# Milling some Cedar



## gvwp (May 28, 2015)

Just had to post these pics for Kevin. He is always milling those big Cedar logs down there in the big state of Texas and I finally found a big Cedar log here in Indiana! Wooo hoooooo! Well big by Indiana terms anyway.

Reactions: Like 6 | EyeCandy! 5 | Way Cool 4


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## justallan (May 28, 2015)

Nice stuff, David.
The logs that I've sawn were quite the PITA, right up to the second that you flip your first board to see and smell that stuff, it easily makes it worth while.


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## bench1holio (May 28, 2015)

YUM! I can smell that stuff from here...


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## Nature Man (May 28, 2015)

Beautiful color! Where's the smell? Chuck


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## jmurray (May 28, 2015)

Lovely


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## Kevin (May 29, 2015)

Woohoo! Nice score David. 

I just bucked one at the cemetery yesterday doing tornado cleanup that was 21" at the narrow end of 13 feet, but it isn't the biggest one either. Can't wait to get them on the mill. Would rather they stayed in the cemetery shading my kin but mother nature had other plans. 

Nice find!


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## gvwp (May 29, 2015)

Kevin said:


> Woohoo! Nice score David.
> 
> I just bucked one at the cemetery yesterday doing tornado cleanup that was 21" at the narrow end of 13 feet, but it isn't the biggest one either. Can't wait to get them on the mill. Would rather they stayed in the cemetery shading my kin but mother nature had other plans.
> 
> Nice find!



That would be a beauty Kevin! Post up some pics when you get in through the mill.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 1


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## gvwp (May 30, 2015)

justallan said:


> Nice stuff, David.
> The logs that I've sawn were quite the PITA, right up to the second that you flip your first board to see and smell that stuff, it easily makes it worth while.



True they can be a PITA but oh so worth it. Thing is big Cedar logs are not common in our area. I was hauling a load of pallet logs into one of the larger mills in the area and saw the 5 logs in a pile on my way in so after days of negotiation they finally agreed to sell them to me for an outrageous amount of cash.  When the fellow went to scale the logs he didn't even have Cedar in his handheld as an inventory type. Shows how uncommon they are around here as a sawlog. This place has been in business for 80+ years.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Kevin (May 30, 2015)

gvwp said:


> True they can be a PITA but oh so worth it. Thing is big Cedar logs are not common in our area. I was hauling a load of pallet logs into one of the larger mills in the area and saw the 5 logs in a pile on my way in so after days of negotiation they finally agreed to sell them to me for an outrageous amount of cash.  When the fellow went to scale the logs he didn't even have Cedar in his handheld as an inventory type. Shows how uncommon they are around here as a sawlog. This place has been in business for 80+ years.



You have to scale cedar using the cedar scale. It was formulated specifically for _juniperus virginiana_. If you don't have one I can email you one. 

Guys the key to minimizing the hassle of milling ERC is in the limbing. If you'll spend just a little extra time limbing all the way against the log you'll decrease your headache factor tremendously to the point where you won't hardly notice they take more time to mill.


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## gvwp (May 30, 2015)

Oh yes I agree Kevin. Cut those limbs off flat to avoid snags. I was referring to the voids is most Cedar logs and trapped bark. These logs didn't have many limbs on them. In fact many of the big 12 X 12 X 3" blanks I cut are 100% clean and clear. No knots or defects which is rare in Eastern Red Cedar.

Reactions: Like 2


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## Kevin (May 30, 2015)

gvwp said:


> I was referring to the voids is most Cedar logs and trapped bark.



Yes that's expected in most cedar just got to mill around it as best you can (as I know you know).

I need to get back out to the cemetery and get some more pics now that we've done some cleanup. Can't get the logs out yet but I have bucked a few. One is 32" above the flare and solid as the rock of Gibraltar. That's even rare for down here especially for one growing in the open like this. Pasture queens as I call them are notorious for having heart rot when they're this huge. I hope most of the others that were ripped out of the earth are solid also but haven't bucked most of them off their root system yet. They all look solid based on my gut feeling. And the sap is white white no sulfur in the soil to yellow it. These are probably the prettiest cedar I will have ever milled as far as coloration of the sap and heart. I'll start my own thread and tag you once I get started in earnest bucking and milling. Hope I haven't hijacked yours too bad.


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## gvwp (May 30, 2015)

32"! Holy Cow! Thats large for any size tree. No problem Kevin. Looking forward to the pictures of that monster.

Reactions: Agree 2


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## Wilson's Woodworking (Jun 5, 2015)

Beautiful cedar and a great find but I would take that Indiana cherry wood over it any day. I can get cedar wood just about anywhere but we don't have the big cherry trees here in Nebraska.


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## jmurray (Jun 5, 2015)

@gvwp 12x12 cedar blanks with no limbs inside sound amazing, did u start a thread for them yet?


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