# making lumber look circular sawn



## MidGAOutdoor

is there a way to make wood look as if it were sawn on a circular saw mill? I have live edge slabs and im going top make benches and I thought the circular saw marks would add to the rustic feel of it. I have a band mill. is there an attachment for an angle grinder of something?


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## asevereid

Sorry, had to edit my post...I thought you were referring to adding mill marks to a removed live edge.
I cannot think of anything that might add saw marks to the face of the work piece.
Maybe a grinder with a metal cutting disc, or a flap wheel attached to a pivot to keep the markings consistent?


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## jarheadmike

Haven't tried it but maybe run a skill saw/circular saw backwards and slightly angle the front edge in?


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## mikeswoods

Not the answer for you--but my father would bend a tooth or two when going for the 'rough' circle mill look---that was in the days before carbide blades---sorry for the side track--carry on--Mike--


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## asevereid

jarheadmike said:


> Haven't tried it but maybe run a skill saw/circular saw backwards and slightly angle the front edge in?


I was going to recommend that, but I think the OP is looking to make the saw marks on the face of the slab instead of the edge.


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## Improv

Just an idea you could try.

You'll need to make a template with a curve the same radius as the saw blade you are attempting to duplicate. Since an actual saw blade can cut a log less than half its diameter, a half-circle template would be more than adequate. Note that it should be wider than the piece you want to make otherwise it would not have been 'cut' completely in one pass.
Then, when the template is on the workpiece, take a hook scrape and run it along the template so that it gouges the wood on the leading edge of the 'cut', gouge along the back edge of the 'cut'. Bump the template forward a bit and repeat the process along the length of the workpiece.

However, you chose to do it, I think the three points that method needs to obtain are the correct saw blade radius, the leading edge cut imperfections, and the trailing edge cut imperfections.

Regards,
Steve


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## jarheadmike

The more ideas I come up with the more dangerous it becomes.


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## firehawkmph

Per than going to a saw mill that uses a circular saw. The only thing that comes to mind is get one of those thatching blades for the lawn mower. that has a couple of spring steel pieces on each end and run it over with the lawn mower. Just thinking out loud, would not recommend doing this.
Mike Hawkins


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## jarheadmike

firehawkmph said:


> Per than going to a saw mill that uses a circular saw. The only thing that comes to mind is get one of those thatching blades for the lawn mower. that has a couple of spring steel pieces on each end and run it over with the lawn mower. Just thinking out loud, would not recommend doing this. Mike Hawkins


No, that's too much work. I was thinking a saw blade on a car buffer minus the wax. You don't want it to look too finish, got to keep that rustic look.


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## FrankC

jarheadmike said:


> No, that's too much work. I was thinking a saw blade on a car buffer minus the wax. You don't want it to look too finish, got to keep that rustic look.


That sounds scarry and dangerous.


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## cabinetman

There's likely many ways to create a circular saw cut appearance. I've skip planed lumber that came very close, and was very easy to.


















.


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## jarheadmike

That was a joke, please don't try it


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## PhilBa

I think Improv has the germ of a workable idea. I presume you don't need to make that many lines, 50-100. So doing it by hand wouldn't be that much work. Definitely a lot safer than some [email protected]$$ed blade gizmo. 

I'd build a jig with a rail that you can put an arm on. One end of the arm attaches to the rail, the other end has the scratching tool. The length of the arm is the radius of milling marks. This makes it easy to get each mark precisely the same. Clamp the rail to the live edge board. Probably lots of improvements to make the jig work better.


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## RoostinRidge

I have done it with a router mounted on a base (more like a arm to make an arc) - like you would use to cut a circle. Just use a straight bit and set the depth however deep you want in. Very fast & very safe.


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## unclefester

jarheadmike said:


> That was a joke, please don't try it


How about with wax?


