Hi Morgans! At minute 20:15, I'm the "guy from Colorado" that sent you an Intro. Thanks for the shout out! We live 35 miles south east of Denver. We don't have the tree's like you do in PA. We have open plains. Some areas near to me in Elizabeth Colorado and Franktown Colorado have huge stands of Ponderosa Pine trees, but not at my house. Interesting fact, we live in an area that is higher in altitude then Denver or Colorado Springs and we get more rain than they do. If you go 10 miles east of me, there are no trees and it's wide open. The pile of wood you see in my video is from a local mill where I make firewood out of the slab, similar to the ones you make from your mill. Thank you, and keep up the great videos!
Hello Mike - My name is Jim and I am a turner. I would prefer a 16" Round split in half to remove the pith. Seal them right away (use paint, wax, glue or there are also commercially available wood sealers available). I would love to turn cherry or maple. Oak is not a favorite, and definitely no softwoods. I can't wait to turn a beautiful piece of PA cherry from the Morgan forest! Thanks and keep doing what you are doing, you have a beautiful family.
I'm primarily a "flat boarder" fine woodworker and make things like chests of drawers, trunks, boxes, etc. that I typically assemble with hand-cut dovetails. I fell and mill trees for my own use. As part of a large woodworking club I have also seen it done numerous times. One thing that someone figured out is that checks often go into the ends of the boards up to about where the stickers are placed. For example, stickers 10" from the end of the board = 10" checks. As such, if you place the stickers at the very ends of the boards it helps prevent significant checks. That increases the usable yield... I wouldn't call this a 100% rule as concerns what happens but I bet I'm running 90%+ very short checks in my lumber shed. I do some turning of things like drawer knobs, handles, feet, etc. for use on flat boarder projects and repairs. I also hang around with a lot of turners. From this I see that the pith is never left in a turned object unless they are specially looking for cracks (often filled with epoxy). It is either removed by sawing, riving (i.e., splitting) or turning. Note, that much of the bowl and vessel work is done with fairly fresh green wood or wood that was sealed all the way around to keep the moisture in it. Cut to length and not split the wood checks and becomes pretty much useless for turning. As such none of the guys stock piled rounds for turning... rather what I see is wood that is sawn in half or quarters, bucked as long as they were in diameter, and smothered in Anchor Seal or something similar. Spindle turning is a different story... spindles blanks are typically sawn or riven to rough dimension and no pith is included. This may be with green or dried wood depending on the intended use. All that said, perhaps your customers should tell you what they want when they order rather than you making up a bunch of stuff on speculation...
I'm a turner and have made many from cherry. Generally, the bowl is turned not including the pith for the very reasons you mentioned. The useful size of a log for turning depends on the size of bowl you desire and if you include the sapwood in the bowl. As an example, a 10" diameter log might produce perfectly fine 8" diameter (and smaller) bowls. Bowls can be turned from green wood, then dried and finished ( producing a bowl of uncertain shape due to changes during drying ), or turned again to a perfect circle, then finished. The wood can also be turned after fully drying (which might take many years). I have turned numerous bowls that actually include the pith, but usually once the log has dried and shown to be stable and crack free.
Mike it depends, for bowls and live edge work, the “ center of the log” gets removed, either by cutting to a smaller piece or during the working process. Segment turning is from scraps of planking or other pre cut pieces and glued up, but any way you look at it most often the pith is removed because when it dries it creates a split. However some wood turners will leave in the pith especially when he is turning a forked piece of wood, because this adds character to the work. So at your end, of the lumber chain I would ask your customer what they prefer... I like burls from any wood as long as it is solid!
Excellent explanation on your logic behind how you use the Wolfe Ridge Splitter Mike. We all think differently but listening or observing is how we learn new and/or better ways of doing things. Melissa might've of been by the long Woodstack you had the first time she went down the stairs.
The stairs are where Melissa says they are. Mike if I had the property that you have I would watch every video that you make and do my stuff the way you do then when I got experienced I would modify. It looks to me that you are doing things just right. Thanks for sharing your video. Hello Hunter. Ed
Mike....I used to work with a bloke who had this wonderful saying and this is it - verbatim in Yorkshire dialect (translation to follow)...."tha's got to werk to a system whatever tha does in life...werk to a system" (you've got to work to a system, whatever you do in life, work to a system)...it appears that you've got your system...it works for you....I can't fault that !
I still just split wood by hand. For me it provides the best pieces because it splits how the wood wants to split. And I can choose better what size piece of wood I want. Great video, looking forward to the next one!
Hi for your questions about turning. On the log you where showing if you remove about an inch on top and bottom and remove a 2’’ in the center and you leave the 2 pieces with live edge it’s perfect for turning blanks
Mike - Great educational video. Thanks for sharing your reasons as to why you do what you do. Some may still question, but hey, opinions are like noses, almost everyone has one. Blessings to you and your family. Say Hi to Hunter.
Grew up in beautiful southwestern PA, but we never burned elm due to the smell! Watching your great channel gets me homesick for people & woods! Yinz are terrific!
