iDRY Vacuum Kilns

Sponsors:

Quarter sawing tutorial with pics

Started by OneWithWood, October 29, 2007, 11:55:13 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

OneWithWood

During the crash (DC) Texas Timbers (or was it Kevjay) posted some pics on how he set up to quarter saw a box elder log.  His technique was very similar to what I had just learned at the Woodmizer 25th celebration.  When I made a couple comments he asked if I could post some pics of what I learned.  It took me a few days but here are the pics with a bit of commentary.

If anyone sees something I did wrong or has an alternative methodology please chime in.

Here is the subject log awaiting the operation.  It is a nice 22" red maple felled about two days prior.  Nice round logs are not as easy to get a good yield from as are oblong units.


After centering the pith I make a single cut to half the log


Using the two plane clamp and the log turner I turn the log 90° and make a second cut to quarter the log


And there you have a quarter sawn log.  :D

But what we are after is a quantity of quarter sawn boards so there is a bit more to do.
The hardest part of the whole operation is to push three of the quarters off onto the loading arms, lowering the arms so the head can saw down to the deck.  Invariably one of the quarters will fall off ensuring an enjoyable time placing that one back on the mill when the time comes.

The next cut is to saw out a fair portion of the heartwood thereby eliminating the pith and providing a flat surface.


Now turn the cant so the flat is against the supports and saw down to a board or two below the top of the flat.  Where you position the supports will dictate how far into the flat you can go.


Turn the cant 180° and saw down to the deck


Repeat with the remaining three cants. 

The goal is to produce as many quarter sawn boards and as few rift sawn boards as you can.  Here is a somewhat blurry picture of a quarter sawn 4/4 red mable board

:-\ :-\ ::)

Well, I'll be Danged.  Someone stole my board  :D

I'll get back to you with that.
One With Wood
LT40HDG25, Woodmizer DH4000 Kiln

beenthere

OWW
I drew lines on one of your quarters, showing how I helped quarter saw red oak, after first quartering the log as you showed.


We put a table on the bunks and clamped it, and it had a fence with a 1" lip on one side.


The log quarters would just rest against that fence. The saw was set for 1" lumber, and not moved. After each pass, the quarter was flipped to the other flat face, making narrower lumber each time, all with a waney edge. Sawed each quarter that way until there was no 1" wide cutting left.

Very little waste, and the best high quality wood just below the bark was available to go into the cutting. Did get some crook after drying due to growth stresses, but it goes with quarter sawn lumber. Recovery from a log was great.
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

Dave Shepard

That is a neat approach, beenthere. I like that it is very quick to set up the quarter for each pass, even if the quarter is heavy in bigger logs. Trying to saw from the top down, and flipping each cut would mean a shim cut on each pass. Next time I get a good hardwood log, I will try the "bottom to the top" sawing method.


Dave
Wood-Mizer LT40HDD51-WR Wireless, Kubota L48, Honda Rincon 650, TJ208 G-S, and a 60"LogRite!

Steve

Beenthere

That is the approach I always took when QSing with my MD. You definitely want to utilize the wood nearest the bark, always the best...
Steve
Hawaiian Hardwoods Direct
www.curlykoa.com

Dan_Shade

from the quartersawing that I've done, I seem to get more figured boards from the method that OWW posted.

It's my definate prefered method.  edging is a hassle with quartersawing.
Woodmizer LT40HDG25 / Stihl 066 alaskan
lots of dull bands and chains

There's a fine line between turning firewood into beautiful things and beautiful things into firewood.

Brad_S.