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## WonderlandWoodworks

Yeah there's a really easy way to do this. I stumbled upon it in my shop the other day. All you need is a good sided disk sander say 12" should do with some 60 grit on it. Put your long planks on the table, turn on the sander and move the wood back and forth over the disk. The marks made on the wood by moving it look an awful lot like mill marks. Sand it by hand/with an orbital sander to your desired smoothness and you should be left with some cool mill marks. Worked great on some breadboards I just put on a table a week ago.


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## epicfail48

jarheadmike said:


> No, that's too much work. I was thinking a saw blade on a car buffer minus the wax. You don't want it to look too finish, got to keep that rustic look.


Sweet jimminy cricket, i read that idea and my sphincter clenched so fast you could cut a cigar with it


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## unclefester

epicfail48 said:


> Sweet jimminy cricket, i read that idea and my sphincter clenched so fast you could cut a cigar with it


I would not keep cigars there 
But that me


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## Sprocket1

*What about trying*

an adjustable arm fly cutter ran at a very low rpm and at a very slight angle off perpendicular to the face of the board? Mounted on your bandmill, (minus the band of course), and just barely touching board should give a rather realistic look. Imagine the fly cutter mounted in the chuck of a really slow rotating corded drill. 
You won't be using the bandmill to rotate the flycutter, just for depth adjustment and movement down the length of the board.

Several years ago I used the agitator gearbox out of an old wringer type washing machine to simulate the back and forth motion on a unique prototype project where I worked. It might give the needed motion you are looking for. Just a thought.


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## carny

find a cheap lawn mower and two matching chainsaws. Remove the deck from the lawn mower to expose the blades. Attach one chainsaw to each blade with bungee cords, making sure to wrap around the throttle so the saws areit fixed at full speed. Hang the whole contraption from the ceiling with a piece of paracord wrapped around the lawn mower handle. Don't forget to wrap the cord around the safety bar thingy. Hanging by the handle will make it hang at the angle you'll need. 

Now fire up the chainsaws. When they are running full bore start the lawnmower. If everything is working properly you should have a nice whirling vortex of death. Be sure to wear safety glasses and hearing protection.

Place the boards on a floor jack and raise so that the blades just barely touch the wood. If the jack won't go high enough just stack other stuff you have laying around on the jack first. I found my gas can and a crossbow to be a perfect height for my setup. Now just ease the jack into the vortex and you're set.


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## Woodenhorse

Go to a local antique shop and buy a couple of old beat up large diameter saw blades. Yeah, the ones hanging on the wall with someones aboriginal attempt at art painted on them. Now, take out your old 10 speed Huffy bicycle and remove the rims, if they're even on the frame anymore. Mount the saw blades in their place. Now, place your board on edge and ride the bike along side while rubbing the saw blades against it. It probably won't work but Youtube has been rather boring of late. 
Or, use a hand plane with the blade set off to one side to expose the edge of the iron and run that in sweeping arcs across the face. It should be a pretty convincing effect similar to a saw blade. Although I haven't tried this way you may even be able to run it along the edge of a template as long as the radius is big enough.


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## VIFmike

I would think the easiest to do and set up would be mounting a router to an arm. If you did it at a slight angle it would dig into the wood on one side and not the other making a real looking cut.


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## MontanaJen

Carny's reply made me laugh so hard it hurt! Gas can and a crossbow... hahahaha


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## sanchez

No, no, no. Ya'll got it all wrong. 

Get three saw blades. Put the saw blades on the ceiling fan blades. Just use a machine screw and bolt. But be safe, predrill the holes in the fan blades so you don't split them.
Then turn it on high, and just lift the slabs overhead into the spinning blades. So simple.


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## hwebb99

sanchez said:


> No, no, no. Ya'll got it all wrong.
> 
> Get three saw blades. Put the saw blades on the ceiling fan blades. Just use a machine screw and bolt. But be safe, predrill the holes in the fan blades so you don't split them.
> Then turn it on high, and just lift the slabs overhead into the spinning blades. So simple.


I have a safer idea. Get a push mower, and bend the tips of the blade down. Put the board on the ground, and push the running mower over the board. Way safer that way.


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## sanchez

This is the funniest thread I've seen here in a long time!


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## Don1962

My side hurts😃


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