Converting a log to lumber

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi, I live in a townhouse complex in Toronto, and the Green Ash trees in my neighbourhood have been infected with the Emerald Ash Borer.

Over the next few years all 40 trees will be removed, along with more than half a million other ash trees in Toronto.

The pest tunnels around in the cambium, killing the tree, however the wood is in perfect condition.

Having a small bandsaw, I decided to convert some of this wood into lumber, so I had the arborist cut 4 lengths of log 36" long for me from two of the trees. The logs were aproximately 16 to 20 inches in diameter at the large end.

Following is a photo essay of the sawing process.

The bandsaw table extension and log carriage are shown in the following photographs.

Bandsaw Table Extension.jpgLog Sled.jpg

The following link shows a bandsaw the same size as mine making lumber, and the log carriage I made is similar to the one shown in the video

http://www.hammer-canada.ca/ca-us/vi...00.html?part=2

[Rod Sheridan]

Loading the log.jpgHalf Log.jpg

The photo on the right is of the half log, ready to be sawn in half to make a quarter, as I've decided to make quarter sawn ash. The log is 16 inches wide.

The other photo is of the log being loaded onto the log carriage using my Genie lift, much easier on my back.

[Rod Sheridan]

Cant ready for sawing.jpgSawing the first slab.jpgCut surface.jpg

The first photo shows the cant ready for sawing, the second shows the first piece being slabbed off, the third photo shows the resulting cut surface.

The blade is a 3 TPI steel blade running at aproximately 1,600 FPM. It takes about 30 seconds to saw the log at the greatest depth.

[jay]

I thought all the infected ash had to be taken away and destroyed by the arbourist to attempt to limit spread of this pest

[Rod Sheridan]

Wood from one half log.jpg

This is the resulting lumber from the half log, quarter sawn, with end sealer applied. It's sawn to 5/4 thickness.

I'll post a photo of the resulting pile outside stickered and ready for drying......Rod.

Stickered and waiting.jpg

P.S. Here's a photo of the wood stickered and waiting to dry, I'm using a sheet of plywood as a cover. This is the wood from 2 logs 36" long.

[Rod Sheridan]

I thought all the infected ash had to be taken away and destroyed by the arbourist to attempt to limit spread of this pest

Nope, checked with the City of Toronto forrester and you can keep it for whatever you want, firewood, lumber etc.

You cannot move unproceesed wood such as logs or firewood out of the area however.

Regards, Rod.

[Rick Thom]

This is an interesting and useful thread. Thx Rod.

[Frank Pellow]

Great job Rod!

Does anyone know how I can get ahold of some of these ash logs?

[Rod Sheridan]

Frank, contact the city, they're cutting them down on a daily basis...............Rod.

[Frank Pellow]

Sorry to be difficult Rod, but just what do you mean when you say "the city". Is there some department or some person?

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Frank, turns out they won't give you one.

Next tree in my neighbourhood that gets cut down, I'll save you a length......Rod.

[Frank Pellow]

Thanks Rod, I will take whatever they are prepared to give me. I will also keep alookout in my neighbourhood.

[Pat from Elora]

But wouldn't it have to be kiln dried before it is moved from a region? I would hope there are some strict guidelines on handling wood that is being cut because of the ash borer or any other invasive pest. I would also assume there would be some massive penalties.

Am I wrong about this?

[tractorboy30]

But wouldn't it have to be kiln dried before it is moved from a region? I would hope there are some strict guidelines on handling wood that is being cut because of the ash borer or any other invasive pest. I would also assume there would be some massive penalties.

Am I wrong about this?

Nope your not wrong I haul bark and wood chips and I can tell you any ash has to be ground down to small size before it is deemed ok and bug free. rod really look in to this cuzz its a $10,000 fine if you get cought moving ash out of the quarantine area witch is all of T.O Halton Peel. I know I have a premit when I'm hauling it and its always stays with in the quarantine area so im supprized that they gave you the logs. Ash is some nice lumber it will suck when they are all gone
Frank

[Pat from Elora]

Don't do it..It's not worth it. More than ash is at stake here

Cabinet making is how I've made a living for the past 25+ years and it is my hobby. I'm pretty sure there are a few people on this forum who enjoy working with wood.
These pests are devastating to the wood industry in general and I understand some pests came here in packing crates. Imagine the damage when people ignore the rules made to prevent them from spreading

[Egon]

Lovely presentation!

I really like the log lift.

Using that presentation as a guide lots of folks could use a smaller bandsaw with riser for smaller logs. It might be surprising how much lumber could be milled from scrap logs. Larger ones could be halved with a chain saw to get them to bandsaw size.

