Logs to Lumber on a Bandsaw

[@acanadianwoodworker]

5:29 Its funny the auto-translator changed 'quarter sawn' to Coruscant - nice Star Wars reference :)

[@gabrielconstantinescu7984]

Good job explaining friend. I love you tone of voice. You must be blessed with a noble and kind heart. God bless you 🙏.

[@ronniekotler9265]

Great video

[@WoodsmithShowandmagazine]

Thanks!

[@dennisseemann571]

Great explanation, thanks

[@hleijendekkers]

Thank you for your educating video’s. As a beginner in woodworking I learn a lot. What cutting height should the band saw have for this type of work?

[@kkinchen11]

What size bandsaw did you use?

[@OGGamerPlays827]

Hello, what is the best blade to use when cutting logs like this? I just had a tree go down so going to make my own lumber.

[@swiwswiw]

Thank you. First time I’ve seen something from you. Very informative and safe. I’ve seen some videos that make me want to go to the ER just by watching them! I need/want to mill down parts of a friends cherry tree that died. I only own a 10” bandsaw. I have seen some videos in the past that use a table saw in conjunction with a bandsaw to mill raw timber. Maybe you have posted one? The cherry tree was cut down to about 40” in length sections, then quartered down the length (with a chainsaw). The fattest piece being about 8” wide. Sorry for all the specs. But do you think a brand new Rikon bandsaw (which I don’t want to kill for my friend) with an 1/2” blade can cut it? I have a table saw, planer, and jointer… Usually, I leave milling up to the pros and pay for it. That said, I would love to do this for my friend and gain experience doing so. Thanks in advance for any feedback!

[@steinbierz]

Great video! I was wondering after stickering your boards if you all put clamps or any type of weights on them while they are drying. Thanks.

[@bobweiram6321]

Years ago a read an awesome tip on one of the woodworking forums where a user Richard Depetris mentioned stacking his freshly cut board in front of his home's HVAC air intake. I tried it myself and my boards dried in a couple of weeks.

[@enzprintco.8625]

That’s a great idea, too bad my intake is at my stairs top landing with bedroom doors on three sides.

[@Principe6900]

@@enzprintco.8625 Who would care? :)

[@enzprintco.8625]

@@Principe6900 2 kids and a female that would get really mad if she ever heard me tell anyone I was single.

[@steverochon1620]

Does air drying really ring moisture levels down to the 5-7% for use? I’ve been told it’ll only get down to about 15%, then needs to be kiln dried?

[@wayward-saint]

Depends on the ambient humidity. Stick logs in a dry, hot garage over the summer and they can get under 5% moisture in one summer.

[@herbertjordan8390]

What is the brand and model of band saw that you used? Thanks

[@enzprintco.8625]

As per the color, looks like a jet or a grizzly. Looks like a 17”-20” model. Sorry not exactly dude but a couple searches of what I mentioned should help. Hope it does :)

[@stevenvachon9745]

Definitely a Rikon, maybe an 18 "

[@kelmanadventures574]

2 years per inch of thickness if your air drying

[@SpadeAce]

Alternatively, you can run the log over a jointer to establish a flat surface. Then you start milling like that. It's great because there's no prep time and it doesn't have to be wife, just flat enough that itll stay riding on the bandsaw table without rotating.

[@steinbierz]

I watched a video just yesterday where the gentleman did that exact thing. Next time I am milling logs I am going to give this a try.

[@kenbird899]

My blade just bends around the work piece.

[@RogerC68]

Love your video! I've seen video after video after video with these complicated sleds for this very purpose and yours is so straightforward. Love it!

