Having walnut log milled

[Stephen Sebed]

I have a black walnut tree to cut down. I'm hoping it doesn't go to firewood! What do I need to know to turn this tree into usable lumber? This tree is about 30" diameter about chest height and straight up to about 14 ft. it has a few old knots and above 14ft it has a fork which should have some nicely figured grain. So, I'm figuring about 16-18ft of log to cut into lumber. Now, the important part; who do I have saw this log? I seem to remember a couple years back there was a website that listed people with portable sawmills that would do custom sawing, is this still around; where? If I have to deliver the log to be sawed what's the best way to haul it? I figure this log will weigh somewhere between 4-5000 lbs. I don't think my little dakota will tow it on a trailer very far!

on general milling tips; from what I've read so far, I should fell the tree and coat any open ends with a sealer as soon as possible. Ideally I would then have it sawn into boards that same day. Stack and sticker the boards out of the weather to dry for at least a year (this is for 1 inch thick boards). Then it should be ready to plane and use, right?

thanks for any and all advice!
Stephen

[Stephen Sebed]

forgot to say that I'm in central Kansas in the Ellinwood area. If anyone knows any sawmills or owns a mill let me know!

[John Shaffner]

Contact Woodmizer, they can tell you of any owners in your area. I would also have some of it milled to 8/4. You never know when you may want some for a tabletop or whatever. The rule of thumb is to stack, sticker and let dry about 1 yr/inch then check with a moisture meter and go from there.Make sure to weigh and cover it, but allow for airflow to prevent mold, etc. That said, I cut up a couple of walnut logs back in March and I checked it just this wkend...14%...not too bad. I hope you had better luck than I did...found quite a bit of hardware in these logs. Blades can be costly. 2 logs,420 bf, 5 blades adds about $.50/bf to the cost but the logs were free.

Good luck,
John

[Richard M. Wolfe]

The reply of contacting Woodmizer is a possibility. Also go to the Woodweb site and in the lefthand column there is a link to sawmills and kilns. What I would do is contact the closest one and if that one isn't as close as you like ask if they know of anyone else. Also contact local lumberyards or other people who deal with wood and ask them if they know of someone. You may find someone with a portable mill and be worth it to you to have them come to the log. If that is so get the tree felled first to check it. I've seen very promising looking trees that yielded very little because a lot of the heart was punky or the tree was hollow. And if it's a yard tree be prepared to replace blades because it will (I've only seen a couple that didn't) have metal in it.

[Frank Drew]

Stephen,

Cutting the log during the late Fall into Winter means less sap in the wood plus better temperature/sunlight conditions for initial drying. Your plan to end coat the cut ends will help a great deal in inhibiting checking. I don't think you need to have the log sawn into lumber the very same day the tree is cut down (some opinion holds that walnut, in particular, improves in color if left in the log for a while before sawing, others say degrade starts right away); however, I do think you need to be prepared to stack and sticker the boards right after they've been sawn -- warping unquestionably can start right away.

I wouldn't consider leaving the log full length at 14-17 feet; unless you have a specific need for extra long stock that's just too difficult to manage, IMO, both in log and lumber form.

I agree with John to get some thicker stuff out of the log; if you plan to make furniture, table legs and/or bed posts come to mind and that might mean up to 16/4.

I think you get the best looking and potentially widest stock by having the log sawn through and through (flitch, or boule sawn).

[Josiah Bartlett]

If you assume that tree is 100% water, 30" diameter and 18 feet long it would weigh over 5000 pounds. Wet walnut is pretty close to weighing the same as an equivalent volume of water.

[Mike Cruz]

Stephen, you don't need to get it all done in one day. Trust me. I've had Walnut, Red Oak, Maple, Ash, and Poplar that I've taken to the local mill. Some within a week, others that were cut up and sitting for a month. The sawyer didn't care. Actually, I took him some maple that had been down for a year (spalting ).