My opinion is that both methods illustrated above result in too much rift sawn and not enough quarter sawn. I use the method illustrated by Urbanloggers diagram in this link.
http://www.scottbanbury.com/qsawmethod2.pdf
The difference being that when making the opening quartering cuts as illustrated by OWW, a few QS boards are taken at that time, at least one above the opening cut shown by OWW and one below. Usually more than that with bigger logs. This method results in better than 75% of the resulting lumber showing "fire" in oak.
"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." J. Lennon

WDH

Robert, very nice tutorial.  Even I think that I could do that :)
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

Dan_Shade

I agree with you, Brad_S.  I think most folks do that when they have a really large log.  I don't figure that method is worth it, unless the log is well over 30 inches.
Woodmizer LT40HDG25 / Stihl 066 alaskan
lots of dull bands and chains

There's a fine line between turning firewood into beautiful things and beautiful things into firewood.

OneWithWood

I found the pic of the blurry quartersawn red maple board.


Beenthere and Brad thanks for posting some alternatives.  There is one more that is a simplified version of Urban Loggers method.  It can be found in the Woodmizer owner's manual.  Any body got pics of that method?

I think a sawyer would be wise to try all the different methods and then pick the one that fits best for the log and situation at hand.  Each method has plusses and minusses.
One With Wood
LT40HDG25, Woodmizer DH4000 Kiln

MikeH

 I agree with Brad if you want the most rays out of oak.
[img]

OneWithWood

Nice pics MikeH  8)

Are you able to get anything out of the the pie slices?
One With Wood
LT40HDG25, Woodmizer DH4000 Kiln

MikeH

 Pie Slices = Free heat and hot water all winter. Or maybe you could turn some spindles out of them. I dont have that toy.

OneWithWood

One With Wood
LT40HDG25, Woodmizer DH4000 Kiln

ronwood

I quarter saw like Brad_S and MikeH does. I seem to get the best flake when cutting white oak.

Ron
Sawing part time mostly urban logs -St. Louis/Warrenton, Mo.
LT40HG25 Woodmizer Sawmill
LX885 New Holland Skidsteer

scsmith42

BT - the method that you illustrated is how I quartersaw with my swingmill, with the exception that I don't have to quarter the log first. 

Scott
Peterson 10" WPF with 65' of track
Smith - Gallagher dedicated slabber
Tom's 3638D Baker band mill
and a mix of log handling heavy equipment.

Bibbyman

This goes back a number of years but we've posted on quarter sawing a number of times.

Here's one trick Arky and I have used to make the process easier - especialy with larger logs.



Before...



Make an octagon out of the log first.  It makes it a little smaller,  gets rid of the bark and junk right off the bat, and gives you a flat face to clamp to when you turn the quarters up to slice.







Wood-Mizer LT40HDE25 Super 25hp 3ph with Command Control and Accuset.
Sawing since '94

arkansas

Been there diagram shows pretty much how I use to saw barrel heads on a table top rig. I am not so sure about the rift sawn part as the head pieces would hold whiskey  ;D.

Michael
Working on a hot LT40HD for now

Bibbyman

Quote from: arkansas on October 30, 2007, 06:05:13 AM
Been there diagram shows pretty much how I use to saw barrel heads on a table top rig. I am not so sure about the rift sawn part as the head pieces would hold whiskey  ;D.

Michael




This one?

I posted it years ago under this post..

Quarter sawing a small log

Wood-Mizer LT40HDE25 Super 25hp 3ph with Command Control and Accuset.
Sawing since '94

Kelvin

Howdy all,
I call OWW method "bastard quartersawing" (sorry about that) and use it primarily on woods that don't show big rays, like cherry, walnut, maple, and undersized oak logs.  We use Bibbyman's method of the octogon to good sucess, but i'd like to add one thing, don't cut in 1/2, cut 1/3 and 2/3rds.  I learned this from ripping big logs with my chainsaw.  I quickly found out i was ruining the best lumber.  Same with ripping a log in 1/2.  You usually have to straighten afterwards as the logs tension will pull it out of true.  I think this really helps on us guys not running supers or diesels which run smaller cuts.  After taking off the 1/3, if flip the 2/3 chunk 90 degrees and rip out the middle for what i see the best 90 degree boards.  THis will include the pith.  Cut the pith off, square up the piece and saw out the widest best QS boards.  THan proceed to cut the wedges as deemed fit based on size.  If you can get moderately wide boards out of "pies" flip them and saw.  I will always throw away 2 rift sawn boards to get one excellent QS board.  Rift sawn brings flat sawn prices and QS sawn brings the premium.  This results in less full width cuts of big logs that my machine with its 25hp kohler doesn't like to do.
Hope you understand description.
KP

