I have Never Done This On My Sawmill, Harvesting An Endangered Tree 

Moisture Meter Used In Video: amzn.to/36r7NPk

Watching logs get milled up never gets old. I don’t know why. It’s just the way it is.

I just love this channel. Brings me peace.

The Emerald Ash Borer lays eggs in the bark. The larva bore into the layer just below the bark and eat it. Once they encircle the tree, Water can no longer get to the canopy and the tree dies. After Dutch Elm disease killed off the elm trees, Builders started planting Ash because it grows a nice broad canopy and makes a lot of shade. It also grows pretty fast. In my area, You go through neighborhoods that were built in the 1960's and had tons of mature trees, and after the EAB comes through, there are barely any trees left, Just stumps in every front yard.

04.00am in England and I can't sleep, so no better way to pass the time than watching the latest video from one of my favourite channels.

I'm studying forest management in college right now and we've talked about a parasitoid wasp that you can purchase (or maybe get for free) from the U.S. Forest service that kills the emerald ash bore larva in the trees. This doesn't help the older trees that have already been affected by it, but has been studied to be effective on saplings - medium size trees. Once in an area, these wasp can establish a population and keep the emerald ash bore population under control. These are highly specific wasp which make them ideal due to them not targeting any other species.

Never get tired of seeing the beautiful pieces after the cuts!!

Just curious how you store your lumber after it's been in the kiln and before sales occur. Maybe a video on your whole process from sawing-drying-storing-surfacing-selling, etc. Great videos btw

Here in north east Ohio, the Emerald Ash Borer bug has not made it's appearance much, just yet but it's coming I'm sure. This summer, the city of Cleveland cut down 13 healthy Ash trees in Halloran Park, mature trees, as a preventive measure. They chopped up the logs and hauled them all to the landfill. What a waste of beautiful and expensive wood. It's alot like Hickory. When nobody was looking, I stole a two inch by six foot limb, and am making a new cane for walking. I'm 64 yr old and walk with a cane. The famous Lewisville Slugger baseball bat is made exclusively of Ash. Thank You for these educational and interesting videos. Country Boys Rock.

I would love to see a program that shows your boards made into furniture

Friends had to remove a western ash tree from their backyard about 27 years ago and gave me the logs. I hauled them to the ‘Jogger Logger’, a local sawyer with a Wood Mizer mill, and had him quarter saw it. About 300 bdft of beautiful lumber that took 10 years to air dry enough to make into furniture. I used the wood once it got down to 11-12 % and have never had any issues with wood movement. Love ash.

Why am I watching this channel faithfully? Why? So interesting.

that is one bigash tree! Very nice wood, great for any project.

Another fine video Nathan. Thanks for all your clear explanations of what and why you’re do things. Ash is a great wood to build and turn. Its future is a sad one for wood worker. Thanks for all prep, filming and putting these videos, and then sharing them. From Central Texas, Hod bless and stay safe!

I know ash is beautiful wood. The previous owner/builder of my house harvested the ash trees from the property and made the flooring from it. I have flat sawn, quarter sawn, rift sawn and a lot of patterned wood in random mixtures. Be safe and stay well. Bill

Rode my bike this spring on a trail that looked like it was paved with emeralds... heart breaking

I work in the forestry dept for Grand Rapids Mi. I did some treating of the city ash trees for a few years. They get injections every 2 years. A good portion of these trees that are above 14" dbh would show growth of 1" to 2" dbh from one injection cycle to the next. I still have some pics of the Ash trees as I treated them back in 2013, and 2015. 🌳

Thank you Nathan. I am one of those people who seeks out quarter sawn wood and I do like the looks of that grain pattern. Here in the northeast cheery is plentiful and nice looking, but the color variation, heart to sap wood, can cause trouble with a lighter color finish, but that ash looks to not be so troublesome. I've worked with ash once and to me it acts and works much like oak. And look at that there is always that small handful of people needing to hit that dislike button. I for one enjoy your channel.

What I have read this tree was planted when the family had a daughter, and when she got married the tree would be cut for lumber and furniture for her and would become part of her dowry. Hence the name Princess tree. Looks like a damn nice hard wood to me would very much like to find some of that..My best for you and yours. Jim

I feel the need to tell you that I admire the work you do young man! Keep it up!

I enjoy watching the process of wood being sawn in a mill. I see all types of wood that could make beating table tops, counter tops. But I'm always thinking about wood that could be used for guitars. I'm a musician and use to build guitars from milled, air dried in Az. Honduras Mahogany, Rosewood, among wood that only grows in Hawaii. Alder, basswood, walnut, ask, poplar, which I don't care for as far as tone. Quilted, flame maple is used for tops on some electric guitars. Spruce, cedar is used for acoustic tops the straighter the grain and closer the better. I have a acoustic guitar that the sides and back were all made from burled Mahogany. There were only 900 of these guitars made in 1977.

