# Milling some long ones...



## scsmith42 (Jan 24, 2011)

As many of my fellow WoodworkingTalk members are aware, I have a sawmill and kiln drying operation on my farm. Recently, my farm received an order for some extraordinarily long (and large) timbers that will be the basis for timberframe structure to be used as a restaurant and bar outside of Washington, DC. The structure is being built from red oak, and the focal point of the timberframe will be a pair of rough sawn oak beams measuring 12" x 16" x 42'. 

A hundred years ago there were probably fifty or more large sawmills operating in the west and northwestern United States that routinely milled beams such as this (as well as much larger). However, due to limited demand today as well as limited availability of large (and long) logs, few commercial mills still exist that can manufacture something like this. Fortunately, the sawmill that I own is designed for large logs and is very versatile. Coupled with enough track, a crane and other heavy equipment we're able to produce the beams here on the farm, and I thought that some of my fellow forum members may find the process of interest.

Probably the most difficult portion of the project was sourcing a pair of logs that were at least 24" on the small end, 43' long and clear. Fortunately, some logs were sourced nearby, and although we are waiting for engineering to be completed on some of the smaller beams, we recently started the milling process on the largest ones. There is a lot of log handling involved, as each log has to be turned multiple times in order to properly mill it, and the bunks have to be readjusted with each turning.

After sourcing the logs and having them delivered to a local concentration yard, the work started by reviewing a gorgeous pair of red oak logs and subsequently having them loaded on my trailer. They are each 43' long, with small end diameters of 24" and 26" respectively, and they weigh approximately 6 tons apiece.































After unloading them at the farm, we used a crane to load them into the sawmill bunks and then laid out the beam profile on the ends of the logs.































Milling then commenced on the first face:
































First face is complete (and inspected by Shea, our "log dog").













After the first face was milled, we used a crane to remove the log back out of the bunks, then used a backhoe to align it for the second face, readjusted the bunks and then set it back in and started milling face 2.

These next photos are probably my favorite ones of the entire group, as they provide a good perspective of the sizes and proportions of the beams being milled.









































After completing the milling on each face, that face was soaked with a 15% TimBor solution to help alleviate any pests in the finished product (since they sure won't be going into one of my kilns!):













The next step was to mill the first two faces on the second log in a similar manner. After that we adjusted the bunks to be perfectly flat relative to the sawmill and milled the second two faces on each log.

Working with long, large logs is very different than typical 8' - 12' logs, not only because of the mass involved but also because every step must be well thought through in advance and executed without any mistakes (so nobody gets hurt and also I sure don't want to have to "eat" one of these expensive logs due to a mistake!). Working through any tension present in the logs is also a challenge; additional steps are required to mill oversize, with multiple log turns and milling some of the faces more than once to get down to a final dimension that provides for equalization of any tension present in the logs that is revealed during the milling process.

Because the beams will be installed rough sawn, we took extraordinary steps to keep each surface clean. In order to prevent the crane chokers from damaging the corners of the cut beams, I milled some wood corner blocks with my mill to place between the cable choker and the beam. My type of sawmill - a "swing blade" - is unique in that it allows me to cut "angle" boards:

After three of the sides were milled on each beam, we were no longer able to turn the log/beams with the backhoe bucket, and instead used a set of blocks and ramps to turn the beams for the final cut.

The log weights are significant (over 12,000 lbs each), and extra caution has to be used when handling and moving them around with the crane. I have a 6' Logrite cant hook, and these guys just laughed at it! All handling requires heavy equipment for every step, and precision handling to set them up just so. Because the beams are oak and will be left rough sawn, we also have to prevent contact with steel forks, chokers, etc to the freshly sawn surfaces.

I'll post some additional photo's next week as time allows.

Scott


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*very impressive!*

That's some serious milling...seriously!:blink:
From now on everything else is small potatoes. You set the bar pretty high. A photo follow up would be great. Are you going to see the installation also?
How do you saw a 24"dia. log with a swing blade mill and get a full depth cut? Just doesn't seem possible...... 

Kinda puts a new meaning to "Got wood?" or "are you logged in?" :laughing: 

Could you make a bag kiln to keep it from checking?


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## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

I to am curious to see some pics of it installed. 
Nice work and great pics with description.
Can't wait a week. Lol


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## Tennessee Tim (Dec 15, 2010)

My hat is off to your set up:blink::laughing::laughing::laughing:. In Tennessee very unusual to find saw capable over 20' and I had mine sized for 24' 6" (tight) as a bandsaw and have cut 24' ers and as you stated tension is there.

I enjoyed this thread :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:, very well executed, documented and great pics. WOW 2- 43'ers on that one trailer was a LOAD or over :yes::yes::shifty:. Love that crane you used. from the looks of your set-up it must be a permenant tool of yours. Understand the NO TOUCHY with anything metal....the red oak I threaded on had metal in the base (fence) but one of the qtrs after loading and chain booming the chain black stained an area from contacting that face area.

Is there a website link or did I overlook while drooling?????

Again THANKS for documenting and sharing with us.

Have a Blessed and Prosperous day in Jesus's Awesome Love,
Tim


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## scsmith42 (Jan 24, 2011)

woodnthings said:


> How do you saw a 24"dia. log with a swing blade mill and get a full depth cut? Just doesn't seem possible......
> 
> 
> Could you make a bag kiln to keep it from checking?


We're not making depth cuts with the mill since the finished beam will be more than 10" deep. Instead, we are turning the logs for each cut. The first two faces are adjusted for the taper in the log, the second two faces are parallel cut to the first.

My concern with bagging it would be the warm days that we've recently experienced. There would be a strong possibility that mold would develop inside the bag.


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## scsmith42 (Jan 24, 2011)

All: Thanks for the kind words. 

Tim - no website link as of yet; perhaps I'll update my site in a few weeks when we're completing the project.


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## JohnK007 (Nov 14, 2009)

That is one impressive beam!! How the heck are you going to dry those straight and without the ends splitting? Great documentation and like everyone else, can't wait to see more. Cool crane. Military surplus?


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## scsmith42 (Jan 24, 2011)

Thank you to everybody so far who commented and has enjoyed my post about milling some 43’ timbers. In this and the next post I’ll document the rest of the project.

My initial post showed the milling process up to the point where two faces had been milled on a log. The milling process changes somewhat for the second two faces, due to the fact that taper in the log no longer has to be factored into consideration and also the process to turn the logs for subsequent cuts is different.

When we milled the first two faces, we picked up the log and swung it over onto a couple of bunks, and used a backhoe bucket to turn it.












For faces 3 and 4, we have to turn the log in steps, because the sharp edge resists turning and will slide on the bunk if we use the backhoe. So instead, we offset the log on some blocks to facilitate turning.













We then set it back up in the bunks on the sawmill, but this time we have adjusted all bunks to be equidistant from the sawmill blade, as opposed to the different depths that there were originally set to allow for log taper. This will allow our cuts on opposing faces to be parallel to the opposite face

Here we are set up and milling the third face: 













The butt end of the log is significantly larger in diameter than the opposite end. I have taken advantage of this extra material to mill some special corner guards with my sawmill. Swing-blade mills are unique in that they allow the operator to cut a 90 degree corner boards, similar to a piece of angle iron. I needed to make something that we could attach to the sides of the beams to prevent the cable chokers from the crane from gouging into the corners of the beam, and some 90 degree corner boards would be perfect for this application. We call them “sling guards”. 

Because a swing blade sawmill allows the operator to swing the blade from horizontal to vertical, initial cuts going down the log are typically made with the blade in the horizontal position, and the return cuts are made with the blade in the vertical position. A single pass down and back usually produces a finished board. In the next photo I am making some of the corner boards, and I have milled out the inner portion of the corner, and am about to make my second pass in the vertical position.














Here are the resulting corner boards after being trimmed to length;













And the corner boards installed on the log and rigged for picking:












Many logs, especially oak, have a tension present in the log that is released during the milling process. This tension causes the log and/or boards to move (I have actually seen boards lift themselves off of the log while being milled due to tension). Because the scarcity of large logs suitable for this project (as well as the expense), I opted for a conservative approach and milled two of the log faces twice, instead of just once. The initial milling resulted in a beam that was around 1” thicker and wider than needed. We then subsequently turned the beam back to the initial faces for the final cuts. Because 90% of the outer wood had already been removed, the bulk of the tension had been released in the logs/ beams and we could now safely mill to the final dimensions. The tension was clearly evident, as the slim boards now being removed from the beam faces tended to vary slightly in thickness. We also accounted for the location of the pith in the log when milling, so as to achieve the best balance between milling needs and center pith (to minimize future beam movement due to unequal stresses on the different beam faces).

