With the roof secure it was time to get cutting the timbers for the timber framing course. I had prepped the sawmill, changing the oil, greasing and oiling fittings and putting a new blade on it. I've forgotten how to fold up an old circular blade into four but I practiced on a belt at home and I've rediscovered the trick, it's twist and push and over.
First up is a dry spruce I've measured out for an 8x8x16 footer. This was a standing dead tree and the first outside inch is pretty soft. The bark peals off/ falls off easily and I clean the edge where the first cut will be made. I take off a couple of inches and the blade glides through easily but stops 2 inches from the end where the mill transitions onto the bed extension. It was lined up last week but as I'm in a new location everything is settling and the extension rails are about 1/4 high now. A few quick turns of the height adjusting bolts and the sawmill glides ontl the new bed to finish the cut. Well not glides exactly, there is a noticable bump but nothing that interferes with the cutting process.
I cut a few more inches off, rotate the log 180 degreesand cut, then 90 and cut, then another 180 until I've got a square timber. I've used the square each rotation to ensure the timber sides are at 90 degrees. I'm left with about a 10x12 timber which I will cut down to 8x8 tomorrow. My first timber and it's looking sweet.
Now to figure out how to get them off the bed (into the back of the pickup or onta a trailer) and where to store them. I need to build shelves inside the big white storage barn and rearrange all my stuff in there, so they'll be outside somewhere for a while.
Mic has come up with a storage shelf plan based upon 4x4 posts so I've got lots of cutting to do.
First up is a dry spruce I've measured out for an 8x8x16 footer. This was a standing dead tree and the first outside inch is pretty soft. The bark peals off/ falls off easily and I clean the edge where the first cut will be made. I take off a couple of inches and the blade glides through easily but stops 2 inches from the end where the mill transitions onto the bed extension. It was lined up last week but as I'm in a new location everything is settling and the extension rails are about 1/4 high now. A few quick turns of the height adjusting bolts and the sawmill glides ontl the new bed to finish the cut. Well not glides exactly, there is a noticable bump but nothing that interferes with the cutting process.
I cut a few more inches off, rotate the log 180 degreesand cut, then 90 and cut, then another 180 until I've got a square timber. I've used the square each rotation to ensure the timber sides are at 90 degrees. I'm left with about a 10x12 timber which I will cut down to 8x8 tomorrow. My first timber and it's looking sweet.
Now to figure out how to get them off the bed (into the back of the pickup or onta a trailer) and where to store them. I need to build shelves inside the big white storage barn and rearrange all my stuff in there, so they'll be outside somewhere for a while.
Mic has come up with a storage shelf plan based upon 4x4 posts so I've got lots of cutting to do.
RSS Feed
