Timber Log Blog Archives - Page 3 of 4 - Pioneer Mountain Homestead

Woodworking Bowl Blanks for Lathe Turning

In this video Chuck is turning a bowl blank on the lathe. A bowl blank is a cube of wood cut so that the grain runs perpendicular to the rotation axis. You do not want wood pith (the wood at the very center of the log) in your bowl. Pith is the oldest part of the tree and has a greater tendency to crack. Typically, if your finished bowl contains pith, it will eventually fail.

In order to make a bowl blank from a log, we first cut the log lengthwise with the grain and through the middle section to remove the pith. These half logs are squared up and cut into manageable blocks for bowl blanks.

Bowl blanks are roughed out on the lathe. This removes enough of the material to allow the bowl wood to dry, but also allows enough material so the bowl can be finish shaped at a later time. Chuck likes to let the rough-cut bowls dry slowly, so he packs them back into the shavings that he cut from them. If a rough-cut bowl dries too quickly, it will likely crack.

After these rough-cut bowls dry, Chuck will come back and do a finish turning followed by a wood finish of his choice to complete the project. If you are interested in bowl blanks from Pennsylvania hardwoods, please contact us at Pioneer Mountain Homestead.

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Music:

“American Idle” by RKVC

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCowgKeMGXKY038qwuf3yYlw/

Log Arch Prototype

Timber Log Blog

This is the first trial of the log arch. Chuck and his brother, Mike, came up with this log arch design and manufactured the prototype. It is still being tested, but so far, so good.

We believe the log arch will be the perfect fit for retrieving small loads of logs. We are hoping that with the log arch we will no longer need to haul heavy equipment to sites for small loads and this will save us time and money.

More videos are on the way, so stop back. We will also be doing videos showing some of the details in case you are a “do-it-yourselfer” that wants ideas on how to manufacture your own log arch.

Let us know what you think!

#pioneermountainhomestead #brenchuckswood #raystownpa #raystownfarms #pmhomestead #lumberyard #logarch #logarchtrailer #logarchbuild #logarches #lumber #roughcutlumber #roughcut #sawmilling #sawmillbusiness #sawmill #sawmilllife #workforyourself

How We Sticker and Stack Rough Cut Lumber

Timber Log Blog

Today we want to talk about stickering rough cut lumber. So, what are stickers? In sawmilling they are narrow strips of wood used between lumber when stacking. So why do we use them? Stickers are used to help air flow between the fresh cut lumber. For our mill, we typically use 1”x1” stickers.

We make our own stickers by cutting a 1” thick board into 1”x1” thin wood strips. One thing you need to be aware of when making stickers is to never utilize wood that is rotten. Also, you don’t want to use a wood for stickering that could stain your rough-cut lumber.

To start, begin with a log. Cut a slice off four sides of the log so you have a beam. Once you have a beam, cut the beam into the thickness of your stickers. In our case, this is typically 1”. Then, place the one-inch board (or multiple boards clamped together), perpendicular to the sawmill and make more 1” cuts. This will give you strips that measure 1”x1”.

Begin your lumber stack by stacking boards side by side on level surface. Make sure your lumber stack is not on the ground and level it as best as possible. You will want to stack your lumber where there is good air flow, too. Air movement is very important in the drying process. You will also want to make sure your lumber does not get too much direct sunlight. We generally make our stacks about three or four-foot-wide and up to four feet high.

Our stacks are typically moved rather quickly so we don’t sticker as much as if we were leaving the stacks to fully dry. If you intend to store the lumber until completely dry, make sure your stickers start and end within two inches of the boards and make sure you space the stickers every 18” to 24” or less depending on your species of wood. The stickers should align from the bottom of the pile to the top.

Please check out our Youtube sister channel, “Pioneer Mountain Homestead”. Also subscribe to this Youtube channel (“Bren Chucks Wood”). Thanks for visiting and make it a great day!

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