In today's artisan, hands-on, and environmentally conscience landscape,
there are many reasons to mill your own lumber: a craftsman, artist, or
builder can gain access to a new species and unique cuts of wood;
there's the Yankee in all of us that hates to see a healthy log simply
go off to the landfill when it can offer new flooring or a piece of
furniture; and, finally, there's symmetry in building something for a
grandchild from the branch that held his daddy's tire-swing. And, let's
not forget that wood is expensive; on top of all the other great
reasons, harvesting your own timber will save you a few bucks A concise
guide for the small shop or enthusiastic hobbyist, Harvest Your Own
Lumber covers all of the important steps in the conversion of wood. John
English takes the reader through selecting the raw material to the final
drying of the harvested timber. All of the steps in between are
explained in clear text accompanied with photographs and charts that
make the process of milling your own lumber a guaranteed success. The
process of milling your own lumber is much more than just felling the
tree and sawing it into useable boards. The first consideration is, of
course, what type of tree will lend itself to producing good, useable
timber. Once that decision has been made the sawyer must determine how
to safely fell the tree and then how to convert the log into useable
lumber. The author explains and illustrates the various choices
available from what types of grain pattern to expect to the many defects
to be aware of. Also included is an extensive chapter on chainsaws,
safety, and felling. One of the most important aspects of timber
harvesting is knowing how to "saw to grade". That is, how to get the
best yield with the desired grain, from a specific log. Harvest Your Own
Lumber provides the detail and instructions for sawing to grade as well
as useful information on humidity and wood, kiln and air drying, various
types of kilns and milling rough boards to get them flat and straight.
This is a valuable handbook for any woodworker, builder, carpenter, or
craftsman that relies on good quality wood.
