How to Quarter Saw a Log With The Little Ripper Mini Bandsaw Sawmill EthAnswers

[@TheRealWeirdoC]

I appreciate that you want to share knowledge and took the initiative to make a video. That being said, you did not quarter saw that log. You plain- or flat-sawed it and simply pulled out the pieces near the center that always end up quarter- and rift-sawn no matter how you cut it. Actually quarter-sawing it involves first cutting the log into quarters, and then either ripping the boards diagonally from those quarter-log cants, or flipping the cants end-for-end and ripping the faces off alternately. This process produces boards that start out half as wide as the log, but get narrower quickly. It sacrifices board width to adjust for maximum board stability and consistent surface grain pattern. What you did here did nothing to increase the occurrence of the desired grain orientation, but it *did* sacrifice the width of the outermost flat-sawn material, for basically no reason. You could have flat-sawn it without cutting it in half fist, then only cut the central pieces in half to remove the pith. Even then, by squaring off the log before cutting boards, you were taking away a substantial chunk of exactly the kind of grain you were looking for. The thickness of those slabs at their centers is how much width you lost off of your best boards.

[@duubtuub3071]

Indeed, Ethan, if your goal is "quarter-sawn boards", the aim should also be as many board-feet as possible of quarter-sawn. Cut#2 needlessly reduced the width of one of the widest potential boards.

[@HarmonieZvuku-harfy-kalimby]

I agree, this was not a quarter sawing...

[@jamesbeutler1460]

School is in. Wow.

[@DavidBaumgarner]

Exactly... I was thinking, wait... What is he doing...

[@victorhopper6774]

radial sawing is wasteful for most projects

[@alanm3438]

Finally someone to process small logs. I just used my small jointer to make a flat bottom. Then I use my planer to flatten the top. Bake to the jointer to do the side and back to the planer for the other side. Then I cut to thickness on the table saw. In the oven on a low temperature to help it dry quicker. Thanks, I wish that I had a good bandsaw.

[@bogus_not_me]

I've never seen the sled and micro adjuster you used! Wish i had known about those 50 years ago!

[@rodsheridan7048]

That looks OK if you want small pieces of wood, however I made myself a 5 foot long log carriage out of BB plywood and 2 extension tables out of plywood that are 4 feet long. ( For 1/4 the cost of this jig).That way I can saw logs up to 4 feet long and get furniture size pieces out of it....Rod

[@garynoyb4318]

This is such a better system than the earlier one... I have the old style and stopped using it because of how cumbersome it was. The table part always seem to "rise" and would not stay tight. I wish you guys had thought of this earlier because mine just sits in a corner...

[@richardlee2488]

The main reason lumber Mills crown or flat cut ash is because very few professionals like the grain pattern when it's quarter sawn or the presence of the olive wood. If the sawyer correctly sets the taper Ash is amongst our most beautiful temperate hardwoods. Oak and lacewood are both Quarter sawn for appearance but the method is normally seen as too costly. In the real world its also very hard work to produce something which very few people are willing to pay for. By the way you would do well to split the logs with an axe or wedges before you dry them. It's quicker and you release the tension so less cracking or shakes.

[@paulwhite1114]

It's amazing what some people call a log

[@Bryan-yl7mg]

This is the second video I've watched in a row about quarter sawing lumber, but all that happened was both of you just cut the cant in half and flat saw it. I believe you may have been misinformed in the process and are passing on slightly faulty information. On the other hand, I'm very excited to find this video because I've never seen that tool and will most likely buy one now!

[@topsaw]

Love this, I'll show it to my high school woodshop classes. I do tree work on the weekends, bring the wood in to mill and we build projects from the logs we mill.

[@prepperjonpnw6482]

TopSaw how do you dry the wood quick enough for your class to use it in their projects?

[@topsaw]

@@prepperjonpnw6482 Hi, the future plan is that we mill and store the lumber for a year and next year's students machine it and use it for projects. However, I just got the mill 6 months ago and we have been using dead trees for milling and using. I feel that we do now have plenty of stored milled lumber and logs to have a system to rotate around every year.