Love watching you guy's, do what you keep doing, what your comfortable with. If you find using the woodsplitter better the way you do it, carry, it's your preference. Swimming pool, had one of those when I was a kid, hang on, that was a big bucket in the yard, again, you want a pool, get yourself a pool, it's your property, your money, you worked for it. While I'm on a roll, out in the woods, somebody mentioned why you don't plant more trees. Half the reason the trees are dying, is lack of space, what you are doing is managing the land, and in a good way, plus the bonus is, you get a good mix of lumber. Right I'm off, just going for a dip in my pool in the sunny UK...................... OK, I'm fibbing
I agree with Rich B. for the most part. However, my lathe has a maximum 16 inch swing so I tend to smaller blanks. So on that Cherry you were showing I would cut down the center , not worring about the pith, then Anchor seal. Then when turning I would turn off the pith area which would give me more timber to work with. Also, cutting a flat spot on each side would help out. So the procedure for me would be to make one cut to flatten out the top, rotate 180, make another flattening cut, the split the log through the pith. Finally cut the blanks one inch longer than the diameter. That one inch gives some lea way for any checking.
I have always found it interesting that when people don't understand what you are doing, they assume it is because they know something YOU don't. It's rare that they would think it is because you know something THEY don't. Nice in-depth on the splitter and why you chose you wedge. It seems as if the answer is, it depends.
Hi Mike, As Terry mentioned below. On smaller logs 8 to 12 inches I will rip in half along the pith and turn it out. If I have larger logs I rip them 1 inch each side of the pith then use the good on each side of the pith cut for pen or spindle blanks. Hope this helps.
I just took a break from dragging up some Red Oak with my old YM-165 Yanmar, loud as hell, I call it my Yammer Hammer,, but it works, sawed it up and now on to split it with the antique Northern Hydraulics splitter. It's cool to see the state of the art equipment. My stuff is much more physical, but at my age,, 67, the work may help me to love a bit longer. Keep up the great videos! oz Oops, I meant to say live a bit longer, but I suppose my typo applies as well.
Yes I use the size you were talking about and don't cut it other than bolting. If I want to cut the center out I will cut out 1/2" and make a bowl from both sides or cut end grain and hollow out the pith in the middle. Either way just cut it to a length that is just a bit longer than the diameter. And by the way I turn elm, white oak, cherry, walnut, sycamore and even redwood (Our state tree), Osage orange and basically just about anything other than pine (too sticky).
Like the way you explained why you split the way you do. Should always do what works best for you when it comes to anything in life. Other's don't agree? Too bad!!!
Mike on turning blanks, no one would use the Pith of the log for anything. The small cherry logs (10" )you show in this video would normally be cut in at least 12" length then cut through the pith to make 2 halves. From there a bowl could be made from each side or other squares cut to work around the Pith. I think you can easily see that the extra labor would drive up the cost and shipping green wood is also a killer. You do have some beautiful wood there, I also enjoy your channel and the family values that you live out before us all. Blessing CD
Man the wood you mill is beautiful!! I would put that right over my existing countertops and just stare at it. I love natural beauty. Great job Morgans❤️
Hi Mike and Melissa. I watch every day. I enjoy the channel very much. Thank you for all the time and effort you put in. Mike your audio is so much better than other channels I watch, it's great for an old tin knocker!
For turning I also recommend cutting into three pieces, with the smallest piece including the pith being only about 2 - 3 inches thick. Others have suggested cutting through the center of the pith, however my experience is that these pieces will still check quite a bit. The sooner the ends get sealed the better to prevent checking. Looking forward to potentially ordering some blanks from you and Melissa.
You are correct , the pith is unstable so its best to remove it for turning blanks . I do leave it in sometimes and stabilize it with CA glue after the rough turning , I slow dry the rough turning by burying in its shavings in a paper kraft bag for 6 months or more . Thanks for all the work you put into your channel! Best Wishes to you and your Family!
That's some nice looking cherry boards, would make some beautiful countertops. The first time I seen Melissa do the staircase was in the cabin build...
Good morning Morgan's! As far as how to sell for wood turning, I wouldn't worry too much about removing the pith. I would just sell full rounds (ends covered in Anchorseal or something equivalent to slow the drying process) at various lengths & widths, that way it will accommodate small & large lathes & leave everything else to the discretion of the buyer. I will be a future buyer for sure! Thanks for sharing & have a great day!
I love the way Melissa said "Oh Yeah" when Mike asked if she'd noticed that he was picky. The tone of her voice spoke volumes 😂. Love you guys and your videos.
Hi Mike, yes, those logs would be great for wood turners, there is almost no log too small to use for turning. Typically a 10 inch diameter log would be sliced into 14 or 16 inch lengths, then the ends sealed and left to dry. Or the 16 inch lengths could be cut down the centre and you can three great bowl blanks. Bowls come in all sizes. These can be turned wet, and either dried out in a small microwave, or left to dry and then re-turned when they dry. As a wood turner, I cringe when I see you split maple, cheery and even hemlock, and I think, there goes another few bowls!
