Sawing A Hickory Log Into Lumber

[DM]

I don't get a lot of hickory logs to saw, so when i had a chance to get a few, i took it. There's two kinds of hickory in my area, "bitternut" and Shagbark"... This one is a shagbark which is the more desirable of the two.

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Here it is sitting on the mill ready to saw. On the right you can see the cable winch log turner too. It works very well, and makes short work out of turning even big logs.

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I started out by sawing a slab off, takeing a 5/4 board off and turning the log.

http://www.fototime.com/3945FB6D7F12441/standard.jpg

Hickory saws fairly hard, but my band mill is more than up to the task with a Vanguard 23hp motor powering it. It's surpriseing how little fuel it uses too for haveing that much power.

Anyway, after takeing more slabs off and more 5/4 boards off, i worked my way around the log. I then put the first boards back on to be edged as i sawed the last slab off. Edgeing this way works very well!!

http://www.fototime.com/1467E0B29E61BB5/standard.jpg

This isn't a top grade log, but i did get some decent boards from it. Too bad the pict. quality is so low or you'd beable to see how dead flat the boards are!

http://www.fototime.com/35FAD39A76D2FD1/standard.jpg

It didn't take too long to saw this log up, and here's the tally...

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Now that i have the log sawed, it's time to get that lumber on stickers!

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I'll leave it on stickers for at least six months to air dry. Then when i figure out what use it will be for, i'll move it onto stickers in my shop to finish drying it down to the desirable 6 to 8% moisture...

Well, time to roll the next one on the mill and start all over, and here it is!

http://www.fototime.com/C936329421EDD3B/standard.jpg

Hope you enjoyed the picts..

DM

[jamesq]

thanks for posting the pics. looks like a nice setup. how much do you have invested in the mill?

[desdawg]

Looking good DM, looking good. Was the tree down for a while or just freshly cut?

[DM]

I traded up to this Lumbermate about 3 years ago and i think they started out at $5,895.00 then?? Yes, mine has some options, but the std. models, as they come saw just as accurate as mine... They are a great mill!

I sawed that hickory down, late this last spring. I then end coated it with Anchorseal. It kept the ends of the log from checking, and i'm very happy with how it works.

I sawed up the last hickory log today and put it on stickers, so now i need to get after some red oak logs that are waiting in line....

DM

[ChoochCharlie]

How much is Oak worth?
My friend has many HUGE oaks on his very old property and they need to come down anyway.
He has been calling around and can only find someone who will give him a couple hundred per tree. And that's after they are down. I thought oak was valuable.

[Toad_Sticker]

I wish you were close to me.....
I have a bunch that is going to be firewood......
I sold 43 trees last winter and am cutting the tops but there is still a bunch of wood in those tops that would make good boards.
I cut ash,red oak,Beech,Basswood,Maple,Cherry and am getting close to a Hickory laying there.
TS

[CarolAnn]

Cooch Charlie -
The value of wood depends on how far you are from a good market.

In Veneer country, a big hardwood like walnut or oak is worth $3,000+ per tree. If you have to truck it any distance, the value goes down accordingly.

I still get choked up when I think about the senseless jerk that cut down a woods-full of walnut near where I grew up - for FIREWOOD! What a pea-brain - but he just didn't want to be bothered with marketing it.

For people that only have a couple of trees, it's also hard to market it - lumbering guys want a whole truck load!

[ChoochCharlie]

Thanks.
Kind of like using paper pellets for fuel. In PA, not paper production so pellets are not cost effective. In paper country, cheap cheap cheap.