Drying and Shipping Slabs That I Sold

[@theodoranorton4779]

This was really terrific. Sometimes I feel silly wondering about the logistics of everything, but apparently a lot of people "just want to know" and you always make it worth a person's time and truly entertaining.

[@johnking8679]

Yeah Matthew, I'm also one of those "want to know" guys about a lot of things. Thanks for sharing !! You certainly have all the right equipment !! Blessings !!

[@sueswift8344]

Once again, you have kept me glued to one of your amazing videos ! ' Me', the elder-ish woman who lives in low to no trees/forest area inTexas, who is a big fan of the wood genius of Matt Cremona!! Happy New Year to you and the family! Sue 😊

[@chappes53]

I like the logistics of things too.

[@webbtrekker534]

I was a shipping clerk for 40 years. Your relationship with drivers and freight companies is huge and it can get you out of tight situations lots of times.

[@deniscb3244]

You are spot on when you talk about "hanging out with Eric". When you are self-employed as a one-man-band, as I have been for the last 15 years, mixing with people who have similar interests is both really important and fun.

[@mcremona]

Exactly this

[@cv990a4]

These behind-the-scenes, making-the-sausage (or, in this case, drying it and shipping it) videos are great. Jack-of-all-trades doesn't begin to describe Matt, especially since he happens to be master of at least quite a few...

[@Rgreenacres]

It was nice seeing the (behind the scenes process.) I never knew how the process of drying wood happened. Thanks for sharing.

[@ScottHiland]

It isn't a telehandler, but it's satisfying to see the look of relief on the faces of freight haulers when I drive the tractor with pallet forks to the end of my driveway.

[@Mike.DeNinno]

This is a good video to show people who think their walnut tree is worth a lot more than it is. So much $$$ involved every step of the way to usable lumber.

[@nicholaspappas101]

These longer format videos about the business side of things are always the most interesting to me.

[@boriskogan666]

beat me to it. came here to say just that. i really appreciate the behind the curtain look.

[@dianahenderson]

I'm a bit of a logistics geek, so I find it fascinating to see your process from tree to log to slab to final shipment.

[@LandAWoodworking]

Great video, I was cracking up with your dog in almost all the shots of moving slabs around...looks like the foreman!

[@natecarlson6283]

That is an incredible amount of time spent prepping the stack for pickup

[@terencemerritt]

Wow. I never imagined I’d be glued to a screen on the logistics of a log slab lol. Great video Matt

[@seancasey2444]

It's always great to have friends like Eric that are in the wood business.

[@kevlarmenace]

I love how Pancake is just supervising all of the log movements.

[@dwightbauer6705]

Good Morning Cremona Family.

[@donwilliams3626]

You are a marvelous material manipulator, Matt!

[@paulstanding7267]

It just shows you the difference in prices for items find it the same once you go over a certain size it nearly doubled in cost. Take care all have a lovely new year wherever you are

[@ifiwooddesigns]

Great video Matt. Good behind the scenes of what happens to slabs. No one ever shows other than the cutting part.

[@joeaddison]

This is one of my all time favourite videos! Thanks for sharing Matt

[@DarinSkye-yo5yi]

Oh my watts, I just found this channel. I would love to rebuild all my speaker box's out of the two tone walnut wood. With 2 maching component cabinets.

[@FransBlaas1]

No questions, love to see you working a lot..

[@vhostovich]

Found this one to be your most interesting. You do this type of video extraordinarily well.

[@ws6619]

Ha! what a surprise to see the origin of my workbench kit at the end. It actually showed up on my end just fine and I'm super happy to have something to do for 2024. Thanks Matthew. Great videos.

[@suterfamily5578]

Thanks for sharing this Matt. I've used my Alaskan chainsaw mill to cut several thousand board-feet of hard wood lumber over the past 28 years and I've always air-dried everything; that vacuum kiln makes me jealous!

[@WideCutSawmill]

I’ve shipped some big heavy stuff. Generally the higher you go, the cheaper it is. It’s largely the foot print in the truck that you are paying for. Going higher usually costs very little extra even if it makes the pallet substantially heavier.

