# osage orange milling questions



## yellabret (Aug 20, 2012)

a friend has offered to me a nice log, about 7' x 15-18" diam, that has been downed for 2 yrs. i have read that it gets even harder after setting like this as opposed to green wood, but is it still ok for milling on a band saw mill? i found a guy who will mill it, be he is really a rookie at this too so i was wondering if there any tips or pitfall warnings. there are also tons of green trees i can fell if i want after deer season, so i have a nice little stash of free wood here. i plan to mill at 10/4 or so, for live edge slab tables. the log has a crotch on one end and no real bad pith crack that i could see so i plan to mill it parallel to the crotch of course, to get the full width.

another question, given its size any guesses as to the moisture content after 2 yrs laying out cut?

also, any tips on portable mills around the Houston area would be appreciated, this guy is great and will work with me real cheap but he wont be around forever as he plans on moving his mill about quite a bit. there are a couple of commercial outfits but i am really trying to avoid their $100/hr cost. not to be chincy but until i get a few pieces sold i have to keep the wife happy, she doesnt understand that i have to wait 2 yrs or more with this stuff in the backyard....dont mind paying for a blade or two and something for the time. :smile:


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## qbilder (Dec 19, 2010)

Be smart about this. Stacks of wood attract rodents & insects, which attract snakes & spiders. That's not something you want in your back yard, especially if you have kids. On top of this, your wife will be reminded every day of the money you threw away on a stack of junk. No pile of wood looks good, ever, not even on a pallet in a lumber yard. But it looks especially bad in a yard when it gets weathered & the grass grows high around it. Not the best thing for a marriage. 

Aside from that, have fun & good luck :thumbsup:


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## yellabret (Aug 20, 2012)

qbilder said:


> Be smart about this. Stacks of wood attract rodents & insects, which attract snakes & spiders. That's not something you want in your back yard, especially if you have kids. On top of this, your wife will be reminded every day of the money you threw away on a stack of junk. No pile of wood looks good, ever, not even on a pallet in a lumber yard. But it looks especially bad in a yard when it gets weathered & the grass grows high around it. Not the best thing for a marriage.
> 
> Aside from that, have fun & good luck :thumbsup:


ummmm....no worries, i have a good spot for it on the side over concrete, and the kids are out of college. and i have to disagree with you - a nice clean stack of wood is a beautiful thing unto itself.... 

wood p0rn baby.....behold!: 










if you cant appreciate the glory of this then....well....i am in the wroooooong forum..... (wow, i cant believe the word "p0rn" is censored here....perhaps i AM in the wrong forum....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## stevem2 (Jun 13, 2010)

yellabret said:


> a friend has offered to me a nice log, about 7' x 15-18" diam, that has been downed for 2 yrs. i have read that it gets even harder after setting like this as opposed to green wood, but is it still ok for milling on a band saw mill? i found a guy who will mill it, be he is really a rookie at this too so i was wondering if there any tips or pitfall warnings. there are also tons of green trees i can fell if i want after deer season, so i have a nice little stash of free wood here. i plan to mill at 10/4 or so, for live edge slab tables. the log has a crotch on one end and no real bad pith crack that i could see so i plan to mill it parallel to the crotch of course, to get the full width.
> 
> another question, given its size any guesses as to the moisture content after 2 yrs laying out cut?
> 
> ...



That's a big Osage! Wow!:thumbsup:

In general, 12" in from the end, the log is basically green. Moisture at 25%+ in the center. You might want to cut off the ends and get to fresh wood and then wax (seal) the ends. 

Shouldn't be a problem sawing other than it a very hard wood. 10/4 takes a long time to air dry. 

There is a market for quarter sawn bow blanks and turning wood and knife handles. 

Just my 2 cents but consider the inflation factor. :smile::smile::smile:


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## yellabret (Aug 20, 2012)

stevem2 said:


> That's a big Osage! Wow!:thumbsup:
> 
> In general, 12" in from the end, the log is basically green. Moisture at 25%+ in the center. You might want to cut off the ends and get to fresh wood and then wax (seal) the ends.
> 
> ...



no no - that is pecan that is air drying. OO isnt cut yet - but i am going to looking for some nice straight pieces to quarter saw for bows...


