Thread: What size Lucas

Unless you have a really good supply of old, seasoned logs, I wouldn't bother. A Lucas can do great things but unless your wood is good...well....

Originally Posted by wireliner

Unless you have a really good supply of old, seasoned logs, I wouldn't bother. A Lucas can do great things but unless your wood is good...well....

What is your definition of a seasoned log?
Have you seen the logs that sawmills use?
And as far as how good the wood is.....well that's the difference between an owner and an operator. A Lucas is a tool, a piece of machinery, it can only be as good (or bad) as the person driving it. Admittedly some logs are not good for some things, but that's where being an operator crimes into it.

JW, if the time is yours, then go for it. If you are under time constraints, then think of another option.

Down to your specific question, if you think you will only do 200mm cuts, its not about the horsepower difference between a model 7 or a model 8, its about how the machine works. After you have used one for a while you will notice a few things, one being, logs move while you cut them and small though it may be, the added capacity of the model 8 ( yes, its only about 4mm) will make a big difference when cutting those 200mm sticks. Others may poohoo this advice, but those that will haven't had the good fortune to play with one as much as I have.

Good luck with it

I was referring to the logs. I'd hate to see you splash out good money to mill some lumber, only to see it twist in to a form of abstract sculpture when it dries.

Good luck with it. I hope you get what you want out of it.

Thanks guys

There has to be a reason (or two) for the popularity of the 8. Movement was not one I had thought of.

JW

Originally Posted by wireliner

I was referring to the logs. I'd hate to see you splash out good money to mill some lumber, only to see it twist in to a form of abstract sculpture when it dries.

Good luck with it. I hope you get what you want out of it.

Yes Wireliner, that is a consideration, a lot of the time handling timber once its sawn is just as important as the sawing itself.

What I was asking is what do you call 'well seasoned logs'?

JW, once you finish your house, what are your plans for the mill? Will you be looking to sell it to recover some of your purchase price? Or hang on to it? If resell is your thoughts then in my opinion I'd buy something that has the most market appeal for resale, for me that would mean a model 8 instead of a 7.

Engine size is one is those things where its always good to have extra ponies - not being a redneck do you think you will be doing a bunch of 200mm timber in your build? Also will you have step treads? You can get away with doing double cuts to get 10-15 step treads, I did with my model 6. But if you are doing a large amount of 200mm I'd give consideration to a model 10 its a lot easier on the gear to have the extra capacity, just my 2 cents

When it comes to sawmills bigger is always better, and you can't have too much throat capacity or horsepower.
And Allan raised a very good point with resale - 8's and 10's get snapped up pretty quick when they come on the market.

On the list of things you don't want is old seasoned logs when you're cutting house framing. Hard on saws, hard on the men who work them, and hard on the guys who build with it. Most hardwood framing timber in Australia is utilised green off saw - while you can still drive nails into it without pre-drilling every nail hole. T&G flooring is the exception, and but the rest of a house you can build this week with the tree that had leaves on it last week.

Originally Posted by John.G

On the list of things you don't want is old seasoned logs when you're cutting house framing. Hard on saws, hard on the men who work them, and hard on the guys who build with it. Most hardwood framing timber in Australia is utilised green off saw - while you can still drive nails into it without pre-drilling every nail hole. T&G flooring is the exception, and but the rest of a house you can build this week with the tree that had leaves on it last week.

yeah, it seems our old seasoned log bloke has gotten too busy to explain his POV.....

...because the "old seasoned log" bloke has been on an oil rig in the middle of Australia, with the slowest net on the planet, trying to earn a living but he is back now........ ok?

I mean hard wood that has been dead and solid for years.


Guess I'm wrong.

Wireliner, a 'seasoned log' as you memtioned, is a bit of a white elephant, everyone talks about them, but in reality there is no such animal - when you put it into perspective, a slab with both faces sawn and open to the elements along with each end open dries at about one inch per year... logs would only have each end allowing moisture loss but if for the example we say it will lose moisture just like a slab, then even the smallest log at 300mm diameter needs 12 years to reach the same kind of equilibrium as the slab and the reality is, the log is still wet, still green inside...

If you imagine commercial sawmills that process around 30-40 log cube per day, they are not able to wait a minimum of 12 years for each and every log to 'season' and they make their living on the quality of the product they sell, obviously there is something else other than 'seasoned logs' which gives a good result, and typically that is the skills if the people doing it.

In my opinion, leaving a log past 6months just means you lose volume by way of end splits and/or borers in the sapwood - basically just throwing money away.

Not meaning to have a at ya or anything, just trying to dispel a bit if a myth.