Crealbilly Wood Working thread

[HomesteaderWife]

@CrealCritter - I thought I may have seen you mention this one time, but I'm just getting back on SS. How do you dry your lumber? We're finally expanding what we do and looking at how to kiln dry the wood. Would love some input. Also, have you ever had luck reaching out to any tree services about dropping logs off to you? Thanks kindly

 

[CrealCritter]

I am seriously considering building a cordwood house, post and beam frame, mortared cordwood infill. Neighbor Robert has a sawmill, we have some nice pine trees and cedars. Some of our pines are big enough to get 2 beams from. I need to measure to see what I can get and figure out what size posts I want. It will be double posted because I want thick walls. I’m thinking no less than 18” thick.

This mobile home is nice, but unsustainable. No wood burning heat and nowhere to put one, walls are laid out wrong and we might have too much stuff. LOL If power goes off in the summer, in 30 minutes it is an oven. We have to leave. By the Grace of God, power stayed on last winter when we had -6F degrees! I don’t want to grow old here.

My son has 35 acres in Houston County, outside of Ratcliff. I’m rolling around in my head putting up a pole barn with living quarters, 2 bedrooms, bathroom, kitchen and living room. Put up shelter for animals, fence, and get prepared. Sell this place, move and use money to build a home like no other. I figure 2 years to cut, saw and gather up materials. Get all that moved and under cover.

Then I figure 1-2 years to build. My husband is horrified. He loves it here, doesn’t like change and we do have an exceptional neighborhood. We wouldn’t have a neighborhood there, it is much more rural, houses are spaced far apart. I’ve got a lot to think about.
We moved here to be close to my DD and family. They got better jobs and moved to Odessa, 8 hours away. Now they have gotten jobs in Corpus Christi and are moving again. They will be maybe 6-7 hours away. They may be there awhile, they may not, pretty sure they will not retire there. I don’t want to get settled, dug in and move again


Son doesn’t live on his land, but probably will someday. He has a house in Trinity County, but lives in his RV. He’s fixing up the house to rent and making a pad to park his RV when he is “in” from a job. ATM he is working locally but the good jobs are kicking off again. He won’t be a road dog forever, it’s a hard life. I’m looking to the future when I’m old and not able to do the things I do now, late 80’s or 90’s.
I have wanted to build a cordwood house for about 15 years. The raw materials are here on this place and can provide what I need. I’ve bought books and am reading and studying. I have no house building experience at all. A friend of ours was a contractor in his younger days and wants to help.

So this is what I’m thinking about. It will be a lot of work and a huge upheaval, but I have a deep down conviction that this is what I need to do.

Bay I can't begin to tell you how much I would encourage both, you and your husband to live you're dreams. Life is so short, we are on plant earth for just a speck of time in the grand scheme of things. Use what the Good Lord gave you, to live your dreams and be happy happy happy. But don't forget to thank Him everyday, for the life He gave you.

Jesus is Lord and Christ 🙏❤️🇺🇸

 

[HomesteaderWife]

@CrealCritter - Hey are you still active here? Wanted to ask some sawmill and woodworking questions! Husband and I are looking to upgrade to a bigger mill and want to see if you or anyone around you has experience with Cooks sawmills or any of the model #s we are looking at across brands

 

[HomesteaderWife]

What kind of mill are you running Creal?
He is looking at :
AC-4449 from Cooks
LT50 from Wood-Mizer
2020 from TimberKing

 

[CrealCritter]

What kind of mill are you running Creal?
He is looking at :
AC-4449 from Cooks
LT50 from Wood-Mizer
2020 from TimberKing

I have a Woodmizer LT40 it's a solid machine. Had some electrical issues with it. Called Woodmizer and by the time the tech and I walked through troubleshooting over the phone I nicknamed him Sparky.

Seriously look at the LT50 - Woodmizer is a great company!

Jesus is Lord and Christ 🙏❤️🇺🇸