Pedrito: the carpenter?

[Pedrito]

My father's been forced to cut down ten cherry trees, so now we're left with a nice quantity of good logs and noone has the faintest idea of what to do with it.
I'm toying with the idea of consuming what's left of my free time and start a carpentry project - of which I have zero previous experience, so it's extremely probable this will end in a lot of swearing, the asportation of at least a couple phalanges, and a spectacular failure.

Everything will be documented, for the amusement of other Languishites.

What to do, what to do?

L.

[Barrister]

If you're going to try your hand at carpentry, wouldn't it be easier to buy lumber that is pre-cut?  I wouldn't even know where to begin in turning raw logs into something (other than firewood that is...).

[Pedrito]

This option would leave a lot of good timber to rot in the fields...

L.

[Grey Fox]

First thing first : Find a lumber mill and have the wood cut in useable pieces.

[Barrister]

This option would leave a lot of good timber to rot in the fields...

L.

Time to install a wood stove. 

[viper37]

My father's been forced to cut down ten cherry trees, so now we're left with a nice quantity of good logs and noone has the faintest idea of what to do with it.
I'm toying with the idea of consuming what's left of my free time and start a carpentry project - of which I have zero previous experience, so it's extremely probable this will end in a lot of swearing, the asportation of at least a couple phalanges, and a spectacular failure.

Everything will be documented, for the amusement of other Languishites.

What to do, what to do?

L.

cherry tree does not make really good furnitures...

[viper37]

If you're going to try your hand at carpentry, wouldn't it be easier to buy lumber that is pre-cut?  I wouldn't even know where to begin in turning raw logs into something (other than firewood that is...).

you need to find a small lumber mill that will turn your raw logs into something other than firewood
Big mills won't do it for a few logs, but smallish ones will gladly take your business.

You need as right a log as you can get (hence why cherry trees aren't that good to start with), and the longer the better.

[garbon]

cherry tree does not make really good furnitures...

Why would you say that?

[The Brain]

Build a tree house so big it will be an affront to God himself.

[Razgovory]

Do you actually know anything about carpentry?

[garbon]

Do you actually know anything about carpentry?

Jesus walks with us.

[Pedrito]

you need to find a small lumber mill that will turn your raw logs into something other than firewood
Big mills won't do it for a few logs, but smallish ones will gladly take your business.

You need as right a log as you can get (hence why cherry trees aren't that good to start with), and the longer the better.

These were trees grown to become furniture lumber, not fruit trees; we cut them down before the town council would, because they need the land to make a cycle path  ,
so the logs should be straight enough, if not big enough (we've been forced to cut them 8 years before the right time to make them marketable); about long, I don't know if the logs are long enough, I'd say the trees are cut in logs about 1,5 meters long.

Do I need to season the logs, or is it better to saw them in planks and then season the planks?

L.

[Pedrito]

Do you actually know anything about carpentry?

I've bought a book about it

L.

[sbr]

Probably season the cut lumber; commercial sawmills seem to cut the logs as soon as they can.

[Malthus]

My father has actually done this - made cherry logs into boards (sent to a small sawmill), which he then used to make bookcases in the cottage.

The problem with seasoning is complex - the choice (air-dry or kiln-dry; season in the round or after sawing) depends on lots of factors. Air-drying whole logs is a very slow process.

I seem to recall that my dad seasoned logs in the round for many years before he got around to sawing them up - he painted a sort of wax over the cut ends to stop them drying too fast. Dunno if this is the preferred method or it just happened that way, though.