Great video as usual Mike. For turning, I cut the center out. With a piece like you were showing, I would cut about 2 inches from the center, making 3 pieces. Then the center piece, I cut the sap wood off and cut the center out of that. There would be 4 pieces for turning. I would then anchor seal them so they don’t check/split. Cherry is one of my favorite woods to turn, especially doing live edge bowls.
Mike, you could split into rounds, but turning end grain like that is a pain. If the round is large enough most turners would split it to avoid the pith. This makes pieces that most appropriate for turning. Turning blanks are sold as squares such as 6x6 and 2,3, 4, 5, 6 plus high etc. Commercially it is difficult to find blanks larger than 8x3 unless you cut your own.
The grain in those wide cherry boards is beautiful, it would make a nice headboard for a bed or cabinets. Cherry grows so crooked here in VA, I doubt you'd find much that would be suitable for the mill, but it does dry quick and burn well. Hi Hunter!!
Mike, I've been looking that cherry over. A few years ago my wife and I were visiting the Finger Lakes. We visited the Corning Museum of Glass. Long story short, I got the bug and I've been blowing glass for 4 years. The blocks used for shaping glass are made of cherry. You could get dozens of blocks from each of those logs. I looked up the commercially available blocks. The smallest blocks go for about 40 bucks. The largest, well over a 100. Blockhead Glass Tools.
Greetings from No. VT - I don't do much turning now days but I can say that depending on the species using heartwood for legs and shaped pieces (like lamps) etc. can be a crap shoot. Ironically your question comes at a great time, the wife is after me to turn a whole bunch of legs for some tables she wants me to build for our son's camp so I will probably be tuning up the lathe in the next few weeks. I never did bowls, so no opinion there. Now about the wood experiences I have had - If the cherry is kiln dried, the heartwood may be stable enough to use for turning safely. I generally would construct cherry blanks (glue together) from the mid to outer cuts. That eliminated most of the checking and warping that the heartwood might develop once turned. If you build your blanks carefully the seams between boards become less noticeable but the alternating grain gives you a lot of stability. White Oak heartwood, once dried, is pretty stable, but we are talking air drying 6 or 7 years. Red oak is similar but heartwood can generally air dry in 5 years or so to give you nice stable cores for turning. Maple (depending on the species and how wet the environment it came from) would be OK to use heartwood generally after 3-5 years if it came from a straight log with no stresses. But again I prefer to construct blanks because the cross graining is much more stable and can give you some great grain profiles. If you have the luxury of a drying kiln then you can tell immediately when you pull it out if the wood will stay stable. The only time I recall using Elm for turning was from some wood that had been milled 100+ years ago, so not a fair comparison. Some wood turners turn woods that may not be fully dry but often discover that cracks and warping develop in the turned wood pretty quickly because the turning opens the wood up for more drying, which can be very asymmetrical, meaning more likely cracks and warping develop due to the uneven drying that then occurs. Maybe too much info, hope some is helpful.
As a turner, I would always cut the centre out of any turning blanks. The only wood I use whole is small beech or ash that’s green, anything else I cut it from around the edge of the timber
Mike and Melisa I really in joy your video's. It would be such a treat to have property to be able cut and split wood, keep the video's coming. We are from central Ohio, thanks John and Wendy Mangas.
Lathe question: Yes - I would split the piece and then make bowls from each half my lathe is small (16x20) so 1/2 pieces work great for me. I have a friend who brought two cherry logs down from Maine which are 24 wide by 20 long with a rotten center core, after splitting I am getting some really nice blanks to turn
Thanks for the video nice info . Thanks for sending rain my way better than the 28 inches of snow the weekend before , but puts an end to working in the bush way to soft and dangerous with big white pine branches falling the sizeof those logs you where splitting . Have a good one peoples
Sure do love the options that splitter gives you. I know experience is the best teacher on how to do most anything laborious. Most anyone can figure out what works best for them, and occasionally, a good suggestion comes along that we never thought of from someone who has figured it out for you already. Enjoyed the video.
Love your content. I know it takes a lot of time and work but you both make it look so professional and easy. When you stack lumber, stickered or not, alternate side to side or in the middle where the narrower board goes rather than two narrow ones on top of rash other on an edge. Doing that will keep the stacks more stable and tied together when you move them for drying or for sale. Bruce Vincent St Louis MO
You can take this for what it's worth. Only because of who I am and my last thoughts to your channel. There is a tuber on here by Matthew Cremona, he operates a hand made band saw mill. Does some very interesting work. I tell you this because we all can learn from someone else at times. He covered a log that he was milling for table legs. Just a thought that you could get some great information from him as to how and why he milled his log the way he did for turning table legs. It was a very informative video and he does some very fantastic wood working projects. I wish I had his talent
That is a NICE splitter. I notice several times previously and drooled all over my iPad. 🤪. I would have to have,work light put on it because it is such a nice machine. Hey Wolfridge can I try one out?