Up here in Southern Ontario Canada the Emerald Ash Bore did wipe out the ash trees, however the Borer has moved on and the Ash trees have bounced back big time.... I have about 25 that have reached a height of well over 30'... And some of the areas where I removed the stumps and replanted with other varieties have ash sprigs constantly popping up. Good to see them coming back.

We had to take out a Shamel Ash in San Jose when its roots attacked the neighbors sidewalk. I cleaned up the stump with a hand plane, and found a growth ring that was 1" wide! They grow like weeds here.

I must say, you have a very calming voice. It reminds me of when my father and I would visit his parents in southeastern Kentucky. One question though, that machine looks extremely expensive. I am surprised that it does not have a dust collection and blows it on the ground. Do you ever worry about inhaling wood dust and health concerns with it?

Thumbs up for the American made Pointer overalls.

Why does watching a sawmill working make such soothing and pleasant viewing? I’m hooked!

I'm an HVAC tech, I'm into computers, live in a suburb of Pittsburgh, but I'm really enjoying this stuff. It might be because my dad taught me to name some trees a bit, he taught me to hike and enjoy the woods. Me and my friends spent all summer up in the woods, up until the time I graduated and had to go to work.

Every ash I have cut in the last few years has had tons of stress in it. Usually, if possible, I will cut into oversized cants, pull them off the mill and let them rest for a day. Then come back and try to mill flat again and saw into boards. Sometimes it helps, other times it's cut, flip trim, cut, flip, trim, rinse and repeat.

At least you recorded it so people can see what an ash looked like.Good move on your part,Nathan.

I'm in the process of making a jewelry cabinet with ash and walnut. I really like the contrast between the two.

Ash checks 10 seconds after its dropped. LOL. That stuff makes crackling noises not long after we drop it. Really low moisture for sure. Love the ash, and save as much as I can. Treat them once every 2 years. Pricey to treat, but does work.

Good evening Nathan, back in the 1950s through the 1970s a lot of White Ash millwork was sold for interior trim in houses in the metro Chicagoland area. This was an lesser expensive than Red Oak trim. We did see a lot of wild Ash grain especially in the flush doors. When I had my millwork business, we only sold a couple of jobs with Ash trim. Most of what we did was Red Oak trim.

Thank you Nathan, another beautiful video as expected from an East Tennessee brother.

27% Your videos make me want to start my own saw mill. 😂 Maybe I’ll settle for just coming by and watching for a spell. Thanks for always posting such great videos.

Chestnut and ash get quarter sawed for the door and window mouldings and often get confused for each other.

That quartsawn ash is like gold for snooker cue makers as the shafts and forearm of those cues are traditionally ash. Ash is used as the grain provides a sort of pointer for the player, as long as it is quartersawn the grain lines are very straight through the billet. Great video.

1/4 sawed ash make very nice guitar body’s! Great stuff!

Lots of dead ash around here in NW IL. Ash was my favorite trees and like the Elm's are soon to be gone. Growing up most of the trees that lined streets where elms. Then the Dutch Elm disease hit the US. Sad to see these beautiful trees dying. Take care - be safe - hope the family and you are doing well. 'Spin'

Ash is endangered especially since the beetle that is eating the wood under the bark. As a musician we value this wood for its tone and is highly valued for its tone, but we need quarter sawn wood that can be book matched. Even 3 pc quarter sawn wood thar can be closely aligned to match up figure can be used.

Your videos are very well done. Thanks

The ash tree is very under rated. I don't know why. I've built many pieces of furniture with ash and it's very beautiful. I like it better than oak.

Sad to see them dying, use to have a good stand other up here in Ontario Canada. Always a reliable tree for multiple purposes. Thanks

Its so cool to watch quarter sawn being done. Thanks for the treat! Some ash trees have also shown resiliency against the EAB. Certain genetics or subspecies. We have scale up in North Dakota.

From the UK where I sell American ash timber and doors. Great film, educational too. It’s a pity about the damned beetle and also how some people don’t appreciate the natural beauty of ash but crave American white and red oak instead. If I ever get over to your neck of the woods wouldn’t mind paying you a visit!

Fender Guitars is phasing out ash bodies on the Telecaster except for custom shop orders as a result of the beetle. Southern Swamp Ash makes awesome Telecaster bodies. It's very sad to see the end of a tradition and a species of wood.

