Questions tagged [milling]
For questions pertaining to cutting tree trunks into rough-cut lumber, e.g. using a sawmill or hewing axe. Not to be used for 3D carving with a milling machine, which should instead be tagged [cnc].
36 questions
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Buying logs to saw: should I expect to pay a premium, or get a discount?
I own a portable sawmill and used to mill logs from my own property. I had to sell the property and now want to buy logs. I want to know what is a reasonable price to pay for sawing-quality logs, e.g. ...
- 163
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1
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524
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How to keep a portable sawmill blade from jumping the roller guides
I have a Grizzly portable sawmill, which I've owned for about 3 years.
It's a piece of shit, but it's what I have. It requires constant maintenance and adjustments to just make it work. I hate ...
- 163
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2
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379
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"Box generator"-like software for laser cutting this shelf from MDF
I'm thinking of building this shelf out of 1/4" thick MDF:
Now knowing how slow I am in the most basic of woodworking, I want the job to be speedy & easy. So I decided laser cutting it & ...
- 127
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3
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278
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Creating a flat on logs to allow bandsaw milling
I have some small walnut logs I'd like to mill on my 14" bandsaw. (About 300mm diameter, and up to 1 meter long, but able to be cut down into shorter lengths as even at this size they're rather ...
- 1,055
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How to safely cut old lumber with old nails in it?
A friend gave me a bunch of really old lumber (the late 1800s, early 1900s) and they have a bunch of old handmade nails in them which I tried pulling out but half of them broke off in the wood. I ...
- 161
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2
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220
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Using a left and right shooting board to square the ends of a board
I'm a beginner hand-tool only woodworker and am trying to square the two ends of a 3ft long, 2.5" thick board of cherry for a floating shelf.
I've succeeded in squaring one edge, one face, and ...
- 380
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870
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What are some techniques for jointing boards using a router table?
I've seen suggestions to us a router to joint edges of boards, and some answers here that mention it, but I don't seem to be able to get the necessary precision using a router and table.
I've tried ...
- 1,579
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3
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Does the bar oil from using a chainsaw create problems for woodworking?
I have some smallish sections of a tree trunk that I would like to break down, but they are too big for the power tools that I own, other than my chainsaw.
My biggest concern with the chainsaw is that ...
- 165
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Is it better to mill boards before or after drying? (And does it depend on diameter?)
I just cut a log that I want to mill into boards.
(In case the best technique depends on the size, the log is only about 4 inches in diameter, and I want to mill one or two small boards from it, just ...
- 291
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How to keep bandsaw blade from bending
I've got a solid old Craftsman 12" bandsaw and it works great for most things. But I've been trying to use it to mill small logs into boards and having a really hard time making a straight cut, ...
- 291
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Make parallel edges with router table or table saw?
I have a couple of boards that I jointed the edges on, thinking them to be parallel. But, after re-measuring it appears the edges were not parallel (or maybe the jointer took more wood off at one end?)...
- 2,077
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567
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Black Walnut logs - comparing value as a unique feature in home vs. cash
About a month ago, I had a black walnut tree felled in my back yard (downtown Lansing, Michigan).
The tree had to come down for many reasons:
juglone from the roots was poisoning the neighbors' yards ...
- 101
2
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1
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647
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How to produce lumber from logs?
I have two 30 meter sitka spruces that have fallen in my yard. I'd like to process them into usable planks ideally as long as possible only using hand tools. Can someone give me a step by step on how ...
- 373
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What is the name of that milling technique
I remember a wooden pot-coaster: one side had lateral grooves milled and the other side had the same grooves, but in orthogonal direction. The grooves were deep enough that the grooves met in the ...
- 103
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Advice on narrow CNC angles
I’d like to cut this with a CNC machine:
It will slot into another piece. As you can’t really create internal 90 degree angles with CNC the other piece has 10mm fillets as does this piece - but it ...
- 113
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How much extra thickness should I leave when rough milling green boards?
When rough milling boards from a green log, is there a good rule of thumb or something to determine how much thicker I should slice them than my desired target thickness? Does it differ depending on ...
- 5,613
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Should I “un-dry” wood for a while after oven drying?
I’ve been drying small green freshly milled boards in my kitchen oven (typical 1/2” x 3” x 12” quatersawn). It’s working well.
However, I never really get repeatable readings out of my moisture meter ...
- 5,613
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2
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130
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Is my 44" Diameter 12' Long Black Oak Log with Wind Shake still usable?