Hi Mike, I always turn "Not on the end grain" but split the log and turn across the grain, I also dip the open ends in hot wax, this slows the drying down, the wood blank will dry to quick an split other wise, hope that helps
Love you guys.Every morning like opening a present. Gratitude from the mile-high state. Quick thought. Lots of amateur, but very talented, woodworkers in PA. Do you think you could swap some of that gorgeous cherry for a woodworker's agreement to build a few blanket chests (dowery chests) for your grandbabies? Have some heirloom stuff with wood from your own place, and you'd make some great friends in the local woodworking community, where news of your mill's quality would spread like wildfire. Also might make for some fun traveling (fieldtrip) vids to great people nearby.
I have a small lathe. I have used small logs with the pith in the center. I haven't had any problems. You can see some of my projects on my Facebook page. There are some small bowls. lamps, wooden eggs. All different species of wood .
Definitely more efficient with the 4 way and your technique Mike. Hardwoods require more time to dry and the smaller the better. Stacking also easier when smaller too. Glad to see the comparison w the 6 way, easy to see the difference in time and effort, Thanks for another great video!
Mike, your comment about Colo and no trees - when I was there many years ago for 10 years, I realized for the first time what they mean in Montana about 'Big Sky' It is amazing.
Good morning folks! I think you guys sent us the rain from Western Pennsylvania to Eastern Pennsylvania. We had over 2 in here on Saturday. My property is like a mud bath. The sloppy weather is driving me crazy, as I know it is for you, Mike. Need to get my chainsaw mill going and tackle these logs I have laying everywhere! Have a great day guys! 👍
Brilliant marketing on your part (thanks to BF Jeanie for suggesting) to include your subscribers to open and close videos. Audience participation turning subscribers into mini You-tubers. Brilliant just brilliant!
Hey, love just about all the videos - all fun and interesting. I am not hard core though. I also love the family, friends and critter content. How is the extended family? Hunter is a real hoot. I don't even like photographs of myself so you will never see a intro or ending. Take care, from Blackridge (Churchill, Penn Hills, Willkinsburg)
Looks like your system works VERY WELL for you. Can you adjust your "stop" position for the ram. It looks to me like you should have it stop just a little closer to splitter.
Rainy and crummy day in Pennsylvania? Naw, Kain't bee. I remember moving and lifting those big heavy rounds. That log lift is a God send. When you get older you will still have your back.
For turning blanks, you *must* remove the pith before the log checks/cracks. If you have a 12" wide log, cut it into 12" lengths (makes a max-width 12" bowl!) but the pith needs to be removed, for a 12" log I'd remove about 1" wide slab from the middle.
Hello from San Diego. Love your hardwoods and agree with the comments regarding their methods to prepare wood for turning. We AVOID the PITH whenever possible. Keep in mind most woodturners are cheap and are wood hoarders. You always throw off the first slice with bark to the "trash pile". Cutting those up into squares is a great source for live edge bowls. Any other "short" cuts are for turners. Just Anchor Seal the ends. Check with schools with woodworking programs and woodturning clubs in your area. Might be another side job for Hunter.
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That is great info on your way of splitting wood and the Lumber is Beautiful!!👍👊
Mike, it’s good of you to take the time to explain why you do things a certain way. Some viewers may benefit from that.
Hi Morgans! At minute 20:15, I'm the "guy from Colorado" that sent you an Intro. Thanks for the shout out! We live 35 miles south east of Denver. We don't have the tree's like you do in PA. We have open plains. Some areas near to me in Elizabeth Colorado and Franktown Colorado have huge stands of Ponderosa Pine trees, but not at my house. Interesting fact, we live in an area that is higher in altitude then Denver or Colorado Springs and we get more rain than they do. If you go 10 miles east of me, there are no trees and it's wide open. The pile of wood you see in my video is from a local mill where I make firewood out of the slab, similar to the ones you make from your mill. Thank you, and keep up the great videos!
I share your view of the beauty of hardwoods. There's nothing like it. At one time I refinished furniture mainly because I love the look when done.
I think the original staircase was going into the basement. Thanks for all the great RUclips content. 🇺🇸🪕🎸
Hello Mike - My name is Jim and I am a turner. I would prefer a 16" Round split in half to remove the pith. Seal them right away (use paint, wax, glue or there are also commercially available wood sealers available). I would love to turn cherry or maple. Oak is not a favorite, and definitely no softwoods. I can't wait to turn a beautiful piece of PA cherry from the Morgan forest! Thanks and keep doing what you are doing, you have a beautiful family.
I'm primarily a "flat boarder" fine woodworker and make things like chests of drawers, trunks, boxes, etc. that I typically assemble with hand-cut dovetails. I fell and mill trees for my own use. As part of a large woodworking club I have also seen it done numerous times. One thing that someone figured out is that checks often go into the ends of the boards up to about where the stickers are placed. For example, stickers 10" from the end of the board = 10" checks. As such, if you place the stickers at the very ends of the boards it helps prevent significant checks. That increases the usable yield... I wouldn't call this a 100% rule as concerns what happens but I bet I'm running 90%+ very short checks in my lumber shed.
