Thread: Milling Plantation Hardwoods

i dont know about sydney blue gum but if its anything like the blue gum we have up here it should be great.

sugar gum (aka blood gum, crap gum and ???? gum) is good as slabs or large beams but it dose not mill into small dimentions as it has large blood rings that split out and after milling you will end up with a lot of short lengths of timber (i don't think that they grow them in plantations for thi reason).

rose gum is a terable tree to have in your back yard as they drop branches for no reason. but they mill up alright a bit brittle thow good color to.

as always it comes down to what you are going to use it for.

Thanks Weisyboy,

Most of my timber is milled up for flooring and joinery timber so it is primarly 6"x1" and 8"x2" so I am concerned obout the timber springing due to it being young.
Most of the trees I have looked at are around 16-18 years old and diameters of 550mm and up

Thanks...Mark

G'day.
We do Plantation Rosegum (E. Grandis). It is very free when sawing.
for 80x19 T&G, cut oversize 110x28. Fast grown with 50 to 60mm sapwood band. May be pithy. Dries OK. Lyctus Suseptable. Must be treated min H1 for T&G.
Use known schedule with high RH 95% prior to FSP. FSP to final is OK. High Humidity (12hrs @ 85 Deg C with 90%rRH) or recondition (8hrs @ 95deg C Super Saturated Steam). to finish. Watch Case and core variation. more than 1% will cause cupping after profiling.

Originally Posted by glock40sw

G'day.
We do Plantation Rosegum (E. Grandis). It is very free when sawing.
for 80x19 T&G, cut oversize 110x28. Fast grown with 50 to 60mm sapwood band. May be pithy. Dries OK. Lyctus Suseptable. Must be treated min H1 for T&G.
Use known schedule with high RH 95% prior to FSP. FSP to final is OK. High Humidity (12hrs @ 85 Deg C with 90%rRH) or recondition (8hrs @ 95deg C Super Saturated Steam). to finish. Watch Case and core variation. more than 1% will cause cupping after profiling.

can eny one else make sence of that because he lost me at "we do rosegum" or am i just stupid (maby he should try using sentences).

Thanks glock40sw,

Out of the 3 timbers I mentioned I am most interested in the Rose gum. From the samples I have looked at I think it would make realy nice flooring and feature timbers.
What size diameter logs are you cutting? Being young timber is it easy on your blades?

sounds a bit tecko weisyboy but it is just mainly kiln settings and timber treatment.

G'day.
Sorry.
I thought you blokes were in the industry and would know the lingo.

If you don't know the lingo or understand the processes involved, there's not much point continuing.. .
Our feedstock is 250mm to 300mm DBH. Lots of spring. Sawn with overhead dogged twinsaw. After removing the 2 wings and turning the log it usually splits for 50% of it's length. We park 1 saw and cut with the other until the log is turned again. Then 2 saws are used until the centre cant is sized 110mm and sent to the resaw benchs.

Sentences???...we don't need no stinking sentences!! We are sawmillers...we use hand signals as it is too noisy to talk.

250mm - 300mm DBH wow. Currently I wouldnt look at putting anything through my mill less than 500mm DBH. I find I have way too much wastage less than that size.
The biggest problem here in the west is that Sydney blue gum plantations are chipping all there logs at around 10 years old and not many are interested in waiting another 8-10 years to get an extra $15-$25/tonne for 400mm DBH plus mill logs.
What sort of % of wastage are you getting at that size? I work on average 30-40% on a lucas mill

G'day.
Recovery through the mill is 33% when cutting 110x28mm boards.
This includes tumbledown. (3x1,2x1 and 4x5/8)