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Milling a 20 tonne GIANT!
Hi all,
We had the pleasure of salvaging this giant log from a tree that blew over just before Christmas 2017. The final log was 5.5m long x 2m wide, up to 2.4 wide at the base and weighed 20 ton on the hook of the crane. We were planning on putting it on the float but 15t was the limit and the crane was maxed out too, so we decided to mill it where it lay.
It took our crew 2 or 3 days to process the top of the tree back to a log, then another day to cut the rootball off and set the mill up. Finally another 6 days to mill and cut around 17 slabs from it, then 3 days to transport the slabs and firewood home. We normally don't slab down through the heart, but in this case we wanted the 800mm wide slabs either side of the heart for book matching. We set the crane truck up along side the mill and lifted each slab off and stacked it ready for transport. The slabs are now all tucked away on the rack at the farm and will sit there for 5 years until ready for sale, with the best part of $10k spent getting this tree processed, milled and racked. I will be looking forward to a boardroom table or two being made from them to repay the investment, but on the other hand, it is a once in lifetime experience milling something this grand.
Hope you all enjoy the pics.
Cheers,
James.:2tsup: