# I have made a board!



## Horatio (Apr 4, 2012)

The journey of 1000 miles begins with the first step. Baby step. And random and assorted other cliches. 

So, I got my Granberg Alaskan CSM in the mail (or from the dude in brown, as it were) yesterday evening and after a whole day in my FIL's basement having the tar beat out of me by the big mesquite bowl I'm turning, I waited until this morning to put it together.








(A big burl-it was very irregular and was a bear to get going, hogging it out to make it go. I turned it on centers to get this far, now its glued up to the faceplate, don't know when I'll have time to work on it again)

Well, I got side tracked and messed with my workbench....built from the bones of my kid's play fort thing. Actually, so far, its just a whole mess of reclaimed tubafors and a ton of gorilla glue, but I digress. 

As I was saying....it took me a while to assemble the mill and then I had to swap out saw chains and then go through several different temporary 'first cut' jigs but low and behold:








Mesquite and it was tough. I know now what I need to do to make the process simpler and more efficient including building a more permanent jig and a stand to get up off the ground. I have some more mesquite cut and have my eye on a few oaks that are dead and still standing out at the ranch. This piece came from the imlaw's neighbors....dead, about 8 feet sticking up out of the ground. 

I might get some more done tomorrow and I need to work on the work bench. We leave Saturday for Yellowstone, first family vacation in...well, forever. And then my time will be split between honing my woodworking skills and prepping for grad school in the fall.


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## DaveTTC (May 25, 2012)

You got board so made a board - far from boring. Nice looking boards. Like to see how the turning turns out too. 

Can you post a pic of your mill, even a short video of you cutting a board

Dave The Turning Cowboy


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## qbilder (Dec 19, 2010)

Very cool!!! I love mesquite but we don't have any around here large enough to mill, or at least nothing like San Antonio. Yall got Texas ebony, too. It's quite possibly my favorite domestic wood and too rarely seen.


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## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

Hey that's good news. I'm glad you got it. What size saw do you use? And what kind of chain are you using? Also wondering if you've had any trouble with your oiler putting oil on your bar and chain when your saw is on its side like that? 
Nice slabs.
Have fun in Yellowstone. Been there done that. Its beautiful there.


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## Horatio (Apr 4, 2012)

The mill is on the saw in the pic, its the smallest Granberg Alaskan (http://granberg.com/product/small-log-mill) Small log mill. My saw is a Stihl MS 260 Pro. The oiler seemed to be working fine but even with a brand new chain on it, it took some doing to cut through that mesquite. Its hard stuff. It bogged down some but never got hot. 

I love mesquite as well. It grows quite a bit down here but its generally a gnarly, irregular growing tree. The true impetus for my getting into woodworking is, well, there are a handful of reasons, but chief among them is the fact that I own some land that I can go harvest all the wood I want. Thus, I'm headed at it from this end and want to concentrate on rustic, overbuilt pieces from self harvested materials. That said, I'm at this point I don't want to cut down any living trees. 

As far as the land goes, I've got 845 acres west of town that's mostly live oak and tons of cedar. Very little mesquite, actually. A few other things here and there. I know the landscape backwards and forwards but have never paid too much attention to the trees before. 

I've got 100ish acres just south of town that's mostly cleared for grazing but there's a good bit of mesquite out there. And some pecan, little bit of oak. And hackberry everywhere. Stuff is like a weed around here. 

So, the plan is to mill some lumber out of it over this summer while I get a shop/workspace set up and acquire a few more tools. From there, make some things. I'm going back to school for my MBA in the fall after 14 years out in the world getting my backside kicked. I have not the skill, nor the tools to consider this a for profit enterprise but those are both things that can be acquired, so, perhaps, but I have to build up to that, so to speak. 

I'll take more pictures when I get some more cut.


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## DaveTTC (May 25, 2012)

Great stuff. I envy your land. Flat as a tack I. These parts where I am and sometimes I think the Nullabor has more trees. Would love to have access to more timber, guess I need a new shop first. Little steps by little steps

Dave The Turning Cowboy


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## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

Thanks horatio. That's not a bad mill. Mine is the logosol timber jig. I milled a 9' cherry log with mine. MS 441. I got 6 slabs, a half log remains. I went threw two chains cutting it. That's it I'm done milling it that way. To much work and it kicks my but around, lol. Maybe smaller stuff. who knows. 
I've got to get a band mill. Hope you have fun with it.


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## Horatio (Apr 4, 2012)

I'd dearly love to get my hands on a band saw mill but its not in the budget at this time. The CSM worked properly and all but yeah, its a butt kicker. Especially on ol Texas Ironwood (Mesquite). That said, once I got it set up, I got that first board out in about 10 min. And....it was only about 102 out side yesterday....uggg. I quit at 3 o clock, I'd had enough of that business. 

I'll get some more soon and hopefully in a few weeks, get a build thread going for a table or something.


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## Horatio (Apr 4, 2012)

One more log I had at the house. 








I have a few more logs cut out at the ranch ready to mill and have picked out a few downed and dead trees to take down. I'll be out of pocket for 10ish days on vacation but I hope to hit the ground running when I get home!


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## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

Awesome slabs you've got. Have fun in Yellowstone. But hurry back. Can't wait. Oh and take lots of pics on vacation.


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## fromtheforty (Jan 15, 2011)

Hey Dominic,

Just wondering if dragging that log down the road may of had something to do with your chain issues. Just think of all the dirt, gravel, sand, and tar you embedded in that log. Dirty wood = dull chain!

Geoff


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## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

fromtheforty said:


> Hey Dominic,
> 
> Just wondering if dragging that log down the road may of had something to do with your chain issues. Just think of all the dirt, gravel, sand, and tar you embedded in that log. Dirty wood = dull chain!
> 
> Geoff


Nope. Lol. Not really likely being it was asphalt. 
More likely to get foreign material as the tree grows in the ground. Besides it barely did anything to the log. Made a flat spot in the bark, and didn't even penetrate the cambium. 
But thanks for the concern. I'm guessing it's an oiling issue.


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## aardvark (Sep 29, 2011)

Sure looked fun though.
Great for taking out bikers wearing spandex and skateboarders.


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