Quartersawing a Big Post Oak . . . and Metal Bolts

There are some days where things just don't go according to plan. This log took forever to get on the mill and mill up. Some of the problems were self imposed . . . like not sharpening your chainsaws in the morning. Others were just part of sawing up family trees. But, even a rough day at the sawmill is still a good day overall.
In this video, I take a little extra time to explain what I am doing and why I do the things I do. The final product came out great! It just took a little time to get there.
This video was actually recorded months ago, but we have been blessed to have our plates full. Until now, we have not been able to sit down, edit and publish this video until now.
We milled the log with our Wood-Mizer LT40Wide portable sawmill and used a Kubota MX5400 tractor to logs and lumber around.
For more information about us, please visit www.meriwethermillworks.com

[@TheOldManAndTheSaw]

It was definitely a lucky day for you. Unfortunately it was bad luck. So.......what happened with the rest of the log?

[@lawyertosawyer]

Answers will be coming soon. I have a second video that still needs to be edited and published.

[@jwhiteker1]

How long was that log down before you milled it? My Post Oak always checks almost immediately, even if I seal the ends.

[@Avidwoodworker]

It was down at least 6 months. I had put anchor seal on it within a couple weeks of it coming down. That whole tree was huge (42 inch diameter at the base). Only the bottom log had a little checking. I believe that the time of the year the tree comes down can impact the checking.

[@jwhiteker1]

@Avidwoodworker Right on man. That is big for a White Oak for sure. I've just had guys tell me it has to dry natural with no kiln for 1-2 years after it's cut as well. It's a timely investment, but beautiful. 👊

[@Avidwoodworker]

@@jwhiteker1 We let it air dry down to around 28% moisture content and then move it into one of our dehumidification kilns. It comes out nice. The advantage to putting it into the kiln (in addition to shortening the drying time) is that we also sterilize the wood at the end of the drying cycle. This kills insects and insect eggs that could be laying dormant in the wood. The last batch of quarter sawn white oak we pulled out of the kiln was so flat you would have thought we had run it through the jointer (I am exaggerating a little, but only a little).

[@jwhiteker1]

@Avidwoodworker That's awesome. I've been threatening to get a bandsaw mill for my 160 acres of Oak that needs thinned, but my forester had a look and said I don't really have any good timber value. I think I could still harvest enough for my own needs. But the insects could take it for sure since it would have to air dry. That's great that yours came out that flat. I've heard White Oak likes to cup and twist unless there's lots of weight on it.

[@simonpruitt9544]

Yo is this where Louis from tips from a shipwright got his logs??

[@jimfrancis6530]

Not a good day !

[@lawyertosawyer]

Even a bad day at the sawmill is still a good day for me. I love the hard work!