We just had our huge black oak tree cut down because it was inches from our roofline. Ever since we first bought our house, we had planned on turning it into our dining room table. Being new to ...
- 111
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1
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78
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using one application for design and milling wood project with CNC
Here is the full scenario for any project, have failure every time :
design 3D model with sketchup
measure the size and try to convert it into 2D shapes with some vector applicatins ( like Adobe ...
- 321
3
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1
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248
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Woodmizer LT40 - smallest diameter of log?
I'm trying to determine the smallest diameter of log that I can use on my new "used" LT40 (safely). I guess I'm trying to find the board feet yield for different size logs, so that I know whether or ...
- 31
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1
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453
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Building a Cabin; only un-powered hand tools. Need advice
Recently I had a crazy plan. And I need some advice about how to go about doing it.
I wanted to build a small garden shed, more kinda like a cabin actually.
So I started drawing it out, and listing ...
- 43
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2
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720
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What frame saw can I use to mill small lumber?
I am wanting to do some small milling projects. I have pieces of oak and alligator juniper that are between 6 and 14" across that I would like to try and cut into boards. I know I can build my own ...
- 145
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If I mill / surface my own wood, will it warp as bad as pre-milled / surfaced wood from the store?
Wood bought from the local home center does usually not have straight edges (usually kinked), and is often warped (bowing being most prevalent). I was surprised to see that at my local hardwood dealer,...
- 2,622
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4
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Milling wide lumber to square
I recently obtained some old (50 to 75 years old) rough sawn hardwood structural framing members 2x8 and 2x10 by various lengths. The wood is well acclimated to my shop but has some warping which ...
- 8,529
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10k
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Can I add a longer bar to my chainsaw for milling lumber?
I've got a Stihl MS 271 with a 20 inch bar and I love using it to mill up logs into pieces I can use. I often run into larger stock that would really be easier with a longer bar. That said, the spec ...
- 133
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1
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471
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How do I exclude a cutpath area in VCarve?
I'm using a VCarve and a ShopBot CNC to attempt an excluded area from being milled. Regarding the image below, I can only figure out how to remove the outer area in red, as the green area is in the ...
- 641
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1
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251
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Milling previously felled logs
There is an old growth forest near where I live. For sake of argument lets move past the most absolute certainty that I cannot remove anything from the premises. Likely to help the ecosystem.
Some of ...
- 20.3k
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2
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2k
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When it comes to checking in logs what should I expect?
They started clearing old ash trees from the lot where I work. There was lots of nice wood there so I took a couple pieces. One in particular a piece of green ash (so I was told by the man cutting it ...
- 20.3k
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Finding the right metal for making a froe
They started clearing old ash trees from the lot where I work. There was lots of nice wood there so I took a couple pieces. One in particular a piece of green ash about 17" in diameter.
I have been ...
- 20.3k
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4
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21k
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Methods of jointing without a jointer
I can't afford a jointer right now, and I am wondering, what are the tricks to getting a good joint(on the edges, not on the surface)?
What I have tried in the past is simply nailing a straight board ...
- 435
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2
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1k
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Flattening a board using a jointer and a bandsaw
I have some rough-sawn lumber and would like to make it flat and square. I don't have a planer yet so I was wondering if I can do it using a jointer and a bandsaw only? I've got the following types/...
- 949
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What is a planer sled and how do you use it?
In What are the jointer-specific steps for removing warp in lumber? a planer sled is suggested for milling twisted lumber rather than a jointer. What is a planer sled, and how is it used for removing ...
- 5,414
13
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1
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What are the jointer-specific steps for removing warp in lumber?
The typical method for removing warp in wood is to joint one face and one edge, followed by planing the other face and using a tablesaw for the final edge. The planer and tablesaw are fairly easy, but ...
- 5,414
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4
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How do I cut a large log into boards?
An acquaintance was clearing some trees from his land, and I asked him to save a section of big leaf maple so I could mill it for an electric guitar.
The piece ended up being roughly 9" x 9" x 36". ...
- 467
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What is the process, from start to finish, for milling a tree into boards?
I had an oak tree removed from my back yard last year and thought seriously about milling the trunk into boards for future woodworking projects. In the end, I let them carry it off because I wasn’t ...
- 1,689
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1
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Proper sequence of acclimating wood for building
I have heard it said that one should always acclimate wood to one's woodshop before milling the lumber (so it can adjust to humidity and stabilize it's size). I've also heard that cutting/milling ...
- 4,196