cutting slab wood

[timh]

  I got a bunch of slab wood to cut whats way chainsaw ,buzz saw?

[Bibbyman]

I've got no first hand experience with a buzz saw.

But if the slabs are stacked tight and neat or bundled,  a big chain saw with a long bar will go through them pretty fast and you won't have to lift and carry them to the buzz saw.

Others have built racks to stack up a thick wall of slabs and then use the chainsaw to whack them up.

[Chuck White]

I agree with Bibby, make yourself a rack and use a chainsaw!

With a buzz saw, you have to handle each slab by itself, and they're cut one at a time!

[Magicman]

Yup, I just cut down through the whole pile of slabs.

[Bro. Noble]

If I can't get better wood,  I pick up a slab bundle on the forks,  put an extra band in the middle to hold the bundle together as I cut furnace length pieces,  hold the bundle over my wood pile and start cutting.  You need to have a good chain file on hand, caus slabs are murder on chains.

[woodmills1]

Ya just pick dem up widda log loader and cut dem widda 066 any length ya wants.

[Magicman]

And if ya don't have ah loader, ya cuts dem on da ground....... eh eh

[ohsoloco]

Then you REALLY need a good chain file  :D  I stack my slabs up on 8x8's so I can cut all the way through the pile without doing any roto-tilling with the chain  ;)

[jimparamedic]

I use a buzz saw (slab saw) to cut out the pieces  to resaw into driers and fire wood

[moonhill]

I hold them over my truck dump bed with the grapple on the self loader, cut to length w/chain saw.  It is a lot saner than chasing them around on the ground. 

Tim

[woodmills1]

haven't tried rototilling with a chain saw for years but will save the idea till spring planting time.................... :D

[Ron Wenrich]

I worked in the older sawmills that had a buzz saw right in line of the mill.  We would trim boards and cut the wood into fireplace length right at the mill.  A small belt conveyor was used to put stuff out onto a pile.  Wood was only handled once.

I think a lot depends on how much you produce and how often you cut your slabs.  I've worked with slabs in bundles, and they don't stay that way after a few months.  They spread out.  It also uses lots of banding.  But, if you're selling slabs that are uncut, its a lot easier.

[bandmiller2]

I rackem and stackem then cut to furnace legnth with a 20" milwaukee electric chainsaw easiest way I've found.Frank C.

[Meadows Miller]

Gday

I strap mine into about 1ton or roughly 1/2 cord bundels and use a 56" bar with a helper handel on a 2095 these days  ;) ;D 8) 8)

Regards Chris 

[ohsoloco]

haven't tried rototilling with a chain saw for years but will save the idea till spring planting time.................... :D

I have lots of experience with it.  The softwood slabs up by the burn pile just get piled on the ground..."surely I can't be through the bottom ones yet..."  :

My chains attract rocks on the forest floor, too  :(

[sdunston]

I use a buzz saw if I have a few willing workers around :D, If not the chainsaw or give it away to the neighbors for kindling wood
Sam

[Brucer]

I've worked with slabs in bundles, and they don't stay that way after a few months.  They spread out.  It also uses lots of banding.  But, if you're selling slabs that are uncut, its a lot easier.

When I was contract sawing for a timber framer, we'd rack the slabs into 1/2 cord bundles and his shop rats would band them up with metal strapping to sell as cheap firewood.

Now I'm out on my own, I made a few changes. The racks have 45 degree corner pieces to make a "rounder" bundle. Then I switched to poly strapping. The round bundles don't loosen up when you move them and the poly has enough stretch to stay tight as the bundles dry and shrink.

I've placed the straps so you can easily saw a bundle up into firewood lengths without sawing the strapping. I just tell folks if they're into re-using, they can drop the used straps off next time they're coming by. I've been getting about 4 uses out of each strap before it disappears.

[Coalsmoke]

Well, since this discussion is evolving a bit into more of how we each get rid of slabwood, I sell it for $80 a cord, customer picks up and loads and I pro rate it to however much they decide to take. Works well this way, almost no work and cost involved for me.  8)

[Brucer]

You need to have a good chain file on hand, caus slabs are murder on chains.

I stack my slabs flat with the bark always up. When I'm cutting them into firewood for my own use, I roll the bundle onto its side and cut from the bark side. That way the chain is mostly entering from the clean side and blowing out the bark (and grit) ahead of the cutters. Chains haven't been dulling nearly as quick since I started doing this.

[Frickman]

I have a 30" cutoff saw set up in line with the mills lumber rolls, just like Ron talked about. We try to leave a couple of saw horses off to the side too where the offbearer can stack slabs if he gets behind. My offbearer / offbearers cut up the slabs as we go along with any lumber and blocking that needs cut up. I run a handset circle mill and there are times I need a minute or so to turn a log or something but I don't really need the offbearer to come back and help. Cutting up slabs gives him something to do while he's waiting for me. The firewood we make pays for one man's wages on a normal day and we would have the saw running anyway.

[spencerhenry]

run them through the firewood processor. or a chopsaw with roller tables