[John Bartley]

Nope your not wrong I haul bark and wood chips and I can tell you any ash has to be ground down to small size before it is deemed ok and bug free. rod really look in to this cuzz its a $10,000 fine if you get cought moving ash out of the quarantine area witch is all of T.O Halton Peel. I know I have a premit when I'm hauling it and its always stays with in the quarantine area so im supprized that they gave you the logs. Ash is some nice lumber it will suck when they are all gone
Frank

There are plenty of myths out there regarding Ash, the Ash Borer and how to handle the wood. What I know from personal experience is that the CFIA will work with people who wish to recycle the lumber from Ash trees that are being cut. The Ash Borer lives in the cambium layer, and the requirement for handling Ash is that the bark be removed to a depth of not less that 2.5cm below the cambium layer of the log. Yes, there are transport requirements for Ash, but slabbing a log to the prescribed depth fulfills the "processing" requirement and allows the remaining cant to be transported. Before I moved from Ottawa to Monteith in 2009/2010, I worked with the local CFIA rep for the Ottawa area to do just this sort of work, with my goal being to obtain a source of large straight Ash logs to run thru' my sawmill. By communicating clearly and honestly with my local CFIA rep, and by working with both the rep and an arborist acquaintance, I was able to saw several thousand board feet of Ash before I moved, some of the Ash coming from restricted areas.

Best advice? .... read the ministerial order, contact your local CFIA rep if you plan to do any volume of Ash log recycling, and have a good plan in place to deal with the logs that you acquire.

NOT all Ash has to be chipped.

cheers

John

[Rod Sheridan]

Nope your not wrong I haul bark and wood chips and I can tell you any ash has to be ground down to small size before it is deemed ok and bug free. rod really look in to this cuzz its a $10,000 fine if you get cought moving ash out of the quarantine area witch is all of T.O Halton Peel. I know I have a premit when I'm hauling it and its always stays with in the quarantine area so im supprized that they gave you the logs. Ash is some nice lumber it will suck when they are all gone
Frank

Yes you're correct, however it's not being moved anywhere, it started in my back yard, and it's staying in my house. I did check on it and received the information in writing from the City of Toronto forrester.

Remember that we're allowed to keep it for firewood as well if it's not moved out of the city.

It's also fine to put it out as yard waste in the infected area...............Regards, Rod.

[Rod Sheridan]

There are plenty of myths out there regarding Ash, the Ash Borer and how to handle the wood. What I know from personal experience is that the CFIA will work with people who wish to recycle the lumber from Ash trees that are being cut. The Ash Borer lives in the cambium layer, and the requirement for handling Ash is that the bark be removed to a depth of not less that 2.5cm below the cambium layer of the log. Yes, there are transport requirements for Ash, but slabbing a log to the prescribed depth fulfills the "processing" requirement and allows the remaining cant to be transported. Before I moved from Ottawa to Monteith in 2009/2010, I worked with the local CFIA rep for the Ottawa area to do just this sort of work, with my goal being to obtain a source of large straight Ash logs to run thru' my sawmill. By communicating clearly and honestly with my local CFIA rep, and by working with both the rep and an arborist acquaintance, I was able to saw several thousand board feet of Ash before I moved, some of the Ash coming from restricted areas.

Best advice? .... read the ministerial order, contact your local CFIA rep if you plan to do any volume of Ash log recycling, and have a good plan in place to deal with the logs that you acquire.

NOT all Ash has to be chipped.

cheers

John

This exactly the information I received, the wood doesn't have any larvae, they're in the cambium only which makes the wood pristine, and not contaminated.

This is not the case with the Asian Longhorn Beetle which has also been in Toronto.

The State of Michigan actually started a program to encourage homeowners to have their infected trees milled into lumber for use, or for landscaping timbers.....Rod.

P.S. I did find 3 live lavae when I was peeling the bark, my Leopard Gecko thinks they're very tasty.

[tractorboy30]

Yes you're correct, however it's not being moved anywhere, it started in my back yard, and it's staying in my house. I did check on it and received the information in writing from the City of Toronto forrester.

Remember that we're allowed to keep it for firewood as well if it's not moved out of the city.

It's also fine to put it out as yard waste in the infected area...............Regards, Rod.

your right Rod if your keep it in your area then your all right. the lumber it self will be fine its just the 1st bit of the log that you slab anyhow just burn it or do like you said and put it in the yard waste and it will get ground down and any larva will die due to the speed of the mill as it gets ground.
Frank