Anyway, as for the lengths... Are you planning on having this cut up for you, or are you just trying to keep it from becoming firewood and are willing to sell it to the sawyer? The reason I ask is that if you are planning/willing to sell it, you might ask the sawyer what length he wants it. He may be looking for some at particular lengths, or have a client that is looking. Also, he may say that he can use a 10 foot section (to buy from you) but can't use the rest...and you could have that cut up for you. The posibilities are endless and you are best to find out these things before you cut it up. That is what I do before I cut to lengths...I ask my sawyer what how he wants it cut up. IF you plan to have it cut up just for you, consider storage and usage. Can you store 14 foot boards? Can your shop handle 14 foot boards (14 feet on the infeed and 14 foot on the outfeed sides of your machines)? You may be better off with an 8 and a 6...only you can tell that...

Just for fun, while your tree sounds like it is pretty straight grained, here is a link to a thread I started in the Turner's Forum here on SMC where I cut up some Walnut this weekend. http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...22594#poststop
The log came as a larger one and as my sawyer moved it out from the pile, it split in two. So, this is half of the original log. We cut up the other half a couple of weeks ago. Here is the thread of the other half. It started out with this thread http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=147418 , then I started another one with the results from cutting it up. http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=148302 . Of course, we were cuttin it up for turning purposes, but at least you can see what was inside!

Good luck with your tree!

[Stephen Sebed]

Thanks for all the information! I have a couple ideas now on where I can get this log sawn, for my own use. one about 60 miles away either deliver the log or he will come to the site. The other about 30 miles but I would have to deliver. I'll definitely cut down the tree and examine it before I hire anyone to saw it. It's good to know I can let it set for a month or so before sawing it. I do have a shed where I can store it for a year or more to dry. The shed is open on the east side and has a large opening on the south side (large enough for a combine to drive in) I can stack lumber in the northwest corner and it should get plenty of air movement out here to dry properly. After reading a couple articles on air-drying it looks like I should build a decent level platform to stack these boards on. As far as board lengths go, I was thinking it would be easier for the sawyer to cut a 18ft log versus two 9ft logs. I can handle the length, it comes down to whatever would be easier/cheaper to be sawn. I can air-dry upto a 25, maybe 30ft board. Cutting a log to a shorter length is no problem, but I can also cut boards shorter for individual projects. A couple of you mentioned getting boards cut thicker than 1" what size and how much would you recommend? (I know this is really subjective, I have thought about building a kitchen table)

oh! I almost forgot this part! This walnut tree is growing on a farm stead and fairly close to a hog pen. I'll have to ask the owner if there has ever been a fence or other wire/metal going around this tree. Assuming there is any significant amount of metal in the wood, how much will it generally cost me in replacement blades?

Thanks again,
Stephen

[Mike Cruz]

The sawyer will DEFINATELY want to know about any metal. He may even not accept the job. Of course, if you are willing to pay for blades, that may sway him.

As for thickness of boards...hmmmm. Yeah, that's a tough one. If you have a specific project in mind, that would make things easier. Now might be a good time to start the drawings. As for the kitchen table, if you want a 1" finished top, then go at least 5/4". My thought is that you can always make a board thinner, making it thicker is a bit tougher. I've also found that the longer the board, the thicker you need it to get it truely flat. But that all depends on how anal you are. I am very anal. So, if I want board to be 6" wide and 3/4" thick, I will most likely need it to be 8" wide and at least 1 1/8" thick to get it like I like it. Do you NEED it that much bigger, no. But I am not a fan of putting projects together with bent, curvy, twisted wood. So, to answer you question, I would be specific with your sawyer and tell him what you want the finished thicknesses of you wood to be. I would cut most of it to 4/4 and 5/4", some at 6/4, 8/4, and 10/4. Obviously, you probably don't need a whole lot of 10/4, but it is good to have in case you need it for the table legs. Too often, 8/4 ends up as 6/4 or 7/4 after trueing up the board. And you can always resaw...

Hey, the wood is free. You aren't paying $8-10 a board foot here. You are getting it for, what, about $1 a bd/ft to cut? And then you'll air dry it (free).

[Josiah Bartlett]

Always assume it has metal in it. The cost of blade replacement will depend on the type of mill it is.