sawing a crooked log

[Tom the Sawyer]

ethanbrush,

Around here, gentle curve in a log is called sweep, an abrupt change in direction is referred to crook or a dogleg.

[Old Greenhorn]

ethanbrush,

Around here, gentle curve in a log is called sweep, an abrupt change in direction is referred to crook or a dogleg.

So is this a crook, or a dogleg? :D :D Either way, it was a challenge.As an aside, this log had barbed wire running through it in the last two feet on the left end, so I whacked it off and and it became pretty straight.


 

[WDH]

If Forrest Gump was a Sawyer, he would say, "Crooked is as crooked does, and that is all that I have to say about that ".  

[Nebraska]

Well that log of Tom's  would be  a short log  and a chunk I'd think about slabbing into bench material, but right now the log splitter is on the tractor. It's only saving grace might be the absence  of my big saw which took a trip to the dealer since it gave up running the other night and I was close.  That much bow in a twenty footer  I would likely cut it in half, unless material needs to be that long.

[YellowHammer]

So I whacked it off and and it became pretty straight.

In the words of Forged in Fire's, Doug Marcaida, once you trimmed it to become a "log"....
"It will ROLL"
  :D :D :D

[Magicman]

To me if it only has one bend it is bowed or has sweep.  Same as a road; one turn makes a curve, two or more makes it crooked.  If a log has a second bend that makes it crooked.  Sometime the second bend might be 90° or whatever from the first bend. 



 
I thought that this Sycamore was crooked.


 
Yup, two bends make it crooked.

[ethanbrush]

Nice one MM!

[Old Greenhorn]

Well that log of Tom's  would be  a short log  and a chunk I'd think about slabbing into bench material, but right now the log splitter is on the tractor. It's only saving grace might be the absence  of my big saw which took a trip to the dealer since it gave up running the other night and I was close.  That much bow in a twenty footer  I would likely cut it in half, unless material needs to be that long.

Well I wanted to get a few pieces out of it for some short benches off the one end, but when I hit the wire I decided it would make a nice block to set my and anvil on.  :D

[Southside]

Being a Sycamore that probably dried straight!!  :D

[WDH]

 :D :D

[ethanbrush]

Ok so the consensus from the most knowledgeable and experienced pool of sawyers anywhere is there are no best strategies for sawing sweeped logs and just throw the log in the dumpster ;) ?

[btulloh]

Saw them for what they'll yield that's appropriate.  Probably not 21' long 2x8's for the reasons already covered.  I don't think I read anything about exactly how much sweep your log has.  Already mentioned above - a long log cut to shorter logs will lessen the sweep.  

I like to saw bad logs just to improve my knowledge.  Every log has something to teach me.  Worst case, I get some dunnage.  Worst worst case, I get some dimensional firewood.

[Magicman]

I don't know how knowledgeable and experienced I am, but I do not encourage discarding logs with sweep.  That being said, I only saw customer's logs and sometime a log like the one shown in Reply #26 that is bucked 16' will only yield 12' lumber.  I normally saw the straightest portion that will yield something that is on the customer's cut list and I only scale what is on that cut list.  For example if something measures 14', I will scale it as a 12'.  I find that it is best not to fret over the small stuff.

[donbj]

To me if it only has one bend it is bowed or has sweep.  Same as a road; one turn makes a curve, two or more makes it crooked.  If a log has a second bend that makes it crooked.  Sometime the second bend might be 90° or whatever from the first bend.  



 
I thought that this Sycamore was crooked.


 
Yup, two bends make it crooked.

Now you did it. Now you have two crooked ones!

[YellowHammer]

Ok so the consensus from the most knowledgeable and experienced pool of sawyers anywhere is there are no best strategies for sawing sweeped logs and just throw the log in the dumpster ;) ?

No, there are strategies.

Don't buy the log in the first place.

If you already have the log and paid nothing for it then anticipate what you want to use it for and saw it to either produce bow or produce crook as the end product dictates.

Or cut it shorter and use that part of the log.  The key to sawing these logs is to understand the effects of the pith and optimize the sawing pattern.

If you already have the log but you actually paid for it, then kick yourself in the behind and then saw it up as above, knowing you paid good money for a poor log.

Or if it's a big ugly log and it's sitting in a pile of dozens of straight logs, then push it into the fire pit while nobody is looking.   :D

[Old Greenhorn]

I think MM and Yellowhammer pretty much nailed it. When you get lemons, made lemonade, but don't expect to taste like fine wine. I just did a load and one log was 'poor' so I milled in into plain slabs for the customer because I know it will get used. If I tried to make dimensional, I would have wound up with a bunch of 1 x 2 which were no use the them.

[ethanbrush]

If you already have the log and paid nothing for it then anticipate what you want to use it for and saw it to either produce bow or produce crook as the end product dictates.

  The key to sawing these logs is to understand the effects of the pith and optimize the sawing pattern.

Exactly, this is what I am asking, how to do these things.

[Ed_K]

 Just like I'm doing. Saw lots of logs an try different ways of doing it. I'm thinking of writing down how I saw the log and what it did while I was sawing it. I have a pile of hard maple to saw some are straight some have crook / sweep depending on length an one has spiral it'll be interesting.

[btulloh]

Agree.  Experience is the only way to get experience.  

Try stuff.  It's different than if you're sawing customers' logs and have a cut list.  Sawing your own logs for you gives you a chance to experiment.  Just be sure to have reasonable expectations and accept the fact that some logs don't turn out.  I really have learned a lot from experimenting with funky logs and got some useful stuff I didn't expect.  I've also learned what not to saw.