Hi guys and gals,
A friend of mine's family owns around 120 acres of land, which is a remnant of a family logging business. They have a small sawmill on the property. As he explained to me, they take trees down and sell the lumber just to cover the property taxes.
He has very graciously offered to allow me to come out to the property and go through the process of taking down a tree. They'll rough mill the lumber for me and let me take it. They may be able to set me up with a kiln, but they don't own one.
I think it will be super fun just to go through the experience, let alone all of the stock that will last me for many years of projects. Here in the Pacific Northwest, we have mostly pine, cedar, and big leaf maple (soft maple). He didn't flinch when I asked if we could take down a maple- frankly I don't have much use for pine or cedar.
Now finally to my question- I have no idea where to begin researching. They will cut the tree down and run it through their sawmill... so I don't have to worry about that aspect. Here are some questions:
- How do I go about picking out a tree? What should I look for? I'd love to find a tree with a big burl on it of course, but what should I look for in order to get maximum yield? Long straight sections with few branches? Any general guidance?
- How should I have it milled? My instinct is to go for 8/4 for everything. Should I consider quartersawing, or does that cause too much waste? Is it even beneficial to quartersaw maple?
Thanks for any guidance you can provide!
Peter