Hi –
Obtained a couple short cherry logs today and proceeded to attempt to mill them into rough slabs. This is my first attempt at taking a raw log from ‘in the bark’ to rough slabs.
The logs are short, < 3′, and from 10 to 12″ in diameter. Halved the logs through the center with a chain saw. Trimmed the outside edges then flattened what would be the inside of the log on the jointer and squared one of the outside edges. Then proceeded to slice off 1″ thick planks on the band saw to be air dried.
The resulting planks are really attractive but I’m wondering if this is the ‘proper’ approach to milling a log with ordinary woodshop tools and machines. Meaning – I’m milling pretty much all flat grain planks this way. I suspect they will be subject to considerable warping as they dry, stickered and weighted none the less.
I’ve got the other one to mill, still, so if there’s a better method to yield better end product wood, I’d be glad to hear of it.
Thanks…..
From Beautiful Skagit Co. Wa.
Dennis
Replies
I've done what you are doing a little bit and really enjoy opening up logs. It's very satisfying.
One thing I'd do differently is mill them to 5/4 not 4/4. you want to have that extra bit for warping.
What kind of grain do you want? Part of what I like about doing this is picking the grain orientation.
David -Yeah, that was the biggest thrill, seeing that magnificient grain on the inside of the log. I was thinking, don't know nearly enough about this stuff, that quarter sawn would be more dimensionally stable. But with the size of the logs being so small that wouldn't yield very wide boards. So I just opted to slice off the biggest slabs I could from the 1/2'd pieces of the log tossing out the centermost piece with the pith. This flat grain, though, has some stunning character to it.I'm in the process of reading Krenov's "The Art of Cabinet Making" where he describes the process of harvesting wood in this fashion. It's gonna take some restraint to avoid working with this stuff for a year or more!...........
From Beautiful Skagit Co. Wa.
Dennis
Rather than quartersawn, try going with "rift sawn" in which the growth rings are somewhat off perpendicular. It should have close to the same stability characteristic but not be as restrictive as 1/4-sawn. (May not work with the size log you're cutting though).
I was please to find out that spalted maple is best cut pretty much "flat" -- can get alot more lumber out of the logs!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
Hi again, Jamie -Spalting is so beautiful, ain't it!? I've got a bunch of birch turning blanks that were given to me some time ago. I didn't take very good care of it so unfortunately, or fortunately I guess, it's now riddled with fantastic 'marbeling'. I never seem to finish any one project 'coz I'm so eager to rough out another one to see what's inside!Whatcha got in mind for the maple?...........
From Beautiful Skagit Co. Wa.
Dennis
"Whatcha got in mind for the maple?" Uhhhhh, boards? Oh, what am I going to do with them? LOL.....they'll become stock for box lids and such, if they survive the drying process. I cut and dried 6 small boards from a different tree a year or so ago and they turned out well. I had just picked up a short round off the side of the road and cut it up.
The rounds that are ripening now are 12" to about 24" in diameter and 18" to maybe 4' long. The challenge is getting them down to a size I can handle them on the bandsaw. My back doesn't permit me to use the chain saw for very long at one time, and every time it "goes out" I lose a week or two, so I have to be careful!
I'm enthused about my idea for bundling these short pieces for drying. I bought a bunch of webbing such as that used for back-pack straps and such. Plan to use buckles that enable me to pull on the "tail" every week or so to tighten up on a stack of small boards stickered together against a nice, dry hardwood plank. We'll see how it works!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
Jamie -Do you (and/or others) consider banding or weighting the 'maturing' stickered pile of wood planks a real necessity? I can see the thought process as being intended to keep them relatively flat. But at the same time, I read that wood is wood is wood ..... If'n it want's to warp it's gonna warp.I'm wondering if it wouldn't be actually better to let the planks go where they want and deal with the distortion later. Less chance, maybe(?) of building up internal stress?Obviously I haven't bound my wooden feet at this point.But we're not in any danger of extreme drying conditions here in Skagit Co. either! (hehehe)...........
From Beautiful Skagit Co. Wa.
Dennis
Everything I have read about drying your own wood has indicated that it must be stickered and weighted down. I don't begin to understand all the physics involved at the cellular level, but I suspect it's an effort to lessen intermediate movement that, if allowed to procede, would really throw things out of whack. Maybe once all the water movement has taken place and the lumber is dry, some of that movement (which would have taken place had the pile not been weighted) doesn't even need to happen. Reminder: I'm making this up as I go along!
PS: That blade I spoke of isn't marked with their usual tag, so I don't know what "model" it is. (It's a Timber Wolf). I remember talking with the guy there for quite awhile, and I bought 3 blades: one very narrow one to help with scroll saw projects, one for resawing kiln-dried lumber, and one specifically for green wood. The green wood one might be an AS model as they mention in the catalog that it's used by woodturners to cut turnings out of large burls. It's for use in "very thick wood" where speed factors over smoothness I believe.
It's funny, folks will say Timber Wolf is better or worse than Brand-X, but they rarely say which Timber Wolf blade they're using. Suffolk makes 5 different configurations of blades! Some are designed for super-smooth cuts, others are more for speed and accuracy in, say, thick wood.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
PS: This book on wooden bowls is really neat. I've looked at it in Barnes and Noble (I own the "400 wood boxes" book from 2003).
Note they've got a deal where you can get this book and one on turning for $26.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
Another question with regard to these cherry blanks -What little experience (small small turnings) I've had with Cherry is that it eventually mellows to the point where sap and heartwood is practically the same rich dark brown. These slabs I've just milled reveal some fantastic heart-wood/sapwood grain figure and contrast. Initially the sapwood was a pale yellow that turned within a matter of what seemed minutes to a rather tortured looking rusty color.I set one slab apart in front of my circulation fan to hasten drying to see what I'd have. The heartwood is taking on a greyish color while the sap wood is beginning to lighten somewhat.OK ... question is, should I anticipate the planks becoming a more or less even light chocolate brown?Perhaps the biggest thrill, for lack of a better description, is the 'discovery' and anticipation of what will be.
...........
From Beautiful Skagit Co. Wa.
Dennis
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