Sawing 6x6 White Oak Posts

[chickenchaser]

I have opportunity to saw up to 8k bf yellow poplar and white oak for a barn/equipment shed.

Customer felled trees 1/05/16 and I went yesterday to look at the logs.
I discovered he was expecting to get multiple 6x6s from some of the larger logs.
I expressed my concern as I was accustomed to centering the pith and getting one per log.

I reviewed some previous threads and still have questions...

If I can move away from the juvenile wood in some of the larger logs, would there be opportunity to get multiple stable posts?

Any help would be appreciated.

CC

[just_sawing]

Had the same problem 25 years ago with a fellow that wanted to build a log house out of poplar. I explained Boxed heart and he brought me 20" and wanted four logs. I smiled and cut them, they opened up like a tulip and they went back to one per. The white oak won't open up as bad. I would expect maybe a 1/2 inch bow so that may be workable. Post oak would do fine.

[drobertson]

same as above, it seems that the length of them has as much to do with bowing as does the diameter, in addition to ones with sweep.  It is a gamble getting multiples if straightness is critical.  Possible, just be ware. That said, box centering is not always a guarantee either, so I say go for it from the start and test the waters,  hope all goes well for the both of you,

[terrifictimbersllc]

Old saying customer is always right.  But that practice doesn't accommodate reputation when people look up at the beams and say "Who sawed those?".  :(

[Ohio_Bill]

It's a lot more work but sometimes I saw them oversize and them resaw to take the sweep out. Generally the longer the log the worse the sweep.

[Chuck White]

Done that, Bill, usually with good results!   

[kensfarm]

I've been cutting a lot of white oak beams/post for my barn..  the beams that have some bend to them can be cut to post length and then it's really not an issue.  My floor beams are 7 1/2 x 4..  x16  x20.. they are heavy.  We've been replacing posts in the 1st level too..  I've cut 6 beams from 1 log..  some bend.. some don't. 

Just show/tell the customer what to expect by cutting multi posts..   if logs are only 8 to 10 feet long.. shouldn't be that bad at all.  Good luck. 

[warren46]

I was sawing some white oak Friday and took a couple of pictures that illustrate the stress that can be in the outer portions of a log.  I noticed that the slab I sawed from a 16 foot log was about an eight of an inch shorter than the cant that remained on the saw.


 
The picture above shows the far end of the slab flush with the end of the log.  This is where the saw exited the log and the slab did not move.



 
This picture shows the end of the slab where the saw entered the log.  Notice that the slab shrank about 1/8 of an inch so it is that much shorter than the cant it lay on.  That same tension remains in the wood fibers in the top of the cant.  If a 6X6 is sawed from the top of the cant the tension will tend to pull the ends of the 6X6 away from the wood below resulting in quite a bow in the timber.

[chickenchaser]

Thanks to everyone for your replies.
The decision is still out as to whether to saw or buy treated 6x6s.
12'and 14' length. I believe log numbers may be insufficient even with multiple cuts. Weather conditions have probably ended the harvesting until spring and that is playing a large part in the decision. Still a bunch of poplar, though.

Oh...when is the proper time to say "Whack"?  :-\

Thanks again.

CC