Steve Sanford
Well-known member
Yesterday was a perfect fit for my Easter tradition. When I think back over my 60 years, most Easter weekends were sunny but cool - great working weather. It seems we always had a big outdoor project - the Easter Dinner was a well-earned respite from a weekend of physical labor.
It all started with my cleaning out a hedgerow right next to the Pencil Brook Marina - a neighbor's name for my collection of watercraft - both those "ready-for-the-water" and a few in the "project/maybe someday" category. Although I try to keep them neatly lined up, leveled and covered - they have sat for years within harm's way of a typical Washington County hedgerow. The trees include canopy-sized Sugar Maple, Black Cherry and White Ash; the understory was thick with Tartarian Honeysuckle (a major invasive shrub here in the East), a few Buckthorn, and some Round-leaved Dogwood. I needed to create a safe harbor - which may become an equipment shed to house the "good" boats in the future.
I first pulled all the Honeysuckle and Buckthorn with my tractor and then cut all the Ash and smaller Cherry from the ~40-foot length I need for the fleet. I hauled all the tops and cut the bigger stuff to stove-length - ready for the splitter. I got the job down to where I had 4 Cherry left: 2 big ones and 2 smaller "challenges" - wild growths that may or may not be brought down without damaging my woodshed (I had moved all the boats out of the danger zone a few weeks ago). Before cutting into the larger trees I wanted to offer them to my neighbor-to-the-south TJ - who is a logger who gave me some Basswood last spring and also has his own band saw mill. But first, I asked neighbor-a-bit-further-south - and world-class woodworker - Kirk - for his opinion on the "leaners". We agreed that the 2 big ones might have a saw log in them - and that they could be felled easily enough to the north. And, we both figured one of the leaners could be pursuaded to fall to the south - perhaps with help from a long line and my tractor. The final rascal tree was tougher. It was one big fork - and one of the tines had grown right amidst the canopy of a middling Sugar Maple nearby. Most important, we both agreed that I needed to consult an expert - TJ.
Sure enough, the next morning, TJ arrived and felled the 2 big Cherries straightaway. One had a nice log but the other revealed a rot-riddled trunk - its only future to become firewood. TJ manned the saw while I and my tractor kept tension on some 3/4" nylon and Leaner # 1 fell "dead to rights". But, even TJ would not touch The Rascal. But, both TJ and Kirk recommended I call tree-climber Brooks to take it down piece-by-piece. I hope to feature Brooks in the next installment.
Although TJ's job was over, he noticed a Basswood log given to me a few weeks back from gunning partner "Cape Cod" Mark. TJ told me he had his band saw mill all set up - and offered to help me saw the log into decoy lumber. So, after lunch, we loaded both TJ's Cherry log and my Basswood onto his dump truck. I swung by Kirk's to get both him and 12-year-old Sammy to watch the fun.
TJ had shown me how to work the mill last May when he brought both a bunch of Basswood logs and his mill right to Pencil Brook Farm. So, with a bit of refresher training, I was at it once again. Note that TJ is apparently a practitioner of the "trust but verify" school of supervision....
I sliced the log into 4 boards - 2.5 to 3 inches thick. We removed the top and bottom slabs but did not square it up. I wanted to keep as much wood as possible. I will remove the bark by hand - to prevent staining and pests/rot. I had already painted the ends with Anchorseal when I originally got the log. Once this job was done - just a few minutes - TJ offered Sam a White Pine log for his own use. TJ is on the Peavey working Sammy's log up against the dogs.
Sammy was next at the helm. He had watched me carefully - and no doubt had some guidance from Father Kirk. He had paid attention to all the steps - adjusting the blade height, starting the engine, turning on the water drip (soapy water to cool and lubricate the blade). Here he is setting the blade height:
The carriage is pushed by hand while the blade eats through the wood. Sam listens carefully to the sound of the blade as he removes the top slab.
Sam has 2 "un-skilled laborers" to remove the slabs for him....
TJ and Kirk flip the log and re-set the dogs.