[@LaverneLovatt]

So many questions answered. Wondered aboout a bunch of the material covered in this one

[@floraandflannel]

Great video!! Thanks for taking the time to record and thoughtfully explain the steps between the… more glorious milling and furniture making, of the “tree to table” process!! Not like you need more projects… but a hyper lapse of the ENTIRE process from falling a tree to putting a table in a dining room…. Would be bonkers cool! Maybe collaborate with another maker? Or Maybe ignore this entirely cuz you’re already busy AF.

[@johnfitzpatrick3416]

As a former truck driver I’m really impressed at the utility of your telehandler.

[@aaronwarner2762]

You rocked another posting!!! Thanks for running the numbers. I got a small totally manual mill a few years back. Milling a "small" 12x20 shed for my son right now... and then a 16x16 deck. Oh, and I do have a full time job. Free lumber is the best, he says.... Right now there is someone in LA in an apartment wondering just how heavy those slab are.... HEAVY!!! As in so dang HEAVY!!!! As in, A LOT can go wrong when manually moving things. So if there are any judgers out there. You just go ahead and judge from your gym treadmill. We're living the life of lifting and lovin' it!!!! Happy New Year everyone! Matt, if you ever would like help for a couple days this summer, just let me know!!!

[@thunderstruck1078]

That driveway of yours is so awesome.

[@markoduvall]

Thank you, I watched all the way through. I was wondering about drying after the last video. I actually looked up building kilns. 😂

[@jackvonfeld1178]

Take it from an old man, getting on and off the telehandler, walking over to the skid steer, manually shifting large, heavy slabs repeatedly is exercise! Love your channel. Carry on! 4:32

[@curtkuhns]

Happy New Year Matt and thank you for the tour of your operation. I'm 80 years old and have been retired from my engineering job for over twenty years now, so I enjoy watching other people work..lol. Have a great year. -Curt Kuhns

[@joetoner8848]

Wow. Even with the handling equipment, still a lot of work and time on your part. Impressive!

[@TWC6724]

Thanks for going over this process. It indeed has been a question of mine. Appreciate it.

[@stuartgrimley2177]

Great video Matt, I missed the moisture on the finish.

[@mcremona]

6-7%

[@jmnaik6]

Very informative video and commentary, Matt. Personally, the content that I find most delightful is when you build things - furniture, stands, etc. - with the wood that you have milled and prepped. Hopefully, your channel will have more and more of those in the mix in the future. All the best and Happy 2024 to you and yours!

[@tonyioannoni4951]

Awesome video, I really like it when you tell everything the way it goes, and you are honest enough to tell the pricing and explain them, it gives us a general idea of why some of the stuff can be so expensive....could you explain also the selling price of slabs not dried and the dried ones, as also per the length and thickness how it affects the pricing? I just bought aluminium plates and at first I was surprised of the price jump between 1/4 thick, going to 5/16 was a real shock, one would think 1/16 thicker is negligeable in price ...but it's not!!

[@MyDogmatix]

Fantastic info. And I’m only 1/3 in to the video and sitting in my truck and not working in my inner city rental shop/garage…………………. …………..(the sound of me shaking my head….at myself. Oh well. Better get back at it. Love this Chanel. Also loved one of the last videos I watched of you and your fam doing an open mic session and talking about your own home construction. Great to hear that it takes even a pro, an, ef’ing long time to make the products look as good as you make them in your own house. Made me laugh out loud actually, as a Reno-carpenter , II’ve made various efforts on my own house, thinking these things will go fast and beautiful. Beautiful, yes…fast…no… Take care eh!

[@anderswegge6828]

Square footage in the truck bed is the most precious commodity. That's what limits the load in most cases.

[@judithmancini4317]

I've been watching your videos for a couple of months now and following the renovations on your your new home. I am truly fascinated with your talents for a young man. I keep looking for the finished work and completion of the work. Most of your videos are dated a year ago or more. When will will get to view the finished product?

