Milling an Incredible 12ft Claro Walnut Log into Slabs 

Thanks for watching. Carbide blades keep the flatness perfect on logs. Sharp and slow!

Wait until they oxidize and dry. This was an amazing tree to harvest.

You would think you would clean up instead of walking on everything

We clean multiple times a week. This is a sawmill that produces up to a cord a day of off cuts. One would be logical to assume we would keep it cleaner.

I love to hear that. Thanks for watching. Stay tuned for the next video. We are milling a giant chunk of claro walnut roots!

Hello from Scotland! Thanks for watching. Don't miss out on our next videos, we will have more claro up on the mill after a massive bastogne walnut.

I agree. Second one was a stunner.

The electric pressure washer seems to do the job without adding too much water to the mill site. Check out some of our other videos, we mill some beautiful walnut and other species.

Our Wood-Mizer hasn't ever skipped a beat. Keep sharp carbides on it and it just keeps cutting flat wood!

Thanks for the suggestions. Some logs get processed differently at different times for different reasons. We are limited with options as far as appropriate space to clean mud messes. This seems to be efficient most of the time. I agree that muck and wet debris isn't as safe as it could be.

❤

Mother nature does what I can't! Thanks for the support.

Thanks for the support. Claro walnut is one of our all-time favorites. Check out the english walnut video we recently posted, it's another amazing log.

Thanks for your comment. 10/4 seems to work out really well with that 12' length as we can generally end up around 8/4 finished. We milled plenty of beautiful wood too thin years ago and ended up breaking our long stock down in half so we could end up with usable thickness at the end. The longer the log, the thicker you need to start. We would have milled it into 8/4 if we were turning it into dimensional lumber. We have some other walnut videos uploaded and plenty more coming. If you didn't catch it, this log was just a branch from a walnut tree. Ill have a video of the main log soon, close to 7' across and solid!

@craigbruce2530 Our furniture company is able to utilize most lumber stock but we prefer to use the wood products for the intentions we had while milling them! Some slabs just don't make the cut, regardless of thickness and drying. Thanks for the support! Great minds think alike!

This was a branch off of a tree if you can believe that. We salvaged one of the largest claro walnut trees locally and it had five leaders all similar in size. I love the pressure electric washer for the logs, doesn't dig into good wood and clears the mess without swamping the mill area! Thanks for the support, we have some other great walnut milling videos on our channel.

Personally, I wouldn't cut a perfectly Dry log and then ADD Water to the slabs...!!! But that's just ME.....

⁠@@jackkarg2578That’s how it’s done. Every sawyer I know does it that way including me. I just don’t do it next to the sawmill or anywhere near my work area.

We ended up getting some beautiful slabs from that log. It was one of many branches from a monster claro walnut base. Stay tuned for that video. Thanks for watching!

We love claro walnut. Thanks for watching. Check out our other milling videos!

We have another video of another branch from the same tree, check it out! Thanks for the support!

Thanks. We have some amazing trees in the Northwest and the walnuts are some of the most beautiful!

@@WickedWoodsNWLLC I would love to see some walnut roots or even some different species of oak!

@@harleywest9250 We will eventually have some footage of us milling roots. We have some root content on our instagram but agree a full video is needed. And we have some killer white oak from a local salvage we will be milling into soon. Be sure to hit that bell notification so you don't miss any of them!

@@michdavid7467 We should be more strict about ppe. Glasses would be a smart thing to add.

A lot of slabs that move too much while air and kiln drying get broke down into gun stocks and lumber. Thanks for watching!

Thanks for the support!

We strictly air dry all walnut a year per inch outside with atleast three months in the kiln with a gentle start and hot finish! Most of our large walnut spends more time air drying inside after before the kiln. It stays flat if time is taken. Thanks for watching!

@@WickedWoodsNWLLC that is awesome to take so much time for those pieces of wood but they deserve it. Thank you!

@@joebufford2972 its hard to wait when you mill something beautiful. It's a little easier when you have a lot of wood. We have a few amazing walnut videos we are working on right now.

Thanks for the support!

Most walnut slabs will darken heavily within 12 hours of being milled. Some of our black and english walnut have very pronounced yellow streaks after kiln drying and flattening. You never know what colors you'll end up with when working with walnut!

We break down some slabs into gun stock and other items after the kiln. The slabs tell us the intended use they want to become depending on cracks, checks, twist, and every other defect post kiln drying. We do keep some beautiful gun stocks on hand. Thanks for watching, check out the english walnut we recently milled with beeswing figure!

Thanks for watching! Gotta love walnut!

I would have to agree. Gotta love opening up beautiful logs! Thanks for watching.

Good choice, we have quite a few rifle stock blanks that we have template cut and long term dry. This log hasn't been processed yet, currently waiting it's turn in the kiln. Thanks for watching!

Most will become just that. They will be hitting the kiln in two loads from now. Stay tuned for when we pull them out! Appreciate the support.

Fun log to mill. Thanks for watching!

One of the many branches from a giant claro tree we salvaged. Stay tuned for more logs from this tree. Appreciate your support!