I do some turning of things like drawer knobs, handles, feet, etc. for use on flat boarder projects and repairs. I also hang around with a lot of turners. From this I see that the pith is never left in a turned object unless they are specially looking for cracks (often filled with epoxy). It is either removed by sawing, riving (i.e., splitting) or turning. Note, that much of the bowl and vessel work is done with fairly fresh green wood or wood that was sealed all the way around to keep the moisture in it. Cut to length and not split the wood checks and becomes pretty much useless for turning. As such none of the guys stock piled rounds for turning... rather what I see is wood that is sawn in half or quarters, bucked as long as they were in diameter, and smothered in Anchor Seal or something similar. Spindle turning is a different story... spindles blanks are typically sawn or riven to rough dimension and no pith is included. This may be with green or dried wood depending on the intended use.
All that said, perhaps your customers should tell you what they want when they order rather than you making up a bunch of stuff on speculation...
I'm a turner and have made many from cherry. Generally, the bowl is turned not including the pith for the very reasons you mentioned. The useful size of a log for turning depends on the size of bowl you desire and if you include the sapwood in the bowl. As an example, a 10" diameter log might produce perfectly fine 8" diameter (and smaller) bowls. Bowls can be turned from green wood, then dried and finished ( producing a bowl of uncertain shape due to changes during drying ), or turned again to a perfect circle, then finished. The wood can also be turned after fully drying (which might take many years). I have turned numerous bowls that actually include the pith, but usually once the log has dried and shown to be stable and crack free.
Mike it depends, for bowls and live edge work, the “ center of the log” gets removed, either by cutting to a smaller piece or during the working process. Segment turning is from scraps of planking or other pre cut pieces and glued up, but any way you look at it most often the pith is removed because when it dries it creates a split. However some wood turners will leave in the pith especially when he is turning a forked piece of wood, because this adds character to the work. So at your end, of the lumber chain I would ask your customer what they prefer... I like burls from any wood as long as it is solid!
Thanks for the continued interesting videos! Tell Hunter hello from a fellow wood cutter from Missouri!
Excellent explanation on your logic behind how you use the Wolfe Ridge Splitter Mike. We all think differently but listening or observing is how we learn new and/or better ways of doing things. Melissa might've of been by the long Woodstack you had the first time she went down the stairs.
The stairs are where Melissa says they are. Mike if I had the property that you have I would watch every video that you make and do my stuff the way you do then when I got experienced I would modify. It looks to me that you are doing things just right. Thanks for sharing your video. Hello Hunter. Ed
The Closing video was Great. It’s really neat seeing what other folks are doing in their part of the World. 🌎
Yea we love it too!
Mike....I used to work with a bloke who had this wonderful saying and this is it - verbatim in Yorkshire dialect (translation to follow)...."tha's got to werk to a system whatever tha does in life...werk to a system" (you've got to work to a system, whatever you do in life, work to a system)...it appears that you've got your system...it works for you....I can't fault that !
These are good splitting tips. Thanks Mike.
I still just split wood by hand. For me it provides the best pieces because it splits how the wood wants to split. And I can choose better what size piece of wood I want. Great video, looking forward to the next one!
Hi for your questions about turning. On the log you where showing if you remove about an inch on top and bottom and remove a 2’’ in the center and you leave the 2 pieces with live edge it’s perfect for turning blanks
Mike - Great educational video. Thanks for sharing your reasons as to why you do what you do. Some may still question, but hey, opinions are like noses, almost everyone has one. Blessings to you and your family. Say Hi to Hunter.
Your wood, your splitter, your time -- your way.
Exactly
Love
there is no wrong way
Grew up in beautiful southwestern PA, but we never burned elm due to the smell! Watching your great channel gets me homesick for people & woods! Yinz are terrific!
Love watching you guy's, do what you keep doing, what your comfortable with. If you find using the woodsplitter better the way you do it, carry, it's your preference. Swimming pool, had one of those when I was a kid, hang on, that was a big bucket in the yard, again, you want a pool, get yourself a pool, it's your property, your money, you worked for it. While I'm on a roll, out in the woods, somebody mentioned why you don't plant more trees. Half the reason the trees are dying, is lack of space, what you are doing is managing the land, and in a good way, plus the bonus is, you get a good mix of lumber.
Right I'm off, just going for a dip in my pool in the sunny UK...................... OK, I'm fibbing
love the new intros and exit videos
I agree with Rich B. for the most part. However, my lathe has a maximum 16 inch swing so I tend to smaller blanks. So on that Cherry you were showing I would cut down the center , not worring about the pith, then Anchor seal. Then when turning I would turn off the pith area which would give me more timber to work with. Also, cutting a flat spot on each side would help out. So the procedure for me would be to make one cut to flatten out the top, rotate 180, make another flattening cut, the split the log through the pith. Finally cut the blanks one inch longer than the diameter. That one inch gives some lea way for any checking.
Another great video .... love tuning in to watch. Hi from Derbyshire England...
Great stuff! Glad to be part of the outtro! Love the OUTDOORS!!!
