Edging slabs

[Marklambert61]

I have learned my lesson now but when I stated milling I made a lot of slabs...

Since that time I learned is a whole lot easier to make a cants then mill it to lumber. When there dry just go to the planer and joiner and sweet lumber is in hand...

But now I'm left with a barn full of the slabs I cut more that a year ago...

What the best way you guys have found for edging slabs?


Mark...

Eaten saw dust breathing exhaust and loving it.

 

[Trigger-Time]

I use angle iron for a fence (straight edge) C-clamps and worn gear skillsaw.
I like a carbide, coarse tooth saw blade. And of course a square.

 

[Brmorgan]

I use angle iron for a fence (straight edge) C-clamps and worn gear skillsaw.
I like a carbide, coarse tooth saw blade. And of course a square.

Agreed. I use a circular saw with a Freud Diablo blade. It has a very narrow kerf, just over 1/16", and is designed to cut wet wood without binding too. It will take 2" D Fir or Birch pretty much as fast as I can push through the wood. Because of this I've taken to flitch-cutting any logs I'm going to use for two-by structural lumber, because it's faster than canting square and then slabbing with the chainsaw. I only have a 7-1/4" saw so I'm limited to about 2-2.5 inches of thickness though. My cousin used to work in a staircase factory and they had a 12" handheld circular saw to cut big D Fir stringer beams - that would increase capacity a bit! If you need to rip slabs in absence of electricity though, something like a Granberg Mini-Mill or Beam Machine & small chainsaw would be the best IMO.

 

[clintb]

I edge mine before i cut the board.

 

[Brmorgan]

Nice - I had a similar idea of using one of my old Weed-Eater engines to power a small circular saw ahead of the chainsaw bar, to simulate a double-cut circular saw mill. I'll have to do that sometime. How do you drive yours?

 

[clintb]

I use a 6.5hp engine belt driven on a 1" shaft and 12" blade. I'm wanting to go bigger, maybe 16hp and a 21" blade.

 

[Zodiac45]

I use angle iron for a fence (straight edge) C-clamps and worn gear skillsaw.
I like a carbide, coarse tooth saw blade. And of course a square.

+1 Me too. It can be a bit of a pain but I find you can squeeze a little extra width out of the slabs versus making a cant.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

What the best way you guys have found for edging slabs?

Best cheapest way for me is to do it on the mill, but...this baby works pretty good too...

Rob

 

[Haywire Haywood]

I've been screwing a 1x8 to the slab with one side hanging off the edge. I use that straight edge against the rip fence on my table saw to take the opposite edge off, then take the 1x8 off and put the cut I just made against the fence to take the remaining edge off. Of course, my slabs are only 8' long and only 5/4 thick so longer/thicker slabs might not work well that way. It's till awkward and time consuming too.

Ian

 

[dustytools]

I've been screwing a 1x8 to the slab with one side hanging off the edge. I use that straight edge against the rip fence on my table saw to take the opposite edge off, then take the 1x8 off and put the cut I just made against the fence to take the remaining edge off. Of course, my slabs are only 8' long and only 5/4 thick so longer/thicker slabs might not work well that way. It's till awkward and time consuming too.

Ian

You had better be careful when using a table-saw, I know a guy that screwed up three of his fingers while using one.

 

[Haywire Haywood]

Yea, I know him.. he was cutting stickers and wasn't the brightest bulb in the package. LOL

Ian

 

[guitarborist]

That is how I have done it in the past, works well.

 

[slabmaster]

I just snap a chalkline and use a circular saw.It's the fastest way i know of.

 

[BlackCatBone]

Not the cheapest way by any means, but certainly the easiest and will give you the best edge finish you can imagine. Since I am speaking with a bunch of saw nuts, I thought you guys may dig this too.

http://www.festoolusa.com/ProductDetails.aspx?id=3&prodid=561188

 

[woodshop]

I just snap a chalkline and use a circular saw.It's the fastest way i know of.

This is exactly what I do if I need to edge, often don't even use the chalkline, just freehand. I'm not making S4S lumber at this point, so why does it have to be dead nuts strait line? I try and mill cants such that I have no trimming, but occasionally you get boards that need cleaning up no matter how you mill the cant.

 

[aggiewoodbutchr]

Agreed. I use a circular saw with a Freud Diablo blade. It has a very narrow kerf, just over 1/16", and is designed to cut wet wood without binding too. It will take 2" D Fir or Birch pretty much as fast as I can push through the wood. Because of this I've taken to flitch-cutting any logs I'm going to use for two-by structural lumber, because it's faster than canting square and then slabbing with the chainsaw. I only have a 7-1/4" saw so I'm limited to about 2-2.5 inches of thickness though. My cousin used to work in a staircase factory and they had a 12" handheld circular saw to cut big D Fir stringer beams - that would increase capacity a bit! If you need to rip slabs in absence of electricity though, something like a Granberg Mini-Mill or Beam Machine & small chainsaw would be the best IMO.

+1

Every once in a while I'll use my Dad's 16 1/4" beam saw (just a circle saw on steroids) for edging a thick slab. It doesn't like making rip cuts but it will get the job done.

 

[slabmaster]

+1 Me too. It can be a bit of a pain but I find you can squeeze a little extra width out of the slabs versus making a cant.

That's why i do it with a circular saw.I can get wider boards out of some of the slab,especually when when the tree has a curve to it. Less waste of good wood.

 

[deeker]

Best cheapest way for me is to do it on the mill, but...this baby works pretty good too...

Rob

Is this the bucket of rust your trying to sell me?????

 

[Brmorgan]

That edger's a nice machine, Rob. I recently got two top-quality 1" arbor, 14" ripsaw blades from the mill I work at. They were used when it was a cedar specialty mill years ago, and the old equipment they were used in is no longer there so they let me have 'em. Got a good crosscut blade too. I'm considering building an edger with those blades (eventually). I need to find a good 5 hp horizontal engine to run them if I want to make it portable though, or I have a good 3hp electric if not. And I have a good 50:1 worm gear reducer that I could use for a power feeder. So many projects, so little time...

 

[stilhusk]

I use a 6.5hp engine belt driven on a 1" shaft and 12" blade. I'm wanting to go bigger, maybe 16hp and a 21" blade.

How about 20hp and a gang of blades, cut 5 boards in one pass!