Milling Daves duckwood spalted giant.

[woodtickgreg]

So Dave posted his spalted giant and asked me to mill it, I said sure and here we go. Got up about 8 and drank some coffee to wake up a bit, walked around the log to try and come up with a game plan, she's a big girl with a lot of challenges 4' on the big end. 35" on the small end.

Dave and rocky sitting on the log for scale
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Schwartz scaled it at 4'
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Some old fat guy from Michigan.
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More to come.

 

[woodtickgreg]

Here's a couple of pics of the first slabbing cut.

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Starting to see some crazy figure already, hope it carries through the whole log, nice spalt too!
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We rolled the log 1/4 turn it, it was massive and too heavy for 2 old guys to try and lift so we used some chains and Dave's truck to roll it, worked like a charm. The log is now about neck height high, I free hand cut the log with my echo 20" chainsaw to remove the large bump and roughly square the log.
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What the log looked like after I smoothed out the cut with the slabbing brackets, a nice cant ready for milling and at a good working height too. Notice the big hole in the side from a rotted out branch. Mill it anyway and work around it when the wood is dry.
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From here we milled a bunch of stuff at 5/4" and found some great curl figure.

 

[woodtickgreg]

What we started to see milling 5/4" boards of of this behemoth. Beautiful figure, I think it was a red maple, I was throwing red chips all day. The pics never do the figure justice, this stuff is solid and will look great with a finish. I don't know if curly really describes it well. The outside of this log is pretty well rotted, but the inside is nice and hard, slow cuts, 7 minutes per board.

Wetted down with water to try and show the figure, remember this is not sanded and fresh off the chainsaw mill.
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The color in this stuff is just beautiful, the pics show it as kinda yellow but is more on the red side. I think we will call this girl big red. More to come.

 

[woodtickgreg]

And here I am milling some stuff for the wood turners, 5" thich and as big square as you dare, nice figure and color. Not your typical maple, turn it wet and what fun!

It warmed up nice today, mid 70's and light breeze. Not to hot.
Milling 5/4"
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See the mill set at 5"
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More to come.

 

[Mike1950]

NICE wood!!!

 

[Kevin]

Ya'll are having a ball there Greg and Duck. I would love to join in on the fun sometime. I could bring Helga and we could see firsthand if I'm still man enough to wield her free hand. I would have to arrive on one of my better days. Duck you got any logs six feet in diameter? I love these threads . . .

Midwest Woodnuts Anonymous; The Continuing Adventures of Duck and Tick . . . .

 

[woodtickgreg]

A little side note: Dave's enchanted forest seems to make me pay for her wood and doesn't give it up easy. Remember last time I milled here the mill broke and we had to McGuyver it back together? I got the replacement parts and fixed it up the way she should be, new oil line for the aux oiler as well, we cut that last time too, never done that before.....must be the curse. :dunno: Today my beloved husky 365 wouldn't start, :dash2: a little fiddlin and some diagnoses....bad coil, second one now for this saw, replaced it once before. So I used my echo back up saw, it's a good all metal crankcase saw. Milled most of the day, took a lunch break, mill ran for a while and then quit, no spark, cleaned the air filter and replaced the plug, started again. I have noticed the power dropping off on the mill for awhile now, making a little ticking noise too. Oh well run it until it dies, I've had it for 20 years and they are out of business and parts are not available any more. Milled for a little while more, she quit again, pulled the rope 3 times and she locked up! It is either a lower rod bearing or a crank bearing, she gave up the ghost. The mill is toast, she has served me well, milled thousands of board feet of lumber with her, filled many garages with lumber, literally. I am not sad about this or dissapointed, I got my money out of this saw years ago when I was processing fire wood. The lumber milled was just a bonus. Now I will be shopping for a new 100 plus cc saw. Me likey husky's.

 

[Kevin]

Man Greg I'm real sorry to hear that. Guys that don't get attached to their saws may not understand but I know it hits harder than you're letting on. Truly sorry to see her go man. Don't trash her, you never know when you may have the chance to scavenge her and another parts saw together and bring her back to life - it can happen.

 

[woodtickgreg]

What was left of the log after it blew up, almost got er done. Dave will cut it up for turning blocks, see him in the background cutting up the scrap I discarded, if there's good wood in anything he'll cut it out, the only thing he will be burning is punky wood.

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[Kevin]

Duck I don't want to turn this into a safety thread but if you're going to use that kind of risky posture in the bottom picture, please wear a helmet. Kickback never happens to someone who thinks it will.

 

[woodtickgreg]

Man Greg I'm real sorry to hear that. Guys that don't get attached to their saws may not understand but I know it hits harder than you're letting on. Truly sorry to see her go man. Don't trash her, you never know when you may have the chance to scavenge her and another parts saw together and bring her back to life - it can happen.

I got a feeling it will need a crank and a complete gasket set, and if you go that far you replace the piston and crank bearings as well, I'm gonna miss her. :cray: I do get attached to my saws.

 

[woodtickgreg]

Was a productive day anyway though, even with 2 broken saws.

HELLO GIRLS! Check out the figure in this stuff.
We wet them down to try and show the color and figure.
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This log was lying on the ground for about 4+ years, I wish I could have milled it when it was fresh cut. A lot of wood was lost due to rot, what was left is just beautiful, nice and red and lots of curl and figure.

 

[woodtickgreg]

Just a few of the turners big blocks. All 5" thick with nice figure.

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[Kevin]

Man those are some butt ugly chunks of wood.

 

[ironman123]

Hey Duck and Greg, buutiifull wood there.

Ray

 

[419Tomb]

Looks like another amazing day in duckland!
Tom

 

[Treecycle Hardwoods]

I am not so sure echo is out if business. The small engine shop i get all my chainsaw supplies from sells echo brand saws, weed eaters, etc... being that yours is old parts may be hard to find.

Nice wood BTW! I was milling spalted stuff today also just not nearly as big.

 

[NYWoodturner]

Gentlemen, this is where the art really begins. Big nod to Greg's signature line... "Without wood there is no woodworking. Mill it" Just think of all the fine pieces that will come out of what you have milled. Had you not milled it, it would be fertilizer for the next crop of trees. The pieces it yields would not exist if not for the two of you. Helluva good job

 

[Kevin]

I am not so sure echo is out if business. The small engine shop i get all my chainsaw supplies from sells echo brand saws, weed eaters, etc... being that yours is old parts may be hard to find.

Nice wood BTW! I was milling spalted stuff today also just not nearly as big.

The Echo name tag lives on but not the quality behind the name tag to the same degree it once was. Like Delta ad infinitum. I can buy any label I want, but it usually has nothing to do with quality or who benefits. I've always been against being a brand name guy. It's like politics, if you support a party or a brand name you always eventually realize what a dumb bass you really are. Power tools are no different. Do I still buy Oliver and Delta and Unisaw? Sure, if they were made by the quality craftsman when quality still mattered.

Echo is still a good quality saw Greg, but they are NOT the same company and not the same degree of quality. We'll see how much longer that remains true.

 

[barry richardson]

Thanks for the thread! I really enjoyed it! some great looking wood there. I think the nicest spalty stuff I ever got my hands on was some red maple, so im a big fan. Sorry about the mill, we sure get attached to out machines dont we, saws, pickups, tractors, motorcycles, etc... I feel your pain...