Thread: Weatherboards? (or was that whether boards?)

I'd have thought QTR sawn as they'll most likely won't cup on you, but if they're to be oiled and machined after drying, I'd probably go for backsawn to get the best feature out of them.

It also depends on the timber you are using.

A good deal of hardwoods will actually split if quatersawn due to the grain so your better off with backsawn.

Are you Radial milling your weatherboards?

Advantage of Radial milling is even shrinkage so you can install them while still green. The shrinkage helps tighten the seal between them.

arthur, don't mean to be rude but radial sawn boards are the only way to get a full log truly quarter sawn with the least amount of waste .neale, i'd quarter saw them, like dj said they wont cup only shrink, so as long as you have reasonable coverage or overlap and you paint them green (while wet) you'll just get an annoying line when they do shrink. or leave them to dry in situ and paint them later. and if your'e cutting them out of softwood shrinkage shouldn't be to much of a problem

I will have to take up the Radial Milling argument here.

Like I have said before, NOT ALL hardwoods are good for tappered weatherboards as some have the tendancy to split along the grain so need to be milled backsawn.

Radial Milled quartersawn boards will give you weatherboards but all the boards sawn this way will be tappered unless you want a lot of waste. Measured waste on a 700mm diameter log is approx 24% using a 6mm kerf. It is also almost impossible to do this with a bandsaw.

On the EcoSaw you can mill NON tapered backsawn boards with the same loss as you would using any circular saw. The advantage is 100% backsawn timber. By using one of our jigs you can also produce tappered weatherboards in backsawn sawing. By using the EcoSaw Indexing Log Lathe you can do this with ANY type of sawmill!!! The ONLY way to get 100% backsawn timber off the log with NO additional milling.

If you oil your weatherboards both sides before fixing you will get the timber look and non of the swrinkage lines. If you use a product called Ceasefire you will also increase your fire resistance by 30 minutes or more.

Its not what the recovery rate is, its the finished product. Recovery Rate is important but when a traditional mill is getting 30 to 35% recovery and we can exceed 60% with portable sawmills who realy cares about that extra 5% when you can achieve the end product for yourself at a fraction of the COST of buying from the local timber merchant.

However if your timber is OK for quartersawn weatherboards why have ANY waste at all. We manufacture a fence post log splitter which just by changing the splitting head could produce tappered weatherboards with NO waste. Produces 8 posts from a 700mm log in lessthan 60 seconds, 16 rails inthe same time.

arthur

Originally Posted by Arthur Dyason

I will have to take up the Radial Milling argument here.

On the EcoSaw you can mill NON tapered backsawn boards with the same loss as you would using any circular saw. The advantage is 100% backsawn timber. By using one of our jigs you can also produce tappered weatherboards in backsawn sawing. By using the EcoSaw Indexing Log Lathe you can do this with ANY type of sawmill!!! The ONLY way to get 100% backsawn timber off the log with NO additional milling.

If you want to argue the point here Arthur, how about putting up some info and Images to back up the point

You're always sprouting about your stuff but I never seem to see any images of the stuff you manufacture and before you tell us to check your website, at least get something up that is easy to navigate and has some images where we don't need to squint to make heads and tails of it.

I will give you a hint now, dont quartersaw weatherboards from HWD on a swingsaw if you want a half decent finish, square or tapered, they will spring away from the heart of the log when sawing, usually weatherboards are 150mm wide & there is now way you will straighten a + 15mm to 50mm spring out of them, been there & done that
regards inter

Originally Posted by InterTD6

I will give you a hint now, dont quartersaw weatherboards from HWD on a swingsaw if you want a half decent finish, square or tapered, they will spring away from the heart of the log when sawing, usually weatherboards are 150mm wide & there is now way you will straighten a + 15mm to 50mm spring out of them, been there & done that
regards inter

It all depends on the timber you are using and your milling process. example: timber like Bloodwood is very stable but would only work as weatherboard if backsawn as it has a tendancy to split along the grain wereas Tallowood has a tendancy to spring. Small logs will most likely have sping and cup also due to the grain, etc, etc.

It would be good to have a searchable database of types of wood and all the different properties and milling techneques but that tends to remain with the experienced millers. You would need to ask Neal if thats something worth doing on this Forum.

DJ - love to swomp the forum with pictures but have been requested not to so if you wish to see pictures of some of the EcoSaw products on this forum have a look at my albums https://www.woodworkforums.com/members/4238-albums.

