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Jackbnimble

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all 1 of them ( I've managed to live through over 18 years of marriage) I have never cut through a log in a straight line. I have tried most techniques known to man (except using a portable milling attachment) and still my cuts resemble a delicious, full bowl of spaghetti.
My chain was just professionally sharpened and yet I completely skewered my 10,000th attempt to divide a 4" by 3' x 4' hunk of oak into 1 usable piece of wood to make a small table top. I have no hair left to pull out and no one within 3 miles of my former residence dares approach the 50,000' mounds of sawdust/noodles scattered throughout the forest where I used to live and still saw wood. The bar has a strong tendency to slice the wood in every direction except straight, plumb and true.
I would just like to cut through a section of wood roughly that size, 4" by 3' x 4', to make one proper side. I have an MS66O Magnum with a 28" bar.
Your expertise will provide a great deal of relief. Thanks
 
Can you start with a log instead of a slab? Stand it on end, mark lines for the cuts, and cut down through the end grain as you would with a chainsaw mill.
If you only want one table, how about just trying to flatten the 4" slab with a power planer and belt sander? I did this with a large slab of koa I used for a coffee table. Pastryguyhawaii (member) may be able to help.
 
Good point. I had assumed the b&c were good.
Put a straight edge on the bar and look at the rails.Also the chain on a longer bar is hard to get perfectly sharpened because the longer they are the less you can get away with. Shorter bars will cut straighter than long ones after a few chain sharpenings.
 
Thanks guys. Each suggestion pulled me back from the verge of total despondency. It's not like I haven't been trying for years. And, I don't know what the attraction is. Being three quarters nuts may have something to do with it.
I can cut through a log pretty well. I will examine the rails. Seems like they should be ok if logs cut straight. Seems like it shouldn't be this hard. I am using a power planer, but shouldn't have to remove as much wood if my cuts were better. I could use a rig to stabilize the piece better. My creative juices drain as soon as I try to picture it. To me, a freshly cut slab of red oak is a thing of rare beauty.
 
BTW, my sharpening skills have found the toilet, too. That's why I had this one done professionally. No matter how hard I try to get it right, my chains just don't have the razor sharp quality I'm looking for.
 
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