sawing stock slabs from logs

[WadePatton]

As I've been threatening to do this for too long and now am quite close to actually doing such, and another recent post put this into mind here goes:

I'll be attempting some slabbing with a large chainsaw (99cc/30"bar) freehand with chalkline layout.  Once I get things pared down somewhat I can utilize the Alaskan mill to make better cuts-but my Alaskan is too small for some logs I have.  Also have a Haddon Lumbermaker attachment could be employed-it is simply a bar guide that runs along 2x4-6 stock (or more accurately on oversized stock ripped down to fit).

I understand about stacking/stickering and endgrain sealing.  Wondering more about actual layout of cuts.  I'm planning on attempting to to get 3-3.5 inches on either side of the center parallel to any contour-such as through the fork/crotch and or with the bend of the log.  I'm especially targeting crotchety/twisty wood-for their curious grain of course. 

Have lots of Cherry (one great blowdown (big crotch), that'll I'll slab where it lays) and all sorts of Ash and Maple and Walnut leavings from our current logging operations.

I suppose I need to go waste a few gallons of fuel on some logs and pieces that might not be so pretty.  I have a couple of Walnut stumps to whack up--and should sealed the moment they were cut but didn't have any goo.

the local log yard uses plastic looking "stays" for lack of the proper term to control checks in Walnut.  Should I look into those or just get the waxy stuff.  Source for the wax?  I also have access to industrial outdoor latex paint (on the cheap).

dimensionally i'm satisfied with 3+ inches as long and wide as practical.  

recap: slab layout and controlling checking are the main Q's.  thanks



A fresh Black Cherry blowdown. And no, that's a baby saw for bushwhacking and moderate firewooding.  i have a crosscut (if we need to be pc)-but it needs sharpening and new handles (and a partner who won't "ride the saw").

[Acer Saccharum]

Is that a poison ivy vine on that upper right limb?

I slab my trunk, then cut stock blanks out immediately. If you let the whole plank dry, then it suffers more checking than if it were cut into smaller pieces.

Crotch and figured wood has more stress, and should be painted with a sealant of some kind to slow the drying. Definitely seal the endgrain of all your pieces.

SOme images from past postings. I can't even remember why I posted them, DOH!

How do you saw a crotch for best blanks? I dunno.


Maybe four real quarter sawed blanks out of this trunk:



Stack up your stocks, stickered, with clamps, or with weight on top, out of the sun, out of the wind, in a cool spot. Tarp over for the first few months to slow the drying down.

[TMerkley]

Cut your slabs no smaller than four inches for now.  Let them dry.  About 1 year per 1"inch unless you have a kiln.  Do not make any other cuts until it is dry.  Your wood will twist and change as it dries.  Cut it at least 6 inches longer on both ends of your working area.  I will dry and split over time.  I used to work in a saw mill and have seen cracks run as long as 4".  We used to cut them off with an electric chainsaw as it came down the conveyor.  When your wood has dried, then put your blank pattern on it where it will cover the grain that you want to work over.  If you have any more questions PM me.  Been there.

[WadePatton]

Yup Tom, the blister weed gets pretty healthy 'round here.  Doesn't bother me much, but i do tend to avoid the sap and the smoke.  I burned some grapevine as firewood last night-a good 4-inches across.  May use that to rootstock some wine grapes.  Have muscadine and catawba started.

4-inches, plenty of room for error.

+++
and i just found out that those plastic hickies are "flitchsavers" or "logsavers" and call for a hammer especial 100 bucks*.    S-irons are their metal predecessor, and still used.  i'll use the juice.

[James]

The S staples and other devices like them are usually used in cherry when it is felled in hot weather and is a prime or veneer log as they are more likely to split, especially in warm weather. Just paint the ends as has been suggested, and it will be fine.

[sweed]

Them "Stickers" look like 1" pieces of 3" PVC drain pipe to me. 

[Eric Krewson]

Did a whole lot of what you are attempting a few months ago.

Stated with this;



Found a lot of this in what looked like a sound log;







I suspect you will find the same from looking at the pictures of your log.

I did get a few marginal blanks and still have 8 feet more to cut into. It was a fun way to spend the day.

[Acer Saccharum]

I know you can put a WHOLE LOT of work into this, with marginal results.

[Dennis Glazener]

I know you can put a WHOLE LOT of work into this, with marginal results.

Yeah buddy!!! Lots of work, lots of lost blanks, lots of time!

Even with free wood if you count your labor at Min. wage after all is said and done its cheaper to buy your blanks unless you really use a lot of them. But then you miss out on all the fun Now if you have your own mill, it might make a big difference. I have to haul my wood 50 miles in one direction to get it cut.
Dennis

[WadePatton]

Nice pics Eric, thanks. That particular Cherry is one of many-it just happens to be a whole (blowdown) tree.  I've dozens of logs to cut, some tops, bucking wastes and a couple that were cut high.  if i don't get a rush on, i'll lose all the maple.  the cutting is about over, and cut three good walnuts today. 

i'd rather not let all those potential blanks rot on the ground.  anyone who has cut trees for money (or fun) knows that there are always surprises.  I'm sure to hit some rocks in the walnut stumps too, but that's how i do things.

cost analysis is irrelevant, presently not making minimum wage. so time is on my side, only have to consider fuel and oil and files and clutches and oil pumps, OH MY.

but that's why i bought the big saws, and the square chain grinder.

