# Working with logs "too big" for the mill



## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

If you run a swingmill...this is not a problem  But we bandmillers some times get one that just will not fit on the mill. My mill is advertised to cut a 36" diameter log, well they grow bigger than that, so I have had to bust them down with the chainsaw. The first advice out of most peoples mouth is "1/4 it with the chainsaw". That is fine for species like sycamore and oak that are more attractive/valuable 1/4 sawn...but there are many other (most other) species that 1/4 sawing is not beneficial except for the fact that 1/4 sawn lumber is more stable. 1/4 sawing is very labor intense.

These are just pictures off my website, but I did not go into a detailed explanation there as to the hows and whys I mill this way.

A couple things make me bring this up. One I have heard rumors about a 48" walnut coming my way soon :smile: and recently there has been discussion of large cherry for example here that will not fit on a bandmill. So here is my way, right or wrong. Species like cherry and walnut have sapwood that is not desired by most so this method eliminates that, makes for easier milling...and most important to me WIDE slabs. 1/4 sawing you get a few wide ones, then they get smaller as you mill.

Here is a diagram of my chainsaw cuts on lets say a 40"-50" log. Straight grained species (oak, cherry, walnut...) the cut can be shallow and the log simply busted in 1/2 with wedges and sledge, much easier than one might expect. I have busted oak 60"+ in just a few minutes.









A couple pictures of this in real life, me and a 40"ish maple, my avatar. It has interlocking grain so it had to be sawn all the way through (with a 36" bar)









I trimmed the sapwood off/got it down to "mill size". I saved the sapwood and did mill it later because it was birdseyed. Notice the short 60" diameter oak section in the background...I busted him a couple days later.:yes:









Once on the mill I make a series of cuts. The first cuts edge the log section and get it to the max width I can mill (25"). The log is stood on edge, a few cuts made, then flipped and repeated. Then I flip it split side down and cut a flat bottom, depending on species I usually save these slices and edge them into lumber. After I have a flat/stable bottom I flip it one last time and start pulling wide slabs.









A picture before my first cut on the mill. The chainsaw ripped center is facing away in the picture.










After the mill work is done to edge the cant, cut some sapwood off the bottom then it's flipped with the center up . Then it is slab pulling time !!...these are 25" wide.









The thing about doing it this way is you can saw book matches, wide bookmatches like this are $$$. You don't get that with 1/4 sawing.:no: If I remember correctly I pulled 12 (?) slabs 25" wide of this one section before they started getting narrower on the bottom. This was one 1/4 of the log. It was cut in 1/2 for length, then split and trimmed for the mill...so 48(?) slabs 25" wide all in bookmatch to the ones above and below them. That was a beauty pile of wide lumber :thumbsup:.


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## Oscar (Jun 7, 2008)

Daren:
Thank's, timing is perfect to. I'l be archiving this post as I have a couple or more "Big Logs'" to section and mill coming up soon and have been trying to figure the best method. You just gave me the answer:thumbsup:


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## Rick C. (Dec 17, 2008)

Daren,
How did you know what my next question would be:blink:? I've spent the morning trying to find a sawyer to cut this cherry:no:.Niw I need to check with the guy that most of my cuttin' and see if I cut the log this way,can he mill it then:thumbsup:.
Thanks again,
Rick


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