Sam squared up the log then cut himself a pile of 1-inch boards and stickered them back at home a few minutes after they were sawn. All in all, an excellent start to a fine weekend.
All the best,
SJS
It all started with my cleaning out a hedgerow right next to the Pencil Brook Marina - a neighbor's name for my collection of watercraft - both those "ready-for-the-water" and a few in the "project/maybe someday" category. Although I try to keep them neatly lined up, leveled and covered - they have sat for years within harm's way of a typical Washington County hedgerow. The trees include canopy-sized Sugar Maple, Black Cherry and White Ash; the understory was thick with Tartarian Honeysuckle (a major invasive shrub here in the East), a few Buckthorn, and some Round-leaved Dogwood. I needed to create a safe harbor - which may become an equipment shed to house the "good" boats in the future.
I first pulled all the Honeysuckle and Buckthorn with my tractor and then cut all the Ash and smaller Cherry from the ~40-foot length I need for the fleet. I hauled all the tops and cut the bigger stuff to stove-length - ready for the splitter. I got the job down to where I had 4 Cherry left: 2 big ones and 2 smaller "challenges" - wild growths that may or may not be brought down without damaging my woodshed (I had moved all the boats out of the danger zone a few weeks ago). Before cutting into the larger trees I wanted to offer them to my neighbor-to-the-south TJ - who is a logger who gave me some Basswood last spring and also has his own band saw mill. But first, I asked neighbor-a-bit-further-south - and world-class woodworker - Kirk - for his opinion on the "leaners". We agreed that the 2 big ones might have a saw log in them - and that they could be felled easily enough to the north. And, we both figured one of the leaners could be pursuaded to fall to the south - perhaps with help from a long line and my tractor. The final rascal tree was tougher. It was one big fork - and one of the tines had grown right amidst the canopy of a middling Sugar Maple nearby. Most important, we both agreed that I needed to consult an expert - TJ.
Sure enough, the next morning, TJ arrived and felled the 2 big Cherries straightaway. One had a nice log but the other revealed a rot-riddled trunk - its only future to become firewood. TJ manned the saw while I and my tractor kept tension on some 3/4" nylon and Leaner # 1 fell "dead to rights". But, even TJ would not touch The Rascal. But, both TJ and Kirk recommended I call tree-climber Brooks to take it down piece-by-piece. I hope to feature Brooks in the next installment.
Although TJ's job was over, he noticed a Basswood log given to me a few weeks back from gunning partner "Cape Cod" Mark. TJ told me he had his band saw mill all set up - and offered to help me saw the log into decoy lumber. So, after lunch, we loaded both TJ's Cherry log and my Basswood onto his dump truck. I swung by Kirk's to get both him and 12-year-old Sammy to watch the fun.
TJ had shown me how to work the mill last May when he brought both a bunch of Basswood logs and his mill right to Pencil Brook Farm. So, with a bit of refresher training, I was at it once again. Note that TJ is apparently a practitioner of the "trust but verify" school of supervision....
I sliced the log into 4 boards - 2.5 to 3 inches thick. We removed the top and bottom slabs but did not square it up. I wanted to keep as much wood as possible. I will remove the bark by hand - to prevent staining and pests/rot. I had already painted the ends with Anchorseal when I originally got the log. Once this job was done - just a few minutes - TJ offered Sam a White Pine log for his own use. TJ is on the Peavey working Sammy's log up against the dogs.
Sammy was next at the helm. He had watched me carefully - and no doubt had some guidance from Father Kirk. He had paid attention to all the steps - adjusting the blade height, starting the engine, turning on the water drip (soapy water to cool and lubricate the blade). Here he is setting the blade height:
The carriage is pushed by hand while the blade eats through the wood. Sam listens carefully to the sound of the blade as he removes the top slab.
Sam has 2 "un-skilled laborers" to remove the slabs for him....
TJ and Kirk flip the log and re-set the dogs.
Sam squared up the log then cut himself a pile of 1-inch boards and stickered them back at home a few minutes after they were sawn. All in all, an excellent start to a fine weekend.
All the best,
SJS
