Dan

I have taken down a couple of large oak trees lately and would like to use more of that wood in my projects. A recent project was my concrete table top that sits on some of that oak. I simply split it with a maul and ran a couple of pieces through a table saw where I needed a flat side. It turned out just fine, check it out here, but I want to refine my strategy if the tools in my shed include a chainsaw, maul, table saw, and a few others.

What is the best way to prepare cut timber for use as milled wood?

__________________
Dan Miller
Crazy Concrete Creations

Angela

Have you got a planer? When Hubby re-saws thick wood to make thinner stock he "slices" it with the bandsaw and then mills it by putting it through the planer.
I don't know about drying though. He isn't home to ask either...

__________________
Angela ~ Mom to two great girls (18 & 13) ~ Novice at many different crafts ~Master of none
~ But I have fun trying!!! ~

I'm also blogging about my crafting. I'd love to see you there. Please visit Crafty Distractions and say hello.

My daily project was completed on January 25, 2012, but you can still visit my blog The Daily Turtle if you would like to see my adventures making or photographing a turtle every day for a year.

Dan

I have access to a planer when I make it up to visit my folks. I also steal old barn wood from my dad's massive pile so drying has never been an issue up there. Unfortunately, he does not have a band saw of significant size.
I wonder how to cut large chunks or slabs and dry them without major cracking so I can come back to them and finish them into table tops or legs. I have seen old videos of using holding ponds for mills and thought there might be some applications there.
Thanks, Angela. I would be interested in hearing what your husband can add.

__________________
Dan Miller
Crazy Concrete Creations

pinokeeo

I do a little of my own wood prep.

When drying wood, you need some place out of the weather where you can have a little bit of control of the temperature. Also, you need to stack the wood, using stickers in between. Stickers are small pieces of wood as long as the width of your boards. Space them out so that the drying wood has breathing room. That way it dries evenly and you don't get as much cracking and checking.

As for cutting, you really do need a bandsaw or a portable milling saw. Always saw on the quarter if you can. Also, don't plane the wood until it has reached about 10% dryness. That way if you get a little warping, you can plane it out.

__________________
I cannot master those things which I have not tried.

Angela

Sorry Dan. That is an area that he doesn't know about. He says that he re-saws already dried lumber and that drying it is a whole other area...
Luckily for us, pinokeeo knows about it!!

__________________
Angela ~ Mom to two great girls (18 & 13) ~ Novice at many different crafts ~Master of none
~ But I have fun trying!!! ~

I'm also blogging about my crafting. I'd love to see you there. Please visit Crafty Distractions and say hello.

My daily project was completed on January 25, 2012, but you can still visit my blog The Daily Turtle if you would like to see my adventures making or photographing a turtle every day for a year.