Dan_Shade

i've started taking leg material out of the corner pieces to minimize the rift "waste".

Kelvin, don't you have a rift/flat sawn face when you open the log up at 1/3 down?  pictures are worth a thousand words :)
Woodmizer LT40HDG25 / Stihl 066 alaskan
lots of dull bands and chains

There's a fine line between turning firewood into beautiful things and beautiful things into firewood.

OneWithWood

Too get true quarter sawn boards on every cut of the method I pictured all you need to do is rotate the piece with each cut and cut from the botim up.  Blocking for these cuts can be problematic. 
One With Wood
LT40HDG25, Woodmizer DH4000 Kiln

Kelvin

Dan,
When i say 1/3 down i mean the first cut a little above where you think will be nice figure. In Bibbyman's picture of octogon sawing it would be the first cut on the top.  Push top 1/3 off mill and flip bottom 2/3 90 degrees and cut it in 1/3 rds, starting with a cut that would be just above your expected "perfect figure".  This allows you to resquare your cant without wasting premium QS wood.  I've found this system works the best as when i'm repetedly sawing through a cant thats 20" wide i can go to lunch and come back between cuts.  I think it works fine when you have diesel or big electric supers.  My experience.  Running 4 degree blades also probably helps with those 20"+ cuts.
KP

Dave Shepard

I like the 4 degree blades too. I like that they don't try to self feed as much in hardwood. In pine, the wider the better, I can sail through a 24" cut in that stuff. 8)


Dave
Wood-Mizer LT40HDD51-WR Wireless, Kubota L48, Honda Rincon 650, TJ208 G-S, and a 60"LogRite!

Larry

Quote from: Bibbyman on October 30, 2007, 04:20:05 AM


I'll use Bibbys excellent pic to add additional thoughts for consideration.  After the first drop I'll push that big hunk off on the tractor forks.  Than 4 lines with 4 flitches...maybe a 5th line and flitch.  Hopefully these will have the least defects and best figure in the log.  Quartersawn boards always want to crook during drying so to limit that degrade I'll leave those flitches just as they are and pop em in the kiln.  When dry I'll SLR and forget about edgeing.

Next up is the top and bottom thirds clamped together with the same procedure...4 lines and 4 flitches.  Left over are the pies...most time they provide the heat to keep me warm.  Hard to clamp, narrow boards, and after drying with that crook, not much to show for your efforts unless it is really a big log.
Larry, making useful and beautiful things out of the most environmental friendly material on the planet.

We need to insure our customers understand the importance of our craft.

MikeH

 I think I might skip the 5th line on that there log. ;)

Captain

I'll agree with Kelvin, on the big ones I shoot for 3rds with the swingmill as well.  Easier to pull a beam or tie out of the middle.

Captain

TexasTimbers

OWW thanks for the pics and not forgetting to post 'em. :)

Another great thread by everyone.
The oil is all in Texas, but the dipsticks are in D.C.

Max sawdust

Quote from: Brad_S. on October 29, 2007, 09:05:42 PM
My opinion is that both methods illustrated above result in too much rift sawn and not enough quarter sawn. I use the method illustrated by Urbanloggers diagram in this link.
http://www.scottbanbury.com/qsawmethod2.pdf


Urbanlogger methods work best for me too ;D . I often use method #1.
http://www.scottbanbury.com/qsawmethod1.pdf

Before I had my mill a hired sawyer, use the "traditional" WM method to QS some 26" oak for me. I was shocked at the waste, you have by the time you edge all those tiny little trapezoids :o

Reading the log, and making sure you are staying parallel to the heart is of the utmost importance. I will take  slabs of the get the heart parallel and make some flats to work with.  Keep in mind I mill Red Oak so I saw for flake, and will adjust techniques once the log is open to maximize the amount of flake.