This photo shows the progression of milling the final inch out of the last face:












The beams are now complete! Here is a photo of one of the finished beams:













When complete, the differences in width and thickness from end to end was around 1/8” – 3/16”; which is a reasonable tolerance for something this size.

The last step was to crane the finished beams out of the sawmill and onto one of my trailers for subsequent transportation up to a drying barn. 






















They will stay in the barn out of the direct sunlight until we are ready to deliver them to the jobsite in Washington, DC. It is not feasible to kiln dry an oak beam this size, so they will be installed in the traditional method, which was green.

I hope that everybody has enjoyed this post; it was certainly a fun and interesting project!

Scott


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*You and your crew are great!*

Who woulda' thought it would be possible to even find the logs, have a way to mill them in that length other than some commercial saw mill costing $$$$$$$ and you did it! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
And the best part for us it's like we were there. Great story and photos. Thanks very much for your effort! :yes:


BTW is this you? Gotta be!
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthr...Seal-Classic-Group-purchase-in-North-Carolina


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## Sorrowful Jones (Nov 28, 2010)

GREAT Thread. Thank you for posting. That is amazing


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## scsmith42 (Jan 24, 2011)

woodnthings said:


> BTW is this you? Gotta be!
> http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthr...Seal-Classic-Group-purchase-in-North-Carolina


Yup, I'm the guilty party!


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## djg (Dec 24, 2009)

Amazing feat. And a log that clear and long. I hope you got some side lumber out of it too. I think I saw a stack in one of the later photos.


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## Ibangwood (Feb 25, 2010)

Man that makes me super jealous


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## scsmith42 (Jan 24, 2011)

djg said:


> Amazing feat. And a log that clear and long. I hope you got some side lumber out of it too. I think I saw a stack in one of the later photos.


Yup, we recovered a few hundred board feet of flat sawn 4/4 lumber from the sides.


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## GoIrish (Jan 29, 2012)

Threads like this are one of the reason we all come back here again and again. Thanks for sharing.


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## jimmyjames (Nov 23, 2012)

so how many board feet of boards did you get to keep from milling those timbers? Im guessing 1000's!


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*not for the lumber*



scsmith42 said:


> Yup, we recovered a few hundred board feet of flat sawn 4/4 lumber from the sides.





jimmyjames said:


> so how many board feet of boards did you get to keep from milling those timbers? Im guessing 1000's!


They were milled for the beams, not for the lumber. Did you see all the photos and the explanation of why and where they are going? :blink:


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## jimmyjames (Nov 23, 2012)

woodnthings said:


> They were milled for the beams, not for the lumber. Did you see all the photos and the explanation of why and where they are going? :blink:


cc

Ummm yes i read what they were doing and where they are going, from me asking how many "drops" he got from the timbers why would you ask me if a saw the pictures or read anything???


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*because your question was answered here*

*


scsmith42 said:



Yup, we recovered a few hundred board feet of flat sawn 4/4 lumber from the sides.

Click to expand...

*


jimmyjames said:


> cc
> 
> Ummm yes i read what they were doing and where they are going, from me asking how many "drops" he got from the timbers why would you ask me if a saw the pictures or read anything???


maybe you missed it?


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## jimmyjames (Nov 23, 2012)

woodnthings said:


> maybe you missed it?


Dang dude do you not have anything better to do?? Missed what?? Did you miss the short bus??


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*see post 19*

:yes:


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## scsmith42 (Jan 24, 2011)

jimmyjames said:


> so how many board feet of boards did you get to keep from milling those timbers? Im guessing 1000's!


Jimmy, each beam contains a little under 700 board feet of wood. Additionally, I milled a few hundred board feet of flat sawn 4/4 lumber off of the sides of the logs in order to reach the desired dimensions for the beams.


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## Midwest Millworks (Nov 20, 2012)

Awesome story, awesome work, and awesome talent. I am very impressed and jealous. I've been looking into getting a chainsaw mill for myself. I think the stuff I'll be milling would be considered toothpicks compared to your project. LOL.

Thank you for sharing this with all of us. I really enjoyed it.

Mike Darr


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## harrymontana (Dec 26, 2012)

very beautifull logs and very interesting way of transporting these heavy babies


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