# Cutting boards from logs



## BrandonD (Feb 14, 2013)

Hi all,

My parents cut down a large oak in their back yard about three weeks ago. My dad had them cut up limbs and part of the trunk in manageable pieces. They've been sitting in a corner of his yard getting rained on until yesterday when I brought them into my shop. My wish is to get as many boards out of them as possible. They range in diameter (6"-15") and length (18"-40"). 










I have a 17" 2HP bandsaw. I made a sled I found online using a plywood base and plywood angle brackets to screw into the sled and the log to keep it from rolling. I made one cut to make a side flat, rotated the log on the sled and made another side 90 degrees to it. Then I took it off the sled and ran it alongside a re-saw fence to make a third side flat. 










The cuts are really wavy in parts of it. The blade I'm using is old, I got it from the previous owner. I think I should purchase a new blade for this purpose, any recommendations? 

Am I going about this the correct way, or would you guys suggest I do something else?

As a side note, can anyone tell what kind of wood this is? Looks like a figured white oak?


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## Trav (May 30, 2011)

Looks like you are doing ok to me. You will want to make sure you have a blade that can remove the waste from the saw kerf. So if your saw is not equipped with a a resaw blade,maybe a 3 or 4 TPI. 
Also get some wax on the ends of the boards stack them with stickers between so air can move between and let them dry.


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## djg (Dec 24, 2009)

I use these on green wood:

http://timberwolfblades.com/proddetail.php?prod=1202AS

as far as the wood grain, the flecks or rays is what's call 'quartersaw' white oak. As stated get the ends sealed (wax, etc.) asap to prevent loss from checking.


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## BrandonD (Feb 14, 2013)

Thanks guys. 

djg, I thought the wider blade with less TPI is better? This was the one I was looking at:
http://timberwolfblades.com/proddetail.php?prod=102PC (1" wide, 1TPI)

What's the difference?


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## djg (Dec 24, 2009)

I have a 14" Band Saw and I think my blade width is limited by the curvature (diameter) of my wheels. You may get away with a wider band with a 17" BS. I would get a "AS" series band in what ever number of teeth you want because they are made to handle (clear) green wood better. That's not to say what you selected won't work either, though. From what I've read, and PLEASE, someone correct me if I'm wrong, it's more important to have a sharp band than the more expensive wider bands.


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## BrandonD (Feb 14, 2013)

According to my band saw's manual, it can run up to a 1" wide blade. I think the blade that's on it is 1" wide. Weird, I found the blade I linked above by using their blade selector for "Milling Logs or Resawing Green Boards." When I go there it only lists two, including the PC blade I linked above. It says AS = Alternate Set and PC = Positive Claw.

I obviously would love to get the the cheaper 1/2" you linked if it's better, I'm just trying to understand. I have a lot of logs to get through and at the rate it took me to make those three cuts it's going to take forever. 

As a side note, I was planning on painting the ends of the boards once cut. However, I'm leaving for a six night camping trip Friday. So I probably won't be able to get these cut up until early July. Should I go ahead and paint the logs now? A lot of them are starting to show small checking like the one pictured up close above.


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## djg (Dec 24, 2009)

I'm no expert on saw blades and I've given you my 2 cents worth. Hopefully someone more experienced will chime in. Yes, I would get something on the ends as soon as possible. Keep out of direct heat, too.


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## Trav (May 30, 2011)

BrandonD369 said:


> I have a lot of logs to get through and at the rate it took me to make those three cuts it's going to take forever.


Yes it is. It is not a fast process on a band saw. 

Maybe now is the time to ask for the woodmizer mill?


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## BrandonD (Feb 14, 2013)

No way can I justify a mill to the wife! LOL 

I don't have the room or really the need for it right now. I'll butch up. With the ends painted I'll have more time to get to it so I'll just split it up over a few sessions.


