Wood From the City by David Barmon
This week we had David Barmon the author of Wood From the City and co-owner of Epilogue LLC based out of Charbonneau, Oregon on the podcast. David explains that he had a serendipitous route into the wood industry. He worked as a flight attendant before getting interested in economics, politics, and resources, which led him to become a landscape construction laborer. Wood from the City goes beyond a simple woodworking book. It provides information to people interested in learning about urban forestry but also inspiration on how to carve out a space in this industry. David believes that there are many tangled ideologies that are preventing people from solving the problem of the billions of dollars being spent to throw away billions of dollars of potential material.
From now until August 31st, 2021, David has a Kickstarter campaign for Wood from the City where people can contribute to this project. By going around publishers, David is able to create a book that will actually help people and actually raise awareness of what the urban wood and forestry communities are doing. However, there are numerous costs involved with bypassing publishers, and David is incredibly thankful for all the backers he has currently and everyone who is interested and willing to support his work to allow Wood from the City to be the transformational work that it needs to be.
“It’s really important for me to say that I’m really passionate about this. I feel like this book can do good in the world and make the world a better place by planting trees and getting people connected with natural resources and wood in their communities. We have an incentive to get trees planted in an area where maybe there’s not a very good tree cover because the public health benefits of trees are really important. The cancer rates go down birth rates go up. There’s just there’s a lot in there and I really think this book can help improve people’s lives in a lot of ways.”
- David Barmon
A Look at the Book
Sample Writing
A Short History of People and Wood
Wood has been an integral part of human societies since people have been—well, people. Trees have provided us with so much, from firewood, food and shelter to, in a very real sense, the very air we breathe. Not to mention furniture, flooring, paper, and countless objects of art and beauty—the list goes on and on. Arguably, one of man’s first tools comes from trees: the stick. It’s still in our DNA to understand the power of a wood stick. Wander into the woods alone or with a group of people, and within a few minutes someone will have a stick in their hand. Early humans used rabbit sticks to hunt small game. The Egyptians hunted ducks with sticks. A stick is primitive, yes, but also practical and capable of many nuanced movements in the hands of the right person.
Before the age of agriculture, wood could be carved, but turning logs into lumber was an arduous and time-consuming task. The Chinook people of Oregon and Washington used stone tools to hand split Western Red Cedar logs into giant planks to build their long-houses. Without the use of animals, the planks were hand carried out of the woods.
Moving logs without the help of horses or machines was incredibly heavy and very slow going. Leverage, muscle, and sheer determination were the only options available. Wood floats, so lakes and rivers could help transport wood downriver on occasion. The horse had no small impact on the ability of humans to remove logs from the woods, and until the invention of the internal combustion engine, “horsepower” was truly the engine that made logging the woods possible.
Stone and wood were among the original materials used by humans to make tools. Once man discovered how to heat minerals and turn them into forged metal, he revolutionized primitive tools. This technological milestone marked the beginning of turning a round log into dimensional materials. To this day, steel is the primary material that makes sawing lumber possible.
Sawmills!!!
In the modern world, we have turned from makers into consumers. There are good reasons for this and I would hardly suggest we return to the ways of hunter gathers. However, I believe there is a strong desire to reconnect with our inner humanness to provide our own food, water and shelter. Just like harvesting wild berries or collecting water off the roof and putting it into a cistern, making lumber is deeply satisfying. I love taking a raw natural resource and turning it into building materials that are both functional and beautiful.
The leaps and bounds in small scale sawmill technology has exploded over the last few decades. From simple chainsaw mills to large diameter band sawmills, there is something in the market place to help both hobbyists and professionals turn logs into lumber. Many of these mills are portable and allow added flexibility to mill lumber virtually anywhere.
So the question often becomes, “I really want to mill my own wood. Which mill should I buy?” All the options and accessories can seem daunting to choose from. As we go through the different styles of mills, here are a few questions to keep in mind:
- Am I milling wood as a hobby? Is this for a specific large scale project like a barn or a house? Am I hoping to start a business?
