Hey everyone! A couple of months back, my parents cut down an ash tree, and I'm planning to mill it using my brother's sawmill. I'm not entirely sure what I'll make just yet—possibly an epoxy river table or some cutting boards. I have a couple of questions: First, what's a good thickness to mill the lumber so I have multiple options without too much hassle later on? The tree trunk is about 35-40 cm (14-16 inches) in diameter. Secondly, I need advice on drying and storing the boards to prevent warping or cracking. Should I seal the ends, use spacers when stacking, or keep them covered outdoors? Any woodworking tips would be super helpful since I'm pretty new to this!
3 Answers
To make the most of your ash, seal the ends with paint and mill some 4/4 (1 inch) boards from the logs after taking off the caps. Then, go for some thicker 8/4 (about 2 1/8 or 2 1/4 inches) wide boards from the cant, aiming to center the pith in one of them. You could also do everything in 4/4 if that works better for your projects. Since it sounds like you're using a chainsaw mill, milling everything into 8/4 live edge could be the way to go!
Just a heads up, I wouldn't recommend using ash for cutting boards because it has a pretty open grain that could trap bacteria. When you're storing the lumber, definitely seal the ends and use spacers to keep air circulation between the boards.
I've milled some ash before, and I went with a mix of thicknesses. I cut some boards at 25mm for the edges and 50mm for the rest. If you're using an Alaskan-type mill, you might want to allow for a bit more waste since it can be tricky to get accuracy. I laid my boards on a pallet with 25mm spacers in between and covered it to protect it from rain. Oh, and by the way, check out the door I made from it!
It’s a chainsaw mill. How much extra should I allow? Is it okay to leave them outside for drying, especially with winter coming? Thanks for the help!
Beautiful door you made!