Homestead mailing list

[Rob <becida AT comcast.net>]

At  10/3/2007 06:04 AM,Gene GeRue wrote:

> On Oct 2, 2007, at 7:40 PM, Don Bowen KI6DIU wrote:
>
> > How much timber is needed to justify your own mill?
>
> Now there is a question worth answering. I've not decided which is my
> choice for my needs. Then need to make a list of probable lumber
> needed and price that.

Another way to look at a lumber mill as it's just good fun. There is 
nothing like turning a tree into a piece of furniture.

In Minnesota my needs were to turn trees into useable lumber, and I 
did not have a way to move the trees. After a bit of experimenting I 
bought a RipSaw http://www.ripsaw.com/index.html , enough guides to 
make 20' long cuts and a Sthil 029 to power it. With this I could 
take the mill to the tree and carry out the lumber. I also used a 
Granberg mini mill with my Olympic 970 chainsaw 
http://www.granberg.com/ . For me this set up worked really well.
If I'd have had a way to move the trees & a bit more money I'd have 
picked up a Norwood http://www.norwoodindustries.com/ .

I spent an afternoon watching a guy use a Woodmizer 
http://www.woodmizer.com/us/index.aspx . I liked that! If I had a lot 
of money I'd have bought one of those.

Think about what you want to do with a mill, what you want the mill 
to do and what you can afford. Go see if you can find one in action 
and check it out.
If you don't mind the sweat the Granberg Mini Mill and a large chain 
saw work great.

Getting the wood is just part of the deal, you either learn to build 
with it green or you learn to dry it. Either way you need to seal the 
end of the log right after  you cut it . Anchorseal works great for 
this https://www.uccoatings.com/prod_anchorseal.php . Sealing the 
ends helps stop the checking (cracking) as it drys so even if you are 
going to use it green having the end sealed is a good thing.
You can sticker it and dry it too. Lumber takes a year per inch to 
dry. A year an inch, so a 2x4 will be ready in 2 years.  If it's cut 
too thin the checking & warping can be worse. The times can be 
shortened a bit with some drying technology (there are solar dryer 
designs out there).

Milling is good fun.





Rob

becida AT comcast.net
Western Washington State, USA