[@richardlee2488]

Do the kids actually help you mill the timber? Where are you? I'm guessing USA

[@topsaw]

@@richardlee2488 yes, the kids really run the mill. I have lots of videos of them on my channel Topsaw.

[@bobcook4584]

$380 buys a lot of pre-cut wood. All of this could easily be done with a fence an an alignment board.

[@nachtelfirokese88]

and at least 1 year of waiting until you can work with the boards if the log isnt dried before!

[@terryherrera5252]

V-VEry expensive !!😡

[@cryptodawgzzz]

Less if you have a kiln or are able to take pieces inside

[@jameslunsford4168]

I just bought an old sears band saw sander. 12” I’m just making sure I can mill lumber with it bc that’s one of the main reasons

[@hassankassim9152]

Wish i know how to install the railling on the band saw..this is good for our small diy..good job

[@phoenix89naca12]

Thanks for starting this channel 👍👍👍

[@conner1274]

After the first two cuts wouldn't it be more accurate to just use the table and fence on the band saw so you wouldn't have to keep checking for 90°

[@E-BikingAdventures]

Yes. I would only use this thing for the first cut. And apparently it cost $380. I would just stick with a draw knife and hand plane to get a starting surface

[@chantsofyore1943]

Its amazing what people call "a mini bandsaw"

[@rafaelgoldstein8956]

🤣🤣

[@rorschacht8478]

Depends what you compare it to I guess.

[@steventinajero7208]

If l was him ,l Will flip over the saw like a real sawmill,,,fixed to make one

[@dlewis2446]

Mountains out of mole hills. This is folly, you could do this just as fast with a scrub plane and chalk line no need for fancy jigs. Even if a Scrub plane is out of your league a piece of ply screwed to the log will do the same job to get the initial flat reference surface, everything else can be cut using the bandsaws rip fence(you know, the thing it's designed to do) Call me old fashioned but why spend a small fortune on something that doesn't do anything better than what the bandsaw itself will do?(or simple tried and true methods like using a scrub). Also,to my eyes at least it looked like it didn't even cut straight, I could probably cut that better freehand as long the original reference is good. Also,also that's not even quartesawn. There are a few ways to quartesaw a log and this Is not one of them. I'm not hating by the way, just a little sick of watching misleading stuff with misleading titles on utube and it gets old.

[@maxmcvicker]

do you ever have a problem with the blade trying to track in an unparalleled way and binding up dragging the motor down and bending the blade? ai have this problem with the Carter log mill and don’t know why.

[@StockroomSupply]

That’s blade drift! This video explains why the happens and how to get rid of it - kzbin.info/www/bejne/a36coIKJlLqDjbMsi=w1RAywrNEJxQlX4y

[@jimbeaver27]

I slice mine up too, I just don't cut it in half first. On small logs like this I am lucky to get 2 good boards and 2 not so good, however I do love slicing up pieces of my trees and making stuff from the pieces. I do not use a Ripper although it looks nice.

[@DeanJuvenal]

All very interesting, but what do you do with those small pieces of wood? Burn them?

[@JayWye52]

maybe he makes small boxes,there are some uses for such thin boards. they're 1/4" now,but they need to be planed or sanded smooth,so they'll end up even thinner.

[@you78mas]

Thank you for sharing! How many horsepower required on a bandsaw to be able to cut logs like that?

[@ERone43]

Thank you

[@ianmorrison2003]

Very informative. Do you dry the quarter inch slats before using in wood projects? If so, how? The slats that you cut are exactly the size I want to use in a hobby I want to start. It will be important however that the slats remain stable on the finished glued-together projects: ergo my question about possible pre-drying. Any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[@marcbroussard2433]

Methinks the saw needs some adjustment. I would not be happy with that curved cut.

[@dr.blackysenior8615]

Very good work. I would appreciate it very much if you please could tell about the source of the device used and it's name so I can buy it in Canada and how expensive it is? Thank you in advance.

