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sawing oak lumber

Joe Sullivan | Posted in General Discussion on August 11, 2006 04:15am

We were talking about this on the Price of Lumber thread, and someone recommended that it would make a good stand alone. Here is the situation: I have access to several old-growth white oak logs that were taken down about a year ago because they posed a threat to some buildings. They are NOT rotten, and are between 36 and 40 inches or so at the base. We have a mill lined up with a good bandsaw, and a friend with a Unimog who will load and haul the logs and pay part of the mill fee in exchange for a share of the wood.

We will keep most of the wood but were considering selling some to help cover costs.

So, there are the questions:

A) for value, yield, and figure are we better off to quartersaw the wood of rift saw it (or some blend of each);

B) We will get a good many finished boards that are 12 to 18 inches wide — and are considering cutting at 5/4 for a finished true thickness of 4/4. Does this make sense?

C) In quartersawing, you cut from a wedge, so some of the boards are going to be narrow. We were considering cutting those at 8/4 or thicker — so whaddya ya think?

D) Is there a decent market for q-sawn white oak, and if so, at what prices. Frenchy has pointed out that big quantity buyers don’t pay much, but I see pretty high prioces on small lots.

E) Do finished boards 12 to 18 inches and wider command any kind of premium? Frenchy points out that REALLY wide boards do command a very high premium, but we would have to cut through and through to get as much as 35 inches finished. Those would be pretty warpy, I’d guess.

Joe

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  1. reinvent | Aug 11, 2006 05:02am | #1

    I would consider some 6/4 stock as well. Plain or rift sawn oak 12"-36" wide is'nt going to want to stay too flat. Good quality old growth Q sawn Oak can Command a premium price, think Arts & Crafts furniture makers. And 12"-18" wide Q sawn is pretty wide.
    Q sawn will also give you some of that 6/4 stock for things like table legs and such.
    BTW do you have some pics of that Uni Mog?

    Forgot to add that you should use Anchor seal on the end grain of all the boards.



    Edited 8/10/2006 11:07 pm ET by reinvent

    1. Joe Sullivan | Aug 11, 2006 06:33am | #2

      Good points.

      I don't have pix of the UNiMog right now, and in fact as he just took delivery a coupleof onths ago and does not live near me, I haven't seen this one.  In a couple of months when I get this don I'll post some of it using a boom and log tongs. They are really cool machines.  Way cool.

       

      Joe

      1. User avater
        BillHartmann | Aug 11, 2006 09:39pm | #3

        Bump to David

        1. DavidxDoud | Aug 12, 2006 12:07am | #4

          thank you Bill -

          I'll get back here after dark tonight -

           "there's enough for everyone"

  2. frenchy | Aug 12, 2006 03:10am | #5

    Joe Sullivan,

     What I would do is center cut thru and thru or plain sawn.. that will yield you your widest quartersawn boards.   The first  and last cut off the side of the log can then   be laid flat and sawn thru and thru to produce mostly quarter sawn boards again..   Yes some will be plain sawn but doing it this way yields the widest quartersawn boards and the most quartersawn usable boards..

     rift or plain sawn produces the best character and really is an interesting way to use oak.. while quarter sawn has the stability and lack of a tendancy to warp going for it.. (in addition to not shrinking and swelling as much as plain sawn does)...

         5/4 wood will yield 4/4 boards but most boards  are 3/4 finished thickness. do you really need the thicker boards?

     I think you misread what I said about white oak in general. Quartersawn does produce about a 25% premium at the mill but right now white oak is really slow dropping to $600 per thousand (or sixty cents a bd.ft.)  millrun prices.. As usual FAS commands a premium and quartersawn  FAS would command a premium over that..

      Now the problem is marketing it.. You won't have enough to attract wood buyers..  A bunker of a thousand bd.ft. isn't worth their time unless it's an established sawmill and they   have an ongoing relationship. 

      You need a whole bunch of hobbiests who are looking for a few board feet..

      The differance between sawmill prices and hobby store prices are breathtaking... what you can buy at the mill for under a dollar sells for 5 or 6 dollars at a lumberyard or wood store..  That's just the markup each time the wood is handled.. 

      By the way I don't have any real problem drying really wide boards nice and flat and straight.. if you go thru heart center there is a greater risk but it still can be dealt with.    Now I strap all of my wood rather than use cinder blocks and that helps.    But it's still  a matter of stickering and the speed (er slowness)   that you dry at. I like to rotate my pile every six months or so   (which often turns out to be much longer <G>)  and if the board is warping  a little some attention can still have it dry flat.. 

      AS for your final question wide board up to say 18 inches if you market it to the smaller user you can command a premium for those. not everyone will want to pay it but the few that do make it worth while..

      

           

       

    1. Joe Sullivan | Aug 12, 2006 07:00am | #6

      Frenchy_

      Very interesting, thanks.

      BTW, what is happening with old-growth black walnut?  I may come into one or two of those as well.

      Joe

  3. DavidxDoud | Aug 12, 2006 07:04am | #7

     ...white oak logs...between 36 and 40 inches or so at the base...

    A) for value, yield, and figure are we better off to quartersaw (?)

    QS white oak will show medullary rays - generally considered desirable - QS will result in lower yield - value is relative -

    B)...considering cutting at 5/4 for a finished true thickness of 4/4. Does this make sense?

    probably not - but for furniture making,  often a variety of dimensions are desirable - QS white oak is used extensively in 'Craftsman' style funiture -

    D) Is there a decent market for q-sawn white oak...

    there is no 'established' market you can tap for the quantity of lumber you possess - businesses that use regular quantities have contacts/contracts,  and your amount is too big for hobbyists - a classified add in various regional publications might generate some nibbles - I'd advertize before I sawed tho and expect to have to dink with a bunch of small sales -

    E) Do finished boards 12 to 18 inches and wider command any kind of premium?

    only if the buyer has specific need of such -

    really,  what you need is someone building/renovating a house/office that wants to panel rooms with white oak -

    here's some links to 'Wood-web' on quartersawing -

    your logs are quite large for the standard woodmizer mills,  if that is the nature of the sawmill you have in mind - special techniques will be required (i.e. and experienced sawyer)

    http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/Quartering_a_huge_oak.html

    http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/Quartersawing_illustrated.html

    http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/Quartersawing_on_a_WoodMizer.html

    http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/How_to_quartersaw.html

     

     

    "there's enough for everyone"

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