IDIOT'S GUIDE TO SELECTING LOGS
For those of you who are newbies to the sawmill business, here is a little guide that will help you acquire good, usable lumber for your projects without wasting a lot of your time and money.
Bring in logs that are:
14" to 60" diameter
5' to 20' long
Straight Sections
Unwounded & unblemished
Burls and other Unique pieces
Don't bring in logs that:
Are Under 12" diameter.
Are Under 3' long.
Have fungus growing at the base. (indicates rot)
Have EVER had a tree house in it. (There will be nails in it!)
Grew anywhere near a fence line. (It will have wire or stables in it.)
Have ANY signs of nails, wire or hammock hooks.
(If it has one nail, it has 5...
I don't care what your grandma says.)
If you removed nails prior to bringing in a log, please tell me before I hit with the blade the ones you didn't find.
Please don't ask us to saw...
Live Oak or Ebony that has been dead more than a year,
Cresote Posts,
Rotten Wood,
Nails or wire embedded logs,
Root Balls,
Logs you have drug throught the caliche.
*****WARNING*****
If you bring in chunks of wood that are just barely
bigger than firewood, you will be teased about bringing in TOOTHPICKS and expecting giant planks.
*****REMEMBER*****
Blades cost $35. Some logs dull the blades faster than others - due to hardness and size of the log. I can saw cedar all day on the same blade. I'm lucky to get one hour of sawing out of a blade cutting large mesquite logs. We have recently changed our rates to include blades unless we hit nails or other foreign materials. But, if we hit nails or rocks you will pay for the blade. Also, super large or dirty logs may also cost you an extra blade.