Had a few trees come down in area from storms and now I am swamped with firewood and lumber wood. I have several logs from 8″ dia. to 22″ dia of chestnut, maple, pin oak, and poplar. Not enough to justify hiring someone with a portable sawmill, but I still would rather make lumber, not firewood. Darn chestnut is too heavy to lift onto a bandsaw, even if I could find one to handle a 22″ log. I might use my chainsaw to cut planks, but that means a lot of waste. Here are my questions:
1. Any ideas how to plank these on the cheap?
2. If I use chainsaw, how do I keep saw parallel to the plank I am trying to cut?
Replies
Get a pair of wedges and a maul and split the logs into quarters. To effectively cut a log lengthwise, a chainsaw needs a rip chain which is ground differently from a regular chain. To prevent checking, the logs need to have their ends sealed as soon as the log is crosscut. End checks going in from both ends of a short log will leave very little salvagable wood.
Hope this helps, John W.
>> I might use my chainsaw to cut planks, but that means a lot of waste.
If you can't find another way to saw it, then the chainsaw kerf isn't waste, it's just the price you pay.
Do a web search for chainsaw mill. There are several companies selling different kinds of fixtures to bolt onto a chainsaw that allow you to saw a log into lumber. I can't remember any brand names.
I say go for the hand method. Quater the log and then use the wedges to split of boards of desired thickness. It worked for the folks may moons ago so it will work for you. That Way you have no waste from saw kerfs and you can say that you built the project from the log up. Give it a try. I have a few spruce and cotton wood logs that I am going to try it on myself.
Derek
>> That way you have no waste from saw kerfs ...
Yes, but what about the waste from having wedge shaped boards. The only application I can think of for riven boards is siding.
>> ...and you can say that you built the project from the log up.
Why couldn't he say that if he milled the log with a chainsaw?
If you really want to get into the old ways, a pit saw is a lot more dramatic than wedges and mauls.
When I suggested splitting the log into quarters, it was to get the log down to a size that could be handled by a smaller bandsaw. Once the log is split, one face can be planed flat to bear on the saw's table and then the log can be sliced with minimal waste.
Bandsawing green wood is difficult to do with ordinary bandsaw blades, even the ones sold for resawing are intended for dry wood. Suffolk Macinery is the only source I know of for a green wood blade that will fit smaller saws. The blade is thicker than most and has very deep gullets to remove the fluffy sawdust that green wood produces. Because the band is thicker it is supposedly prone to cracking, but I haven't had that problem.
JOhn W.
Edited 12/3/2003 5:47:49 PM ET by JohnW
I wasn't complaining about your message. I think quartering a log to get it small enough for the bandsaw makes good sense. I was reacting to the message that talked about splitting individual boards out of the log.
>>I have a few spruce and cotton wood logs that I am going to try it on myself.
Let us know how you fare on the cottonwood. We used to use it for survey stakes because you could beat it into pulp with a sledge hammer before it would ever split.
Your observation about splitting logs for boards is a good one. Not too long ago it was the quickest way of producing small boards for furniture and joinery. It's really pretty quick to split green logs and rough the green wood down to approximate dimensions before drying, and if you used straight grained logs, you got stable wood, basically quartersawn, with no grain runout to cause problems later on.
Pitsawing has got to be hell on earth. The expression topsawyer came from pitsawing. The guy on top just had to pull the saw up a few thousand times a day. The poor guy on the bottom got to eat sawdust all day. I would imagine it was primarily used for sawing beams and other heavy timbers, although I do have a large primitive cupboard from around 1840 whose boards are clearly hand sawn. A lot of the old boards you see from before 1850 were gang sawed in a water or steam powered mill, using straight blades in a frame. Leaves a much more regular pattern than handsawing.
Michael R
Not enough to justify hiring someone with a portable sawmill,...
