Advice to cut walnut slabs

[John Evoy]

Good day. Rather new to the site. I have several walnut slabs. Some live edge and some not. They vary in thickness up to 6" and vary in width up to 16". All about 5' roughly in length. Have been air dried, stacked and stickered for a couple of years. I eventually want to possibly cut them down in thickness to 3" or so for some bench projects, table or mantle. I need some advice on how to do this. I will attach a few pics. I apologize for the quality and will add more if needed.

 

[SeMoTony]

Good day. Rather new to the site. I have several walnut slabs. Some live edge and some not. They vary in thickness up to 6" and vary in width up to 16". All about 5' roughly in length. Have been air dried, stacked and stickered for a couple of years. I eventually want to possibly cut them down in thickness to 3" or so for some bench projects, table or mantle. I need some advice on how to do this. I will attach a few pics. I apologize for the quality and will add more if needed.View attachment 596458 View attachment 596459 View attachment 596460

How was the original cuts made? I may not see them correctly but they seem to be wedged shaped a bit. Personally I wood use my alaskan mill frame on my seventy cc powerhead since I lack a fifty cc powerhead which I think wood be enough. Lacking that you may want to call a sawmiller or bandsaw miller to see if they have any interest in the project. Free hand milling takes a lot of practice I wood think, and not be on my list for those cants you have shown us. Good luck on your search.

 

[John Evoy]

Im not 100% sure how they were cut. I purchased from an arborist. Didnt ask him. They are not perfectly square but not out alot either. If they have a camber to them im assuming they could be shaved down square first then cut to desired thickness?

 

[Brian72]

If you already have a chainsaw mill, you could use it. If not, I'd recommend looking into a local mill to saw them for you. I've only had my chainsaw mill for a few months now but I quickly realized a few things. It's slow, messy and very time-consuming. I'm not trying to discourage anyone from chainsaw mills, just pointing out facts. For smaller stuff, it's simply more efficient for me to load them on a trailer and haul it to the mill. I only use the chainsaw mill for the big stuff or logs that I can't move. I've been lucky enough to build a good relationship with a local mill and that's helped me greatly. I help him whenever I can and he helps me with my lumber supply or mills a few logs for me. I still get the enjoyment of milling but it's much easier.

Sent from my E6782 using Tapatalk

 

[Runknpap]

It called tge haddon lumber maker. Look it up well worth the 75 bucks. Or however much it is. I bought a real nice brass one on eBay forget what the price was. Made in the USA though

 

[Garrit]

Local Sawmill guy, Typically pay by the hour. It is worth it, no sweat and very clean cut.

 

[Runknpap]

Local Sawmill guy, Typically pay by the hour. It is worth it, no sweat and very clean cut.

There's no satisfaction in life without sweat

 

[BigOakAdot]

Anything that's close enough to the thickness you're looking for you could build a router sled and flatten it to desired thickness.

That's only if you're within an inch or so of the dimension you're hoping to get to.