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## Post Oakie (Aug 20, 2013)

Painting the ends of the logs will help. Go heavy with latex paint (any color). I suspect that you are milling post oak (Quercus stellata), which is a member of the white oak family. It is a very difficult wood to mill straight, and if you are working with branches, there can be a lot of stress that will make milling even tougher.

A well-sharpened & set 1/2" wide blade should do fine, but 3/4" would be a good compromise. Teeth per inch (pitch) depends on the power of your band saw. For a 2 hp, two teeth per inch would be about right, for less power, you might go three or four teeth per inch. Blade set should be around 0.018" for a 3/4" wide blade.

As with any woodworking tool, a sharp blade is absolutely critical. White oak group wood is very hard, and gets harder as it dries out.

That is an interesting sled you built. As long as it runs true and clamps the board securely, it should work well for you.

Your biggest concern should be that once you've cut a few boards open, you'll be hooked on sawmilling, and become one of us sawyer types.

Hope you'll let us know how it works.


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## BrandonD (Feb 14, 2013)

Thanks. That was my biggest concern with this log, very wavy cuts. I thought it was my blade, tension, or technique. I have a blade on order but I won't be able to get to it for a while. 

When I ran it against the re-saw fence to make the third side flat, I really noticed the wavy cut when it teetered about 1/8" on either side of the fence... I wonder if I should just embrace it and cut 5/4 boards out of it in hopes of eventually cleaning it up on the jointer & planer to 3/4...


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## Post Oakie (Aug 20, 2013)

BrandonD369 said:


> I wonder if I should just embrace it and cut 5/4 boards out of it in hopes of eventually cleaning it up on the jointer & planer to 3/4...


You could do that, but you *can *get straight cuts. Figure out how to do it, and you will be ready when that walnut or cherry log comes your way. It will open up a whole new source of lumber for you.


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## del schisler (Nov 5, 2009)

BrandonD369 said:


> Thanks. That was my biggest concern with this log, very wavy cuts. I thought it was my blade, tension, or technique. I have a blade on order but I won't be able to get to it for a while.
> 
> When I ran it against the re-saw fence to make the third side flat, I really noticed the wavy cut when it teetered about 1/8" on either side of the fence... I wonder if I should just embrace it and cut 5/4 boards out of it in hopes of eventually cleaning it up on the jointer & planer to 3/4...


you shoulod get good cuts, i resaw but not green, delta with riser on it , i use 1/2" 3tpi works for me, why saw 5/4 and than down to 3/4 that is giving 1/2 of the wood down to saw dust?? if weavy cuts dull blade or needs more tention ? when you plan down you should get at least 15/16" or a good 7/8"


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## epicfail48 (Mar 27, 2014)

BrandonD369 said:


> Thanks. That was my biggest concern with this log, very wavy cuts. I thought it was my blade, tension, or technique. I have a blade on order but I won't be able to get to it for a while.
> 
> When I ran it against the re-saw fence to make the third side flat, I really noticed the wavy cut when it teetered about 1/8" on either side of the fence... I wonder if I should just embrace it and cut 5/4 boards out of it in hopes of eventually cleaning it up on the jointer & planer to 3/4...


Why go with 5/4? Seems like you're already set up for resawing, why not go for thicker planks? Not very often you come across 8 or 9/4 planks , but you never know when you may need them


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## Tennessee Tim (Dec 15, 2010)

