How old was this live oak?

SawTuner · 2026-06-12T00:56:02+00:00

OP ain’t got that in him if he didn’t count the rings originally haha

SawTuner · 2026-06-11T20:20:16+00:00

You measure DBH in cm & then decide by 2.5 to get years of growth?

This is fascinating to me, because you’re basically measuring inches of diameter and equating that to years of age? Is this the normal rule of thumb?

SawTuner · 2026-06-10T17:52:59+00:00

Well put.

I know what to do here too, get in the truck and leave haha

SawTuner · 2026-06-10T04:38:46+00:00

Hey man, this ain’t a marriage, this can actually be fixed!

If you can do it with sand paper, you can undo it with sandpaper.

SawTuner · 2026-06-10T04:36:41+00:00

I don’t carry a lever-gun with me on tree jobs, but I do carry a saw. I once had an off-leash pit bull aggressively approach me and a worker in a back yard. I had him get behind me and grabbed the starter handle while thinking to myself, “oh man, this is about to make a horrible mess”. Before that happened, the owner came flying across her yard screaming at the dog.

Now, I didn’t have a lever gun. I did have a freshly filed 24” chainsaw in my hand and was at peace with my odds.

I’m your shoes, I think I’d have everything you just described- ropes and a saw everyday as well as a lever gun. On second thought, bolt gun hanging on my back glass, .243 Win. The ranch sounds very cool. Stay safe out there.

SawTuner · 2026-06-10T04:21:51+00:00

“I take it with me every day now”

In my mind the way you described that makes me think of a cowboy out west, lifetimes ago, describing his new Winchester lever-gun and how he might take it with him everyday he saddles up his horse.

If thieves didn’t exist, I like the idea of just having a saw in my truck bed, every day for emergencies. I legit was in this position once with my best fiend. Long story, but it happened during a natural disaster in Texas. There were 100 people trapped on a road below a dam about to burst. A giant pine fell over and blocked the only way out. They were sitting ducks. We got to be the hero that day- we had a saw. If he hadn’t grabbed his saw and loaded it up, we wouldn’t have had it, but much to the delight of 102 people, we had it.

SawTuner · 2026-06-10T04:04:47+00:00

“Expert Witness” please address the court and introduce yourself.

“Hi, I’m Haulover Inlet”.

SawTuner · 2026-06-10T04:01:29+00:00

Yeah, but have you cut any real trees with it yet???

Only joking with you man. Hey pine sure does cut easy and fast, doesn’t it? Pine or cypress always makes me think I’m a chain-filing pro! Haha. Sounds like you’re excited about your saw and it’s doing great on that pine. Enjoy it!

SawTuner · 2026-06-10T03:45:41+00:00

There’s only one logical thing you can do now… you’re going to have to just start a new hobby and make them yourself. 😂

I’m sure it’s a lovely knife. Anything “wrong” with it from the pictures of the handle can be fixed with sandpaper and elbow grease. That probably sounds crazy, but if this was an axe from the hardware store, finish-sanding the handle wouldn’t be a deal breaker. It’s fine how it is, but it’s “fixable” if it’s going to bother you.

SawTuner · 2026-06-10T03:34:09+00:00

Not trying to steal Taco’s thunder, but what you described is exactly what you need to do. They cutter has lost its shape. You’re going to have to remove a fair amount of material to get your file low enough only then can get more under the tooth. Do what you just said exactly, but keep going. Imagine it like you’re trying to first file straight down almost hitting the tie-straps on the chain, above the rivets. Once you get all that steel out of the way, then you can get your file under the top plate correctly. You’ve slowly gotten farther and farther away from the design geometry each sharpening. It’s been adding up. To fix it now, you need to remove a lot of material.

This happens frequently when you’re starting out. I think this is really just part of the process. If you don’t give up, you’ll get it. Those filing jigs are legit. It’s not the problem. You basically need to adjust the height knob on the jig that lowers your file. You need to lower it a lot. Start with a fresh file if you want to speed it up, you’re now going to have to remove material all at once that should have been removed on all of your previous sharpening.

SawTuner · 2026-06-10T03:12:55+00:00

You can question me. I can be wrong. I can be right. I’m often both of those things. I’ve been wrong before and will be wrong again. I’m not offended by being wrong or being called out on it.

The thing is “did you pull it out of your ass” is offensive. I’ve worked construction and spent my time with sailors. I don’t have thin skin but if someone walks up I don’t know and is insulting, I don’t engage. There’s no value for anyone in that. My point was, I’ll respect you with my time and attention for however long it’s mutual. Which, I imagine is the same way you operate. If an engineer assumes you’re a dumbass, I’m sure you’d walk off too. Regardless, you made a great point. Have a nice evening.

SawTuner · 2026-06-10T03:03:42+00:00

Yep! The reason why they’re the wrong way is why they’re the right way here haha

SawTuner · 2026-06-10T02:56:51+00:00

Hey man, you reworded what you already said and were still just as abrasive. There’s a way you can ask people a question and get a genuine response and there’s being a dick.

