# Hickory?



## Chippin-in (Feb 4, 2010)

I have never worked with Hickory and have a few questions.

I understand that it is a very hard wood. How much havoc does it wreak on blades? Is it worth using on projects? Or should it just be used on the pit? Any advice? ....DAREN :laughing:

I ask this because I have a friend with many Hickory trees on his place and has no problem with someone cuttin a few down. Of course after cuttin'em down, I'd have to have them milled into useable boards/slabs. I have not been to his new place so I'm not sure of the size of the trees. Suggestions as to use then or not, or the size tree I should look for. 

Thanks.


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

My name is not Daren but since he's lounging on the beach in the south Pacific with a harem of scantily clad women goo goo-ing all over him and serving him drinks with fruit and the cute little umbrella's in them, I will take a stab at your question and answer it like I think he would if were available for comment. 




Daren said:


> Yes, Hickory is harder on blades and will dull them faster, but the wood is beautiful, has many great characteristics, and so worth the trouble. I'd say get them. JFYI, I sharpen blades for a certain Texan who says I do the best sharpening work he's ever had.


Alright, I made that quote up. He wouldn't have pushed his sharpening service so blatantly like that, but I can because you won't be sorry to send them if you don;t already have a local you like. 



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## Mizer (Mar 11, 2010)

I think the worst thing about sawing Hickory on a band saw is the bark. I have found it to be on some hickory, as tough or harder than the wood. It also has a tendency to hang up on the tip of the tooth, and builds sap up pretty bad. All these things can be overcome but it still is one of the most difficult species for me to saw.


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

I saw Pecan, which as Mizer knows is a true Hickory and so it has the same characteristics. A debarker is a must when cutting Pecans/Hickory, even though on really thick skin it doesn't always cut all the way through it still prolongs blade life which when cutting hick and pec is already too short. 



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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

TexasTimbers said:


> My name is not Daren but since he's lounging on the beach in the south Pacific with a harem of scantily clad women goo goo-ing all over him and serving him drinks with fruit and the cute little umbrella's in them


I wish...I was cleaning the shop  Hey and after seeing your "computer repair" um er well how to put this, Maybe you oughta think about doing that :w00t:

To take my stab at your question Chippin-in, yes they are worth it. Since you will be working with rough sawn, hickory really makes my planer squeal but never having built a HUGE project from it I can't comment on your table saw blades/dulling.

On the sawmill end hickory is hard/slow milling for my little manual mill. But I just unstacked some pecan the other day that I have air dried, nice 14" wide heartwood boards, I am looking forward to making something with them very soon. They are beautiful.

As far as what size to harvest. I personally like wider lumber so the ones in the 20"+ range if he has any. But too I would look at thinning as a forestry helper. If there are 2 trees kinda small close together take one so the other has room to grow big. 

Be careful and have fun.


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## Chippin-in (Feb 4, 2010)

Didn't mean to step on your toes Tex...lol

Thank you and Mizer both for the info. 

Is there a minimum diameter that I should really stay away from. I'm sure the bigger the better, but just curious.

And whereabouts in the great state of TX are you.


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## Chippin-in (Feb 4, 2010)

Thanks Daren. You posted while I was posting so you answered my question already. Kinda scary


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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

Chippin-in said:


> Is there a minimum diameter that I should really stay away from. I'm sure the bigger the better, but just curious.


In my opinion anything under 14" is more log handling than milling. I am not much of a "small log" guy, too much loading and not enough sawing.


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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

Chippin-in said:


> Thanks Daren. You posted while I was posting so you answered my question already.


That happens all the time, I sometimes go to make a post in reply and see someone else just said the exact same thing I was going to so I hit delete.


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## Mizer (Mar 11, 2010)

Daren said:


> In my opinion anything under 14" is more log handling than milling. I am not much of a "small log" guy, too much loading and not enough sawing.


Here here, I will second that motion. life is to short to fool with small logs. On the other hand as Daren said, you might need to take out a few smaller trees to help with forest management. As long as they are straight you might as well mill them. You also might want to consider about not going the other way (great big) because hickory is awfully heavy, unless you have some way to handle a big log.


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

Chippin-in said:


> Didn't mean to step on your toes Tex...lol


Oh heck you didn't step no toes. I didn't mean to infer you did it's just that when someone is singled out for a question it is quasi forum etiquette not to reply until the guy who was asked does first. But with me and Daren it's all bets off we jump at the chance to steal each others' thunder. :laughing:


Besides, when I need to know something about sawmilling that I don't know yet (which is a lot) I call him or shoot an email so he doesn't get to showcase his superior knowledge base compared to mine. :yes:



Re: location, I'm just about exactly halfway between Paris and Sherman, ~ 3 klicks south of Ivanhoe, and just to the east about 3 stone throws. How about you - Houston proper or suburb? have a couple dive buddies in Hiuston.


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## Chippin-in (Feb 4, 2010)

Oh I'm right there in the big city where H & T not only stand for Houston & Texas, but HIGH TAXES..lol.

