Sawmills

To untrained eyes, a log is a log is a log. They don't see what might be inside. But it's important to learn about what could be going on inside. Each log has a history, a story to tell. And it's not just about the kind of tree it's from.

To be successful and get the best from a log, a sawyer needs to be able to read logs and figure out what will happen once they take a blade to them. They need to be able to figure out what kind of products they are going to yield - before they get started.

For example, if you take a log that's 50 feet long, and you make a beam that is 40 feet long, you better understand what it's going to do. There is a lot that can happen from one end of the log to the other. It's much like opening up a big flower. Sometimes, the flower blossoms, and sometimes, the flower isn't so nice.

Even though a log may have been on the forest floor for a while, and in fact, you may be able to find some that have been on the forest floor for a hundred years, there is surprising variety in how it reacts to being cut open. And that has to do with what has happened to the log in the meantime.

For example, a lot of these logs have what is referred to as timber stress. They retain a lot of water, especially the redwoods, and that makes a difference in how they react when they're turned into boards and beams.

But what exactly is timber stress? Picture a log, grab it like a washcloth and wring it out. You come along with saw blade and open that up, and you'll find that the stress has to go somewhere.

For example, the board could come off the sawmill, or it might flap back and forth. Sometimes, it will pinch off the blade. It's important to be prepared for those eventualities.

And that's not all. Sometimes, there might even be animals hidden inside the log, from salamanders to a den of snakes. It's always a good idea to be prepared for surprises.

On the other hand, once you have a good sense of what the log will do, it's very rewarding to watch it turn into smooth boards and beams as the sawmill does its work. And it's even more rewarding once you get to see the results of your work once you have turned those boards into, for example, a nice table top, a shelf, a bench, or other pieces of fine wood furniture.

Gia Carrozzi is an expert sawyer and owner of True Cut Custom Milling in the heart of Humboldt County, California, where she creates high quality custom work for fine furniture, special architectural features and more.