Hi All,
As I posted recently, I had an opportunity to get the better part of a yellow birch that my neighbor had removed. The tree service cut the trunk into 4′ sections for me and also delivered some smaller but clearly useful branches.
The trunk sections range in width from 20″ to 26″. I really have no idea how to approach cutting these up into sections so I can use my 14″ / 12″ resaw capacity band saw to cut planks from them. Naturally, I want to quarter them.
Should I use an axe? A wedge and sledge hammer? Do they make chainsaws that long? Do I need to rent special equipment? Money’s tight, so I hope not.
Any advice you can give me would be greatly appreciated. Also, what’s the preferred material for sealing the ends?
Thanks in advance,
Mitch
“I’m always humbled by how much I DON’T know…”
Replies
Mitch,
The classic, low tech, way to split a log is to use wedges and a maul. You'll need three or four wedges. An axe is a cutting tool and of no use for splitting. Don't use the axe as a substitute for a maul, you'll ruin the head and it doesn't have enough weight to drive wedges.
The ends of the logs should be sealed immediately with paint or you will lose most of the wood to end checking within a few days.
Start a split by setting a wedge in the end of the log close to the bark, then start setting wedges down the side of the log to enlarge the crack started in the end.
Some species of wood are impossible to split because the grain is interlocked, but I believe that birch is one of the better woods for splitting. You could still get a log with difficult or spiraling grain that won't yield good saw quarters but it is worth a try. Take your time, splitting is tough work, you can hurt yourself.
John W.
Thanks, John.
I just checked with my local sawmill and te portable sawyers, and none of them wood do the job anyway because they have 8' minimums.
What kind of a place would you go to find wedges and a maul? I imagine they're not HD items, and they don't seem like the kind of items a Woodcraft would sell.
Thanks again,Mitch
"I'm always humbled by how much I DON'T know..."
Wedges and sledges can be found at just about any decent hardware store, and even at Home Depot or Lowes. A maul is just a sort of a mix of axe and sledge. HD prolly has some version of a maul too. If you're trying to split 4 foot lengths, I think a few wedges and sledge would work fine because you are not going to be splitting the wood with a chop or a swing as would happen with a normal 18" fireplace log, but are instead essentially riving:
http://www.greenwoodworking.com/riving/riving.htm
Good luck.
John, thanks for that explanation. I'm going to use that technique soon!
re: mauls and wedges. HD definitely carries them. I picked up a new sledge and splitting-style "ax" from them last year. Didn't need the wedges, already had quite a few. So far, they seem to be decent quality.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" .... :>)
The last time I needed to half up a large log, I used my chainsaw to rip it. It was a lot of work and my chain was not a rip configuration. I cut as deep as possible, then flipped the log and matched up the cut. I doubt if I could have split it or could have controlled the split. I used Anchorseal on the ends. It's a wax like emulsion that slows moisture, made specifically for that purpose.
Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
You could rip it with a chain saw or split it. If you go with the chain saw method, I recommend you have your local power equipment dealer make you a rip chain. Also figure out ahead of time how you're going to get a straight cut, as I've found that this is harder than one might expect.
On the splitting method - I've worked with the closely related sweet birch, and I wouldn't be surprised if you could split a clear 4' log cleanly from one end. Get a straight split started, put a couple of wedges in, and alternate hitting them with a sledge. No need to really clobber them, you want slow and easy. The likelihood of success is much lower if the split hits a branch.
Either method these logs smell great when you cut them.
Pete
Thanks, Pete. I think I'll go with the maul and wedge approach, since it may yield straighter pieces, and I need the exercise.
Take care,Mitch
"I'm always humbled by how much I DON'T know..."
Please post how it works out and what you learn along the way!
Pete
If the logs are straight without large limbs then splitting is easy. Besides a maul and steel wedges, you may need to make a glut. This is a large wooden wedge or cone shape chunk of hard wood.The cone shape works better than a wedge because it has no sharp edges to get stuck in the stringy fibers.You can chop one from a limb or better yet from the root of a hardwood tree. The root is harder than the rest of the tree.If the wedges split the log easy ,you won't need the glut.
Look at the endgrain,there may be splits and checks already there, split the same direction. I have split oaks and ash easily, some woods like cherry and maple are tougher, the grains of these woods are not straight for any length.
mike
I've ripped a number of logs into workable slabs with a chain saw- It wasn't that hard, and they came out straighter than if I'd allowed a wedge to follow the grain- And green wood is famous for bouncing a wedge rather than allowing it to wedge in-
Thanks, Dave.
A chainsaw is certainly the most convenient solution. I don't know what it would cost to have a dealer put a rip chain on it, but since I'm going to have to borrow someone's saw I think I should probably do that so I don't screw their tool up.
Thanks for the tip, and I'll let you know how it goes.
Best regards,Mitch
"I'm always humbled by how much I DON'T know..."
I never used a rip chain- I've never even heard of one- You won't damage the saw using a normal chain, or a skip tooth, or whatever- Cutting trees is what they're made for- It's not brain surgery- I wedged the logs so the camber was up as straight as possible- Then ran a chalk line and followed the line- Helps to have someone at the end of the log keeping an eye on the bar, kind of keeping you as straight up & down as possible- Main thing is to keep the tip of the bar out of the dirt- It'll dull your chain in an instant- Also, be VERY careful- Chainsaws make for incredibly messy injuries-
Dave , a rip chain is filed straight across like a bandsaw blade. It is easier and faster to use a rip chain when sawing planks. I have two chain saws, an electric with a regular chain, a homealite with the rip chain.Easier to have two chain saws than changing saw chains.
mike
Well, there you have it- All these years- Thanks Mike- Much obliged- Dave
A few other things. Keeping your bar perpendicular to the grain and trying to go straight down the log is really hard on the saw motor, as well as the blade.