I found a mill bout 3/4 of a mile from my house. He charges 

1. Band saw mill – 29’’ wide x 21’ long
$110.00 - an hour + plus Blades
$30.00- per blade
2. Chainsaw Mill – 53’’wide x 48’ long
$110.00 - an hour + plus chains
$75.00 - per chain
3. Chainsaw Mill – 96’’ wide x 48’ long
$110.00– an hour + plus chains
$120.00– per chain


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## frankp (Oct 29, 2007)

Chippin-in, what does that equate to in board feet? If he's sawing you 100 board feet in that hour it's a great deal, but if you only get 10 board feet it sucks. Maybe it's me, but those also seem like fairly high prices for blade repair/replacement costs to be passing directly to the customer too. I'm not sawyer, but I'd think that bandsaw blade cost would be closer to $15 charged to the customer. (I don't have any idea whether it's standard to charge a "whole new blade price" in these instances but that would surprise me...)

What the hell kind of chain saw has a 96" bar?!?!?! Good grief!


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## Mizer (Mar 11, 2010)

I would keep on searching. If you call Wood-mizer or probably other manufactures as well, they will give you a list of folks in your area who do custom sawing.


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

Yeah his prices are too high.

Frank, it's not uncommon for a sawyer to charge for broken blades though. He has no control over where the logs come from and if they have metal in them he shouldn't have to eat that. When I sawed for the public I would charge $20. 

Now, if he is cutting logs he harvests he has to eat that obviously, but you would be surprised how many logs have metal. Especially yard trees, and any log off a fence row doesn't even get put on my mill if I knew it came from one.


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## frankp (Oct 29, 2007)

TT, yeah I would expect some charge to the customer but I was surprised it was basically the price of a whole new blade. I just assumed it would be some "partial" price figuring that the sawyer would eat some and the customer would eat some... like I said, I wasn't sure what was "standard" in that sort of situation.


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## Mizer (Mar 11, 2010)

What I did when I was custom sawing was to have a full replacement cost for the blade in case of metal damage. Then if I hit something with a blade that was re sharpened or was old I would then have lee-way to discount the blade. Or if the job was real big and I had enough profit into it I would eat the cost.


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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

Part of the ruined blade charge for me is labor. I charge by the bft...when I am changing a blade instead of sawing I am not making any bft= $0. I don't charge the customer for wear and tear on the blade, if it goes dull milling that is an operating expense. But to stick that out in front "Customer pays $20 per metal ruined band blade" makes most of them think real hard about the probability of metal in the log, and what to drag in here and what not to. And one (or 2) nails don't automatically ruin a band, it may make for a sooner change/dull quicker, but most often I can keep right on going. The worst thing a nail strike does is throw the teeth out of set, it may still be sharp but with bent teeth the lumber is rougher. It is in the customers best interest to change the blade for better quality lumber.


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## drcollins804 (Jan 11, 2008)

BTW I just had some Hickory milled and had some cut into 2 and 3 inch square to use for making replacement handles for garden and farm implements. Just another possible use for HARD woods. Have also done same with some Ash.
David


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## Chippin-in (Feb 4, 2010)

Thanks for all the input. I'm in no hurry to run up there and cut a bunch of trees down, but I like to br prepared and kinda know what I'm gettin into. I'll also check some other mills for their prices. Maybe a longer drive is worth it and maybe I find a guy close to the trees.


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## woodworks (Feb 12, 2008)

Just ran across this topic and thought I'd say a few words.
I have been making my kitchen cabinets out of hickory. I'm still in the process. My experience is that no matter what, you will always have chip out. I finally have gotten to the point of flattening one side on the jointer and then running the other side through the drum sander until it is flat then flipping it over and sanding out the chips on the other side. I have found that the less you take off at a time, the better off you'll be. I've had more wear on the saw blades then on the planner blades. But it is hard on all of them.

It is beautiful lumber. I have partial brown with whitish/yellow and it is comming out super nice. Make sure you use a water based finish on it so it doesn't turn yellow.


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

Jay, nice job on the cabinets. bet that's scoring some points with the missus. Where you getting the wood? 

I like that work table in the background. Not sure how it is made exactly but with it being elevated and having the recess all the way around you can clamp stuff to the edge real easy.


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## woodworks (Feb 12, 2008)

Thanks
Yeah, the misus is well pleased. I have the upper ones done, but didn't have the pictures handy to post them. I'm starting with the lower ones now. Takes a long time when you have to make one at a time. No place to store them up. But I'm really happy with the grain color. I bought some off a small endependent guy and some from a company called DeNoon Lumber that is a couple of hours away.

As for the work table, it was here when I bought the place over 20 years ago. The legs and "indent" as you call or see it, is actually the table with a skirt around it so I can put mirrors down in it and clean off the old silver and run water over the glass and respray them. I don't do much re-silvering anymore, but I still have all the epuipment. The table part I took off the orignal legs and put it down inside. The top was covered with aluminum. Don't know where it came from, but it's still doing a good job.


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## frankp (Oct 29, 2007)

Mizer, Daren, both very good points and kind of how I expected things were generally done. Now when it's time for me to start getting things milled (assuming I don't just do them myself) I can be an informed customer too, yay.


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