# Making useful lumber for cheapskates?



## dbhost (Jan 28, 2008)

Just wondering if there is a better method than running 4' or shorter sections through my band saw sled. I occasionally run into smaller logs, large branches of interesting woods that I would like to put to use... 

I have considered trying that HF Lumber maker that is supposed to be a jig to use with a chainsaw to turn a log into 2x4s. I am assuming I can make the cuts one way and not the other with it... Ending up with 8/4 is certainly acceptable...


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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

I know guys who use that attachment you mention, lumber maker-beam machine. They seem to be happy with it (and heck they are only ~$30) saying it does help make more accurate cuts. Like any chainsaw milling though a bigger saw is going to make the difference. It sucks bending over a log with a chainsaw trying to rip it, the quicker you can get that job done the better.


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## dbhost (Jan 28, 2008)

Sorry didn't mention, yeah, I've got a reasonable (not huge) chain saw. (Echo 20", CS430 I think is the model #) Would a ripping chain help?


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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

dbhost said:


> Would a ripping chain help?


Yes it would


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

I do it like this. 










You don't have to get that drastic -- you could use a shorter bar. I use a ripping chain too and it makes all the difference.


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## Chad (May 10, 2009)

Like the saw!!!! How much does that thing weigh?


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## dbhost (Jan 28, 2008)

WHOAH! That is one heck of a Photoshop job there!


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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

dbhost said:


> WHOAH! That is one heck of a Photoshop job there!


:no: TT has videos of similar antics...I've seen them.


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

No photoshop jobs from me. WYSIWYG. But maybe that's why I have been nursing a neck/shoulder/bicep injury for going on nigh 3 weeks now. Almost healed up finally but I do stupid things. That ripping job is not what did this latest injury though it was a log. :icon_rolleyes:


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

Chad said:


> Like the saw!!!! How much does that thing weigh?


Too much! :help:


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## Carl Middleton (Dec 8, 2008)

Now thats a saw:thumbsup:


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## dbhost (Jan 28, 2008)

Come on, this isn't April 1 any more... That bar, if real, has got to be something like 6 feet long. The operator would have to qualify for a rubber room to be willing to use that thing...


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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

dbhost said:


> The operator would have to qualify for a rubber room to be willing to use that thing...


:w00t:...he said I didn't. But yes he qualifies, regardless of the saw (it's real)


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

Dang you Daren, you beat me to the punch again I thought you were gonna go brush your tooth or sump'n. :tooth:

Yep no doubt I am certified rubber-room material. I can see I will have to post a video. More work. What the hey I am cutting jigs tonight so maybe I can sneak it in between fixture changes. I tried to once before but the video wouldn't load to YT because I couldn't figure the codec out. 

host, really it's not that big a deal. The bar is 73 5/16" but the powerhead takes uo some of it so it's only a hair over 7' long overall. It is heavy I don't deny, but not impossible and certainly not un-manageable if you get your head straight. Not that I have ever achieved that. :wacko:


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## Chad (May 10, 2009)

I've seen one before but never one cut, looking forward to that video, if ya can get it to load.


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## dbhost (Jan 28, 2008)

I figure anything with a bar that long, would need to have handles on both ends to be managed... 

Where in TX you at? I have to see this up close and personal...


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## zacker (Mar 25, 2010)

Sweet saw..lol post the vid to You Tube and then just provide the link here.. that would be easiest. Man.. I was using a 18" Husky the other day and my arms hurt, not to mentiong the Carple Tunnel in both wrists..lol I couldnt imagine hoisting that thing..besides, I drive a Nissan Frontier...4 foot bed so that thing wouldnt even fit in it...lol :laughing:


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

zacker said:


> ..besides, I drive a Nissan Frontier...4 foot bed so that thing wouldnt even fit in it...lol :laughing:


 :laughing: 

That's funny. Change of subject I sure would like to have a little 'ol nissan 4 banger diesels to putter around in. One from like the 70s that made black smoke right off the show room floor. :yes:

Funny story. A few years ago one of the neighboring cities fire dept. asked me to come drop the rest of a bog old pecan or oak can't remember now that had dropped its top and was a danger to passersby. We found a momma **** with her pups (kittens?) in and I made a thread about it here. But the funny part was when one of the fireman looked into the back of my truck when I pulled up and saw the bevy of husky's sprawled out and he locked eyes with Hilga, the 395. 

He grabbed his phone out of his pocket and called his wife. His eyes were the size of silver dollars. He said "Honey you got to come down here and see this! This guy has a chainsaw with a motorcycle engine on it!" :blink: :laughing: And I only had the 36" bar on it. 

I don't exactly live in logging country, so Husky's aren't common here it is Stihl country but the biggest thing most guys have ever seen is a Stihl 066. Most people I run across had never seen a Husky chainsaw - not until we finally got a Tractor Supply. I got a chuckle out of his reaction. 

I will work on the video again today but Windows Movie Maker keeps telling me it can't find the codec. I used Any Video Converter and converted it to .avi but it still telling me that. Any WMM afficiandos out there?


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

I had to call in the big guns but I think we got it done.


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## dbhost (Jan 28, 2008)

I'll have to take a peek tonight... 

Back to the original subject...

I will be picking up the HF lumber maker this weekend when I get to Pasadena, I need to find the right ripping chain for my saw. I think I have the right one, but need to double check the model # on my saw... 

I've got some mesquite and pecan logs that need to be converted to lumber, or cut up for the BBQ pit soon... I would really like to get the mesquite in particular cut into usable lumber soon. May just pony up for one of Darren's solar kiln plans soon too.... Just need a space to put it. Might be able to swing a deal with a friend that has the trees and land in the first place... (He is clearing a few Mesquite and Pecan trees in favor of a garden for his wife...).


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## djg (Dec 24, 2009)

I was going to chime in earlier when you said you were going to get the Lumber Maker attachment from HF. I have one, and they work, but they give mixed results. You have to keep the plate seated on the 2x4 as you move down the log or you may get uneven cut. A few of my slabs ended up thicker on one edge than the other. I would loose grip of the saw and slightly cock the device to one side without noticing. I found that it helps starting and finishing the cut, if your 2x4 is a approx. 2' longer than your log. I would let 6" hang over the end of the log at the start and the rest on the end of the cut to provide support for the saw when finishing the cut. Also if you were to screw your 2x4 flat on the log for your first cut, you'll loose about 4-6" of slab. To angle the guide 2x4 off of one edge, I screwed the ends of 2 short 2x4s on edge, perpendicular to the underside of the guide 2x4. Then I screwed these 2x4s to the ends of the log. You'll have to move one each time you switch to a log with different length. It acts like slabbing brackets other saw attachments use. Hope you understand what I'm trying to describe.

Lastly, I would like to see pictures of the pecan once cut. I found a few boards years ago that had an interesting grain pattern to them. I wanted to make a table from them,, but had to pass on them because of the cost.


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