Does it matter How You Slice it???
- Thread starter banderso
- Start date
Help Support Arborist Forum:
woodshop
Addicted to ArboristSite
Depends on what kind of wood, how big is the log to start with, what kind of mill are we talking about... etc etc. Need more details to answer a question like that.
Ianab
ArboristSite Operative
Yeah.. depends.
Different species will saw out differently, but some things can be done to improve the quality of your sawn boards.
Plan your cutting so that the 2xs are flat sawn, that way if you get a knot it's through the 4" or 10" face and the board still has most of it's structural strength. A 10x2 with a spike knot running across it is seriously weakened. Watch the placement of the pith too. Normally you can leave a good 4x4 with the pith centred and it will stay straight. Try and either centre the pith or have your boards completely free of it.
What sort of mill you run makes a difference too, easier to cut some patterns with different mill types.
Cheers
Ian
Different species will saw out differently, but some things can be done to improve the quality of your sawn boards.
Plan your cutting so that the 2xs are flat sawn, that way if you get a knot it's through the 4" or 10" face and the board still has most of it's structural strength. A 10x2 with a spike knot running across it is seriously weakened. Watch the placement of the pith too. Normally you can leave a good 4x4 with the pith centred and it will stay straight. Try and either centre the pith or have your boards completely free of it.
What sort of mill you run makes a difference too, easier to cut some patterns with different mill types.
Cheers
Ian
woodshop
Addicted to ArboristSite
...very good point ianab. When I do buy 2x building material, I'm one of those guys who picks through the pile and weeds out boards that have spike knots like that. I'll take a board thats not exactly strait, as that can often be corrected by force nailing it strait when framing it in. But I often look for the tighter older growth flatsawn stuff, or quartersawn or riftsawn if no large knots, if it's there. Makes it much harder to toenail studs or pound nails through, and the boards themselves are usually heavier, but they are stiffer stronger boards.
elliott
ArboristSite Lurker
The way the question is phrased, it sounds as if he wants all of those sizes out of one log. That's gonna' have to be a big log. :hmm3grin2orange: Check out the logging photos thread in the logging forum; they've got some trees on there that will do it.
MJR
ArboristSite Guru
I can’t give any advice on the Ripsaw, but I have been doing “a lot” of Ash. Pre drill all your holes. If it is amazing how far it splits… Good luck.
woodshop
Addicted to ArboristSite
I agree on the predrilling, but then most hardwoods need to be if using them as structural timbers nailing etc. As for how to slice it... for something that big I would quarter it into roughly 12-14" square cants with the csm and Ripsaw your boards from those. Grab a square and measure and mark up with lumber crayon the end of your log so you know exactly where you are cutting. Make sure to measure from the pith both ends to take taper into consideration. Then slab off the necessary amount on one side. Rotate log 90 and take second slab. That should be enough on that size log to slice it in half if you have a 36" bar on the csm. Sit that upright and then slice into two 12- 14 inch cants. From there you can slice your 2x lumber how you want it. On a log that size, you will get a lot of riftsawn and quite a bit of quartersawn also, which is OK if there are not a lot of knots as was mentioned earlier.
Take pics and let us know how it goes. How long have you had your Ripsaw?
woodshop
Addicted to ArboristSite
I'd be very interested in seeing how you do that. I've been toying with the idea of making my own handheld bandsaw for years. I tore apart my Ripsaw and studied it, and came to the conclusion that many of the parts you could easily make yourself, but then some of it would be very difficult. The cast aluminum piece that mates the chainsaw head to the Ripsaw that has the tunnel through it for bar oil from the saw to the pinion gear would be very tricky for most of us. The tensioning and aligning mechanism also looks a bit tricky to get right, but then if you are a machinist you might not have any problem. Keep us informed.
Dave , the tensioning and alignment of the 1996 model that I have is not as very complicated . There is a tensioning bolt that pulls a rod . The alignment is a set screw that moves the drive wheel .
woodshop
Addicted to ArboristSite
yes, thats about all there is to my newer one also. I still say though that the tricky part will be making it stiff enough in the right places, lining up that tensioning bolt that pulls that rod so it indeed puts the right kind of tension at the right place. Not saying it can't be done. You are right, it doesn't look that complicated. Just saying I think it would be one of those things that looks simple enough but in practice could turn out to be difficult to get right. I could be wrong... just going my by gut and past experiences.