[fix]

I used one of those alaskan mills to cut walnut a few years back. should be ready any time now. My method was to leave the tree whole for a year or more. leave it out doors off the ground before milling. This seemed to let the tree dry a bit, and avoided a lot of the drying problems. I cut slabs 3inches thick, but only saved the slabs close to the middle of the tree for stocks. somewhat quarter sawn grain. I resawed the rest for other projects. I used cheap oil based floor paint to seal the ends and chucked it all into my garage rafters. For stickers, I ran the bark slabs(left from sawing) trough my table saw. I ripped them to one inch, and then crosscut them to length. these hold the planks apart for drying. I then forget about all of it for a few years, then move it to my basement for another year or so. I don't cut live trees, so this works for the trees that fall down in my woods every tear or so.
I've used this method for walnut and maple. Cherry might be a bit harder. As soon as one falls out here i'll give it a try.

[WadePatton]

Welcome to the forum fix.

Cherry/Maple/Walnut/Butternut/Ash all saw 'bout the same.

be sure to show us your homegrown stocks.  maybe i'll have some in a few years.

[Acer Saccharum]

Sugar maple slab, 3" thick, it must have weighed 150 lbs wet. Oy.


Stack of planks, ready to be cut into stocks. Get that bark off, or you'll have powder-post beetles all thru your wood.

[fix]

I don't have any stock blanks cut. I generally just run the wood through the band saw when I need it, and leave it in a big chunk until then.
 
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg170/Fix_bucket/120912194717.jpg

You can see a few chunks of walnut on the top shelf in this crappy cell phone pic. The second shelf down has a chunk of maple, and a small chunk of ash on it.
Not all of it will make good gun stocks. A lot of the walnut is too straight grained, but there is a nice break in all three of those slabs that made me save them back for stocks. The maple is crotch wood, but too thin for guns (future guitar probably).

I leave the bark on the wood for the whole time it's dried as one big log, outside. The beetles get into the sap wood but don't get much farther than that in the walnut. I've not had as much trouble with the beetles in the maple. I don't know why.


So far I just cut the tree into logs twelve feet long, and roll it onto whatever limb wood I trimmed off of it. I like for it to be at least ten inches off the ground so sometimes I stack the limb wood creatively to accomplish this. No paint on the ends at this stage. I will loose at least a foot from each end due to checking.

If you're gonna use one of those Alaskan mills, place your log on a slight downward slope. Gravity will pull the saw, and the cut will end up being very smooth. Most people don't believe I cut it with a chain saw.


I haven't used any of that walnut yet, but I did stock an old double barrel in the maple (it was my granny's gun and the tree came out of her front yard).

[WadePatton]

Yes, we have an Aussie at the chainsaw forums who sits in a chair and uses a remote throttle, lets the saw gravity feed through the log. It also gets your face out of the dust, smoke, and noise.  Much better than the rope and pulley crank-through system-as is used in Chainsaw Lumbermaking, Madoff (expensive because it's out of print, I have a copy). 

AND you have to be ready when the slab breaks free!  It only takes once to embed this into your memory banks permanently.

The moment we're done cutting timber, the landing becomes the saw lot.  Choice slabs will be moved from there to a barn or shed.  Poplar lumber and not-so-great gun-wood slabs will be stacked and covered on site.  i have a strong supply of broken blocks for elevating the first level. 

[TMerkley]

Old railroad ties are really good for stack as well.  They don't rot as quick. 

[Captchee]

  I do about the same as Acer .
currently i have some 25 black and English walnut  slabs   out in my shop.
 heavy , ah YA!!!  takes 2 of us to run them through the band saw.

Is it cheaper to buy a blank  yep .
 
As to the amount of wood lost ??
Depends . While you might not get a good long rifle stock , you may still get good  modern rifle or shotgun stocks . Just never know

 Myself though it’s the reward that pays for itself .
 Plus , I find that with each slab cut , looking at the grain and figure is like opening a new present on Christmas day

[James]

While the method Fix suggests will usually yield a more stable plank, do not let the tree lay and dry out if there is any chance you will have someone saw it with a bandmill. They likely will refuse to saw any more for you. All wood saws easier with a mill or chainsaw while still high in moisture. Hard maple is an absolute beast to saw with a bandmill once dried. If you are doing it yourself and don't mind sharpening the saw chain more often, then saw it dry. It will require more sharpenings and much more time than if it is sawn while wet.

[fix]

I do sharpen those chains a bunch. that whole dry wood tning migjt explain why. I just figured I had some cheap chain. luckily it don't cost me anything but time to sharpen them.

[WadePatton]

If using a chainsaw, it's best to learn about top-plate angles and square-grind chains (not the same thing).  A fresh and proper (not easy by hand) square-ground chain is fantastically more efficient-but nothing like a bandsaw either.  Lots of guys make their own bandsaw mills too.  Pretty sure I saw a homegrown VW-powered one once. 

Yes, a small fantasy of mine is to saw out a "book-matched" pair of slabs and make nearly matching rifles from them. but it's too wet to plow today.

And also, in that vein, all the wood from the same tree should color up the same-for a bit less guesswork when doing a second piece from same tree. 

Whatever I don't get sawed up will rot on the ground-as most figured wood does in this world.  I'm just trying to do my little part to save some of it-efficiency be !@*%&@.  (I highly recommend everyone who can't attempt to make their own to call Pat and Freddie Harrison-that's likely where my last and next few will be sourced).

Also will be a treat to stomp the hills and hollers with wood that stood over those same hills and hollers for many decades before.  One could sit on the stump that grew the stock.