# New member from IN with a question



## chris8126 (Feb 1, 2008)

Hi, I'm from Indiana and wanted to see if anyone had any experience with using a slab of tree trunk to make a table top or other furniture.
I would be interested in any links or information, I have had concerns about the wood splitting and how to prevent if possible. Thanks for the help.


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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

Here is one link for you http://www.bigdaveswoodworks.com/unique-projects.html
What kinda tree ? How thick a slab? How long has it been cut (or has it been yet ?)


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## chris8126 (Feb 1, 2008)

It is a oak of some kind, it is about 5 1/2 ft in diameter, the tree has been cut for about 5 days. My friend and I were trying to figure out if a person could cut a slab to make a table top or something. Not sure how thick to cut it.


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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

chris8126 said:


> It is a oak of some kind, it is about 5 1/2 ft in diameter,


Oh, are you thinking about a cross section, like a slice off the end ?


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## chris8126 (Feb 1, 2008)

I'm not really sure, thats why I wanted to get some ones advice or info.


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## Paul K (Jan 14, 2008)

5 1/2'? Pretty thick. Well, yes, I've done a bit of that. Slabbed some myself, and also picked up slabs from others as they are slabbing them. First, how are you going to get it slabbed? I've picked up some from a guy that the local city calls when they have a particularly big tree that they want to take down. they let him know and he comes by with his chain saws and slabs them by hand. He usually cuts them down to 4" thick or so. I don't think I've seen any of his less than 3". I've used an alaskan mill, (chain saw with special guides) to slab large long planks, but mostly off redwoods and fir, not hardwood, but still the same process. When I have had the slabs of hardwood, I have usually cut them to a size closer to what i wanted in width and length, and then I paint the ends with a good thick amount of paint. Basically you want to inhibit the drying of the ends from drying out faster than the sideways drying. End grain drys quicker than VG or FG, and when it drys, of course it shrinks, causing the cracks to start from the end. If you don't was, or paint the ends well, they will dry more rapidly than the middle of the board and the board will check and crack in my experience. Once coated, I put the wood under cover, sticker it if necessary, so that air will flow all around the slab. Then I let it sit there for as long as it takes. Probably something like 1 year per inch of thickness. This is air drying hardwood. There are of course ways to speed it up, but without a kiln, one risks a lot of work for no reward. 
I have done large slabs, but now more what I do is smaller chunks that I make into stools and chairs and such. There are, I am sure, probably good posts on the internet on drying, but again, the big thing is slabbing it, painting or waxing the end grain, and waiting a long time for it to dry. 
have fun
paul


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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

An oak endgrain slab is going to bust, it is straight grained and splits easy. How long is the trunk to the first limb ? I would look at having it sawmilled. It would most likely have to be quartered with a chainsaw first to even fit on a mill (unless you can find a swing mill around, the only exception). I have sawed some almost that big on my little mill. The one on the picture below was around 60" if I remember right. (that is 1/2 of it for length, I had to cut it into 8 pieces- 2 halves for length and then 1/4 those to even pick up 1/8 the log...my skidsteer only lift 2000 lbs).

Or you could always do this :laughing:


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## Paul K (Jan 14, 2008)

short of splitting it with explosives like Daren has shown, it isn't so easy to get it slabbed. I didn't mention sawing it in rounds, which as Darren mentioned, would split for sure, no matter whether you paint the ends or not. But if you slab it, say to dimensions of something 8' long or so, and 2 feet wide or wider, and 4 " thick, then what i said will work. Yes, if you know someone to come and slab it with a mill, great. Sounds like Darren has a mill, and you can find folks that have them in many places. Dennis's skid stear is bigger than mine, I can only lift about 1500 lbs, but you can usually push a much bigger log into position, even if you can't lift it. But normally i have found that it doesn't pay to hire one of these guys to come in and slab it for you, unless you have a fair amount of wood to do. You either have to want that particular wood badly, or be willing to trade some of the wood that is cut to the sawyer for doing the job. In order for it to be worth their while to come in, set up there mobile mill, get something out of it for them and to leave you with any wood, you usually have to have 3 or more decent trees to cut up. Now a 5' diameter Oak is good sized, but still probaly need a couple of those to make it worth while. Wouldn't hurt to ask though. A guy with a mobile mill can slab it nicely in a day, and leave you with nice wood that you have to sticker for a couple years, but still, worth doing.


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## drcollins804 (Jan 11, 2008)

Just a thought. Many years ago, I don't want to remember how many. I used to help my great grandfather split logs to make the old fence posts. Same way they made fence rails for the old rustic rail fences. I realize that you would need longer and thicker splitters than we used but you would get less flying splinters. Seriously you could cut a log that is too wide to slab with the chainsaw by slicing saw deep then using wedges to finish the split.


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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

drcollins804 said:


> Seriously you could cut a log that is too wide to slab with the chainsaw by slicing saw deep then using wedges to finish the split.


Notice the sledge hammer in my picture... I did just that, sawed part of the way and hammered wedges in, popped right in 1/2. That's why I said a cross section of oak will never hold together, too easy to split-straight non interlocking grain.


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