Whacha getting?

[biziedizie]

Hello wood cutters!
  I have a question or two for you all.
  If you have an 18" log that is 8' long and has no taper what do you expect to get out of it? Like are you going for 2x4s or 2x6s or a few 4x4 posts. How many do you get?
  How much do you cut off on your first cut? Do you try to get some 1" boards out of the first few cuts or do you just cut a slab for the burn pile?
  Also do you cut 1 by mat. or the real 2 by mat.

     Thanks!

        Steve

[Dave_Fullmer]

Steve, I would think that there would be some other questions to ask before I made my decision.  What kind of wood is it?.  What to I need most of?  Is this my log or am I cutting for some one else.

Personally, I would always take some one-by off it rather than just throw it all in to the slab pile.  I have too much Scotch in me to throw anything away.  Then I would cut it into whatever I needed.  

Dave

[biziedizie]

Hi Dave
 I'm cutting cedar and I'm useing it for my own use, going to build a deck. I needed some 2x8s and a few posts today and it seems like there was allot of waste.
  I guess what I'm trying to ask is what's the best way to cut a log and get the most out of it.

     Steve

[Tom]

When I'm cutting that kind of material out of pine, I generally open a 3-4 inch face and take a 2X that will make a 2x4 or 2x6. Doing this on 3 sides with the idea of a 3 sided cant being my final target size will gain me a lot of speed.  How much you take, what boards or planks you produce in reaching the target cant is dependent upon the size, shape and quality of the log.   There will be a "thousand" variables from log to log that will guide your decisions.  Once the 2X is removed you can get wider 1X material if you want it.  A lot depends on your sawbill.  Why cut 1X's if your primary product is 2X's ?  In that case I would keep the 1X's to a miniimum.

[biziedizie]

Hey Tom it sounds like I'm cutting the same way you are. I do get what you're saying about every log being different. This one log today ticked me off because it just seemed that I didn't get anything out of it.
  The reason I'm cutting the 1 inch mat. is that up here we use them for fence panels.
  What I do is try to get a few 1 inch boards off each side before I get a nice cant then I do the real cutting.

Steve

[Tom]

That works.

When I'm cutting two by's , I usually make my first cut a 2X only because I have more use for a 2x4 than a 1x4.  :

[Oregon_Sawyer]

I cut quite a bit of cedar.  My highest prioity right now is 8x8's.   But if I was cutting deck material I would start cutting 1x's (3/4) as soon as I can get a 4 in and 4 ft peice.  I contiune to cut 1x's until I have a face as wide as the deck boards I want.  Then I would cut 2x.  Turn log do the same.  Turn log do the same and cut a 3 sided cant the width of the deck boards.  Turn the last time and cut 1x's until I get a good deck board and cut 2x to the bottem.  I have a chart I made up to make the cuts come out even at the bottom of the cant.  Not all the size's I cut is there a lumber mark that is right on my  WM.

Hope this helps.  Of course maybe you knew all this already. 8)