Crealbilly Wood Working thread

[HomesteaderWife]

@CrealCritter - Getting back into this thread as we get back into working with our sawmill. Haven't been back through the thread, but do you have experience making cutting boards? We were extremely blessed with two big Black Walnut logs and we're making our cabin door, maybe a table or two, and hopefully a handful of cutting boards. I hear mineral oil is good to finish with, maybe a bit of beeswax added? We were finally able to invest in a planer so I am really stoked to see what comes of it. Also, the logs are so massive we are expecting to have leftovers even after that- any ideas for one or two inch thick pieces, not too wide? These monsters were over 20" wide in places, so we will have some excess when we cut it up to foot wide for it to fit in planer. Thought of putting some 1 inch up for maybe jewelry boxes?

 

[baymule]

Look at that wood grain! Beautiful! Wow! Can't wait to see what you make out of it.

 

[CrealCritter]

@CrealCritter - Getting back into this thread as we get back into working with our sawmill. Haven't been back through the thread, but do you have experience making cutting boards? We were extremely blessed with two big Black Walnut logs and we're making our cabin door, maybe a table or two, and hopefully a handful of cutting boards. I hear mineral oil is good to finish with, maybe a bit of beeswax added? We were finally able to invest in a planer so I am really stoked to see what comes of it. Also, the logs are so massive we are expecting to have leftovers even after that- any ideas for one or two inch thick pieces, not too wide? These monsters were over 20" wide in places, so we will have some excess when we cut it up to foot wide for it to fit in planer. Thought of putting some 1 inch up for maybe jewelry boxes?

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It's very unusual for black walnut to show heartwood past the solid black line that separates heartwood from the creamy colored sap wood. Very nice looking Walnut you have there, I can almost smell it and it's making me itchy just looking at it from here.

Please be careful and try and not saw to much at one time and not very frequently. Sad to say you might end up like me and become allergic to it, and break out in itchy hives. I already know if I have walnut to saw, it's two Benadryl and a shower directly after I'm done. I'm only allergic to the green/wet wood and sawdust. I have no issues once it's dry and can woodwork it all day long, which is really odd.

Walnut always amazes me, every log is like unwrapping a Christmas present, nice work!

 

[HomesteaderWife]

@CrealCritter - Luckily the logs sat and dried here with no issues and look good on the inside, so cutting them has been no issue as they're really dried out. It was a shame to know they had cut such a massive tree, but gratefully we plan to put it all to use. Even the outside pieces and parts of the knots we are cutting up for crafts. And yes, it is definitely like a present! We ran out of gas for the day when I posted so I can't wait to continue cutting into it more and see what the grain looks like.

This is just a small piece outside piece cut originally with the chainsaw mill. Sanded a little, woodburned freehand, and spray lacquered (turned it super dark) with intent to sell but I may just keep it

 

[baymule]

@HomesteaderWife I can't wait to see what y'all come up with. Please start a thread and take pictures of your progress as you go. Tag me on the thread if you decide to start one, please!

 

[HomesteaderWife]

@baymule - I sure will! I’m very excited to get it planed and put some scraps to use along with making furniture and door.

 

[CrealCritter]

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[HomesteaderWife]

@CrealCritter - I thought I may have seen you mention this one time, but I'm just getting back on SS. How do you dry your lumber? We're finally expanding what we do and looking at how to kiln dry the wood. Would love some input. Also, have you ever had luck reaching out to any tree services about dropping logs off to you? Thanks kindly

 

[CrealCritter]

@CrealCritter - I thought I may have seen you mention this one time, but I'm just getting back on SS. How do you dry your lumber? We're finally expanding what we do and looking at how to kiln dry the wood. Would love some input. Also, have you ever had luck reaching out to any tree services about dropping logs off to you? Thanks kindly

Drying lumber is a whole nother art. What are your plans? How many board foot and species are you wanting to dry at the same time?

Each species has its own safe SMCLP (safe moisture content loss perday). If your under SMCLP then you risk mold defect, if you dry too fast you risk checking and warp defect.

It's very difficult to dry mixed species or even the same species of different thicknesses together in a kiln because different species have different SMCLP.

Then there is also a sterlization cycle near the end where you heat the lumber up to kill off any insects like powder post beatles for example. Spruce Pine Fir (SPF) also needs to be heated up even higher to set the pitch in the lumber.

Start with Kyle dehumidification kiln, they seem to work well and it's what I used in a insulated shipping container. I had pretty good success with Kyle. But like I said it's an art and will take some learning through trial and error to get comfortable running a wood kiln.

Start here and see what you think. There's more than one way to dry lumber and it really depends on what your needs are. I can try and give you some pointers and tips, if you would like.

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[baymule]

I opened this, expecting to see what work of art you are working on now. Sigh…..

But now that I’m here, I got a question. If I were to build a kitchen countertop of wood, what would I use to seal, finish and protect it? Would a resin work?

If I were to make my own flooring, using different size rounds, same question. Would mortar between rounds be ok and what kind?