# Quartersawing with a chainsaw, video to come



## jessesnowden (Mar 15, 2015)

Hey all,

I put a post up a few weeks ago asking about this. Did some thinking and this is what I could come up with. I'll attach pictures of my first test run. Pretty simple setup made from some scrap wood. It worked really well! I'm heading down to the oregon coast to try the method out on a few white oak trees and will be documenting it with a go pro. Any comments or advice are welcome, hope this can be of some use to someone!

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums...obile Uploads/20160322_200435_zpsbrvzdkey.jpg

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums...obile Uploads/20160322_200459_zpsz6bny9iu.jpg

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums...obile Uploads/20160322_200529_zps6dt8dtut.jpg


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## MidGAOutdoor (Apr 7, 2011)

looks good. what size saw?


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## jessesnowden (Mar 15, 2015)

My saw is a 20" bar. I can cut something roughly 13-14 inches at most with my mill. There is another saw I'll be borrowing that has a 36" bar and I've got a separate mill built for that. It's nothing compared to all you guys with bandsaw mills and swing blades. But it's what I can afford so it's what I've got!


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## djg (Dec 24, 2009)

Looks good, but I'm more interested in your saw guide setup. Is it based after an Alaskan/Panther type mill?


More pics?


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## jessesnowden (Mar 15, 2015)

Yeah, it's basically a granberg made from steel channel strut and 1/2 inch threaded rod. Costs about $30 bucks to make. $50 to make the 36"version. I'll attach some photos


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## jessesnowden (Mar 15, 2015)

So just like the granberg there are 2 parts, the clamps and the frame they hang under like a trapeze. Once you tighten the clamps down on the bar you can adjust the cut depth to anything you want without taking out the saw. Granted it does take a little longer to adjust with mine since you have to square up 4 rods instead of just the 2 posts of the alaskan. But it's not really too hard, and it was basically free. The $30 is if you bought all the parts. I got all the parts from the scrap bin at work.


http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums...obile Uploads/20160116_161840_zpse8udsx3b.jpg

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums...obile Uploads/20160116_161825_zpsgod9fnie.jpg

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums...obile Uploads/20160116_161926_zpsuvyqnhv7.jpg

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums...obile Uploads/20160116_161954_zpsaz9tf4rc.jpg


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## jessesnowden (Mar 15, 2015)

Just to prove I'm not all talk, here are the photos from this weekends trip! Drove from seattle to portland-ish area to harvest a few white oaks on a friends property. One tree was 20" at the base, the other was 30". Decided it was more bang for my buck making large slabs than quartering on site with the limited time we had. But had to quarter up at least 1 log just to see how it went.

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums...ploads/edited_20160325_120618_zpsmyas8bjt.jpg

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums...obile Uploads/20160325_142534_zpssr4xfkwv.jpg

Here's the quartersawn stuff.
http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums...obile Uploads/20160327_150835_zpsvdah0t38.jpg

Here are the rest of the slabs. 3"thick, 6 foot long, between 20-30" wide. 

http://i1175.photobucket.com/albums...obile Uploads/20160327_154430_zps1zjbfsr5.jpg
I'll put a link to the video once it's up on youtube.


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## Pineknot_86 (Feb 19, 2016)

Nothing like scoring a good source of wood! What is on the list for using the wood? How long before it dries enough to use? Thanks for sharing. BTW, I'm jealous.


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## jessesnowden (Mar 15, 2015)

Well first thing on the list is finishing the solar kiln to dry it. Picked up an old trailer that is just a steel frame off craigslist. Currently working on framing in the floor. 

As for the slabs, i want to get familiar with the material by making myself a monastery style dining table and benches. Then maybe try to turn a profit on the rest with tables/benches. Never sold my work before so it will be an adventure for sure!


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## bzguy (Jul 11, 2011)

Quartersawn wood is sawn into quarters which you did, your 2cd picture is a good start, but there's more to it.
True quartersawn is then sawn radially, so that the growth rings are perpendicular.
This method provides the most stable wood, flat or rift sawn wood is much more prone to cupping.


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## jessesnowden (Mar 15, 2015)

Absolutely. Virtical grain on every board face is the goal. soon as you tell me how to saw a log that way with a 20" chainsaw and 30 dollars cash, I'll give it a try. 

I got a handful of quartersawn oak slabs in about 45 minutes and a few tanks of gas. That's the best I could do with the tools and materials at my disposal.

Now that I'm done being a smart ass... honestly, do you know of any way to quarter saw the entire area of a log without a full scale sawmill? Because I'd love to try it!


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## bzguy (Jul 11, 2011)

Honestly no I don't, and I wasn't trying to make light of what you did.
Very few people are quarter-sawing at all anymore as it is not "cost efficient" in the "corporate world".
I just don't like to see superior old methods and knowledge die.
That diagram I picked off the net was an "idealized" version of quarter-sawing.
I've never seen that actually done, this is more of a realistic one.


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## bzguy (Jul 11, 2011)

Sawing methods, the first one I posted is actually called rift-sawing.


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