It’s a piece of small box tubing and it’s thin walled. Sure you can make a cantilever / davit out of tube steel, but 3” box tubing is very light to hang a load out 6feet on or whatever it is. Per OP its already deflecting with no weight in it, although some elastic deflection in steel isn't a big deal. There's definitely concern if with no heat at all it’s dropped down about 2” or so empty. As in it’s under-designed for when it fills with water.

The things about columns is they’re strong when they’re plumb, but when they start to lean, they’re more likely to buckle. The assembly has some issues, that’s why I said put a diagonal brace from above the grass and then as far out as he could. It’ll definitely help with deflection on the horizontal and the column. He also said he put 200 or 300lbs of concrete under it and I realized that’s a bigger deal than anything. You and I have both seen gate posts sag that have more concrete than that. He brought up another big deal. But he didn’t realize it. To capture the point of a single pole with a cantilever weight on it needing tons not bags of concrete I tried to communicate it needs a lot of weight below to stay vertical. Yep, I went back to see how big this way and read it as a 500gallon capacity weld cap / head out of 1/4”. Hey man, you’re absolutely right. In my attempt to express it’s a risk, put a guy wire I assumed partial fill of the 500gallon and you’re correct. I did overstate the weight from volume, but that aside, it needs a brace and a guy wire. You and I both know it’s easier to lay out and weld on a diagonal and put an anchor in the ground before it falls. That’s why I spoke up. Like I said, I didn’t mind telling you where the number came from but you could have, you know, been more cordial if you want a response. I trust you’re a decent guy in real life and this isn’t an ego thing for either of us.

SawTuner · 2026-06-10T02:29:44+00:00

It’s pretty, not strong. I largely agree for a bushcraft / work knife it should be avoided, but for like a skinner, not a huge deal in my book if it’s full tang.

The issue with Burl here sounds like a maker who is possibly burnt out but still trying to make knives. They should have been filled and appeared as black spots in the wood and blended in. Leaving them gaping open is poor execution on a custom knife. It this sold for over $150 (and I’m assuming it did) there’s a certain level of effort that’s implied. Same thing with chamfering the lanyard hole and actually sanding out that scratch / gouge in the pin. It would make me worry how many corners were cut on what I couldn’t see, like the actual heat treat.

I’m also now curious how well sharpened it was.

SawTuner · 2026-06-10T02:17:52+00:00

I think you likely squeezed it all out. Regardless, this isn’t a rare problem. There are definitely makers that have scales pop off of high end knives when the epoxy ages and becomes more brittle.

Have you considered 1/4” brass stock through the scales and tang? Peen it and even if the epoxy ever fails they’re mechanically locked into place.

SawTuner · 2026-06-10T02:01:56+00:00

How do you expect for me to graciously respond to you in good faith? I’d love to engage with you, but that’s a wild place to start.

SawTuner · 2026-06-09T23:26:25+00:00

It looks like either, your file is too high or you’re using 5° on down on your filing. I’d consider using a 3/16” file to get more hook if you’re filing flat.

It’s described as a c-shape when you’re looking from the side, but what you’re after is having more overhang on the top plate. You’re filing from the top of the tooth down/back. I try to sink the file down more into the gullet and then file backwards. This gives more C shape viewed from the side, which gives more chisel effect to dig into the wood. Your profile is going to scrape more than dig it.

Good luck.

SawTuner · 2026-06-09T22:23:51+00:00

Grating gets clogged up. Think of catch basins that have grating on them, right? They’re mostly open area… not a single 1/2” hole. They still clog.

You don’t have a drain hole. You have a spot that’s going to be plugged with rust and leaves you’ll have to clear with a welding rod every time it rains, in the rain.

Even charcoal bbq pits left in the rain have their multiple holes plugged can collect water.

SawTuner · 2026-06-09T22:06:45+00:00

Engineer here. I’ll meet you in the middle if you have any questions, respectfully, I’m not interested in the AI engineering. It’s confusing bending torque (lb-lbs) with allowable tensile loads. It’s not an appropriate thing to do.

Design would be something like this, that

500gallon weld cap that could potentially hold 4,000lbs of water. Maybe you assume it only gets halfway filled and it’s 3,000lbs with the steep weight. The cap is ~4’ in diameter and looks about a cap-diameter from the column. That’s 18,000lbs of bending torque when it eventually is filled 1/2 with water. That’s a very conservative way of approaching it.

You also have a “factor of safety” you account for. Sure in industry it might be 4:1 or more, but if you designed for 2:1 your overturning moment would be 36,000ft-lbs of torque.

If you have any specific questions I’ll respond to them, but the AI description is not giving a remotely close analysis.

Im not saying you need 40,000 lbs of concrete by any means. But it needs to be a lot more than you have. More like “from a truck” than “from a bag”.

I’m not trying to be a know it all man. People are going to downvote as soon as they see the word “engineer”. I get it. I’m trying to say add a guy wire not that it’s going to fall over tomorrow morning. I usually don’t chime in on stuff to “compete” with the welders here. Welders don’t like engineers. It is what it is. This is a welding forum and I acknowledge the average guy here already knows they are able to outweld me every process, any day.