We have gravel log yards and we always seem to have gravel and debris on bark. We remove loose bark and try to clean a path in front of the blade as we can. Seems to help longevity.

We run a solar kiln with dehumification. So, we dry a little slower. Usually a month per inch depending on the time of year. We are uploading the takedown video of the tree that branch came from shortly!

@@WickedWoodsNWLLC Thank You .

No worries. That video should be uploaded tomorrow. Wait until you see the size of the tree.@@williamconway1287

It depends on the area the wood is in. Florida and higher humid areas may be 14% where as desert areas may be closer to 6%. This log was a branch from a giant tree. We have a stack of these to mill still. Thanks for the support.

Thanks.

Fresh cut walnut is always that green color until the oxygen hits it and allows it to oxidize. Walnut will darken significantly 12 hours after milling. And the sapwood will darken as well. Thanks for watching.

@@WickedWoodsNWLLC I cut a ton of walnut in California over the last 40 year a nd color is always dark brown and the sapwood is white tillI take it out of my attic kiln.. Maybe it’s where you live in the country affects this..

@terrytenley9327 Location and nutrients play a huge role in my experience. I've cut all colors and shades of walnuts. Some were darker before oxidation than others after fully oxidized.

Just a west coast version of black walnut. I'm not sure how far inland they have made it. Thanks for watching!

Electric motors are game changers. We ran an lx250 gas motor version through a large walnut and this electric lx250 performs completely different! Diesel is a good option for mobile and gas is a good option for entry.

That firewood is just from a few days of milling. It fills and gets emptied a few times a week. Thanks for watching.

@@WickedWoodsNWLLCI just thought you or your partner were going to turn an ankle, when you were putting those slabs aside, is all.

@@ShannonFreng Just ankle stability excersizes.

@@WickedWoodsNWLLCHa, ha!

Kind words! Thanks for watching.

The plastic that covers the blades when new?

Foreign particles don't have any effect on the saw....They're already Cut!! . . The Error was soaking perfectly DRY wood to increase the chances of Post-cutting Warpage..!!!

The added sawdust can cause mold, fungus, and major staining when air dried long term. Some species won't show it after flattened, some will. We try to take steps to avoid the staining. Thanks for watching.

Again, perfectly dry wood is wood that is heading out of the kiln, not wood in log form. Thanks for the support!

I do't do that with my logs. I prefer to just brush the sawdust off . Soaking them with a pressure washer just makes the wood wetter and with more chance of the water staining the timber

@RebuildingScotland Portland milling is 9 months in the rain. Mold staining from sawdust is more serious on some species than others. Every slab we dry has water marks, which always dissappear when flattened. Thanks for watching. We scrape some slabs, leave others alone, and pressure wash pretty ones very well!

We have a few retail locations in Portland that carry our products as well as us having our own furniture shop. I will have a walk through video of our shop and current projects soon. Any species you would like to see us mill?

This log was at 40% moisture when it was milled. We dry our walnut to 10% moisture in a kiln. We have zero dry logs out of the 800+ between our two log yards. Loose bark isn't the only issue. Small pieces of gravel are the main concern. We pressure wash the logs to prolong our blades and for safety. You'll see large companies pressure wash logs post kiln drying to show grain with no concern with warping or water reabsorbing. These slabs have seen 3 years of air drying to far with no warp.

Inevitably, we will have a few bookmatched tables out of this log when out of the kiln. Thanks for the support!

We also factor in thickness when determining the board footage and pricing. Thanks for watching!

El uso de agua suele ser para limpiar la podredumbre y las áreas que necesitan atención. Normalmente limpiamos las losas grandes para poder tener buenas imágenes de grano para después de que salgan del horno. Sí, una configuración diferente sería más eficiente. Estamos limitados en el espacio de descarga, de lo contrario tendríamos rodillos. Me encanta saber de su servicio como aserrador. ¡Gracias por mirar y no te pierdas ninguno de nuestros próximos vídeos! Hola República Argentina. Miguel

@@WickedWoodsNWLLC Gracias por contestar, yo decía por el tiempo que se pierde al lavar los tablones pero esta todo bien. Siempre me gusta mirar los videos y para ver como trabajan en otros países, el ser Oficial Aserrador era para mí como un hobby, hoy ya estoy retirado por la edad. Lo que les dije de la máquina Carro, es así es más práctico y se que con un poco de esfuerzo lo tendrán, las hojas de sierra con las que yo trabajaba tenían 10m. de largo y 5" (12cm) de ancho, además perdonen que les pregunte, saben Uds. que la sierra avisa cuando está por cortarse?... Saludos para todos Ustedes.

Pasamos más tiempo filmando para nuestro canal de RU-vid que en un día de producción rápido. ¡Nunca me quejo al ver la veta antes de pasar a la siguiente losa! Nuestra máquina está configurada principalmente por computadora con la altura y el grosor establecidos, pero el resto se controla manualmente. ¡Me encantaría tener varios aserraderos diferentes para satisfacer todas nuestras necesidades! La hoja de 5 pulgadas de grosor la mantendría mucho más plana, ¡estas ruedas son demasiado pequeñas para pasar por encima de las 1,5 pulgadas actualmente! ¡Gracias de nuevo por mirar!@@juancasimiro3865

@@WickedWoodsNWLLC está todo bien Sr.

