Thread: Recovering timber from bush fire affected trees

I'd mill them now as they never get any softer

Welcome Rob

As Bob says, mill them sooner rather than later, especially given it is a good time of year to do it. The Cypress shouldn't be too bad, but the Sheoak loves to crack. Consider how to cut the Sheoak carefully, as it usually must be milled relatively to the petals (what I call the shape between the bark inclusions) of the timber, they are generally not a roundish log like other timbers.

Originally Posted by dai sensei

Welcome Rob

As Bob says, mill them sooner rather than later, especially given it is a good time of year to do it. The Cypress shouldn't be too bad, but the Sheoak loves to crack. Consider how to cut the Sheoak carefully, as it usually must be milled relatively to the petals (what I call the shape between the bark inclusions) of the timber, they are generally not a roundish log like other timbers.

Thank you for your words of wisdom. Due to the relatively small diameter of the trees I intend to laminate them to use them in items such as cutting boards etc for kitchen use or even a table top. I have also been lucky enough to purchase a secondhand Leda table saw with a high precision fence that is capable of half millimeter accuracy. Should I use to make stock of say 50mm square and 2-3 m long and stack these in a cross hatch pattern with a heavy even weight on top? I have also invested in a moisture meter to keep track of what is happening.
Apart form the timbers mentioned we lost quite a few of out magnificent old red gums. Most of the red gum milling in our area has been on trees dead for many years - not many of those left. I was thinking of making chopping blocks from cross sections of fresh red gum branches - any ideas?