[@richardprivett9813]

Ethan, awesome video. Really like your content. I’m kinda struggling on finding this ripper fence? Do you have a link?

[@jimbo2629]

Interesting video but with each cut your left forearm is nicely in line with the blade. I suggest you move around a bit.

[@mikesmicroshop4385]

Wow! You wasted quite a bit of Quarter swan wood doing it that way! It may be easier on a large mill to do what you have done, but there is no good reason to square the lag like you have. With pieces as small as you are working with, just quarter the log and turn the cant on every cut you will get 20 to 25% more limber that way.

[@StockroomSupply]

You are absolutely right! I squared it up first as I thought it would be a bit easier to see where and how I was cutting the log. But thanks for bringing that to everyone's attention!

[@keith1921]

I agree I thought a lot of waste by squaring the log first.

[@anthonyscime2102]

Nice addition to the ripper! (the rubber bands) Next time I use mine I will put them on. Nice video.

[@StockroomSupply]

I thought so to! Thanks for watching Ethan

[@stevieg.4816]

my question is what the heck is wood that small good for? Doll houses?

[@islandwills2778]

i use thin wood like this to make buttons.... i also used boards something like that for the bottom of a drawer. instead of just one piece of plywood i used a series of small boards. It turned out great and actually looks pretty cool. It was a good way to use up scrap that would otherwise be burnt or thrown away.

[@abstractbybrian]

This is very helpful. I'm a noob getting back into woodworking. Is it safe then to asume in all cases or just in most cases that when looking at the end grain, if that is vertical it's ALWAYS quarter sawn or is this not the case 100% of the time. I've often wondered. I've read that when you want to fine woodworking you should always get it quarter sawn.

[@tomnovak7731]

No matter the cutting method, the grain angle is what determines if a board is quarter sawn. The grain should run within 30°of perpendicular to the wide face of the board. The method shown for actually cutting in this video is not a good example of how to quarter saw a log.

[@woodworkinglife]

good work

[@kendibben3179]

Hi, Just wondering while I was watching why didn’t you use your fence once you had a flat side?

[@treggaman9820]

Can you show more of how the fence is attached. I have the same saw and the fence setup is not very good

[@eoinoneill7510]

It might be my the camera angle or just my the way I was seeing this but I'm not so sure your bandsaw was cutting quite straight, may be because the blade guard and therefor the blade guiding bearings were so far up the blade or maybe just the blade needs tensioning. Great video though.

[@tcbridges]

Where can I buy that Little Ripper

[@erritwilson9927]

Also does it fit on a rikon 10-347?

[@ouidabrady4261]

That is a really cool jig!!!

[@tommybates6786]

What size blade do you prefer?

[@timberry7832]

Where I’m from they call that a lucky rubber band (sometimes two), every machine one….🙂

[@chestertalkington9489]

ethan you may find that pinball rubbers might work better you can find them at marco pinball parts. good idea

[@148woodrow]

What kind of band saw are you using?

[@georgepretnick4460]

I like it, but that's not a true quarter saw. What you did is not different from just slabbing the wood.

[@daphlavor]

What do you put on the end grain to keep it from checking?

[@damondiehl5637]

AnchorSeal or just latex paint

[@minnesotaoutdoorsnorth]

so what will you make out of this?

[@umbalaba]

Dear Ethan, could you do another quarter sawing video where you use the Little Ripper to demonstrate the technique "Mike's Micro Shop" suggested, please?

[@ronaldross1632]

Nah h1

[@gjb79ful]

This is not how to quarter saw timber. The log should be first sawn into "quarters" on the big saw and the cants passed on down the saw mill for final cutting.

[@harryshaw4998]

Awesome

[@charlesodom3761]

What type of blade do u use?

[@henrygoettler1232]

Hi Eth, In this video, what is the bandsaw you are using to cut the log? Is it a Jet? Cheerio Henry

[@danny26barrow]

And what is the biggest u can fot log in plz as well

[@StockroomSupply]

Hey Danny, With the standard unit off our website you can do 14" tall x 2' long. You can make this any length you want by adding extra track. Hope this helps!