We do use eye protection and ppe most of the time. Thanks for watching!

It keeps the dust off of the ground. My mill doesn't allow our skid steer to get behind to clean up the sawdust. It's raining 9 months out of the year so the sawdust gets heavy quick. We upgraded to a stationary collection that shoots it to a pile further away so it's hands free now.

…and walnut dust is quite toxic.

@franklinbrooks9506 Walnut sawdust is the only type I have actually gotten burns from. Chainsaw chips in the shoes can even cause burns if left.

@@WickedWoodsNWLLC that’s interesting. I didn’t know that.

@WideCutSawmill Lasting burns! A few from my crew had some when we had our saws in the root mass breaking it down. Usually doesn't happen if you wear pants instead of shorts!

10 good slabs and one smaller one was the total. Let's say they are 2.5 inches thick and 12 ft long. And Let's say the average width is also 2.5 ft wide. 2.5x12x2.5 Each slab is around 75 board ft. Kiln dried and flattened, they will be around $20/bd ft. Some are already spoken for. Thanks for watching!

Damascus, Oregon. Surrounded by these hardwoods! What about you?

Good question. There are several companies who pressure wash their slabs to show grain after they are out of the kiln and they swear it doesn't add internal moisture. Pressure washers won't add water through the pores of wood. Getting the fine dust off of slabs that have a long dry time seems to work best for us. These slabs will see three to four years of air drying before they hit the kiln. Thanks for watching!

They had deep continuing bands of curl. Nothing tight like a curly maple. Thanks for watching!

We have almost seven acres between our two properties and our 3000 sq ft shop for dry storage. Always looks like a mess but wood is always cycling through! Thanks for watching!

Thanks for watching. We are going to be milling a large white oak about the same size here shortly. Stay tuned!

Both of our log yards are in Damascus, Oregon USA. Thanks for watching. Check out our other claro walnut logs we have milled!

@@WickedWoodsNWLLC Oh very far. ..

@@viorelscrob6391 Do you have claro walnuts where you are from?

@@WickedWoodsNWLLC i am from Romania, what you said. ..?

@viorelscrob6391 Are there claro walnut trees is Romania?

10/4 was chosen because of the length of the log. Will yield close to an 8/4 finished table. Thanks for watching!

@@WickedWoodsNWLLC ok..... I just cut down a straight trunk Bl Walnut. For countertop keeping contrasting sapwood, which will dry up a bit browner ( maybe live edge, semi live, combo or finidhed. Depending on yoeld,,,,,,and Live Edge table, plus other... maybe staircase. 18 ft 4 in. Length. Diam. W/bark is 31 at base, doen to about 29, 10 ft up, then taper down a bit, then back to 30 at a crotch commencement.plus 3 fat crotche "V" sections at 31" but to feed sideway through an Amish run 32"w/20'L band saw, is the plan. Plus a 2 ft x3 ft straight short, and not gonna waste it if over 5 in. Diameter... lathed spindals, small dimentional trim, etc. Wish me luck in my old age !! Will natural dry for 2 yrs. May go with 4 to 6 fat slabs. Is 9/4 not enough to end at 2 inch finished ?

Depends at what length you cut it at. 18 ft long, we would mill 16/4 and hope for the best through air and kiln drying. 12 ft lengths are always 10/4 or 12/4 if we are.doing live edge slabs. The sap wood dries faster with walnut and tends to pull edges up and down more compared to complete heartwood slabs. Good luck, each log is an adventure!

Awesome, I appreciate the support!

The pressure being used is too minimal to cause any issues. We only bring the big one out for bark and root wads. Thanks for watching.

Our Takeuchi skid steer is the heart of the operation. What should we be doing differently with our stickering? Thanks for watching!

What thickness do they look like to you?

The person helping is a contractor friend of mine, who doesn't typically mill with me. Mills can be dangerous when there are more than one person making decisions at once, equally as dangerous when nobody is making decisions and assumptions are made that everyone is on the same page. We have never had an accident nor injury, I would like to think me being bossy helps keep everyone safe! Thanks for the comment, I will see if I can keep my order giving to a minimum. Check back after a few more big logs and let me know how I am progressing.

That is a fantastic answer all the best mate in the future good luck 👍@@WickedWoodsNWLLC

I appreciate you, thanks for watching!

I got a good chuckle out of that. He is actually my friend who is a builder in the Portland area. His labor days are behind him besides when I make him mill with me!

@@WickedWoodsNWLLC traduçao

@@marquesjosiasmarques225 Mi amigo constructor de casas. No trabajo duro, porque el jefe para su empresa.

Tudo bem obrigado

We have plenty of shovels that we use as well as our squeegies. Thanks for the support!

Common sense isn't required these days, but I always enjoy reading what people are willing to write! Thanks for watching.

Good buddy of mine who is a general contractor. Definitely not a laborer anymore! Thanks for watching.