I've posted in the recent past about my steep learning curve on an old hydraulic Mizer LT40. I can report that I took the suggestions provided and took a lesson with the local Mizer dealer. The lesson helped with the mechanics of the mill but unfortunately the guy teaching didn't have much experience with sawing real trees. Good news is I've been getting some experience on cherry and alder logs and getting comfortable with what the mill can and can't do.

My question for you old timers is what do you look for in the log when setting it up for milling? Quarter sawing aside, what should I be looking at when sawing for quantity vs. quality of say, a 5/4 board? I know that getting the log level to the bed relative to the pith is important, but how do you decide on which side of the log to cut first and how do you proceed from there? How do you "read the log"?

Thanks for you input!

David M.