Beenthere, You will need to stop in some time and QS a RO with you method ;)

Kelvin, I will need to try your method.  It addresses important issues for me.

max
True Timbers
Cedar Products-Log & Timber Frame Building-Milling-Positive Impact Forestscaping-Cut to Order Lumber

BBTom

When sawing large logs I use the octogon method, but will keep any board that makes at least 2 1/2" wide.  I do charge a premium for Qsawing and my customers have been very happy with the results. 

Keeping in mind that I am custom sawing their logs, not mine.  I don't get paid for what I throw away.
2001 LT40HDD42RA with lubemizer, debarker, laser, accuset. Retired, but building a new shop and home in Missouri.

dad2nine

Quote from: beenthere on October 29, 2007, 06:49:18 PM
OWW
I drew lines on one of your quarters, showing how I helped quarter saw red oak, after first quartering the log as you showed.


We put a table on the bunks and clamped it, and it had a fence with a 1" lip on one side.


The log quarters would just rest against that fence. The saw was set for 1" lumber, and not moved. After each pass, the quarter was flipped to the other flat face, making narrower lumber each time, all with a waney edge. Sawed each quarter that way until there was no 1" wide cutting left.

Very little waste, and the best high quality wood just below the bark was available to go into the cutting. Did get some crook after drying due to growth stresses, but it goes with quarter sawn lumber. Recovery from a log was great.

That is exactly the way I QS, I get 1 maybe 2 boards from each quarter with some pith that I trim out later. You can usually spot the pith right off, it usually shows up as a crack the length of the board, I saw that out.

I take boards off the bottom of the quarter flip and take the next board off the bottom, repeat.... till there is nothing left. You can also edge while you going, take a thin cut off the top which will be the edge for you next board when you flip the quarter. For 4/4 thick boards I edge cut on the 1/2" marks. lets say for example the face that is dog side measures 9" at it's narrowest point, set the saw head at 8 1/2" and take some bark off. when that face is bed side, set the head at 4/4 off the bed and you'll cut a clean edged board. Two cuts for every board, if you edge on the mill. I found this the best way to produce the widest boards with QS grain. I've tried other methods but they don't seem to yield as much QS grain you usally end up with a small percentage of QS and mostly rift.

Although I've yet to meet a perfectly round tree - by reading the rings on the log ends, usually a loose formed oval in sycamore and square in oak. It's important to line it up good for sawing the log in half. While cutting lumber from the quarters, you may want to take 2 or 3 boards off a quarter face to keep the grain as close as possible to 90 degrees before taking a board off the other face.  I've found the closer the grain is to 90 degrees with the board face the more intense the ray flake. And it's the ray flake that most people look for when buying QS boards. Of course this works well with good straight logs, one with slight spiral grain or a light crook will be more and saw a pray.

One more thing I've learned, some species are more forgiving than others. Sycamore starts to loose it's flake at about 75 degrees but white oak will still show some flake all the way down to about 60 degrees. So when sawing for appearance (ray flake) it's important to read the grain and flip the quarters when appropriate to bring the growth rings back as close as possible to 90 degrees this will show the widest flake.

There seems to be 101 different ways to QS a log, it's best to find one that works best for you and your equipment and stick with it.