I don't necessarily agree with that assesment - sounds like some hundreds of board feet, which is plenty to justify hiring a mill - - the problem is finding the sawyer - - contact Woodmizer http://www.woodmizer.com/welcome.html and see if they will give you a contact or three in your area -
other than that, I don't think you'll do much good freehanding with a chainsaw, and you can hire a mill for a fraction of the cost of the chainsaw mill/guides - the split idea is OK if the grain is straight, altho if you're gonna hand job it, I think I might hew (might be able to use the chainsaw here) a beam, then split it through the middle and bandsaw from there, but that sounds like way too much work -
You know any woodturners? the crotches and stumps and the other parts you may not want for lumber they would.
I have a idea cut them into bowl blanks and get your self a Lathe.
I just don't see cutting lumber with a chain saw - I know the make chain saw mills maybe they work well- I have a good size saw that will take a 24 in bar I just don't see ripping a log into lumber with it. You may be able to buy as much lumber for what you will spend " buying a saw + what ever , your time, drying , what will the lumber be like after drying?"
Have you a trailer ? You might roll the logs on and take it to a mill .
Ron
Who Ever Has The Biggest Pile Of Tools When You Die Wins
Whatever you decide, I recommend painting the ends now, so that if the process takes time, your logs will be spared end damage. I just inherited some huge beautiful walnut logs; alas, they were outside for some time, and the ends were not treated. The loss due to split ends was heartbreaking.
And, I've seen portable chainsaw mills--a device that you attach to your saw--for as little as $50 in the backs of WW magazines. Never tried one, but always been curious...
Charlie
If you can afford the waste, it's a relatively (snicker) easy process to freehand rip the log. But seriously, there are a bunch of simple guides that clamp to the bar and allow you to rip pretty decent lumber. We use the the Mini-Mill to make long straight cuts. The finish is pretty decent, and as long as you keep the chain sharp, it's not too hard on your back. We just use regular chain, in fact, most of the time we use safety chain for all of our cuts, rip or otherwise. (Safety chain works great for some specialized techniques)
We have contests all the time, and we've never been able to consitantly outdo regular chain with a rip chain.
But honestly... we have a guy here who'll bring his woodmizer to your door for $45 bucks an hour. Hard to beat that.
I just bought an Alaskan MK III Portable Lumber Mill and like it for the smaller stuff that eats up too much time with the guy who does my major cutting with a Woodmizer. I have also found that once that once the first cut is made, much of the smaller stuff is really firewood anyway.
The first set up with the Alaskan, getting some sort of rails straight, is a pain but after that, its a piece of cake. I often only make enough cuts with the chainsaw to get it manageable for my bandsaw.
There's more than just Woodmizer out there, gents:
I'd come mill them for you, but it's too long a hike.
http://www.sawmill-exchange.com/index.htm
http://www.mobilemfg.com/
http://www.baileys-online.com/ (Lucas)
http://www.woodmizer.com/welcome.html
Check the phonebook and the mill manufacturers/sellers for portable sawmillers locally. The mill builders are happy to provide names of local guys who own their mills. Local tree service guys will know of them, too. Few advertise.
And you need perfect clear, straight grain to easily rive boards ala the Vikings and Pac NW Native Americans, eh? The knots will make this very hard and wasteful.
Or you can come borrow my Alaskan Mill and 36" bar with ripping chain...the ripping chain (Baileys) a good idea as milling with a chanisaw will get old, quick.
Edited 12/4/2003 7:36:52 AM ET by Bob
There's a "gadget" called the Alaskan Mill that adapts a chain saw (a big chain saw) to mill wood. I've seen it recommended in other threads. Here's a link:
http://www.toolcenter.com/sawmill/C2series.html
forestgirl Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
I wonder if anyone out there has ever dug a saw pit and used a two man saw to cut boards the real old fashioned way? I saw this done once. The guy in the pit eats alot of dust.
I know it sounds nuts, but if you only have a couple of valuable, large logs you could save some money. Also, you wouldn't have to go to the gymn that week.
Frank
"Also, you wouldn't have to go to the gymn that week." ROFL! Wouldn't have time to go to the gym -- would be spending it all on the chiropracter's table!forestgirl Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
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