If you lead with the motor somewhere in the 10 to maybe 20* range, the blade will cut more aggressively.
I don't try to cut with the whole length of the bar either. If you pull forward with the motor a ways, then rock back bringing the tip end along some, you will be cutting with the teeth only along a portion of the bar. This keeps the gullet from filling up and causing too much friction in the cut.
If you feed too far ahead with the motor end, the cut will become too aggressive, and you will find the chain grabbing, and jumping out or causing the bar to bounce. It will be hard on the clutch also.Rather than chalking a line, which will be completely covered with shavings for about 2' ahead of where you need it as soon as you start, I usually screw a straight batten onto the log about an inch over from where I am making the cut. By lifting the saw up about six or eight inches as I am advancing the motor end down the log, it first gets the motor out of the way so I can gauge the inch over from the batten, and I can tell if the bar is still plumb to the world which takes care of the other end. It usually takes me about fifteen minutes to go 12' on a large log with a 28" bar.
Try a website called beammachine.com. You nail a 2x4 on the log, clamp the chainsaw bar into the machine and go straight down the log. They don't cost much.
Manual splitting w/ wedges would be a workout, and if there is any knottiness or figure it will make for a harder job and potentially very uneven quarters. But it would be the cheapest.
The chainsaw would make easier work of it, but you would need a good sized saw. At least 60cc, preferably larger. As mentioned earlier, you can use a shorter (say 20" bar) and cut from both sides, attempting to match the kerfs.
You don't have to use a ripping chain, but it makes it quicker and easier on the saw. Either way, keep the saw head a few inches out of the cut so the strands don't pack up in the sprocket cover. When ripping you don't get chips, you get long strands of wood fiber so they don't get spit out by the chain like when you simply buck (cross cut) logs.
Do what the Myth Busters did on TV. Drill a hole down the center of the log and fill it with black powder! Toss a match at it and run like heck!
PlaneWood by Mike_in_Katy (maker of fine sawdust!)
PlaneWood
I've always had much better luck splitting wood with equal mass on either side of the wedge. Trying to split a slab off, I've never been real successful, but that may just be me.
Another route may be to 'square-up' the log using a chainsaw and an axe. If you think of a squared-log cabin, they would chalk a line or two, chop (you'd use a saw) to the line every 10-12" and then split off the waste. It may get you close enough to then use your bandsaw.
Tom
Tom,
That's kind of the direction I'm going in. I think with a heavy duty chainsaw with a min. 20" bar I should be able to get quarters out of the logs.
Thanks,Mitch
"I'm always humbled by how much I DON'T know..."
Best time to split a log is just after it was cut and fell on the ground.. Maul and wedges.. Some split like a 30 caliber M1 went off...
The way I use my chainsaw is to cut several evenly spaced crosscuts to the same depth, then use a broadhead hatchet that is beveled only on one side so it can't dig into the wood. This speeds up the squaring process considerably. You could use a curved blade adze to remove bark and a flat blade adze to square up the beam.
Gnome,
Why do I have to worry about squaring the quarters up if I'm going to use a sled to cut boards from them on my band saw? I assume the first cut will take all the rough out, and provided my blade is square to the table, I should be square as well. Is that not the case?Mitch
"I'm always humbled by how much I DON'T know..."
"I'm always humbled by how much I DON'T know..."ANDSuprised at what I DO know!
You're too kind Will. Thanks.Mitch
"I'm always humbled by how much I DON'T know..."
Not necessarily. If the log isn't perfectly straight on the bottom and as it goes down the table for the first cut, the resulting cut is wavy as high and low spots cross the table. This is a near-certainty with split wood.If you're not lucky enough to own a big jointer, you have to get clever. One approach is to attach the log or quarter to a board for the first cut to square up a face.Pete
Pete,
Thanks for your reply. My plan's been to bolt the log quarter to a right-angle jig which would ride against the fence and, after sawing off the first board of hills, valleys, cuts, etc., yield nice flat and square boards. As was mentioned earlier, I'll have to suuport the BS table, as well as build some infeed/outfeed supports, since log quarters are 4' long and pretty heavy.
I couldn't imagine trying to saw boards off a log that had its bark resting on the table, since as you point out the likelihood of getting straight and usable pieces would be pretty low.
Thanks,Mitch
"I'm always humbled by how much I DON'T know..."
UPDATE
Well, I decided to go the chainsaw route. I don't know why, but none of the big box stores can find the 20" saws they all say they have in inventory. So I bought an 18" Poulan Pro which I intend to return to HD within their 30 day no-questions-asked return period. I know, there's an ethics line there, but I figure if SWMBO can buy a gown, wear it to a function, and return it two days later, I should be able to do the same thing. But, on to the results.
The chainsaw method's actually worked quite well.
I found after the first quarter that it was a lot faster and easier if I just let the saw do the work for me - it's not necessary to put downward pressure on it, and in fact it hinders the progress. My progress has been about 2-3" every minute, and I don't leave the saw in the log any longer than that.
Also, I found that using the saw to cut a 1-2" deep line down the length of the log really helped me to both make a straight line and keep to it while sawing deeply.
Finally, I found it help to have an axe around to split that last piece of wood that stubbornly holds the two pieces together after I've gotten them cleared.
I'll report more as things progress.
Again, thanks for all your help,Mitch
"I'm always humbled by how much I DON'T know..."
mvac,
My post dealt with not splitting the log into quarters but rather squaring the log as one would do for a log cabin. Snap a line for depth, saw to the line then slab off the excess. Turn the log and repeat. Scroll down on the link to 'squaring a log- fig. 93' http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/fspubs/01232833/craft01.htm#figure93
Tom
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