Cant sizes

[Tramp Bushler]

 Do most sawyers here add the need thickness to the cants they are milling ?

[47sawdust]

Not sure of the question,but if your asking do you allow for kerf thickness then yes.I allow for 1/16 per cut others allow for1/8 per cut.

[SawyerTed]

Yes, I add for the kerf. 

[WV Sawmiller]

   I normally saw faces 1 & 3 (opposite sides) to the desired width of the boards I plan to make/can get out of the log. Then I rotate the log 90 degrees, saw the round off then flip the final time and I set my next cut to maximize the return I can get and in this case I use a cheat sheet to start on a predetermined mark which does include the kerf so I run out with the last (dog) board the desired thickness I want without having a thick or thin board left over. This normally saves me one cut on every log and maximizes my return. Using the cheat sheet makes a big improvement to me. 

[tawilson]

What if you are sawing cants to stack for future use, not having a cut list. I've only done a few, and I'm sawing them at 10 1/2" by whatever I can get. Easy to stack, and I like that size for siding, plus gives me enough kerf for whatever boards I may want. 

[WV Sawmiller]

   I don't saw and save cants for future sawing. I don't have the space or MHE to store or handle them. Also I understand there are other deterioration problems with cants. This would also significantly increase my log handling. 

[Brad_S.]

Cants will begin drying and start to surface check.  It's better to leave it in log form until you know what you want out of the log.

[Brad_bb]

Yeah, I don't understand some of the responses - adding for kerf?  The cant is the biggest square you can get out of the log.  You don't normally size a cant.  That is determined by the log size, shape, and defects.  Once you have a can't you saw what you want out of it. and what ever is left over is leftover for the scrap pile.  If you're trying to do something like get a FOH piece a certain thickness I might start at the inside of the log, just free of the heart and count off boards and so the first cut on the outside would be a less than a board a piece of waste.  

Storing cants, as others have said, is not a good idea if your intention is to make boards later.  You will get more defects as the cant sits drying for a time than would boards if you cut them right away.  The same is true of beams in some situations.  If cut a beam a half inch to an inch oversize on each face, so you can later true it up, no problem there.  If you cut an 18"x18" can't and later want to cut 8x8, 6x6's, or 4x8's, that is not a good plan.  One or two faces will check and it will be significant on the outside face.  So much so that if you try to cut from that outside face, the resulting beam will have too big a defect from the check.  I have a can't that big in the barn now, but I'll end up making it a boxed heart 10x16 or something like that.  So I'll lose enough of the outside material and much of any check to matter.  This will work provided I don't uncover any hidden defect within the cant.  Note also that I'm talking about hardwood because that's all I deal with.

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

Like Brad said your hardwood cants will tend to face check causing you to lose quality lumber when re-sawn.

A Pine cant left to long will tend to start shelling and coming apart at the grains.

[tawilson]

Well I'm glad I only have a few. They do make good weight for stacking, so far. 

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

Well I'm glad I only have a few. They do make good weight for stacking, so far.

Thats exactly what I do. I have a few White oak cants that are full of metal. I pray paint the ends blue and use them for weights. 
Why burn a perfectly good weight.  :D

[Tramp Bushler]

Thanks for replying everyone ! I got busy at work and neglected this thread, my bad! 
 I haven't started milling yet, I need to remove the axle shackles/ u bolts and turn the axle over so that I don't have to take a wheel off to run the headrig all the way down the carriage/ track . I have No idea why some previous owner turned it over and bolted it back on. Maybe they needed help rolling logs onto the mill. Or were severely vertically challenged ? 
 Then I'll be able to start milling. 
 I see there are different ways of sizing a cant or maybe the correct term is ( flitch) 
 
 I'm hoping to avoid having lots of odd ball size prices of lumber laying around. I would just a soon leave it in the slab to become firewood. 
 Thank again. 
 Glen

[moodnacreek]

Another way to answer this :   
Rough green soft wood lumber is traditionally sawn to the called size. [1" is 1" when sawn and so on] But hardwood is sawn 1/16" min. per inch. [1" is 1 1/16" min. and 2" is 2 1/8"]  I have a set of racks  and pinions [ that are missing] that do this hard wood sawing using the same settings you would use for pine.  I saw everything pine style buy the quarters  but if I shipped to a lumber buyer I would have to play by the rules.

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