Thanks

rfalk

Great idea on making the edging cut before flipping the quarters...I have the first quarter of a large white oak on my mill (had to use my chainsaw mill to cut the log in quarters as my bandmill isn't powerful enough to get through 30" of frozen white oak)....will try it out. Thanks, bob
Wood engineer, woodworker, chainsaw miller, bandsaw miller, all around lover of wood.
Stihl 026, 361, 076 AV

dad2nine

Quote from: Kelvin on October 30, 2007, 08:42:46 AM
Howdy all,
I call OWW method "bastard quartersawing" (sorry about that) and use it primarily on woods that don't show big rays, like cherry, walnut, maple, and undersized oak logs.  We use Bibbyman's method of the octogon to good sucess, but i'd like to add one thing, don't cut in 1/2, cut 1/3 and 2/3rds.  I learned this from ripping big logs with my chainsaw.  I quickly found out i was ruining the best lumber.  Same with ripping a log in 1/2.  You usually have to straighten afterwards as the logs tension will pull it out of true.  I think this really helps on us guys not running supers or diesels which run smaller cuts.  After taking off the 1/3, if flip the 2/3 chunk 90 degrees and rip out the middle for what i see the best 90 degree boards.  THis will include the pith.  Cut the pith off, square up the piece and saw out the widest best QS boards.  THan proceed to cut the wedges as deemed fit based on size.  If you can get moderately wide boards out of "pies" flip them and saw.  I will always throw away 2 rift sawn boards to get one excellent QS board.  Rift sawn brings flat sawn prices and QS sawn brings the premium.  This results in less full width cuts of big logs that my machine with its 25hp kohler doesn't like to do.
Hope you understand description.
KP

Kevin you right sometimes the quarters do want to bow or raise up on one end or the other. But I've found no more than 1/4" if you can mill the quarters right away. Leave the quarters sit for a few days and they do all sorts of weird things. The way I remedy this, is the first board off each quarter face are cut thicker, I'll then go back and resaw those two bards to final thickness. It's not uncommon for me to cut  first boards @ 5/4 and resawn back to 4/4 before I load the next quarter. This also help eliminate any waves I may have had during the initial splitting.

You are also right quarter and rift sawn boards should fetch a premium, there's quite a bit more machine time involved than boxing the heart and sawing down to the bed.

OneWithWood

Here is a pic of a sample from the red maple I quartered.

Question:
Is this the normal rays you would expect from a quarter sawn red maple or is there more going on here?  Curl? Some other type of figure?

One With Wood
LT40HDG25, Woodmizer DH4000 Kiln

WDH

OWW,

Looks like the perfect Q-sawn board.  You split the rays perfectly :).  It looks suspiciously like there is some curl in that board.  If I could be so lucky ;).
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

ARKANSAWYER


  The way you cut can mean more boards or more recovery.  That being said just because a board is qsawn does not make it worth more money.  You take time and saw out them pies and make a pile of narrow qsawn boards that will bow and when dried and straight lined produce a 3 inch wide board you will not be making money.  If you have to edge the pith and bark off every board you will not be making more money.  If you loose 20% of the log tring to not make a flat or rift sawn board you will not be making money.  I can sell a rift sawn board with out any problem.  Matter of fact any furniture builder will tell you that they make the best legs from rift sawn lumber.  Stiles and rails are better from rift.  So do not be afraid to make some.
  The way Bibby showed you will produce more qsawn boards that can be used of the best width and you will not lose much time or lumber.   If you just piddle around and get just one log a year to qsawn then it is not much of a big deal.  If you are trying to make  a little coin and take a log that could be worth more if qsawn then production and product have to come to play.  All methods produce qsawn lumber but being able to read the log and tell which ones are fit to qsaw is a different matter.  You can get some qsawn boards out of a 12 inch log but are they worth the effort?  Most of the time I will not even consider any thing less the 16 inches then only take the middle 3 boards.   I do not even waste time taking any board out of a pie that will  not make a 6 inch or wider board.  If you take the boards out of the middle like in Bibbys photo then leave them whole while drying you will get less bowing in the boards.  Also if you leave off any edging or trimming till the board is dry you may loose kiln space but you can rip out wider boards.

