Hello,
First post here and I wanted some opinions from people more experienced than I. I have acquired two logs of cedar about 3.5 feet long and 3 feet in diameter. I want to cut them into around 2 inch slabs to allow to start drying but unfortunately since I am just starting I do not have many tools that I could effectively break it down.
What I do have is a hatchet, claw hammer, a 18 in Japanese ryoba hand saw, three general purpose woodworking chisels, a reciprocating saw and various other assorted tools. My step father may have a 24 inch chainsaw but I am not 100% sure.
I am really looking for any suggestions on what I can do to start using the lumber. Thanks in advanced for any assistance.
Replies
I think you have 2 choices: Find a sawyer, or start a fire. As a beginner with a chainsaw your risk of injury is far too great and the collectio of tools you mention are inadequate for the job. My opinion of course.
If you decide to rip a 3 foot diameter log with a ryoba, please post video.
If it were me, I would pick up a couple of steel wedges, and make a few wooden wedges, and start splitting the log into sections. The only other real option is to find someone with a portable band mill to come and cut slabs for you, but it would be expensive for just one small lig.
When I was just a wee lad, I worked on a survey crew for a couple of Summers. We were always around when they were clearing lots, and I snagged a big 6' red cedar log that was probably 24" across.
I brought it home, and set it in the basement for a number of months before trying to figure out how to tackle it. I used wedges, a bow saw (like the kind for firewood), hand saws and anything I could get a hold of to start cutting it into smaller pieces. The nice thing about these logs is they didn't really split or move much. I guess red cedar is a pretty stable wood.
Eventually I made a few pieces out of that log. I still have a couple of them hanging about (30+ years later).
Today, I'd be using a chain saw and band saw to get my wood to rough size. I'm too old and lazy to use a bow saw these days. In fact, I grabbed a couple of logs off the side of the road earlier this year. They're acacia, 12-16" across, and I cut one up with my band saw and have it stickered in my garage. I've already used one chunk to make a mallet and am looking forward to playing with the rest of it next year as it finishes drying out enough.
Look into riving the wood by hand, find a local sawyer to come out or a mill to bring the log to.
To do it yourself with an Alaskan: a 3' diameter log will need a chainsaw with a bar at least 38" if not 40" or more.
That's a HUGE bar (and needs a big, expensive saw to power it). You can buy a mill on eBay relatively inexpensively. Building one is also supposed to be straightforward. Good luck!
I like the riving and frame saw method. I also use a rip saw (hand saw) to guide the kerf. For work holding I use a ratchet web strap until if is reduced in size to use a leg vise and jig. It takes me about a month to saw one quarter of a large log like that into boards. I work wood as a hobby and for fitness. I alternate using my left and right arms though I am right handed. It was awkward at first but gradually became more accurate. It takes a little planning and scrapping after sawing. Then there's waiting for the wood to dry.
I'll bet there is a sawyer within 10 or 15 miles of you that will cut them up for you if you take them there. Better to let a pro do it with the right tools instead of hacking the wood with the wrong tools . . . good luck!
If you proceed with the process and tools you stated, good luck. If complete your plan, most probably you will be sore, tired, have blisters and hopefully nothing more serious. At this time you should be regretting this project. If not you should be. I suggest contacting Peter Follansbee, he can show you a better method.
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Ecyor,
Any chance you could post a pic of your leg vise and jig set up? I have also sawn some walnut into boards via hand tools (yes it's slow and exhausting but I equate it as an alternative to riding an exercise bike for a half hour per day) I have struggled with a good way to secure the log to better incorporate my frame saw.
While you are considering your options, you might want to seal the ends of the logs with a wax sealer, (Anchorseal 2) to keep the logs from drying out unevenly and cracking.
Thanks all for the help here! I have some good ideas where to start!
zihlman1 - The log is held fast to the bench by a ratchet web strap and a jig with a "v" shape for the corner of the riven log to fit into. The strap goes under the bench, around two legs, and back over the top of the bench. That holds both laterally and vertically. The two boards were one board sawed off of the log and crosscut apart. One is held in the leg vise for re-sawing. I'm hoping to get two 3/4 inch boards out of it to make a two-step stool. The hand saw is used both right and left handed to saw a guiding kerf for the frame saw to "hog" out the middle of the piece being sawed. I do repetitions of 25 strokes on each side of the piece while concentrating on staying close to a line or cut mark (from my cutting gauge) first with the hand saw and then with the frame saw. I used the bow saw only initially to extend the kerf across the top of the end grain to connect the two kerfs started on each side by the hand-sawing. I just had a little hand-planing to do on the two boards after sawing it from the log to clean up saw marks and flatten it. The riven log was 1/16th of the diameter of a downed red oak tree that blew over in a storm. It was definitely an old growth tree. The sawing starts off slow until I can start using a wedge to stress the wood fibers and prevent binding. The use of a wedge really helps speed up progress sawing. On the bench are other jigs to use on logs of smaller diameter that can fit into the leg vise. I don't work with all that on the bench, and only did it to demonstrate.
I found some acacia logs once and milled them into planks. Logs were not that large (8" or less), but were several years old and fairly dry. I had access to a band saw and tried milling them. Results were frustrating at best. I ruined lots of the wood due to curving, winding cuts, and I know that the small size contributed to the waste. I managed to make a side table with a drawer and turned legs, but I think I would have been better served to buy some nice hardwood planks and make my table. Your log will have a much better yield of course. I agree with the first post - find a guy with a mill and take your log to him. It will be likely be cheaper in the end, and surely lots less frustration.
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