[@erritwilson9927]

Will you ship to Florida?

[@E-BikingAdventures]

You can tell how inaccurate those boards are. You should put it aside after you have your log squared off, then use the table and fence

[@islandwills2778]

i think that i would not cut such thick pieces on my table saw. maybe a very good high quality cabinet saw would go through that in a flash but most wood workers dont have that luxury. Im not saying it could not be done, just i would not want to do it.

[@MrMarkpeggy]

Very nice!

[@siremenson]

Ya know, if you beat the wood against the table hard enough, you can beat the pith out of it. JK, great video thank you.

[@максгончаров-ъ2ц]

sorry, is it "Jet" or "Ricon" bandsaw? p.s: nice crocodile-jig))) and T-shirt :)

[@SMee67]

Awesome idea with the rubber bands, to the guy that messaged you 👌 So, what have you got planned for those boards? Do you ever do build videos? That Little Ripper is genius 🤘 Cheers mate, 👍

[@StockroomSupply]

Nothing planned at this point! Likely they will end up as inlays in bowl blanks. So far I have just one build video of m making a through inlay cutting board; kzbin.info/www/bejne/mnuwg5qMqNWKfaM Thanks Bill!

[@sblack48]

Nothin like a nice piece of ash!

[@wilborth5th]

Great video, so many things to learn from it, very kind of you to share

[@toddcorey3190]

Lower your band saw guide and use a square in the ripper

[@camgreer]

Thufferin' thuccotash! You really cut the pith outta that log!

[@retiredsearge]

And it's a nice little piece of Ash.

[@besgrom3]

КРУТО

[@JayWye52]

it would be a lot safer if you moved your cut pieces off the bandsaw table before starting a new cut,IMHO. I kinda cringed at seeing those cut pieces moving around (towards the blade) while you're making a cut.

[@paydenrandolph1485]

cut a 90 and then put it on a regular bandsaw fence

[@WelingtonFerreiraCastro]

Vai no zoiometro mesmo. kkkk

[@michealvanpinxteren2514]

ossum

[@nickyork8901]

If you saw a relatively unseasoned 'log' like this, your bandsaw blade will get gummed up very fast (on one side only), and will stop cutting straight...as happened here.

[@billybobjohnroane1692]

Looks like firewood.

[@macdaddy5802]

Nice 👍🇺🇸👍👍🇺🇸🇺🇸

[@ethics1017]

riff sawn

[@retiredsearge]

He cut the pith out of that nice little piece of ash.

[@duubtuub3071]

I got it.

[@danny26barrow]

How mich os that gripper mate

[@StockroomSupply]

Depends on the size you need and what saw but you can find them here on our site. stockroomsupply.ca/shop/little-ripper-and-round-ripper/the-little-ripper.html Thanks for watching!

[@tomnovak7731]

Ethan, I watched as much of the video as I could stand showing the extensions cutting a cedar log. Wow! Talk about a clown show! My first thought was the similarity of that dogging process and a monkey mating with a football! 😆 I think it would be easier to drag the log behind your car with your kid brother riding it to get your opening face. 😜

[@JS-jh4cy]

To bad we can't piss cut off a plank

[@knyt1100]

ничё не понял...

[@terryherrera5252]

It puttin down this Vid. !! Just sayin I could saw each of his cuts in 6 seconds ! W/18” Steel City ! Not a race BUT carefully n time !

[@janmuylllaert4266]

do you call that a log? a bit of firewood more like it.

[@terryherrera5252]

😩😬😬😬 IAM NOT puttin down this VIV. !! 😡😡 spell check !! -Yea spell check ! REALL my soft typin skills ! LACK OF THEM !! Very SORRY !!

[@gusvieira6140]

go learn quarter saw

[@NativeEarthlingAI]

Not quarter sawn

[@tundrawhisperer4821]

Completely wrong! What are you Democrat?! 😁👍🏻

[@seriousshooters5051]

Buy a proper microphone