ARKANSAWYER

dad2nine

Here's a sample from a load of QS sycamore we ran through Scott Kiln back in the summer. Left the bark on one edge of the boards. Sold them that way people were happy. Scott did such a good job drying, I think we have next to zero defect coming out of the kiln - no warp, twist or bow and if I recall correctly only 2 boards had very minor end checking. It was as good as it get no doubt about it...



ARKANSAWYER - your right, there are 101 different ways to QS - we need to consider them and determine which best fits our equipment and production schedules. But I believe if your shooting for appearance (ray flake) the general idea is the same. Try and line up the end grain as close as possible to 90 degrees with the face. If your not concerned about producing ray flake then rift sawing is beast of another color.

Black Locust example: end grain as close as possible to 90 degrees with the face



I do disagree with stopping @ 6" width - I'll try and stop at 4" wide, but if the flake is still strong and the grade is high I'll go ahead and cut a 3"er there are lots of uses for 3" lumber while building a piece of furniture. Shoot most panel glue ups consist of glued up narrow boards anyways.

As for fetching a premium - without a doubt QS lumber is a better product than flatsawn. Not only in appearance but in structural integrity. It sure does kiln dry with less defect too- Scott Smith can chime in here...

On another topic  - I've often wondered why the NHLA handbook says nothing about rift, only quartered and flat - anyone know why or did I overlook something while reading it?

Thanks

scsmith42

Jeff, you know that I LOVE to dry QS!

I've got around 1,500 bd ft in the kiln right now; about 1/3 of it QS and the rest FL.  The QS dries a bit slower, but much flatter and with just about zero degrade.

Keep it coming, Jeff!

Scott
Peterson 10" WPF with 65' of track
Smith - Gallagher dedicated slabber
Tom's 3638D Baker band mill
and a mix of log handling heavy equipment.

dad2nine


Larry

My way.

Saw parallel to the bark and knock off some of the ugly and sapwood.  Makes for easier sawing later as your going into clean wood with no edging later.




Level the log with the toeboard so I can saw parallel to the pith.  I figure I can get two boards above and below the pith, which will show good figure in this log.  My band had sawn about 300 foot and I wanted a sharp band for the next step.  I will be sawing white oak 22" wide with only 16 horsepower.  First cut is 2 1/4" above the pith and when I pull the top slab off I see the promise of good figure on the bottom side of the board.  One slight problem...my log has made friends with a barb wire fence many years ago.  Little break to put on a new band and my log is now 3' shorter.  Shim cut and I get 5 boards out of the center that show good figure.  Couple only show figure on one side.  And several show an attractive blue/black stain on one end...can I charge extra for that?








Think maybe Arkie maybe was the first some years ago that suggested leaving the pith in until the boards dry to reduce the crook.  He was most right in my experience.




I take the top third and bottom thirds...stand em up and saw together.  Saw down to the log stops and flip em over, than saw to the deck.  I'm not to much into sawing pies unless the log is really big and shows a lot of ray.   












Larry, making useful and beautiful things out of the most environmental friendly material on the planet.

We need to insure our customers understand the importance of our craft.

snowman

I am pretty new at this milling thing and have not yet tried quarter sawing. Onewithwoods method is the easiest to understand I've seen yet. I'll try it as soon as I can get into my job site which is STILL snowed in. :( Dang global warming ya know. :D

TexasTimbers

I like most if not all the ways described here in this thread. Some really great methods. I never would have thought so many existed.

For those of you who might not have seen the thread OWW was referring to in his initial post up top, it's in the Crash of 2007 Archives. You have to log in and go to the Sawmill Section. It's the 4th thread down.