[@judithfairchild8620]

That was very interesting!!!!!. Business always have shipping problems. Due to unforseen happenings. Hope everything goes great for you and your family

[@robert.brokaw3829]

Happy New Year to you and your family. Stay safe.

[@donnythedart]

Really awesome video, Matt! It’s always fun to see how things are done.

[@WillyBemis]

Fantastic episode! And it’s fun watching you load slabs for Wink!

[@andrewmundenandcadfellmast4624]

Fascinating video, thanks for sharing Matt 😊

[@edwardsimmons3721]

I remember the episode with drying but it is great to see another.

[@maddieadams75]

Fascinating. Thanks for sharing. Happy New Year 🎈🎊🥳❤️🎇⭐️🎆🌠

[@paulhedman7387]

Thanks, you answered a lot of questions I had. And several I hadn't even thought of yet. I love your videos.

[@vincejamison8078]

OOOOoooo, I was wondering how you balanced the load on the lift.

[@TheKevlar]

Utilizing Eric's capital equipment is a win-win. He has the capacity for 10 - 12 sawmills. Question: does vacuum accelerated drying eliminate the outer crystallization effect of conventional speed drying?

[@nickkowal6537]

I'd love to get some of those boules containers to the UK.

[@fjkennedy]

Wow that was eye opening. What do you charge for a slab if someone were to pick it up. ⬆️ I know length, width, & tree type is a deciding factor. Just in general your lowest price to the most expensive slab you’ve sold. I just can’t thank you enough I so enjoy watching your channel.

[@trishblakely3476]

I love seeing how the sausage is made! I also appreciate how thoughtful you are about optimizing logistics at every step, not just the parts you touch. Wishing you and the family a happy new year!

[@mcremona]

Thanks Trish!

[@robertm348]

Yeah, I need one of those kilns!

[@HotrodRon74]

Great video Matt...that Telehandler comes in handy..thats for sure..i always wondered how you shipped those slabs from there...course that highway down there is not a country road right..haa....like shipping charges,,everyone has them,,,,stay warm

[@rickroberts2198]

Cool! Nice work!

[@Len-Maxwell-Hillbilly-Artist]

I love watching your videos of sawmilling and woodworking, as I also have a KZbin Channel with lots of mistakes as my channel is about 3 months, since I started. I am learning from you as well as other channels. Thanks for Your Help.

[@royunderwood7514]

Really cool seeing your process. Great video.

[@WideCutSawmill]

That stair case sounds awesome. I’d love to see that when it’s finished. Does he have a channel or social?

[@johnking8679]

Yeah Matt, we gotta see the finished staircase that you mentioned !!

[@mcremona]

He doesn't

[@JDDupuy]

Always an education watching you live your life. Great insight into the whole process. Thank You Matt!

[@alanblasczyk1779]

You are one hard working man Matt. Happy New Year.

[@timtaulu9914]

Great Video What an Inventory Control Management headache

[@gus9675]

Fascinating video! Very well done… waiting for my work bench

[@jeanhawken4482]

Fabulous machinery

[@patriciamay638]

Very interesting and your explanation of the drying g process just confirmed why I had so much trouble with my ash boat deck.

[@TheMonkdad]

I was at a mill recently talking about beams for a monolithic bench top. The guy said really thick and wide beams would probably never dry deeply.

[@JIMMYBUSHIDO]

That's a " BIG DOD A WID ". ( Aska Scotsman. ). 😎🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@rhondasweeney7271]

You are amazing! Thank you for sharing! 👍

[@chrisfrench8323]

Happy New Year, Matthew.

[@jarisuuronen1342]

Thanks, this was super intresting video.

[@michaeldaniel7012]

Looks like you could use a deck over trailer to move your slabs to the kiln. Much easier without the fenders getting in the way of the forklift.

[@mcremona]

Currently it’s only a once a year occurrence

[@jrmintz1]

Have you ever calculated what the weight differential is after kiln drying? Just curious, thanks.

[@jamesh.maloyjr.6940]

That was my question also. Matthew it's always interesting. Thanks.