I love Ash. Made all the cabinet faces for our laundry room addition out of it. It stains evenly, sands very smooth and finishes nice. The natural light color is even and grain consistent for the golden pecan stain I used. We need to find a way to protect these beautiful trees.

Another good and informative video. We lost what must have been many hundreds of Northern White Ash on our northern Michigan property over the last 5 or so years. It is a double tragedy since during the time of the terrible Gyspy Moth infestations of a couple decades ago, when the falling scat sounded like rain and the crowns of all the other woodland trees were bare, the ash trees remained green and unaffected. Now the one species of tree that was totally unaffected - and we even saw White Pines stripped by the caterpillars - is virtually wiped out. At the first property timbering we did back when they were still healthy, and we did not suspect the Emerald Ash borer would get to the northern counties, I asked the loggers [who bought primarily our Red Oak and Maple] for the so-called owner's courtesy cut if they were willing [it was once a tradition] and asked them if so, to take it from a dozen or so ash trees. For at the time there was no real market for ash anyway, and what ash they planned to cut they intended to reduce to pallet wood. But I saw ash as a beautiful and clear straight grained wood; which I personally found more appealing than Red Oak. If you prefer the look of unfigured maple to nothing special grade oak, you might well agree. And ash is, or was, in my estimation way underutilized for heritage look flooring and furniture. Better a plank wood bedroom set of ash, than one of compressed sawdust and glue.

Reading all these comments here reminded me of how Dutch Elm Disease ravaged all of the elm trees in my small Iowa hometown, and I have to wonder if there are any elm trees left in America? Have you ever had the occasion to mill an elm tree?

We are losing Ash in Northwest Missouri rapidly. Lost a nice one in the church yard a couple years ago.

My father loved trees. He always talked about how the beautiful American elm trees were devastated by the Dutch elm disease.

Very cute, your two "pole cats" guarding the farm.

Imidacloprid is the systemic insecticide used for protecting your ash from emerald ash borer. It’s the same chemical used for hemlock Adelgid, ambrosia beetle, and many other pest. Your county ag extension can advise you. It’s very effective for protecting these trees. The patent has expired on this chemical so it’s available at a very reasonable cost now. We use ‘mallet ‘ in our line of work. You simply drench it around the base of the tree.

My first major woodworking project was a king size bed made using Ash and Walnut (for contrast). Predominant wood is Ash, with Walnut panels in the head and foot boards. Lovely wood. Terrible what the insects are doing to it though.

That’s the best way to cut your logs 👍👁🤟it.

I am one of the biggest wood schroundger out there. I am really impressed when I see someone saving a downed or dead tree and not let it go to waste. Props to you, and keep up the great work. GF1 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😎

I’d love to have an 8/4 slab of that! That would make a nice telecaster body!

First cut, beautiful grain structure

I'd be more interested in any modifications you've made on the drying shed, and an update on the construction of the barn.

Yes please do the review. It’s always interesting to see digital devices in this day and age.

I could watch sawmill videos all day. I used to work in one. Wish I still did.

Ash will check even after putting anchor seal on it immediately after cutting. First hand experience.

Thank you for the video

Your videos are very interesting to watch but I think it's more than just the material I think the way you present it is very well done very good editing.

Hardley a day goes by where I don't tune in and check up on a friend. Great stuff

southern ash and purple heart.....was always my favs

Having purchased air dried Ash three years ago from a mill in PA is now a big problem for me, as I am having a professional exterminator treat and monitor the 12/4 lumber with a neurological agent in powder form to "dust" each bore hole in the lumber. After the initial treatment, it's mostly monitoring for any new activity (little sawdust piles). Hopefully, I've managed to save the lumber before I start using it for furniture projects. Best - Michael

I don't know much on moisture content. But I made a lot of furniture with ash. One of my favorite woods.

You can treat the ash from the Beatles, it is effective though it is a little pricey. All of the ash trees on our property in Michigan have been successfully treated.

Just an odd bit of info, I worked in a sawmill in southern Illinois back in the early 70’s. We had an old car restorer that would come in when we had some ash. Seems they used to use ash in the frames of some of the old cars and he would need some to repair one of his projects. I always thought it was an unusual and oddly specific use for ash.

I'd for sure like to see a review of the Delmhorst. It'd be interesting to see you test it against a Wagner pinless. Test with each meter in the same exact spot on various boards to see the difference

Beautiful grain.

best wood for steaming and bending.

Your not the only place that ash bore have affected. I’m up in Ontario Canada ,we are losing our Ash trees also.

