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RE: Worth milling red oak? - FS7 - 10-19-2022
(10-19-2022, 08:56 PM)EdL Wrote: Good deal....you might have to shorten the logs (sawmill depenant) an 18' log is a little long for many mills. Or go to 4, 9' logs, much easier to handle, both in log and lumber form.
Ed
What I meant was that the tree was initially about 36'-38' or so of straight trunk, split into 5 logs (longest is just under 8'). The rest is a bit shorter, as that was right around the time I stopped the tree crew to tell them I wanted to mill. But above 36'-38' or wherever it was the trunk split into two sections, and those smaller logs are in roughly 4'-5' sections. Still millable and maybe worth milling.
RE: Worth milling red oak? - EdL - 10-19-2022
Got it...you really had my back hurting for a minute and it ain't my log.....lol.
Does sound like some nice lumber will be had.
Ed
RE: Worth milling red oak? - tomsteve - 10-20-2022
(10-19-2022, 08:40 PM)FS7 Wrote: It was straight and true for about 36 feet, then it split into two smaller logs. I assume I won't mill anything other than the trunk sections, single and double.
when you mention split into 2 smaller logs, if youre referring to split similar to in the photo and have logs from above the wye, there can be a lot of reaction wood after the wye. theres a lot of weight in those 2 trunks that are leaning and the stress grows into it. ive seen the stress release when bucking to length, on the mill, when drying, and when machining. its a moment of excitement when it happens on a mill or table saw.
RE: Worth milling red oak? - AHill - 10-20-2022
If you think flat sawn red oak is boring, you may want to ask the sawyer to get some quarter sawn boards out of the logs. Those would work out well for mission style furniture, even though it's red oak vs. white oak.
RE: Worth milling red oak? - Cabinet Monkey - 10-20-2022
I think you’re over valuing the amount you’ll get for live edged red oak slabs.
I don’t really see much (any) demand for those. Walnut - yup. Maple - sure. Pine - especially mineral streaked or heart pine. Elm, Poplar, Elm too……..but Red Oak
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RE: Worth milling red oak? - FS7 - 10-20-2022
(10-20-2022, 07:11 AM)Cabinet Monkey Wrote: I think you’re over valuing the amount you’ll get for live edged red oak slabs.
I don’t really see much (any) demand for those. Walnut - yup. Maple - sure. Pine - especially mineral streaked or heart pine. Elm, Poplar, Elm too……..but Red Oak
This had occurred to me (not a common species for slabs), but I was thinking I would end up with 30-40 (or more) 2" slabs. This is a "premium" market for woodworking stuff, so it wouldn't take much. I mean people sell red oak on Craigslist for $5 a board foot rough (or at least they have it listed for that). Selling a 30 board foot live edge slab for $100 is probably doable given what the market here seems to be.
Worst case, I end up with way more bar top material than I wanted.
RE: Worth milling red oak? - Cabinet Monkey - 10-20-2022
(10-20-2022, 08:55 AM)FS7 Wrote: This had occurred to me (not a common species for slabs), but I was thinking I would end up with 30-40 (or more) 2" slabs. This is a "premium" market for woodworking stuff, so it wouldn't take much. I mean people sell red oak on Craigslist for $5 a board foot rough (or at least they have it listed for that). Selling a 30 board foot live edge slab for $100 is probably doable given what the market here seems to be.
Worst case, I end up with way more bar top material than I wanted.
I suspect there is more of a market for rough dimensional red oak than there is for live edge “slabs”. More so if it’s quartered.
YMMV
RE: Worth milling red oak? - ianab - 10-21-2022
Oak can be problematic to dry as wide live edge slabs, Be prepared to lose some to cupping or heart checking. They aren't totally waste as you can rip a cupped 30" board into decent 6-8" stock, and a slab that heart checks down the middle should rip into 2 quarter sawed board, with little waste.
We don't have many oaks here, but that's my experience with the assorted Acacia / Sheoak / Eucalyptus hardwood I get to play with
RE: Worth milling red oak? - jteneyck - 10-21-2022
(10-20-2022, 09:00 PM)Cabinet Monkey Wrote: I suspect there is more of a market for rough dimensional red oak than there is for live edge “slabs”. More so if it’s quartered.
YMMV
Where I am in NY slabs sell MUCH easier than dimensional lumber, regardless of species. Of course, walnut is easier to sell than red oak, but I've sold quite a few red oak slabs for more $/bf than what I can get for dimensional red oak lumber. There are a lot more fixer upper folks than woodworkers.
John
RE: Worth milling red oak? - jteneyck - 10-21-2022
(10-19-2022, 06:22 PM)FS7 Wrote: Prices are slightly higher here, especially for quartersawn.
The garage has three windows and a powerful window fan, plus I have the garage door open most days (even in the winter). I was thinking of putting up some plastic sheeting around it and using a heater/fan combination to blow warm air over it. I'll at least try that for a few days and see if it helps any or is just a waste of energy. One of the advantages of the winter here is that the humidity is very low, so being in the (unconditioned) garage should definitely help.
That would be a really, really bad idea, especially if the RH is low. It will crack for sure if you dry it too quickly, too soon. You need an RH of about 90% in the beginning drying stages for 2" thick red oak. If you must put it in the garage then just leave the windows and doors open as much as possible and run the window fan. Leave them open at night, too, if possible, so the RH can rise again so the wood will relax. This is what happens outdoors and in solar kilns. If you want to speed up the process with a heater and fan inside a plastic enclosure you need to do it properly by weighing test specimens and controlling the temperature and RH. By guess by gosh is likely to lead to major disappointment.
Outside is the easiest offers the best chance of minimizing degrade of nearly any alternative short of kiln drying.
John