- What’s my budget to buy a mill outright? What kind of monthly payments can I afford if I decide to finance?
- Do I need to buy a mill or should I occasionally hire an experienced sawyer to mill logs for me? Maybe purchasing lumber from a small mill occasionally is the best option.
- How much space do I have to air dry wood and store a mill?
Alaskan mills
The modern version of the pitsaw is the Alaskan mill, also referred to as a chainsaw mill. Basically a frame that holds a chainsaw sideways, this is the simplest and most cost-effective way to mill logs into lumber. An Alaskan mill won’t set you back like a bandsaw or swing blade mill, especially if you already own a powerful chainsaw. Alaskan mills are also able to tackle large urban logs, unlike most portable mills. The diameter of log you can cut with an Alaskan mill is only limited by the size of your chainsaw and the length of its bar. For example, with two Stihl 880s and a double-ended bar, you can slab an eight-foot diameter log! In short, an Alaskan Mill is probably the DIY setup of choice when first starting out.
Here’s what you will need to start chainsaw milling:
- A chainsaw with a minimum of 70 cc of power
- Proper chain bar
- Lots of two-cycle fuel and bar oil
- Alaskan mill frame
- Several loops of sharp ripping chain (hyper skip chain will cut faster)
- Helper handle
- A guide rail, ladder or some boards (to make your first cut)
- A screw gun, pipe strapping and screws to attach your guides
- Shims to level the ladder/guides
- Wedges and a hammer
- A file or Dremel tool for sharpening your chain
- Personal protective equipment (PPE)
- A really strong back and a lot of enthusiasm
Trucks
It should go without saying that a truck is pretty useful for hauling logs around. A large van or SUV could pull a trailer as well. However, if wrangling logs is going to be a regular thing in your life-make sure you have access to a truck. Sometimes the best option is hiring a commercial truck to do the hauling for you. We will also get into those options as well.
A few general things to consider when using a vehicle or trailer to haul logs or milled lumber around:
- GVW (Gross Vehicle Weight)
- Combined GVW if pulling a trailer
- Length of logs legally allowed to haul
- Any special licenses required
- Making sure you have a truck strong enough to safely haul the size loads you will consistently encounter
GVW (Gross Vehicle Weight)
It’s really important to know how much your truck weighs and what the maximum about of weight your truck can haul. This is important for a few reasons:
- Overloading a truck can pose real safety risks.
- Hauling too much weight can put excessive wear and tear on the engine and transmission leading to premature and expensive repair bills.
You should be able to find the GVW information on the door panel of your truck or in the owners manual.
Think of your truck by itself as measuring the light weight and then adding additional weight as the heavy weight. If possible, find a scale to weigh your light weigh. Once you know what your truck weighs by itself as well as the GVW you can determine how much more weight you can legally and safely add.
Combined GVW
This is the total amount of weight your truck, trailer and load can weigh. Keep in mind that your trailer will have its own GVW as well which may be less than the max weight your truck can tow.
Example:
Truck GVW= 14,000
Truck light weight= 9,000
Additional weight to haul = 5,000 pounds
Combined GVW = Truck 14,000 plus 16,000 for trailer and load (don’t forget to include the weight of your trailer when calculating how much weight you are towing.
A Special Thank You
Putting together a kickstarter campaign is no small task and I couldn’t do it on my own! Here is a super thanks going out to the following people for their help and expertise:
Video: Michael Parisien, Going Street Films
Product photography: Mako Barmon
Backing music: Jeremy Elliot on guitar, David Barmon on harmonica
Cutting board manufacturing: Trillium Pacific
Bowls and pepper mills: Kevin Poest
Red oak stools: Malachi Milbourne, Milbourne Woodworks
Mill location: Ketch De Kanter and staff, Little Prince of Oregon
Wood shop Location: Creative Woodworking NW
To learn more check out the link below!
Kickstarter: Wood from the City: The Urban Lumber Handbook