Still pictures are ideal for showing the log, milled timber or the final product but dont really show milling equipment in the best light. I do have technical pictures but they are only published in user manuals. If I made them public it would only lends itself to copying. If you want anything in particular I can always send you a DVD.

If you wish to be able to Radial mill on your Lucas, Peterson or any other mill you have two options. Take a day trip to see one of ours working and buy that or do the R&D and make your own but dont expect any free information on the problems involved with rotating tons of log with any acuracy.

One simple question...that's all I asked.....one little question

Originally Posted by WillBrook

One simple question...that's all I asked.....one little question

My limited experience with flat sawn was 90% off them cupped and popped the nails and had to be renailed.

My house has messmate weatherboards, predominantly backsawn.
Cupping is not a major problem though there is some. I expect they were nailed up green.

I've built numerous weatherboard houses (mainly with WRC)
From experience fixing wbs to frames, quatersawn is prone to splitting specially near the ends of the boards.

New baltic weatherboards are usually backsawn.

I milled some weatherboards 10 or 12 years ago from macrocarpra. Just ROM as they came out of the logs, no special grain orientation. I had to predrill the end holes to get around the splitting problems. But macropcarpra tends to split anyway.

Originally Posted by Arthur Dyason

DJ - love to swomp the forum with pictures but have been requested not to so if you wish to see pictures of some of the EcoSaw products on this forum have a look at my albums https://www.woodworkforums.com/members/4238-albums.

Still pictures are ideal for showing the log, milled timber or the final product but dont really show milling equipment in the best light. I do have technical pictures but they are only published in user manuals. If I made them public it would only lends itself to copying. If you want anything in particular I can always send you a DVD.

I thought this site is supposed to be about freely sharing information. If you posted pictures backed by useful descriptions - and information worth sharing then I'm sure the admins wouldn't mind. I have posted over 1100 images in just 3 years - no one has complained to me yet.

If you can't do this because you have to protect your IP, then that's fine, but posts containing a series of vague claims - with a liberal sprinkling of "come and visit me", are decidedly unhelpful and looks me like you are treating this site as free advertising service - if so who's cheating who out of what?

RE: Your album pictures: I get sore knees and back just looking at some of those shots of people using your mills milling on their knees, there is absolutely no need for this, and for someone in the business I'm surprised to see this.

Bob

you will find with most chainsaw mills when you are getting to the end of the log both you and the log will be close to the ground.

Most users of these types of mill ours or others will normally build up the height off the ground to make milling easier. ALL depends if you have the equipment to lift the log to a comfortable milling height!

Originally Posted by Arthur Dyason

Bob

you will find with most chainsaw mills when you are getting to the end of the log both you and the log will be close to the ground.

The only time I am close to the ground is when I mill on a slope but I will rarely (eg 1 slab in 100) be on my knees. Even with big logs I might start off with them on the ground but once I've cut off about 1/3 I will start lifting them up.

When I do have access to a tractor/forklift I start my logs off quite high like this. Add to this my remote throttle and other handles that are higher than standard so I am not hunched over a saw fiddling around feeing for the trigger. This, plus wheels on the inboard side of the mill (and bunch of freely available information - OK I admit I am not making a living out of it) makes for much easier milling compared to any other alaskan milling I have experienced or seen.

Most users of these types of mill ours or others will normally build up the height off the ground to make milling easier. ALL depends if you have the equipment to lift the log to a comfortable milling height!

Sure but I would have though that seeing as those shots were taken at some kind of field day you would want to present milling in the most attractive light - and that is not milling on your knees. Even when I am without a forklift or tractor all my small logs get lifted onto strong sawhorses or gluts using a cant hook and/or hi-lift jack.


This is a no brainer, or maybe it's just for old codgers like me

Bob

I agree with you about the remote throttle.

remote throttle is always the way to go if you want to save your back. Unfortunatly they are NOT supplied with the chainsaws when you buy them (NOT even as an aux). With a chainsaw mill we dont supply remote throttles as this promotes modification of another manufactures equipment. When we use hydraulic or 4-stroke we use a throttle on a swinging pushbar so you need never bend while milling but a dedicated slabbing mill not a chainsaw mill.

I will always advise the customer to use remote. Just a shame that the chainsaw shops dont carry them.

However when we are doing our shows we use off the shelf chainsaws and chain with NO modifications at all to show the ease of use and availability of spares. Most of the experienced slabbing millers will ask about modification though including best chains, oils, etc and Im always happy to give my experience freely.