The Forestry Forum

We have a black walnut  to saw including what looks to be a very nice crotch for veneer. Does anyone out there have a solution to clamping the crotch? We have a Timberking  B20 and the clamping system does not lend itslef to such short lengths. We thought of leaving 6 to 7 feet of the base below it while cross cutting about 3/4 of the way though to be able to retrieve the blade for the next slice......Any thoughts?

I have sawn short crotches on my woodmizer by putting a board against the backstops like a 2"x10" and place the crothc against it and hold it with the clamp.   

Using sacrificiall boards to hold a short piece of wood is a good way to go, but the log can still spin out of the clamp so be careful.

I have always opted to leave the log long enough to fit the mill so that I could use the mill's clamps.  The length also gives more resistance to the torque of the blade trying to spin the short piece and makes clamping easier.   The longer boards even come in handy when drying too, as well as provide more designing room when building a project.  It's almost always better to have a little more board than than you need for the project.  :)

Would it be ok to use a "stop" cut just below the crotch so we would not saw the whole log at 1/16 "?

Sure, but be sure you stop the band to back it out.  I probably wouldn't saw 1/16 anyway, but have stop cut for fun.