milling thread

I love writing. I don't have the focus(for writing) to do more then illustrate a thought. I could never stay on track to write much more then that.
 
You painted a nice picture in my head with your post #574
 
Nice job on that bench /coffee table. I made one similar to that a few years ago.

Seeing that benches are the latest posts on the milling thread I'll post up my latest creation.

I milled some Austrian Pine slabs using my chainsaw mill about two years ago. I decided to make a pew style bench out of those slabs by eyeballing it and using just a chainsaw with some joinery, mostly dado joints and not using fasteners of any kind. I did cheat a little with the tape measure mostly for length and width of the slabs . The right side didn't come as good as the left. I can never seem to duplicate chainsaw cuts on the second try. I still have a little more work to do to it. It was rickity going at first but the more I did to it the stiffer it got. The back rest really stiffened it up. It didn't turn out too bad considering; but could be a little better.I just wanted to see if I could make a big bench with out getting all involved with measuring and cutting with other types of tools. I don't know if I going to to do the finish work like sanding it,shaping the wood here and there and apply some kind of finish on it.

The table was an first ever attempt with a chainsaw. I used the lest desirable pieces I had for this experiment. I watched an old dude up in Alaska on U-tube make a bench using only a chainsaw and sledge hammer. He did most of the joinery using a dovetail spline type cut. I am not going to get in detail on this only to say that he roughed out the joints and used what he called a kerf cut to make the joints fit. That kerf cut involved getting the two pieces of wood to start into the cut , then bore cut between the two pieces , the resulting kerf would close the cut and with a sledge hammer drive it home. The dovetail joints were kind of like a wedge to hold everything together. I tried that boring kerf cut on that table and some on the bench and it does work, a little on the dangerous side for the the saw to kick back on you. I didn't dovetail either but used a through mortise joint and cut off the excess when the legs fit tight. I did cheat to level the legs as there was no way I could do that with just a saw. Instead of messing around with clamps and boards and a level I put the thing upside down on my homemade suspended rail chainsaw mill and cut the legs in one cut. That was a first time thing also

The surprising thing was that even though I used only a chainsaw the bench and table came out level. I was surprised that happened also
 

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Nice work...good to see that a chainsaw can be used to produce such nice items.

Deva...keep at it, bro...yours is looking awesome, too!!
 
I love writing. I don't have the focus(for writing) to do more then illustrate a thought. I could never stay on track to write much more then that.

Then you're a lazy writer. Try maybe putting down the saw a bit more and picking up the pen.

I know... I know... It don't pay the bills. :(
 
Made this bench many moons ago, some Claro Walnut that I milled from an orchard region called Linden, not far from Stockton, California. Nice area, loved the landscape of trees in neat rows winding up and down flat areas and low hills as far as your eye could see. Very pastoral.
 

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Very nice works I've been playing with the wood in the evenings some stools and with all the pecan from the monster,still waiting on the 7ft Lucas to do the big ones but these are making me happy now.
First two pecan still rough but I had to unload it in the rain saw the grain and figure in it while wet and snapped a few shots.
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This is a stool base is a cypress stump almost ready to finish
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Love that wood...thanks for showing it. We have some big pecan trees that may provide wood someday if they fail...still making pecans for now....yum, yum.
 
Pretty stuff there., Joel. Georgeous.

Jay did you hand plane/sand those walnit seats?

I milled some redwood 1" slabs today. Planning on getting that pine in the park tomorrow with my neighbor. .....We'll see.
 
Ya, Deva, after adzing, hand planed and then sanded. I see some guys initially shaping seats using something like a hand grinder that has like a chainsaw chain cutter head on it, then they refine the results from there. I have never used one, but I guess they work pretty efficiently for roughing out. It might be something to look into if you wanted to shape seats. Hand planing has it's merits, but a slower process and there is the learning curve. Nothing wrong with a straight bench, but shaping to fit the butt does make for more comfortable seating than simply sitting on a flat board, by a long shot. Also you get the sculptural effect. If I was making that bench now, I probably wouldn't sand it, generally prefer to leave tool marks as long as the right shape has been accomplished.
 
Evolution of thoughts and techniques. We're only gonna get better.

Here's me (putting my money where my mouth is)....milling pine 10'6" by 20" or so in the park on a Sunday....
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Took some 2" slabs of ponderosa and started making my stringers for the front deck stairs. I think I boo'd boo'd one of them. I made a pattern out of a 1" first. Fitted it to the project and went from there. Took to just measuring... So I may need to just trim one a bit. See how it goes when I get ready to hang them....
Stairs shouldn't bounce much with 4 of them across 6' expanse :lol:
 

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Joel so do you have a 7' slabbing attachment or somebody else?

Needed some cribbing for the crane so threw a couple of odd pieces off white oak on the mill.Trying to dry it out some before the wood stove goes out for the season:lol:

Something tells me the Mrs might not be too amused when she gets home:/:
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Do you think its going to effect 6x6 oak to make it ineffectual as cribbing?? Please say no as that shit was heavy and I don't feel like lugging it all out again:|:
 
Hard to say what it will do, but if it gets a lot of heat, I think severe end checking could result, and would be harmful to destructive. I suggest to certainly keep an eye on it, and if a lot of cracking appears, probably best to remove from exposure to direct heat. I guess that you want to lighten it up asap. Coating the ends and stacking it up outdoors covered, or even using it, will dry it slower and reduce the amount of damage compared to an abrupt drying process. I have never found force drying with heat to accomplish much good, too radical a transition for wet wood, especially hardwoods.
 
Paul not mine friend from Clearwater coming up to do it. I'm still working on my homemade mill, should have it operational by the end of the month.
 
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