I agree with Mr Jensen

Dang I hope we don't lose ash as a harvest species. I don't do a lot of woodworking any more, but I have built bookcases and wainscot out of ash in a couple of my homes over the past 3-plus decades. It's a gorgeous material. I was able to find some nice book veneer on my first library paneling project, and they managed to keep it in order from board to board on 1/4" plywood veneer, so I had "eyes" arranged from basically closed to wide open as you went panel to panel. Anyways, that is a pretty piece of timber.

If anyone is curious the EAB larva eat the ash sap wood making it difficult, if not impossible, to transport water and nutrients. If you peel back the bark on infected ash the feeding larva leave behind track marks in the sap wood. They hit here in Ohio hard. My neighbor had his ashes treated. They drilled and put PVC pipes into the base of the tree and then in the spring basically pumped in a pesticide to kill any EAB larva and any new beetles that tried to burrow in throughout the year. It took like 3-4 years, but his ash still looks healthy. There are still 4 near my house, 3 look good, 1 is iffy. I had to have 2 cut down in my backyard when I bought the house.

Sawn wood is beautiful

You could use the camera that's riding the saw as a remote view. Set up a small screen for it. Maybe even a back-up camera for a car? Keep a birds eye on the blade etc. Beautiful work as always!!! TY!

@6:52 imidacloprid can successfully treat small and medium sized ash trees. large ash trees, like the one being sawn, might not be salvageable if they have been infected for awhile.

Great video, RB, NS.

Ash is a beautiful wood to turn. Any logs with even small sections for bowl blanks will give awesome results. Great part of turning, is you can use small, otherwise undesirable pieces a purpose

I’m smart enough to know, not to second guess the opinion of a pro like you.

rift sawn ash is perfect for tool handles. Ash is widly used for tool handles due to strength and flexibility (while not splintering).. etc. It's a lovely wood.

When treated correctly they are now saving 85%-95% of the ash trees. Pests like Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) are reasons why firewood should not be moved long distances, they can carry pests like EAB, Asian longhorn beetle, gold spotted oak borer, Gypsy moth etc. For more information contact the California Firewood Taskforce.

Your pronunciation is correct on that bug. It's an import from Asia (you could probably guess which country, the one where we get most of our destructive bugs from). A few questions. One, how long, on average does a saw blade last? Two, what function does that horizontal circular-saw perform, the one in advance of the main cutting blade? I know those are dumb questions.

I live in sw Mississippi I hand planted about 12 ash trees on my property 15 years ago. They are very slow growing. This is pine county.

We're burning Ash for firewood here in VT. They figured it would be best to preemptively cut it before the borer found it. Now we're not allowed to transport it far from where it was cut.

I have a 30" black ash in my yard ... strongest tree on the place , has never shed d a limb in the 10 yrs I have been here ... sits next to a 78" maple that sheds branches all the time Watching your vids makes me want to buy a mill Keep em comin

Hi Nathan, nice to see a lovely log like that. Not seen much ash put on a mill for a very long time. Such a shame that Ash is endangered. 1/4 sawn will be wonderful to see. I saw the stress of the juvenile wood. Looking forward to seeing more of the logs. Like the 1x8’s that’s a good size. Nice to see the two cats pole-sitting haha. Take care care and be safe. Graham🌟🌟🇬🇧🇬🇧🌲🌲

nice work like the way you explain things love your new diesel mill Im a bowl turner so im always looking for wood blocks...keep up the good work i enjoy your videos

Here in New England we have a big problem with Emerald Ash Borer. A lot of people are cutting the Ash down as fast as possible. I and some of the foresters I know suggest that you only take down Ash that you know has the Borer. In other words if it's dead or dying, cut it. However, if has no signs it's in trouble then leave it. We have no way of knowing if the healthy Ash we cut today is resistant to EAB. We can always go back and cut it, but we can't take it out of the wood pile and stand it back up. Our Hemlocks are also in big trouble from the Woolly adelgid.

It is summer time, and time to build the wood storage sheds and the Tractor Barn!!!!!!!

You even remembered to pay the cat tax 😸

The emerald ash borer is not pickey, in east tennessee I have found it under the bark of maple , tulip poplar and young black walnut.

Ash in our area is all but gone. Very popular around here as firewood. Incredible amounts of heat, unfortunately it's pretty much gone though...

I used ash for my Perlins on my log cabin. I had a perty good wound on my hand while milling it. Apparently the poo in the log under the bark infected that wound. My hand swelled up and they gave me antibiotics to help with the infection. The skin has fallen off the wound and is doing good now.

Thanks for these videos! I just purchased an LT30 for hobby and home sawing. I am learning loads and having fun doing it.

wow that is really pretty didn't know ash was that nice looking

Great looking lumber

fascinating