cutting log ends to square

[michaelvp]

I'm using log posts for a freestanding ramada/pergola and haven't quite figured out how to cut at least one end of the logs to square.  Any suggestions?

[Hilltop366]

I suppose you could stand it up on some thing flat and brace it the way you want it and then go around the bottom with a block of wood and a pencil to scribe it and cut on line.

Someone else might know a eaiser way?

[jander3]

Snap a center line down the log (top and bottom).  Use two squares (helps with the round log) and square up to the centerlined.

[Raphael]

Snap a center line down the log (top and bottom).  Use two squares (helps with the round log) and square up to the centerlined.

What he said...
Also if you level the log, a plumb bob can substitue for one of the squares (frees up a hand for marking).

[Jim_Rogers]

Wrap a piece of strapping around the log and align it to your center line using a framing square or just wrap a piece of strapping around the log to get a nearly square line:

[Doug_D]

I got a similar problem dealing with machined 8x8 "D" logs.  Since my logs are machined, I am going to attempt to build a "miterbox" for a chainsaw this evening and see how well that goes    Maybe kind of fun :-)

If there is a taper at all, the snap line would be the way to go.

Cutting them with a handsaw takes a little time, but I can get them square.  Trying to maintain the same control with a chainsaw is a little more difficult, but is so much faster!

 

[moonhill]

I like those blue roll up sleds we used as kids, they still make them.  This could be wrapped as Jim shows to gain the line.  They also make nice patterns. 

Tim

[Banjo picker]

It would be nice if all logs were cut some what remotely to sq.   If your mill has a drag back feature to it...you know what I mean.....If it aint sq....here it goes to the right or left....and once in a blue moon back like it should....I know you are talking about something dif...but if the shoe fits...wear it...Tim

[Doug_D]

Just a quick update on my chainsaw miter box idea.  Has to be the stupidest thing I have tried so far    Back to the drawing board!  It worked for about 2 cuts..then it was trashed.  I am still laughing at myself.

[beenthere]

Doug_D
Would be good for a pic, anyways.   

[Meadows Miller]

Gday

Dad made a simple jig years ago for trimming the ends off roof beams with atleast one flat side on them use to cut alot of 90, 45 and 52 deg cuts with it  that might work for your D logs Doug  just an 1 1/4x1 1/4 tube frame big enough to fit over the end faced with a pice of plastic coated ply which guided the H/wood block guides that where mounted on the chainsaw bar one against the motor and another just behined the sprocket tip  ;)to give clearance so the saw teeth didnt chew up the face of the jig  ive got it out the back of the shed and ill get some pics for you tomorow its simple and works well  mate 

another thing you could try is making a heavy duty hinge that bolts onto a couple of long studd nuts (like the logosol's use to mount the chainsaw on the mill ) then just roll your logs through n dock em 

I also use the same method as Jim but i use 6" vapor barrier plastic sheet it works well too 

With log shells i just leveled and plumb cut them once the house was up unless they wanted stagered ends 


Regards Chris

[Doug_D]

Chris a picture would be great.

I will post a picture of my contraption this evening when I get back in from working on the cabin (Daylight is becoming valuable!).

[StorminN]

Something like this?

[Jim_Rogers]

Something like this?

(Image hidden from quote, click to view.)

Is this for real?


Does it cut?

[moonhill]

If it does I don't want to operate it. 

Tim

[swampfox]

i agree, that is the most dangerous tool I have ever seen. 

here is how I would approach your question.  peel the bark with drawknife.  use plumb and level to draw corresponding square or rectangles
on endgrain. chalk lines along the corners of said squares from one end to the other. 

Chainsaw free hand (yes free hand) to make "bread cuts" to chalk lines (reference). clean up with slick, then maybe big plane depending.



p.s. stormin, you got photoshop don't you?!

[StorminN]

Is this for real?

Does it cut?

Hi Jim,

It is for real, it does not cut very well.

It started as a Hitachi chop saw my friend was throwing away, and a bar & chain I had from an old 041. I had been trying to figure out an automated way to crosscut slab wood from my sawmill into firewood lengths... feed, cut, feed, cut. I concluded that I needed a hydraulic or electrically-driven chain saw... then my friend gave me the chop saw, and in a temporary fit of insanity (a couple of hours one night), I fabricated a couple of aluminum plates and assembled this proof-of-concept rig.

Of course the plan was (if the saw worked) to remove the switch handle and either have the saw actuated remotely by a pneumatic cylinder, or via a much larger handle on it, mounted from the back side... so you would push the saw down and away from you, into the wood. There are lots of firewood processors like this, most of them hydraulically-driven.

As it turns out, the saw does cut, it does have some power, but it's slow. I'd be better off with an 041 pivoting on a hole drilled through the bar. The body of this chop saw is also not engineered to support that kind of weight and torque, the screws on this model of saw are blind screws going into a plastic case. I could quickly see that the screws were going to strip out, and even as they got loose, it affected the bearings supporting the shaft, which wreaked havoc with the chain tension. So consequently, this rig sits unused, waiting for me to get another chain saw motor to attach that bar & chain to...

swampfox – yes, I do have Photoshop... I blurred the cluttered background in that pic to make the saw stand out... but the saw is for real and as silly as it looks.

-Norm.

[Doug_D]

Norm,

That’s freaking cool.  It looks scary as heck, but there is merit to your idea!  A chainsaw chop saw….I like it.


Sorry I did not post pics of my miter box last night.  Wife and I went to the rodeo last night.  I will try to get them tonight.

Doug

[Jim_Rogers]

Norm:
Years ago, I used to cut all my slab up to deliver to a local guy who sold it for camping firewood.
I create a roller bench to drop the slab onto and it would roll up to the saw. To make the cutting fast, I used a chain saw.
I would let the cut off slabs fall into the backhoe bucket for loading the dump truck.
I bought a beam maker jig and fastened it to a modified saw horse to hold it at the right angle and position in order to pivot to make the cuts.

Here is an old photo of the set up:

[Bibbyman]

We supplied beams and such to WoodHenge Timberframe to build an entryway cover for some house or business. 

They wanted two oak front posts to be natural trees with as much trumpet flare and flutes as possible.  They needed to be about 8’ long and 8” at the top with bases as big as could be found.  I hunted the farm over and found two oak trees that met those conditions and cut them as close to the ground as possible.

When I delivered the posts, they had some quandary as to how they were going to square up the ends of such irregular pieces.    I guess they figured out some way as Jerry told me the other day that the project turned out great and the owners were very pleased.  He promised to send me pictures. 

The next chance I get,  I’ll ask him how they squared the ends.