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## qbilder (Dec 19, 2010)

I never said that I don't like looking at wood. But to a wife, a stack of wood is not attractive.


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## Larry Sockwell (Mar 18, 2011)

I thought my other half had the same idea about a stack of wood for a while but, after I built her a nice little spice cabinet......she likes piles of lumber.


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## aardvark (Sep 29, 2011)

If the wife knows something good is going to come of it....she can deal with it or she gets nothing out of it.

Nice pecan....Wood **** is right. Now I need a cigarette.


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## djg (Dec 24, 2009)

yellabret said:


> no no - that is pecan that is air drying. OO isnt cut yet - but i am going to looking for some nice straight pieces to quarter saw for bows...


How do you keep the bugs from getting to your pecan while air drying? Every time a PPB prone species out to dry, they always find it.


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## yellabret (Aug 20, 2012)

djg said:


> How do you keep the bugs from getting to your pecan while air drying? Every time a PPB prone species out to dry, they always find it.



i saw some sawdust, read up, then got some Timbor and unstacked the whole mess, then sprayed each piece all around as i restacked. took $40 worth, but thats cheap insurance. i had bugs in some mesquite firewood and even some slabs i brought home. 

on that subject, what are the PPB prone species???


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## qbilder (Dec 19, 2010)

Larry Sockwell said:


> I thought my other half had the same idea about a stack of wood for a while but, after I built her a nice little spice cabinet......she likes piles of lumber.


LOL I wish my wife was so easy going. I have built her curly maple bathroom cabinets, a walnut TV stand, siberian elm entrance table, and am working on a walnut & maple burl vanity for our bedroom bath. She still complains about the "eye sores" in the back yard if I have anything there :laughing:


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## yellabret (Aug 20, 2012)

yup. my wife always wants me to make something i cant. 

"make me a cutting board, it looks easy". 

"sure honey, can we go out tonight and buy that nice table saw and jointer i've been drooling over?"

"why do you need that? you have all kinds of saws? just use them!"

yeah - a 1960's craftsman RAS, same bandsaw, circular, reciprocating, and jug saws. not going to happen.

now she wants me to make her some bowls - thanks to letting her see some of them on here. ok, now i need a lathe. and the time away from all my other addictions of building slab tables and hunting for lumber and training my retrievers and cycling for exercise and surfing when i can and fishing when i can and photographing bears when i can.

oh yeah, i also have to earn some rent money somewhere in between all that.....:icon_rolleyes:


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## qbilder (Dec 19, 2010)

LOL Yeah I hear the same thing about saws & tools. I got lucky & scored a Hitachi 12" sliding compound miter saw recently. We had windows installed and Lowes sent us a $400 gift card. Luckily she let me have it :yes: Otherwise it takes an injury to get permission for a new tool. 'Baby, I cut my finger half off because my table saw kicked back, need a bigger stronger one.' Her guilty conscience gives in :laughing:


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## djg (Dec 24, 2009)

yellabret said:


> i saw some sawdust, read up, then got some Timbor and unstacked the whole mess, then sprayed each piece all around as i restacked. took $40 worth, but thats cheap insurance. i had bugs in some mesquite firewood and even some slabs i brought home.
> 
> on that subject, what are the PPB prone species???


 Sorry I must have missed that in your earlier post.

As far as the Powder post beatles, I'm talking about hickory, ash and pecan, and the sapwood of O. Orange and walnut. Based on a limited experience though.


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## rayking49 (Nov 6, 2011)

If y'all don't mind me asking, what is Timbor and where might one find it? I have a stickered pile of walnut I'd hate to lose any of. Thanks.


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## scsmith42 (Jan 24, 2011)

rayking49 said:


> If y'all don't mind me asking, what is Timbor and where might one find it? I have a stickered pile of walnut I'd hate to lose any of. Thanks.


 
Timbor is a boric acid powder that you mix with water (and sometimes antifreeze) for treating wood. You can buy it on e-bay.


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