Hey guys I just purchased a Connex building 10x10x40 2000$ and built a kiln out of it and use it as storage . Works great
I have always found it interesting that when people don't understand what you are doing, they assume it is because they know something YOU don't. It's rare that they would think it is because you know something THEY don't. Nice in-depth on the splitter and why you chose you wedge. It seems as if the answer is, it depends.
Hi Mike, As Terry mentioned below. On smaller logs 8 to 12 inches I will rip in half along the pith and turn it out. If I have larger logs I rip them 1 inch each side of the pith then use the good on each side of the pith cut for pen or spindle blanks. Hope this helps.
Mike & Melissa Just do it! have fun doing it! and be Safe doing it ! God Bless !
Man, that lumber is incredible, especially the cherry. Could you imagine your kitchen cabinets being made from that cherry? Unbelievable. Nice work!
I just took a break from dragging up some Red Oak with my old YM-165 Yanmar, loud as hell, I call it my Yammer Hammer,, but it works, sawed it up and now on to split it with the antique Northern Hydraulics splitter. It's cool to see the state of the art equipment. My stuff is much more physical, but at my age,, 67, the work may help me to love a bit longer. Keep up the great videos! oz Oops, I meant to say live a bit longer, but I suppose my typo applies as well.
Yes I use the size you were talking about and don't cut it other than bolting. If I want to cut the center out I will cut out 1/2" and make a bowl from both sides or cut end grain and hollow out the pith in the middle. Either way just cut it to a length that is just a bit longer than the diameter. And by the way I turn elm, white oak, cherry, walnut, sycamore and even redwood (Our state tree), Osage orange and basically just about anything other than pine (too sticky).
I live in the city and these vids are so interesting and informitive ... I live in Southern Ontario Canada
Love you guys.Hate to say it eastonmade box wedge. best splitter ever.
Mike you don't have to justify the way you do things
What's right for you is right
To hell with the haters
I think your way of splitting will be better for most people, the pieces will easier for most people to pick up with one hand.
Another interesting video. Thanks Mike and Melissa for taking the time to educate us on why you do things the way you do.
Like the way you explained why you split the way you do. Should always do what works best for you when it comes to anything in life. Other's don't agree? Too bad!!!
Derek, awesome job on the outro video!
Mike on turning blanks, no one would use the Pith of the log for anything. The small cherry logs (10" )you show in this video would normally be cut in at least 12" length then cut through the pith to make 2 halves. From there a bowl could be made from each side or other squares cut to work around the Pith. I think you can easily see that the extra labor would drive up the cost and shipping green wood is also a killer. You do have some beautiful wood there, I also enjoy your channel and the family values that you live out before us all.
Blessing CD
Man the wood you mill is beautiful!! I would put that right over my existing countertops and just stare at it. I love natural beauty. Great job Morgans❤️
Hi Mike and Melissa. I watch every day. I enjoy the channel very much. Thank you for all the time and effort you put in. Mike your audio is so much better than other channels I watch, it's great for an old tin knocker!
For turning I also recommend cutting into three pieces, with the smallest piece including the pith being only about 2 - 3 inches thick. Others have suggested cutting through the center of the pith, however my experience is that these pieces will still check quite a bit. The sooner the ends get sealed the better to prevent checking. Looking forward to potentially ordering some blanks from you and Melissa.
Keep em comin, Love your videos. Always informative and always entertaining...
You are correct , the pith is unstable so its best to remove it for turning blanks . I do leave it in sometimes and stabilize it with CA glue after the rough turning , I slow dry the rough turning by burying in its shavings in a paper kraft bag for 6 months or more
. Thanks for all the work you put into your channel!
Best Wishes to you and your Family!
Love the staircase!
Love watching you guys, keep up the great work. An I also love the mini cabin
Loved the ending out thing guy. Very cool. Good info about the splitter.
A NICE ROOF OVER YOUR LOG SPLITTING AREA, THEN RAIN OR SNOW NO PROB FOR YOU. GREAT VID, UK
It’s a good morning when I can watch you guys and drink my coffee. Can’t say enough good about this channel so I’ll just say great job. 👍
That's some nice looking cherry boards, would make some beautiful countertops. The first time I seen Melissa do the staircase was in the cabin build...
Hi from yamba Australia yes you are wright about the pith but you can also do end grain turning with the round log.
that wolfridge splitter is a beast it doesn't even grunt with that 6 way even when splitting elm nice God bless
Good morning Morgan's! As far as how to sell for wood turning, I wouldn't worry too much about removing the pith. I would just sell full rounds (ends covered in Anchorseal or something equivalent to slow the drying process) at various lengths & widths, that way it will accommodate small & large lathes & leave everything else to the discretion of the buyer. I will be a future buyer for sure! Thanks for sharing & have a great day!
I like what ur doing with the intros brotha! Can't wait to get our mill here on the farm....out playing with the cows today! God Bless
Instablaster.
I love the way Melissa said "Oh Yeah" when Mike asked if she'd noticed that he was picky. The tone of her voice spoke volumes 😂. Love you guys and your videos.
