G'Day All from Newbie

[Matthewd]

Hi all i am a newbie arborist interested in slabbbing. Own my own bussiness and do some large diameter trees and need some info on how i can recycle the trunks and branches into bench tops, table tops? i have alot of questions to ask. From what machine would be best, to finishing the wood and everything inbetween.

[Claw Hama]

Hi Mathew, you will get all your answers here from our distinguished panel of slabers and mini millers. You guys chop em up and the rest of us will turn them into tooth picks. Sure you will enjoy the forum. Happy Easter.

[Cub]

G'Day Matthew and welcome to the fountain of knowledge, Your'e sure to get some great advice and tips on this forum about your question.
Welcome and happy woodworking

[Ed Reiss]

Hi Matthew...welcome to the nut house

A band saw mill is the best bet for milling your own lumber, but they are expensive and if your planning on having just a couple, three trunks done, then farming out the work to someone who has the equipment already would be the way to go. Good luck.

[Ed wood]

Hi all i am a newbie arborist interested in slabbbing. Own my own bussiness and do some large diameter trees and need some info on how i can recycle the trunks and branches into bench tops, table tops? i have alot of questions to ask. From what machine would be best, to finishing the wood and everything inbetween.

Hi Mathew,
I have had about 10 years milling timber before I decided I had enough timber and may I suggest the following.

1) Identify the tree before you decide to mill it-just because its big doesn`t mean it`s valuable or will neccesarily yield a valued timber.

2) As for the milling - if you have a large volume of trees available consider getting a proffessional to do it -they are generally happy to take half of the cut timber as payment. This is a good option as they know what they are doing and you don`t have to do anything except deliver the logs or they can do it on sight. If you choose this option find someone with a Lucas Mill slabbing mill as opposed to just someone with an "alaskan" mill( A jig that a chainsaw fits into then runs on rails or a ladder on top of the log) as anyone can buy and use an "alaskan" mill but the pro`s generally have the Lucas or better. There are also Bandsaw mills around that give a much smaller "kerf" but generally they are limited to smaller(800mm or less) dia log, whereas the Lucas dedicated slabber can go to 2m.Cutting a 2m dia tree with an "alaskan" is a tough job .If you decide to venture into milling yourself you could buy an "alaskan" for about $500 and could start with at least a 90cc (i.e. stihl 066 or bigger 084,088,090or alternatively the husqy 3120 is a ripper) saw with the appropriate bar (I slabbed a 900dia jarrah log 4m long when i started with an 066 and a 1m bar) you will also need a ladder or rails for the jig to run along which will give you a flat/straight cut. Use oregons specially designed skip chain 2 on 5 off (RX ? from memory) which is best for log dia> 750, this chain comes with a top plate angle of 10 deg but can be reduced to almost 0 deg for very hard timber.I find depth gauge of 35-40 thou best. But if you get serious and can afford it a Lucas mill is far better and can cut boards as well but will set you back about $20 000 for the full set up or you may source one second hand for a lot cheaper.

3) Find a good place to store the cut timber to dry. This place ideally would be under some trees under tarp or plastic or in a shaded shed. It is important that the timber is protected from direct sun or excess heat through the drying process to avoid warpage and collapse.Basically the slower the dry the better the quality of the end product.A general rule for say slabs is an inch a year depending of course on the type of timber, but moisture meters will give you a more accurate reading(note -timber is never dry , it will always retain moisture ."dry" in the Southwest of WA is about 12% but head north to perth its about 10% then further North to Geraldton its about 8-9%).Ideally you want to store your timber where you will not ever have to move it from unless its going into the workshop , as moving tonnes of timber is costly and hard work.Timber ideally should be stored level and stripped out to perfection with strips of exactly the same thickness and consistent spacing.

4) Trunks generally yield the best timber as there is a more even spread of tension and uniform growth present. Limbs are generally not worth the effort unless they are extremely straight and have central heart( very rare) as there is just to much tension in them and they will go all over the place when drying.

Hope this helps
Cheers
Ed wood

[Claw Hama]

Being an arborist we hope Mathew should know his trees and maybe teach us a thing here and there. Maybe Mathew can become our new wood identifier.

[munruben]

Welcome aboard Mathew

[Matthewd]

G;Day all thanks for your feed back will go to the small timber milling for more answers. Thanks again.

[artme]

G'day Matthew and welcome to the fountain of knowledge.

Go ye and search all the forums related to your special interests, you'll be surprised with what you find.