I'll post those pictures here, of my more-wasteful, much-less-efficient method so it can be part of the scrutiny also, and for another reason. The wood you see here being quartersawn is the wood I sent to GOI (the artist known as getoverit, for any come-laters) from which he made his masterpiece of a guitar, also shown below. OWW, I'm making this post to try and tie this whole thing together - quartersawming and geetar makin. Goes hand in hand I think.  :)











And the resulting masterpiece created by GOI, freeing the flame boxelder from it's long years of silence . . . .

















The oil is all in Texas, but the dipsticks are in D.C.

metalspinner

Tex,
Those red arrows you drew on there point perfectly to the direction your saw should be sawin'. :D
I do what the little voices in my wife's head tell me to do.

TexasTimbers

Oh man you blew my trade secret!   :D 8)
The oil is all in Texas, but the dipsticks are in D.C.

getoverit

Thanks Tex!  I'm still pretty blown away at how pretty that guitar finished out. It was a real show stopper at the Miami guitar festival.

I still have quite a bit of that wood and you never know what my next creation will look like
I'm a lumberjack and I'm ok, I work all night and sleep all day

OneWithWood

Good call, Tex.
One of the things I still strugle with when I try to emulate some of the methods contained in this thread is how to secure the cant while sawing.
It looks like you just balance the cant on the clamp and dogs then saw carefully.  Is that how you do it?  What keeps the cant from migrating off the saw on into the head?
That guitar looks better everytime I see it  8)
One With Wood
LT40HDG25, Woodmizer DH4000 Kiln

TexasTimbers

Quote from: OneWithWood on April 25, 2008, 12:04:14 PM
It looks like you just balance the cant on the clamp and dogs then saw carefully. 

Yes it was branches/twigs/felling wedges but keep in mind I hadn't quartersawn anything using that method before so it was a one-timer. Lots of waste but GOI had stressed, adamantly . . . "It has to be true quartersawn for this!" . . .  so I was not wanting to give him anything except perfect quartersawn wood and the only way I could figure to do it was the way I did.

I didn't have time to build a jig like I referred to in the Crash Archives and knew I wasn't cutting but the one log that way.  It would be fairly easy to make a jig that would allow clamping on the oblique angles you need cut a log that way. But if I study these other methods, maybe I can still get lumber with rings 90° or close enough, to the faces with not as much waste, so my method might be irrelevant. I gotta stew on it before I decide, because with mine you don't get any flat or rift sawn it's all perfect or near perfect quarter. Even the "pies" are still well within the 60°+ requirement to be called quartered.


The oil is all in Texas, but the dipsticks are in D.C.

Dodgy Loner

Been a while since someone posted a quartersawing tutorial on here, so I figured I'd post my method.

Step 1: Find a big oak log.  This was a willow oak log from my grandad's place, about 25" on the small end.


Step 2: Cut about a 4-6" face on four sides of the log.


Step 3: Make a cut 2-3 inches above the pith, removing a large slab.  After removing the slab, you'll be able to take off 4-5 wide boards that will show quartersawn figure.  These can be split in half, since they'll probably crack along the pith anyway, but I figure I can do that when it dries.


Step 4: Turn up the bottom slab 90o and make a cut about 2" above where the rays are horizontal.  You can remove about 4 boards from this slab that will show quartersawn figure.


Step 5: Now you're left with four cants with live edge.  If you need riftsaw lumber for legs, door frames, or face frames, you can easily get it out of these.  However, I wanted as much quartersawn as possible, so I built two jigs to hold the cants up at a 45o angle to cut more quartersawn boards.


Step 6: You now have a big pile of boards that need to be edged ;D.


It's a lot of work, but the results speak for themselves.  Practically every board that came out of this log was quartersawn, and there was relatively little waste.


Here's a rough diagram of how the log was sawn (assuming that the log was a perfect cylinder, of course ;D):


"There is hardly anything in the world that some man cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price only are this man's lawful prey." -John Ruskin

Any idiot can write a woodworking blog. Here's mine.