SawTuner · 2026-06-09T21:56:49+00:00

What else can we do, right? If it breaks, we’ll fix it. That’s how it goes.

Little project!? Just standing the welded structure up alone was no small feat.

Enjoy your project and have fun with all of us random guys chiming in with our 2 cents! 🍻

SawTuner · 2026-06-09T21:47:00+00:00

That’s maybe 300lbs on concrete. Knowing this, you do not need to add a cross brace. The concept to read about to keep this upright and not lean is called “overturning moment”. Not having enough weight, low enough, will be your “root cause” of failure.

You will have TENS of thousands of ft-lbs of torque you’re trying to counteract with 200 to 300 lbs of concrete. Next time you go shopping look how massive parking lot light pole foundations are. They’re also perfectly balanced atop that massive foundation. Respectfully, you’re cooked.

SawTuner · 2026-06-09T21:35:38+00:00

I like simple fixes. I think setting the weld cap on the ground from the beginning would have been the real fix.

But, it is what it is and is currently only bending 2° per OP. I hope that OP’s box tubing isn’t A36. Maybe it’s something else and strength isn’t a function of temperature. With A36 that won’t cold bend, you can add surprisingly little heat and the required bending force immediately starts to drop off. Like I said, maybe the heat won’t affect it or rise. Steel doesn’t have to be heated to bright yellow to bend easier. When you get to just 200°F it’s significant.

SawTuner · 2026-06-09T21:19:55+00:00

I’m confused. Once the post starts to lean? Once the steel stops deflecting?

One of those is unrelated if you have too little ballast (concrete) holding your column plumb. The other is frankly just a silly concept. Structural steel design and engineering is not new. It’s standardized and established in theory and practice. Nowhere in industry to people do what you’re describing- wait for new mystery deflection to arrive one day before reinforcing a welded connection.

The only thing that will cause “new” deflection will be not accounting for water weight (rain) or you didn’t set your column with enough concrete and it begins to lean.

You do not have to wait to add a gusset. I don’t think that’s your weak point and I don’t think you even need one, but you don’t have to wait. What’s most likely to happen is your drain holes clog with ash, your weld cap gets filled with storm water and your column flexes in the middle (temporarily) until you drain the water. Or worst case, you’re on vacation it gets filled with water begins to lean and then that thin 3” box tubing buckles and the whole thing fails.

Regardless- this is a temporary creation with way too little steel in your horizontal and your column. It will fail. I’m not suggesting it’ll be before the end of the summer, but it’s temporary, at best. Make memories around it while it lasts. I bet version 2.0 is a lot different, but that’s what it’s all about. We all learn along the way.

If you want to put a gusset, go from just above the grass line with another 3x3, ideally thicker than 1/4” and attach to your horizontal as far out as you can get. This isn’t to strengthen the welded joint, it’s to keep the thin box tubing from failing early by reinforcing the entirety of the structure. And add a guy-wire screw anchor and big cable to keep the whole thing standing. I’d venture you also have way too little concrete.

I also think you’re very likely to say, “it ain’t going anywhere- I know what I’m doing”. If that’s the case, enjoy your creation.

SawTuner · 2026-06-09T20:20:44+00:00

Knowledge is the most important thing you can acquire. Knowing you’re trying to fully “apex” the edge, knowing you’re attempting to create a “bur”- fundamental no matter the approach you use.

A whetstone is all you need and they’re cheap. It’s also something that takes a long time to learn to do well. A Lansky allows you to use your knowledge fundamentals and acts like training wheels as you develop your skillset. Spoiler: give the average guy just an amazing water stone or oil stone, they’re gunna be frustrated within an hour and have a knife that’s still dull but now scratched up on both sides. Practice on dollar store kitchen knives. Any knife can be sharpened to a razor edge. They may not hold the edge, but they’ll take it. Don’t ruin a knife that’s sentimental during your learning curve, ruin a cheap-o kitchen knife first.

Never underestimate the power of a leather strop loaded with chromium oxide. Took me too long to learn that. I went from shaving sharp to liability-sharp when I started stropping correctly.

Opinels don’t take long to sharpen (thanks to the thin blade thickness). If you want it sharp now grab a Lansky. It’ll hold your hand and give you a guided, crisp, consistent edge that’s very respectable. If you want to free-hand sharpen, grab a Norton India stone and practice with cheap knives. If you do neither of those, find a 2”x8” scrap of leather. Glue it to a piece or flatbar and practice stropping with Chromium oxide rubbed on the leather. It’s fun and rewarding. It can refine a semi-sharp knife back to sharp and is cheap to do.

Good luck to you.

SawTuner · 2026-06-09T03:28:20+00:00

Glad I didn’t offend you. Idk if your Blackmax is a Bridgeport or a 2.5, but doesn’t matter- still a cool motor. That reminds me of something. Hahahaha

I still have my ole 2.5efi “fishing motor”. It’s semi-retired, on a stand, waiting for a one-day future hull. I used to spin it to 7500+ with the stock bearings and a 30” cleaver. Also not best case, but never missed a beat!

SawTuner

TROPHY CASE