HOWLE’S HINTS B Y J O H N H OW L E
The Wood THE HERB FARMER Master
HOW’S YOUR GARDEN SIMPLE TIMES
Start Cutting
“Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of.” Ben Franklin
The aroma of freshly cut pine logs as they are cut into planks and beams is a pleasing smell. Once the wood is cut to the specified thicknesses and stacked for seasoning, the process of sawmilling your choice timber can save you a lot of money over buying the lumber at box stores and lumberyards. In addition, you can have the wood cut to your desired lengths and thicknesses depending on the structure you plan to build.
Last winter, I cut some large pine trees, which we cut into log lengths ranging from 16 to 20 feet long. Recently, we enlisted the help of our local Wood master, Kenny Benefield, for sawing the logs into 1 and 2 inch cuts of lumber for the construction of an extension on our hay barn. Benefield has been sawmilling logs into lumber for over 20 years, and his Woodmizer sawmill is pulled behind a 3/4 ton Ford truck. Using a 22-horsepower, gasoline-powered Kohler engine, the mill can handle logs up to 40 inches in diameter. Hydraulics power the lift arms to hoist the log on to the cutting platform, and hydraulics also power the mechanism that flips the log for every 90 degree turn until you are left with a large, perfectly square beam. Out of this beam is where you get your lumber cuts.
THE CO-OP PANTRY
July 2020
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