The last of Tutorial

A second day is needed for me to finish the job. I sawed five logs yesterday and I continue the process today, the day after Valentine's. Here are the final statistics from the sawing:

2,040 board feet (one board foot is the equivalent of 12" x 12" x 1")

1,524 square feet

219 six-inch wide boards

42 five-inch wide boards

11 hours from start to finish

3 saw blades used (I send them to Kentucky by FedEx in batches of ten to re-sharpen)

I estimate the logs weighed 7,000 pounds (based on 34 lbs per cubic foot)

Given that estimate of weight, I probably lifted and carried 8,000 pounds during the eleven hour duration. This should explain why I don't see a need to join the "Y" or Gold's Gym.

These boards will dry and shrink slightly then be milled to straighten the edges followed by the tongue and grove preparation. This will reduce the 1524 square feet to around 1000. When the material is installed to make the floor, board-ends will be cut off to fit the floor foot print and there will be further reduction in square feet. I say all this to point out that the final coverage will be much less than the beginning square feet of material.

The slabs and strips were loaded on a special dump trailer as I removed them from the mill. I will deliver loads of slabs to people who request them for use in heating their house. I shoveled the sawdust into another trailer and will dump this cellulose on an accumulating pile at another location on neighboring property. This saw dust will rot and make good compost for gardens. As you can see, the by-products are put to good use.

This concludes the sawmilling tutorial.

Return tomorrow for another posting.

Have a good day!