Brandon,
I miss read your thread title and i thought you were making cutting boards from logs so I never started reading until now.
IF your saw will handle the wider blades that is what you need to do, the wider the better. A couple of things happen in the sawing process and we as humans create most of them.
1) The wider the blade the more accurate a straight flat cut will be PENDING (human side) we keep sharp blades in the saw.We as humans tend to push WAY beyond being sharp, it took me SEVERAL messed up flitches and time to learn this. I use a friends vertical BS on recutting 8/4 thick and the 1 " band waves very little compared to a 1/2".
2) A wider blade doesn't wander as bad....niether does a sharp blade.
3) ACCURACY in setting up your sled to parralel of blade is critical.
4) Cut speed (human side again!!!) again we as humans are always in a hurry...we live in a fast pace world...but accurate speed is critical in this type of sawing. I CAN NOT cut at the same speed as production sawyers. The wider the board the slower the speed
5) Debarking will make the blades last 2-3 times as long.
6) This IS NOT a 1 or 2 blade project!!!!! and resharpening is to be done professionally due to the accuracy needed and resetting the kerf set.
7) Blade tension is critical!!! I ran too little when I first started but TOO much can be as bad. check with blade Mnftr for proper tension. MY saw builder was wrong in their specs...it makes a large difference.

Look at my website and you'll see I'm speaking with experience and quality. When I started sawing I was told to change out a blade every 2-4 hrs...I THOUGHT they were crazy......I had to repent of thinking that...BUT I did learn to fine tune my saw to get the most out of a sharpening.

Have a Blessed evening and I hope this helps


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## BrandonD (Feb 14, 2013)

Thanks all for your advice. I got back from camping and looked at getting started back on those logs last night. I put in my new 1" 1TPI Timer Wolf designed for green wood yesterday. What a difference! I completed that log pictured above in about half the time it took me to do just one of the previous cuts. I did a few more logs but stopped there as it was getting late. The last log I did was probably my biggest, I ended up having to take the chainsaw to knock a protrusion down so it would fit my band saw, by about 1/8"! I'm getting pretty straight cuts, I'm happy.

My wife and I painted the boards and logs yet to be milled last night. The checking is bad in some -- I went out there this morning and the checks are exposed in some as the paint dried. Should I go back and paint these again so that it's a solid coat of paint across?

Some of the boards already cut have some decent size cracks in them. They've been painted on the ends, but the cracks are exposed on the face of the boards. Should I cut them off and re-paint, or is this fine while drying? 

I'll post pictures soon... including one to the 'show us the damage' topic, unfortunately. I seem to have forgotten that just because the blade enters the wood does not mean it's entirely in the wood... and in my case, cutting off the side of a large log has the blade entering the wood up top and leaving the wood at the bottom. I was positioned behind the log so could only see the top 2-3" of the blade before it entered the log, didn't even think of the bottom. Hand was in the wrong spot on the bottom, took a small chunk out of my ring finger. Didn't hurt at first, but sure did about 30s later. No worries, the bleeding stopped after a while, no stitches needed.


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## Post Oakie (Aug 20, 2013)

Brandon, once the checking has started, there isn't much you can do about it. The last thing you want to do is cut the logs back and repaint the ends (ok, the _last _thing you want to do is cut the logs back and not repaint the ends). Just let nature take its course with these logs and get the ends painted ASAP on future logs. The best procedure would b to keep the logs as long as possible until just before you mill them, and paint the ends when they are fresh-cut.

Glad your finger is ok. That is one wicked blade on your band saw. I found it best to square off the ends of logs before I mill them.


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## BrandonD (Feb 14, 2013)

Thanks. I'll leave them be then.

I finished up the logs a couple days ago. Sure glad it's done. Definitely at least a 2-3 blade project, but I wanted to get by with just the one blade. By the end my cuts were more forced and a bit wavy, but not as bad as the previous blade. I'll pick up a new one next time I need to do some re-sawing.

Here are some pictures. I plan on building a wood rack or two to store them after I get a couple other projects out of the way...


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## Post Oakie (Aug 20, 2013)

Thanks for the pictures. It is always exciting to see what is inside a log. I'm guessing you'll be on the lookout for anything that your band saw can handle, and that you'll soon be experimenting with quarter sawing and other special cuts.

It would be a good idea to put stickers between the pieces so that they can start air drying as soon as possible. I believe you have post oak, which can warp quite a bit as it dries, but you should still end up with a good supply of boards. Thanks for posting!


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