Hi Mike, yes, those logs would be great for wood turners, there is almost no log too small to use for turning. Typically a 10 inch diameter log would be sliced into 14 or 16 inch lengths, then the ends sealed and left to dry. Or the 16 inch lengths could be cut down the centre and you can three great bowl blanks. Bowls come in all sizes. These can be turned wet, and either dried out in a small microwave, or left to dry and then re-turned when they dry. As a wood turner, I cringe when I see you split maple, cheery and even hemlock, and I think, there goes another few bowls!
Great video as usual Mike. For turning, I cut the center out. With a piece like you were showing, I would cut about 2 inches from the center, making 3 pieces. Then the center piece, I cut the sap wood off and cut the center out of that. There would be 4 pieces for turning. I would then anchor seal them so they don’t check/split. Cherry is one of my favorite woods to turn, especially doing live edge bowls.
Mike, you could split into rounds, but turning end grain like that is a pain. If the round is large enough most turners would split it to avoid the pith. This makes pieces that most appropriate for turning.
Turning blanks are sold as squares such as 6x6 and 2,3, 4, 5, 6 plus high etc. Commercially it is difficult to find blanks larger than 8x3 unless you cut your own.
The grain in those wide cherry boards is beautiful, it would make a nice headboard for a bed or cabinets. Cherry grows so crooked here in VA, I doubt you'd find much that would be suitable for the mill, but it does dry quick and burn well. Hi Hunter!!
Good afternoon guys have fun day from Allen an Banda from Canada 🚜
Shout out to the Landfill Rat ! Glad your doing the intro it's fun !
Loved the “Buckin’ Billy Ray” Hoody on the Video Intro. 👍 He and his son are taking care of the Trees 🌳 up In British Columbia, Canada 🇨🇦
Mike, I've been looking that cherry over. A few years ago my wife and I were visiting the Finger Lakes. We visited the Corning Museum of Glass. Long story short, I got the bug and I've been blowing glass for 4 years. The blocks used for shaping glass are made of cherry. You could get dozens of blocks from each of those logs. I looked up the commercially available blocks. The smallest blocks go for about 40 bucks. The largest, well over a 100. Blockhead Glass Tools.
Greetings from No. VT - I don't do much turning now days but I can say that depending on the species using heartwood for legs and shaped pieces (like lamps) etc. can be a crap shoot. Ironically your question comes at a great time, the wife is after me to turn a whole bunch of legs for some tables she wants me to build for our son's camp so I will probably be tuning up the lathe in the next few weeks. I never did bowls, so no opinion there. Now about the wood experiences I have had - If the cherry is kiln dried, the heartwood may be stable enough to use for turning safely. I generally would construct cherry blanks (glue together) from the mid to outer cuts. That eliminated most of the checking and warping that the heartwood might develop once turned. If you build your blanks carefully the seams between boards become less noticeable but the alternating grain gives you a lot of stability. White Oak heartwood, once dried, is pretty stable, but we are talking air drying 6 or 7 years. Red oak is similar but heartwood can generally air dry in 5 years or so to give you nice stable cores for turning. Maple (depending on the species and how wet the environment it came from) would be OK to use heartwood generally after 3-5 years if it came from a straight log with no stresses. But again I prefer to construct blanks because the cross graining is much more stable and can give you some great grain profiles. If you have the luxury of a drying kiln then you can tell immediately when you pull it out if the wood will stay stable. The only time I recall using Elm for turning was from some wood that had been milled 100+ years ago, so not a fair comparison. Some wood turners turn woods that may not be fully dry but often discover that cracks and warping develop in the turned wood pretty quickly because the turning opens the wood up for more drying, which can be very asymmetrical, meaning more likely cracks and warping develop due to the uneven drying that then occurs.
Maybe too much info, hope some is helpful.
As a turner, I would always cut the centre out of any turning blanks. The only wood I use whole is small beech or ash that’s green, anything else I cut it from around the edge of the timber
Great video thanks again
Mike and Melisa I really in joy your video's. It would be such a treat to have property to be able cut and split wood, keep the video's coming. We are from central Ohio, thanks John and Wendy Mangas.
Lathe question: Yes - I would split the piece and then make bowls from each half my lathe is small (16x20) so 1/2 pieces work great for me. I have a friend who brought two cherry logs down from Maine which are 24 wide by 20 long with a rotten center core, after splitting I am getting some really nice blanks to turn
Thanks for the video nice info . Thanks for sending rain my way better than the 28 inches of snow the weekend before , but puts an end to working in the bush way to soft and dangerous with big white pine branches falling the sizeof those logs you where splitting . Have a good one peoples
Thanks for this video. Nice to see this splitter go through all that it can. Really wish that I could afford one of these right now.
wow that ending clip was like the guy had been doing it for you all along really good
Sure do love the options that splitter gives you. I know experience is the best teacher on how to do most anything laborious. Most anyone can figure out what works best for them, and occasionally, a good suggestion comes along that we never thought of from someone who has figured it out for you already. Enjoyed the video.
That oak is absolutely beautiful.
Ive really enjoyed all of the different intros,look forward to closing ones.
