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(08-25-2017, 03:38 PM)ianab Wrote: Invercargill isn't all that interesting (we visited there over last Christmas / New Year) but you are close to a lot over VERY scenic country, and in Summer the weather should be OK. It's pretty cold and miserable there at this time of year.
Tell your wife the trip to Milford Sound is highly recommended, as is the trip around the Catlins coast.
Yes. She has been to MS in the past and looking forward to a return visit.
In what area do you live, if I may ask?
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08-27-2017, 09:49 AM
(This post was last modified: 08-27-2017, 10:08 AM by FloridaRetiree.)
(08-26-2017, 11:45 PM)ianab Wrote: Some pictures from today.
Stacking up yesterdays boards for drying.
Big live edge slab. Lucky I have the use of a tractor on site. That thing is HEAVY.
Close up of that big slab. Really weird grain effects going on.
And some live edge boards cut from one of the smaller logs. WIll be interesting to see how badly they misbehave as they dry
 Oh Boy!
To me, that big board (kept as original as possible) has contemporary coffee table written all over it, after it gets to equilibrium moisture content.
Built something similar a few decades ago -- with a simple unobtrusive and minimalist rectilinear base.
There used to be a guy in my generation who collected such slabs to build stuff with. Forget his name but he did very well since it was relatively unique back then.
Now, these guys seem to have picked up the ball and ran with it:
https://woodlandcreekfurniture.com/produ...furniture/
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I'm in Taranaki, which is on the West coast of the North Island.
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(08-27-2017, 02:30 PM)ianab Wrote: I'm in Taranaki, which is on the West coast of the North Island.
Thanks. Will convey to m'lady.
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Quote:To me, that big board (kept as original as possible) has contemporary coffee table written all over it, after it gets to equilibrium moisture content.
That's the plan for it. My mill is a "swing blade" design, so it's limited to a 6" cut, or 12" if I can "double cut", which is working from the other side of the log. But if you saw maybe 2/3 of the log you can then flip the remaining D log over and place it on another 1/2 sawn log, and start cutting from the other side. Using the other part sawn log as a base keeps the slab level, and you simply saw some boards off until you are down to a 2-3" think live edge slab. Only one per log of course, but we have several trees to mill, and an assortment of matching wood to build legs or other base structure.
Once the wood is dry I have a router jig that mounts on the mill frame, like a big "router bridge", to smooth and true up the slab before finishing.
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08-28-2017, 07:12 AM
(This post was last modified: 08-28-2017, 07:14 AM by FloridaRetiree.)
COOL!
Good work-around otherwise limiting machinery.
:-)
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Looking at the cut boards, it looks just like the iron wood here. I hope the drying goes well, I have had no success with it. It's a shame too, I like the weight of it. If you have anchorseal there, coat the ends and that may help. Dry it in the shade and take your time. Love to see what you end up making with it, maybe I'll figure it out here and do something with it. We have a LOT of it here!
VH07V
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(08-29-2017, 03:30 PM)EightFingers Wrote: Looking at the cut boards, it looks just like the iron wood here. I hope the drying goes well, I have had no success with it. It's a shame too, I like the weight of it. If you have anchorseal there, coat the ends and that may help. Dry it in the shade and take your time. Love to see what you end up making with it, maybe I'll figure it out here and do something with it. We have a LOT of it here!
Got it stacked up to dry, with a tarp only covering the top, and it's late winter here, so it's cool, but humid. Should make for slow drying, which I'm hoping will help.
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Sure hope I can get this stuff to dry mostly intact.
Got about 1,000 bd ft of it sawn now, and still have 3 more trees to process.
Worst case? At least it's a premium firewood locally, so it if all turns into cracked pretzels, I can cut it into firewood size pieces and sell it that way...
Where I'm working, scenic view of a derelict pig farm
 . Friend has just bought the property and is in the process of tidying it up (ie demolishing most of it) and these old trees are going as part of the renovations. Pigs have been gone for a while, so the smell isn't so bad.
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