Thread: URGENT KNOWLEDGE NEEDED - Mountain Ash milling

A bit on the small side for milling.

the 450mm logs would be ok for milling.as a rule i wouldn't have a go at anything under 300mm diamater in ash

What did you end up getting?

Reckon I'll prolly turn Mountain Ash into mountain ash.

Oops. There goes the carbon footprint.

Actually, I have it in my mind that mountain ash does not burn easily, but I have not been able to verify that.

Regards
Paul

Jeez, you might be right Paul - given that it's a structural timber. Spotted Gum is a known fire extinguisher too.

Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

Jeez, you might be right Paul - given that it's a structural timber. Spotted Gum is a known fire extinguisher too.

Well I ..eh..um..ah.in fact might have got that a teensey bit wrong. Brett you are right about spotted gum being a fire retardant but one site I pulled up gave this information:


Best performers

(classified for construction purposes as 'Fire-Retardant-Treated' timbers)

• Blackbutt
• Merbau (Kwila)
• Red Ironbark
• River Red Gum
• Silver Top Ash
• Spotted Gum
• Turpentine

Not so good performers

• Forest Red Gum
• Jarrah
• Tallowwood
• Yellow Stringybark

Poorest performers in the test sample

• Hoop Pine
• Mountain Ash
• Messmate
• Radiata Pine

Not necessarily definitive, but certainly an indicator. It still may not be good timber to burn in a combustion heater. For example, cypress pine burn really well and easily, but should not be burnt in a domestic fire because of the creosote it produces which coats the internal chimney surfaces. It can then catch the chimney on fire at a later date.

Fire retardant does not mean it won't burn. Just that it is slow to catch alight, but then it may burn like.......blazes?

As to mountain ash. I have to confess that I don't know.

Regards
paul

Good on you Paul, very helpful as usual! Thanks.

In the 90's I was doing some photography for Jemby Rinjah Lodge in Blackheath. They have a fairly large circular fireplace, on which they have a miserable little fire "just" burning all the time. Well of course this -ant little fire was never going to suit me (for a number of reasons) and so I built it up to something decent, and carried on with my setting up and shot.

During the actual shooting I could hear "weee-ooo weee-ooo" getting closer and closer, so I went outside to see a rather large cluster of people marvelling at the flames pouring out of the chimney from said fireplace!

Being a professional until the last drop of angst, I raced inside to finish my shots (these things take time you know), and then joined the owner outside. Now it's true that I felt a bit silly and somewhat sheepish, but then so did he, as he realised that what I had built up wasn't huge, and the chimney caught fire because he hadn't cleaned out the creosote, and his miserable little fires exacerbated the problem.

We parted friends with stern warnings in both directions:
"watch the ****ing size of your fires"
"yeah well, clean out yer ****ing chimney mate"

Cheers, FF

Originally Posted by Bushmiller

Fire retardant does not mean it won't burn. Just that it is slow to catch alight, but then it may burn like.......blazes?

A good example of this is Satinay aka Fraser Island Turpentine (Syncarpia hillii).Bastard of a thing to light, but when it's going..... I know this because I had a piece outside the fireplace, but touching the 6mm plate steel wall. It started to glow from the transferred heat.

Now you may think that there is a pattern of pyromania happening here. However, you have not seen a picture (that I can't upload - it's a slide) of a mate of mine dragging an entire tree trunk (300mm or more) onto our camp fire at Myall Lakes. The fire was able to be resurrected after a thunderstorm.

Nor have you seen a picture I have of an eaten out roadside post (250mm diameter) that we upended onto a Washing Machine Basket Fireplace (a very high-tech device that performs miraculously because of the hundreds of holes, which, after sufficient ingesting of Port, sparkle and move and EVVrything!). All the smoke from the fire immediately went to the tube so it acted like a chimney and then a few minutes later BANG! it exploded into flame and we all expoded into laughter. Apparently it drew the attention of the caravan park keeper, who just cruised by saying "You will put that out won't you?" "Yeah mate, no worries. Pete, put the diesel back in the trailer".

!

Regards
Paul