Love your content. I know it takes a lot of time and work but you both make it look so professional and easy. When you stack lumber, stickered or not, alternate side to side or in the middle where the narrower board goes rather than two narrow ones on top of rash other on an edge. Doing that will keep the stacks more stable and tied together when you move them for drying or for sale. Bruce Vincent St Louis MO
You can take this for what it's worth. Only because of who I am and my last thoughts to your channel. There is a tuber on here by Matthew Cremona, he operates a hand made band saw mill. Does some very interesting work. I tell you this because we all can learn from someone else at times. He covered a log that he was milling for table legs. Just a thought that you could get some great information from him as to how and why he milled his log the way he did for turning table legs. It was a very informative video and he does some very fantastic wood working projects. I wish I had his talent
That is a NICE splitter. I notice several times previously and drooled all over my iPad. 🤪. I would have to have,work light put on it because it is such a nice machine. Hey Wolfridge can I try one out?
Hi Mike, I always turn "Not on the end grain" but split the log and turn across the grain, I also dip the open ends in hot wax, this slows the drying down, the wood blank will dry to quick an split other wise, hope that helps
Agree with Terry
Good morning Mike and Melissa, another great video. Thanks for sharing with us.
Love you guys.Every morning like opening a present. Gratitude from the mile-high state.
Quick thought. Lots of amateur, but very talented, woodworkers in PA. Do you think you could swap some of that gorgeous cherry for a woodworker's agreement to build a few blanket chests (dowery chests) for your grandbabies? Have some heirloom stuff with wood from your own place, and you'd make some great friends in the local woodworking community, where news of your mill's quality would spread like wildfire. Also might make for some fun traveling (fieldtrip) vids to great people nearby.
How about for the Girls
@@geraldharvill4699 yes , Hope chests for the youg ladies , line them with cedar
@@geraldharvill4699
Yup, Makes a lot more sense! Back to caffeinated coffee for me.! :)
@@CampMegabea
Brain Fart, on my part.
great idea!
I have a small lathe. I have used small logs with the pith in the center. I haven't had any problems. You can see some of my projects on my Facebook page. There are some small bowls. lamps, wooden eggs. All different species of wood .
Definitely more efficient with the 4 way and your technique Mike. Hardwoods require more time to dry and the smaller the better. Stacking also easier when smaller too. Glad to see the comparison w the 6 way, easy to see the difference in time and effort, Thanks for another great video!
Mike, your comment about Colo and no trees - when I was there many years ago for 10 years, I realized for the first time what they mean in Montana about 'Big Sky' It is amazing.
Good morning folks! I think you guys sent us the rain from Western Pennsylvania to Eastern Pennsylvania. We had over 2 in here on Saturday. My property is like a mud bath. The sloppy weather is driving me crazy, as I know it is for you, Mike. Need to get my chainsaw mill going and tackle these logs I have laying everywhere! Have a great day guys! 👍
Brilliant marketing on your part (thanks to BF Jeanie for suggesting) to include your subscribers to open and close videos. Audience participation turning subscribers into mini You-tubers. Brilliant just brilliant!
Hey, love just about all the videos - all fun and interesting. I am not hard core though. I also love the family, friends and critter content. How is the extended family? Hunter is a real hoot. I don't even like photographs of myself so you will never see a intro or ending. Take care, from Blackridge (Churchill, Penn Hills, Willkinsburg)
That was a great "close" Melissa...just pushing Mike out of the way on the stairs! LOL. That fan closing was a great one too! :)
Out of the way? Hmmm.....maybe DOWN the stairs. Did you see how quickly she agreed with Mike about being particular with the stickers? "Oh, yeah".
Looks like your system works VERY WELL for you. Can you adjust your "stop" position for the ram. It looks to me like you should have it stop just a little closer to splitter.
First time I remember seeing you use the stairs Mel was over on the concrete pad in front of the garage doors. ☺
Rainy and crummy day in Pennsylvania? Naw, Kain't bee. I remember moving and lifting those big heavy rounds. That log lift is a God send. When you get older you will still have your back.
LANDFILL RAT! MIKE I AGREE WITH YOU 100% WITH THE WEDGES. GREAT INFORMATIVE VIDEO.
Some beautiful furniture grade lumber, it will be gorgeous when crafted into a piece for the generations............
Loved you video, many thanks. Hi Hunter and greetings from North Wales 🏴
Both intro & outtros were great..
GET THAT LUMBER SHED BUILT !!!
For turning blanks, you *must* remove the pith before the log checks/cracks. If you have a 12" wide log, cut it into 12" lengths (makes a max-width 12" bowl!) but the pith needs to be removed, for a 12" log I'd remove about 1" wide slab from the middle.
Hello from San Diego. Love your hardwoods and agree with the comments regarding their methods to prepare wood for turning. We AVOID the PITH whenever possible. Keep in mind most woodturners are cheap and are wood hoarders. You always throw off the first slice with bark to the "trash pile". Cutting those up into squares is a great source for live edge bowls. Any other "short" cuts are for turners. Just Anchor Seal the ends. Check with schools with woodworking programs and woodturning clubs in your area. Might be another side job for Hunter.
As always, great video
Great video!!
Nice footage always 💪