That Red Oak Log

I had enough hemlock loaded to give me all the lumber I needed for the office roof after all.

So, the question was, "What am I gonna do with that 8 foot red oak log?".


At an average 11 inches diameter, it translated into a 7x7 cant. From that I cut 3/4" boards 7 1/4" wide.

These board pairs are bookmatched where the blade cut them.

Got eight of them all together and loaded them onto the air-drying pile with the rest of the lumber.


All that was left to do was put a sheet of plywood and some hold-down rocks on top of it. And wait.

The First Day of Milling

Yesterday was a big day - the first day of milling wood on the Norwood mill.

Mom Pocock did the honours of pouring a fine Ontario sparkling white wine on the second cross bunk.

May the milling gods be pleased with this sacrifice!

After some adjustments, I finally got underway with the first hemlock polewood.

The first task was to build the supports for the 8 ft. air-drying station.

Scaredy deer makes a visit to the milling area
to see what all the fuss is about.

The 4x6 'mudsill' beam is placed on the air-drying station. A wood structure must first be built on which to place cut lumber for air-drying.


In between each layer of drying wood on an air-drying stack, small lengths of wood called 'stickers' are placed to allow air to flow which, over the course of several months, will draw the moisture out of the wet wood.

Classy red oak stickers 'cause I'm, like, a class guy.

Mom Pocock tries her hand at peeling a red oak log.

There's no shortage of sawdust.

Almost Millin'

I've spent the last few days preparing the milling site and servicing the mill. That is when I'm not smashing trailer lights against trees, or snapping bolts in two.

The Norwood sawmill manual states that the worst ground on which to mill is wet or organic soil. These ground conditions will not support a level cut once a log is placed on the cutting deck.

Well, the wet and organic soil the mill is currently on isn't the best situation for my first cuts on an unfamiliar mill. Still, these logs are small.


Notice the trench I've dug along the bottom left, trying to drain the black muck soil due to a downpour a few days ago. It's like cold tar full of tree roots.

A Portable Sawmill

My buddy Steve did me a big favour a couple days back. He delivered a portable sawmill to Deerwood which I'd picked up a ways back.

Bill with his LumberMate 2000 portable sawmill.

It's a Norwood Lumbermate 2000 which I look forward to using once I've got a loggin', skiddin', millin', dryin' set up a' goin'.

Besides cutting wood for Deerwood outbuildings, I hope to hire myself and the mill out to woodlot owners who would like to make lumber from their logs. All in good time.