cutting an oversize log to fit my mill

[hampton]

i have a band mill with 22" between guides and a redwood log 4.5' dia 8' long how would you get this ripped with a chainsaw to fit my mill and get the best yield with the whole handling thing in mind the mill is hydralic with a log turner

[Meadows Miller]

Gday

First off Welcome to The Forum hampton  ;) ;D 8)

Now with fitting it onto the mill you could rip it into 3rds type of deal with a 20" to 22" center cant then turn that down and split it in half down the guts and you should be able to fit the lot through the mill or you could just quater the thing it depends what max volume n type of sawn material you want out of the log ie quatersawn or back sawn  ;) now what size chainsaw do you Have to use Mate  ???

Regards Chris

[hampton]

I have a stilh 880  32" bar     I looked at 1/4ing the log but though that my yield would not be as good  this tree is a dawn redwood the a golf club is cutting down and they want to use the wood for furiture I don't know what to expect for grain since in mass. we don't mill redwood

[hampton]

maybe I could get a chainsaw mill  but I have a 25000 sawmill already

[hampton]

gday chris  this is my 1st post

[redbeard]

 

chainsaw sides till it fits. Hope you have hydraulic turner. Welcome hampton

[Dan_Shade]

you could cut it into 3rds, or quarter it.

As Tom told me once, you don't have to quarter it to get it to fit on your mill.  At any rate you'll need to do some level of whittling to saw it up.

[WDH]

With a 54" log and a mill with 22" between the guides, you will have to do a whack of whittlin'  .

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

Use black powder and blow it apart.

[Meadows Miller]

Or you could split redwood with a good set of wedges ;)

[mikeb1079]

i just ran into this situation with a walnut crotch section.  i just quartered it.  yes you lose a little bit of material  but alot of that is pith anyways.  plus you then get quartersawn material which looks great and is more stable.  good luck!

[duke]

I like wedges myself, with redood and cedar anyway. It splits quite easily and I personaly think that it wood be easier to split into 1/3 than with a chainsaw. Look for any natural splits that you can drive a wedge into. I think this would be quicker. ALSO CUT SOME WEDGE SHAPEDPRIECES OUT OF SCRAP WOOD IF YOU ONLY HAVE 1 OR 2 WEDGES AND DRIVE THE WOODEN ONES IN ENOUGHT TO GET YOUR WEDGES OUT ALSO PLASTIC ONES WORK QUITE WELL BUT I PERFER METAL ONES. SORRY ABOUT THE CAP LOck
duke

[sigidi]

I'd be inclined to quarter it then qs ya boards - given that its for internal furniture type use the timber will be most stable and 1/4's will be easiest to rip out with ya c/s.....

or just use a Lucas ;) ;D

[JimBuis]

You could find a sawyer with a large frame Peterson and subcontract with him to mill it down to what you can handle. I can mill up to 5 feet in diameter with mine.

I have seen on here that some folks have used a chainsaw to cut an opening into the end of the log large enough to insert a heavy duty hydraulic jack. If you put about a 20 ton jack into such an opening it may be able to split the log for you. There are pictures on here somewhere showing the technique and what seemed to be good results.

Good luck,
Jim

[Magicman]

You can either split it or whittle it, and welcome hampton, to the Forestry Forum.