsor VIC.

I will get an opportunity to work allot of Sugar Gum this year because my furniture design course has a deal with the a farmers co-op (http://www.smartimbers.com.au/) to develop and explore the market for sugar gum.

From what I have heard it work beautifully with hand or power tools and is still very durable and hard.

You lucky bugger.

As for milling it that I do not know. Maybe if you contact the co-op (http://www.smartimbers.com.au/) I am sure they will have information for you. What I do know is that they mill all their timber in May all at once and they do no milling the rest of the year.

[weisyboy]

weather you mill it now or latter it will make little diferance.

i would seal the ends of the quaters and leave it out of the sun (not under black plastic thow) maby under a tree or in the shed if you have room.

if you have quaterd the log it will be quite easy to quater saw and this would not only be the best option but the easyest aswell.

how are you planing on milling it-chainsaw mill?

once cut stack it in large stacks with stickers betwen them have the gaps facing the prevailing wind to speed and assist drying. it can be left in the padock if you are short of space but again in the shade is best and coat the ends with sealer.

[flynnsart]

What is the botanical name of your sugar gum?

Donna

[charlsie]

johnno if its proper sugar gum i'd try milling it before you slab it. its very dense and hard to slab with a lucas slabber. seal the ends and you can leave it for quite a while before milling (this is my expierience in the yarra valley and it might be different where you are) it seems to hold its moisture well . the scientific name for sugar gum is E.cladocalyx is rated one and one for decay and termites, in short it takes a long time to rot in the ground and termites recon its not fun to eat:U

[JohnnoM]

Thanks all for you replys, I'm quite excited now about the possibility of this bit of timber.

how are you planing on milling it-chainsaw mill?

I have been thinking of putting together a chainsaw mill with about a six foot bar or as big as I can buy for the right money. I have a near new 13 HP verticle shaft Honda motor that I put on an old ride on lawn mower. The mower has been replaced with a great big bugger, and now the motor is sitting unused. So some sort of frame like the Lucas mills, pull the kids rollerblades to bits for the transport, half a dozen old bike chains, a carton of MB, a packet of welding rods...it's all on.:2tsup:
I just thought the chainsaw mill may be easier to build than a bandsaw that would need guides & all sorts of adjustment thingos. I may also have some ironbark available & I hear that it's not all that kind on bandsaw blades. The chainsaw will have a wider kerf, but for the amount I will be milling, thats not really a big issue.
Last year I found a big old bandsaw (BOB) with 30" wheels. I'm having the wheels balanced & trued up at the moment & new bearings all round. It only has a resaw capacity of about 13" & 30" wide...but that way enough for me.:D So getting logs broken down with a chainsaw mill & put over the BOB later should give me a good supply of timber.

Thanks again for your reply's...so the general thoughts are, just get on with milling the logs, stack em properly to dry & come back in a few years.

[JohnnoM]

[QUOTE]i'd try milling it before you slab it.

Sorry Charlsie, I'm a bit unsure of what you mean.:? I was thinking of cutting the log quarters into slabs that would range from say 4x2 backsawn down to 18 x 2 quarter sawn. If i just drop the log quarter flat face down on the mill & start taking slabs off...this is what I would get.
Then maybe rip the wide ones down to 8x2 & stack them to dry.
Am I on the right track??

[charlsie]

yes your right and the band saw sounds great.do the break down with the chainsaw and off to bob.loads less sawdust:2tsup:

[artme]

makes great firewood!:D:D:D:p

[charlsie]

only the flitches you mean:osurely. i'd put it to fencing before heating the house

[JohnnoM]

It's funny, but we never even considered Sugar Gum decent firewood, and as for fencing, it's just rubbish...well thats what I understand from the oldtimers here.
In this area the native species is yellow & grey box, & this is fantastic firewood, & outlasts whatever else has ever been used as fencing. The rules as I understand them are use your local timbers for fencing. I have had to change strainers over the years that were brought into the district from other areas, iron bark particularly, as they just seem to rot off at the ground if the whiteants dont get 'em first:((. Maybe we are just lucky to have YB & GB timbers...so I might use a few of the top's of this tree as strainers in the next little while, I have a little bit of fencing to repair. I'll let you all know in ten years how they are holding up:D:D:D

[charlsie]

isn't it funny how the old timers know all this stuff. talking to a few people they say the same thing about if you cut it down on the property and put it in the ground not far away it will be fine for years.all i want to find is an old bloke who was born on the farm and stayed who could say i remember helping dad put that fence in when i was 15 and now that i'm 85 i might have to replace a few rails or posts .cheers charlsie

[weisyboy]

It's funny, but we never even considered Sugar Gum decent firewood, and as for fencing, it's just rubbish...well thats what I understand from the oldtimers here.
In this area the native species is yellow & grey box, & this is fantastic firewood, & outlasts whatever else has ever been used as fencing. The rules as I understand them are use your local timbers for fencing. I have had to change strainers over the years that were brought into the district from other areas, iron bark particularly, as they just seem to rot off at the ground if the whiteants dont get 'em first:((. Maybe we are just lucky to have YB & GB timbers...so I might use a few of the top's of this tree as strainers in the next little while, I have a little bit of fencing to repair. I'll let you all know in ten years how they are holding up:D:D:D


most box species will rot off when used in the ground (withing 15 years) they were used a warf pilons because they are resistant to the watterborn bugs and sutch. where as a red ironbark post will last well over 100 years there is some on my place put in by my great uncle 120 years ago and i have only replaced a couple here and there.

other sutable fencing timbers include stringybark, grey gum, bloodwood, tallowood, red ironbark and there are many more.

[JohnnoM]

isn't it funny how the old timers know all this stuff. talking to a few people they say the same thing about if you cut it down on the property and put it in the ground not far away it will be fine for years.all i want to find is an old bloke who was born on the farm and stayed who could say i remember helping dad put that fence in when i was 15 and now that i'm 85 i might have to replace a few rails or posts .cheers charlsie
My Dad (73) was at a clearing sale a few weeks ago for a property he & his brother fenced & contolled rabbits when he was in his late teens. They used the local timber, iron bark & some river redgum & he said some of those strainers are still there and in pretty good order...(what a trip down memory lane that must be). But if we used either of those timbers on our place which is only about 40 miles north, the posts rot off in no time at all. So I'll just stick to the local timber.

[charlsie]

so that was at least 53 years ago your dad and uncle were there! proof might be in the pudding. might say alot about old timers heh .did your dad find anything interesting?

[JohnnoM]

.did your dad find anything interesting?
No, usual ute load of stuff came home with the usual comment, I might use that one day...but just a walk down memory lane. I Dont think they were all that good memories, so didn't ask to much...just leave it be.