Got a Bit of Wood

Vaughn McMillan

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ABQ NM
The lady next door had a very large sycamore tree removed last Wednesday. Unfortunately, the signals between her son and the tree service guys got crossed up and most of the real big pieces (30"+ in diameter) went to the landfill. :doh:

Anyway, I've spent the past few evenings cutting and sealing stuff up. I ended up with about 35 cut blanks and 14 or so smaller diameter logs that should still yield a couple smaller blanks each. Not nearly as much big stuff as I had been anticipating, but free wood is free wood. Plus, I didn't have to go anywhere to get it...it was delivered to my driveway.

Here's the evidence...

Ellie's Sycamore 1T 800.jpg Ellie's Sycamore 2T 800.jpg

I was sure lovin' the Stihl. It makes me smile when I use it almost as much as the 3520B does.
 
You're a stink dawg:congrats:!!!!Awesome haul:thumb:!! There's barely anything that big here anymore due to some hurricanes but mostly concrete and houses.
 
What a nice stash. This will keep you busy for a little while. Look forward to seeing the finished turnings shed their cocoons.
 
Vaughn great haul. Can you enlghten me as to what size chainsaw you have. Would you buy the same size again if you had to or would you upsize or downsize. I have been wanting buy a chainsaw but dont have a clue what size blade to buy to be able to cut up logs or harvest burl from downed trees.

Next question is about the wood. Do you wait for it all to dry out before turning or do you turn most of your turning with green wood.

I notice that you seem to have cut many logs in half is there a reason you do this other than for mounting at a later stage.

Thanks for the post
 
Rob, I've got the Stihl MS390. It's the biggest of their non-professional line. For my occasional use, it'll last me a lifetime. If I was cutting every other weekend, then the pro line would have been worth the extra hundred or two dollars. Part of the reason I got the big one is to have the ability to run a 24" bar. When I got this saw, I got it with both 18" and 24" bars. The 18" is easier for me to handle, but it's nice having the extra capacity of the 24" bar for the big stuff. I cut all of this wood with the 18" bar.

As much as possible, I prefer to turn green wood. Hopefully I'll get some free time soon to rough turn a bunch of this stuff, so I'll have a stock of rough-outs ready for finish turning.

I cut the bigger logs in half so they'll be a bit easier to handle. I try to get all the chainsaw work out of the way at once, then I'll do final trimming on the bandsaw right before I turn the blank. I can cut the smaller logs in half on the bandsaw, so I keep them whole until I'm ready to turn them, in hopes of slowing down the drying.
 
That's a great score, Vaughn and you can't beat the source...right next door!

Oh yeah, thanks a bunch for the help and advice you gave me on doing shows. I learned a bunch but at least I was fairly well prepared for my first one and you certainly helped facilitate that happening. Thanks again.
 
Rob, I've got the Stihl MS390. It's the biggest of their non-professional line. For my occasional use, it'll last me a lifetime. If I was cutting every other weekend, then the pro line would have been worth the extra hundred or two dollars. Part of the reason I got the big one is to have the ability to run a 24" bar. When I got this saw, I got it with both 18" and 24" bars. The 18" is easier for me to handle, but it's nice having the extra capacity of the 24" bar for the big stuff. I cut all of this wood with the 18" bar.

As much as possible, I prefer to turn green wood. Hopefully I'll get some free time soon to rough turn a bunch of this stuff, so I'll have a stock of rough-outs ready for finish turning.

I cut the bigger logs in half so they'll be a bit easier to handle. I try to get all the chainsaw work out of the way at once, then I'll do final trimming on the bandsaw right before I turn the blank. I can cut the smaller logs in half on the bandsaw, so I keep them whole until I'm ready to turn them, in hopes of slowing down the drying.

Thanks Vaughn for the feedback this was very helpful to me.
 
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