Here is a piece of a tree I sawed, I had to prune it to get it on the mill. I started by cutting it in 1/2 for length, then in the picture I split it in half. I can saw 16' 6" long, but there was no need with this lumber.
Next I make a 3 sided cant I can work with. Felling a tree, hauling it and doing all this prep seems like a lot of work...but it is worth it.
This is the lumber that came out of that nasty little log, curly spalted red maple. 25" wide boards, yes I like them wide.
Here are two in a bookmatch 50" wide. Note the 24" framing square on top of the boards for scale.
I shot a quick little 2:00 movie of the sawmill running. I peeled off a couple 18" wide hickory boards for the camera. I was not pushing the saw hard, just playing, even for a small manual mill it cuts pretty fast. On narrower boards and soft wood I can saw as fast as I can walk and they come out perfect every time. Click the link to see the saw running. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZH6LWq3fuY
After the lumber gently air dries for several weeks (or months, dependant on species) it goes in to the kiln. This is a picture of some air drying stacks. For more information on my homemade kiln, visit the "kiln drying page" there are plans and descriptions there.
"Find a job you like and you add five days to every week."
