# did some double barrel milling yesterday



## Treecycle Hardwoods (Jun 14, 2015)

Yip that's right 2 logs on the mill at one time! Light was fading fast and I still needed to get everything stacked in the kiln and the mill room cleaned up so I had to improvise. All told I got 810bf milled and stacked in the kiln in 5 hours yesterday. 5 of the 7 ash logs I did were nearly prefect 16" diameter with almost 0 taper. Having such nice and light logs really helps seen things up but it wasn't enough. In the end had to put 2 cherry logs on the mill at once. Never done that before but it worked slick and I got everything done with 10 or 20 min to spare. Next weekend we mill more phone poles. I have 7 12' poles between 16-21" in diameter so maybe 1000-1500 bf worth. Gotta get some blades sharpened this week cause those things eat blades faster than a fat kid eats cake!

Reactions: Like 5 | Great Post 1 | Way Cool 7


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## woodtickgreg (Jun 14, 2015)

What a cool operation you have going there Greg, living the dream of many of us.

Reactions: Agree 3


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## Nature Man (Jun 14, 2015)

Wow! That should really help boost productivity. Are there any safety issues that you need to be concerned with when doubling up logs? And, did you mean you cut up old telephone poles? Chuck


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## Treecycle Hardwoods (Jun 14, 2015)

Nature Man said:


> Wow! That should really help boost productivity. Are there any safety issues that you need to be concerned with when doubling up logs? And, did you mean you cut up old telephone poles? Chuck


Chuck I would have had to pull one off the mill it I failed to keep them still. My only concern when I tried this was holding them steady once I made a fraction of a pass and there wasn't even any vibration I knew I was good. After I turned them 90* it was the same concern again but they passed that test also. One more 90* turn and I was golden because both logs were sitting flat with my first cut laying down on the bed. 

On the poles we did 1000 bf of those last weekend and have more to do next weekend.


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## Treecycle Hardwoods (Jun 14, 2015)

woodtickgreg said:


> What a cool operation you have going there Greg, living the dream of many of us.


Guests are welcome any time! I can't be that far of a drive. I think we have a fellow member passing by you in the near future you can probably hitch hike with them. 

All joking aside it is a blessing to be able to have a mill and the resources that go along with it. If anyone ever wants to come out for the day and see how it all works let me know and we can get something g on the calendar. Sharing the experience with others is a must for me. In August I will be having my turning club out again for a demo on the mill and some of the auxiliary operations like drying and processing burls. I did it last year and 40 or so of the members showed up. This year that could double!

Reactions: Way Cool 4


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## Nature Man (Jun 14, 2015)

Would love to stop by, but it's quite the drive for me... Chuck


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## Kevin (Jun 14, 2015)

I've milled doubles also. I don't have the opportunity often because few of my logs are anywhere near similar. You got to be careful though and make sure no pent-up energy is just waiting for enough side torsion to send one flipping up even just a little and you also have to make damn sure you're cutting perfectly 90º blade to dogs! I know you know that Greg.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Treecycle Hardwoods (Jun 14, 2015)

These 2 were very close in diameter the one had a little crook in it but the big thing is the diameter. I would not have even been able to attempt this if they were 13" in diameter because I would not have had the space between the guide bearings. Another factor that aided in my success here is how tall my dogs are in relation to the diameter of the logs. My dogs extend up 10" from the bed the logs were only 12ish so I was supporting 80-90% of the diameter. This helps to prevent the sideways movement but the log can still rotate down and bind on the blade causing a kink and rendering it useless. Bottom line is I was just lucky to have 2 logs that cooperated. They fit together like 2 fingers in a glove with no movement or vibrating.

Reactions: Like 1


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## ripjack13 (Jun 14, 2015)

Phone poles? I've thought about getting some blocks off one that is at my local dump. What do they use em for cut up?


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## Treecycle Hardwoods (Jun 14, 2015)

ripjack13 said:


> Phone poles? I've thought about getting some blocks off one that is at my local dump. What do they use em for cut up?


My customer is a manager for a utility line restorer. He has nearly unlimited access to them so he decided to deck out his cabin with cedar trim. Wall panels, ceiling toung&grove, closet lining. Whatever normal places trim or wood products can be used he is doing it. I have 3-4 loads of poles left to mill before he thinks it will be enough.


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## Kevin (Jun 14, 2015)

ripjack13 said:


> Phone poles? I've thought about getting some blocks off one that is at my local dump. What do they use em for cut up?



You got to be real hard up for a milling fix to want to cut anything with creosote in it. I won't ever put used RR ties or utility poles on my mill. I hate milling that stuff.


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## Treecycle Hardwoods (Jun 14, 2015)

Kevin said:


> You got to be real hard up for a milling fix to want to cut anything with creosote in it. I won't ever put used RR ties or utility poles on my mill. I hate milling that stuff.


I wouldn't mill any ties that's for sure! Had a couple poles get dropped off with some ends that were in the ground and still looking fresh and full of cresote chopped off the ends first thing and tossed em. The upper section of the pokes are ok but dry and tough on the blades. A 12 foot pole can eat a blade before it is milled completely if it has enough girth. Most of the time it is a 1:1 ratio of poles to blade use.


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## justallan (Jun 14, 2015)

Treecycle Hardwoods said:


> All joking aside it is a blessing to be able to have a mill and the resources that go along with it. If anyone ever wants to come out for the day and see how it all works let me know and we can get something g on the calendar. Sharing the experience with others is a must for me.



@Treecycle Hardwoods much respect for that comment alone. I've made it to a point in my life that I can share different things that I do with folks and find as well as making new friends you learn about yourself also. Whether it's helping one decide if this is for them or paying it forward or even keeping my a$$ off a bar stool, I think it's surely something I need to stick with.
Thank you for that one comment alone, I needed it.

Reactions: Way Cool 1 | +Karma 4


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## HomeBody (Jun 15, 2015)

I wouldn't want a house full of creosote treated wood. I don't know, maybe it's okay but??? Some utility poles were treated with penta and that stuff would be even worse indoors. I'd do some research before I put it up. Gary


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