[@andrewupson2987]

Pretty straight forward. The wood was 14% moisture before drying. He didn't say (or I missed it) but typically kilns aim for 7% or so. Moisture content is expressed as weight of water divided weight of absolutely dry wood. If the slabs were 7% moisture and weighed 2500lbs, with zero moisture they'd weigh 2345lbs. So the remaining water weighs 165lbs. Since 14% is, conveniently, double 7%, that means the slabs lost about 165lbs of water. Or around 20gal.

[@boooshes]

From freshly cut to normal dry levels (7-9%) most woods will lose about 1/3 of their weight.

[@andrewupson2987]

That said, remember thry had been air drying for almost a year. Most likely they were 50% moisture or higher straight off the saw.

[@felixreali7101]

really interesting vid. so cool to see the logistics involved in this

[@robertharvie9032]

Matt thank you. Enjoyed. 🇦🇺

[@barriesmith3489]

Thank you Matt happy new year

[@randydobson1863]

hello Matthew & it's is Randy and i like yours video is cool thanks Matthew Friends Randy & Happy New Year's & The Best in New Year's 2024

[@micbrooks5912]

Hi Matthew. Love the channel. Could you make your battens thicker? You wouldn’t have to change positions and prop things up so much. Easier for you if you’re not changing machines as often. Just a thought😊

[@mcremona]

Too much airflow causing uneven drying

[@micbrooks5912]

@@mcremonaOIC. Wasn’t aware that that could happen. Cheers my man! Thanks for the response!

[@gslope1]

Fascinating the amount of work involved. Thanks for a great video Matt. Hope this is an outstanding year for you.

[@barrychandler5250]

The banders I used 50 years ago were the same as you are using. Didn't think anything stayed the same for 50 years.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@johnburger3287]

Yup, I was thinking the same thing.

[@rolandgsl]

Nice job hooking that stack in the door

[@florentinobautista8511]

Thanks for the information, was a good video, So you do this as a full time job?I was wondering wat will you do with all this lumber, and now I know,

[@johnbaltes6460]

When are you going to finish trimming out the barn around the large door and outside corners? Not a big deal but would look nice.

[@mcremona]

Maybe I’ll have time next year

[@josephkrug8579]

That was fun to watch, really enjoyed the details. Now that you have had the barn for a while, is there anything you would change if you could have done it differently?

[@curtisharlan9230]

🎉 Happy new year Matt

[@gary36535]

Happy New Year

[@WideCutSawmill]

I’ve been curious how you handled this process! Glad to see this video! Where do you have your slabs listed for sale?

[@mcremona]

I just handle sales as interest for specific slabs comes in using the videos as reference

[@kenmoule825]

​@mcremona One small part I was lacking is doing a video as the process proceeds. Guess me and my bucket need to slow down a bit before stacking takes place and do more videos. It will eliminate the constant tire kickers who waste too much time looking.

[@degrom542]

I would imagine you're charged by the board ft. and the amount of moisture in the slab ?

[@emilevoyer123]

HAPPY NEW YEAR, THANKS FOR THE VIDEO

[@jrehtil1494]

Happy new year

[@graysquirreltreeservice7299]

Fabulous information im starting a slab business, ty

[@mikechristensen2099]

Always enjoy. Thank you for making all the videos you do. Happy new year

[@valery1639]

Happy New Year !

[@Sonjateboekhorst]

happy new year to you and your fam

[@TedErskin]

Excellent, it broadens my understanding your part in the supply chain. I have no idea how you might do this, but starting from gorgeous logs, to spectacular slabs, what does a finished table look like?

[@sbrunner69]

Happy new year Matthew.

[@kjohn231]

To keep from getting on and off the machines while picking slabs, would it be helpful to make your stickers thicker so the forks could pick up the slabs?

[@mcremona]

They’d be way too thick, too much airflow during drying

[@howardrussell356]

Very informative video.

[@jonareli]

Already need a new barn 😮

[@bwillan]

Matt sure is blessed to have 3 different sizes of fork lifting machines. What's the max width on Eric's vacuum kiln? I saw you had to trim a few slabs to make them fit.

[@mcremona]

The plates are 48” wide but you can sneak 49” into the chamber