Radar67

Those are some nice looking boards Dodgy. What you got planned for them?
"A man's time is the most valuable gift he can give another." TOM

If he can cling to his Blackberry, I can cling to my guns... Me

This will kill you, that will kill you, heck...life will kill you, but you got to live it!

"The man who can comprehend the why, can create the how." SFC J

Dodgy Loner

I've been cutting lots of oak over the last year, getting ready to remodel my kitchen and living room.  The living room will have oak paneling, the kitchen will have oak cabinets, and both rooms will have oak floors.  The quarersawn oak will be used in the cabinets.
"There is hardly anything in the world that some man cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price only are this man's lawful prey." -John Ruskin

Any idiot can write a woodworking blog. Here's mine.

WDH

Looks like you sawed into the night ;D.  That is quarter sawing a quarter past 7:00 :D.

I see a real nice slab pile growing and a nice sawdust pile as well.  My sawdust pile is a monster, and yours will be too, soon :).

Nice pics.  I like the jig.  How is the cant held/clamped onto the jig to keep the log from moving?
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

Dodgy Loner

Yep, it was a full day of sawing.  It was probably only a quarter past six, but there was still just enough light to work outside.  The jig is dirt-simple.  Just some MDF screwed together with 45o risers.  The log rests against the jig and is clamped using the regular clamps. After I took one or two boards off, there was a flat on the cant large enough to rest on the bed, so I removed the jig, flipped the cant over and kept sawing.
"There is hardly anything in the world that some man cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price only are this man's lawful prey." -John Ruskin

Any idiot can write a woodworking blog. Here's mine.

OneWithWood

I like the jig.  Simple (elegant) and effective.  :)
One With Wood
LT40HDG25, Woodmizer DH4000 Kiln

Dodgy Loner

I finished edging and stacking the boards yesterday.  I got almost 100 bdft of perfectly clear quartersawn boards from that log 8).  About 50 bdft of riftsaw to boot.  I actually enjoyed stacking it just because it was so fun to look at ;D
"There is hardly anything in the world that some man cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price only are this man's lawful prey." -John Ruskin

Any idiot can write a woodworking blog. Here's mine.

TexasTimbers

Nice job Dodgy.

I can't help but ask although it is a common question, but besides great shop heat, were your waste wedges large enough to do something with on the lathe, or to resaw for trim etc.?
The oil is all in Texas, but the dipsticks are in D.C.

Dodgy Loner

My wedges were pretty small, as I got boards as narrow as 3" from the quartered cants.  The reason I was willing to cut such narrow boards was that they still had great figure, and I'll be using the lumber to make kitchen cabinets and will be using lots of stock 2" and narrower for face frames and door frames.  Otherwise, I probably would have left the wedges thicker and cut some 3x3s for table legs and turning stock.
"There is hardly anything in the world that some man cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price only are this man's lawful prey." -John Ruskin

Any idiot can write a woodworking blog. Here's mine.

TexasTimbers

I too cut narrow as long as the boards are showing great rays. I understand what some of the other guys are saying about not being marketable, and in their markets I'm sure it's true. But in niche markets you'll never have a problem getting rid of smaller stuff.

And in your case where you will be using them for rails and stiles, you don't have to worry about the long crooks because you will be cutting them down to where that's almost eliminated anyway. Most long boards that are sold at hardwood lumber yards get cut down at a shop anyway. I'd venture to say 90% and so I never worry about how the board will bow, crook, or warp. I will just take those and cut them to shorter stock. That's for quarter sawing which I don't have much problem with major movement in quarter sawn.

Talking about sawing in general, I hate to see cupping and twist most of all, but I usually am able to get usable wood even out of most of those too. Duck and turkey call  makers are a handy bunch! ;D

Thanks for the tutorial.


The oil is all in Texas, but the dipsticks are in D.C.

red

Here is a posting with a lot of good pictures and information 
Honor the Fallen Thank the Living

Thank You Sponsors!