[@ozarked2363]

I do something similar on a much smaller scale. I'm not really a wood worker, but I like to use native species for knife scales. I have property in the Ozarks and we are constantly cutting small trees and limbs out of our roadways. I have plum, persimmon, cherry, walnut, sassafras, poplar, redbud, sumac, and paw paw pieces all drying in my basement. I mill it on a table saw. I made a jig with square sides that I can bar clamp to the ends of the log. The jig runs along the fence and the bar clamp holds the log to the jig which prevents the log from rolling or binding the saw blade. I seal the ends of the boards with duct tape and then write the wood species on the tape. Some woods are very similar in colors and grains and are not easy to differentiate once the bark is removed. Once it's dry I rip it to the nominal thickness that I desire and then plane it to a finished thickness. If it's a live tree that I'm removing I ring it which will kill the tree and let it stand for a year before I cut it down and mill it. If you ring it after it has leaved out the leaves will pull a lot of moisture out of the tree as they wither. The whole process takes a couple of years so it does require patience.

[@scottellis9630]

Thanks logan. I was wondering if you coated the ends with anything like a wax , or does it even make a difference. Thanks

[@Principe6900]

From bowyersI have heard that they seal their boards/staves with PVA Glue (cheap white woodworking glue) on the ends after splitting the logs in order to prevent splits during drying .... a single one would make their staves useless.

[@193therman]

Thank you. I learned a lot. I am cutting up some Honey Locust and it's very solid and hard to cut. But, it's beautiful on the inside.

[@dcsensui]

I saw three other videos and your process seems to be the most efficient and safest. Thanks for doing this.

[@Bogie3855]

I use shellac to seal the ends or I mix beeswax with varnish. I lay a small long strip in front of the log and it just stays there. I do NOT want screw holes in my wood.

[@stevenvachon9745]

Not sure what you mean about a small long strip in front of the log but I do think that the screws he used are much longer than needed. I would think that an 1 3/4" in the middle of the log at each end would be enough but not get into usable wood.

[@miriyaalu]

Very nicely explained, simple but effective.

[@edmunger5595]

Is this about cutting wood or a science project, I'm out of here.

[@sickwilly1171]

Bye 👋

[@tomjpt]

Very well done - both the approach and your teaching ability. Thank you - you just got a new subscriber.

[@WoodsmithShowandmagazine]

Thanks and welcome aboard!

[@joshsell]

Great video, thank you!

[@enzprintco.8625]

A tree fell in a small wooded section across the street, from a snow storm 2-3 weeks ago. Tree guys came and cut it into 4’-5’ sections and just left it on the side of the road. I grabbed 5 of them. How soon will checking start?, because they all had serious checking just a few days after it was cut up. Thanks! :)

[@azwheeling8189]

You want to seal the ends as soon as you can after the tree is cut. I mean like set down the chain saw and coat the ends. Ends of the logs dry out quickly and the stress in the tree rings causes the ends to crack quickly. I usually get free exterior latex paint from the household waste recycling center and look for the thickest consistancy I can. If the logs have not cracked yet paint on 3 coats on the end of the logs over a period of several hours. Keep the logs out of direct sunlight and off the ground using a pallet or scrap wood. Then watch them every couple of days for cracks. If you see a crack developing squirt some household caulking over the crack and smear it in. If I have a valuable log I will coat the entire end of the log in caulking also. I have had logs sit for 2 months or more doing this with no cracking.

[@enzprintco.8625]

@@azwheeling8189 Thanks for the knowledge! These logs may be a lost cause. They sat in my driveway for like 2 weeks before I painted the ends. Used a regular latex paint. It already had some heavy cracks. After 2 coats I could still see the rings (as I assume the end grain was soaking up the paint). Gave it like 5 heavy coats. They are sitting on a sheet of paneling in my garage. I can’t tell the species yet as there are jagged chainsaw scraping every direction. Based on your experience, hate these salvageable? If so, what’s your guess on how deep these cracks may have gone? Hoping to cut, stack,sticker, clamp this week. Thanks again brother!!! :)

[@chips4289]

I use a real sawmill and soon as I can I seal the ends. sometimes I use this expensive wax paint but in a pinch I have used old paint that was drying in the cans. which isn't bad and helps me identify the wood later because of the color

[@stefanandras9382]

What is the name of the bandsaw ??

[@you78mas]

How many horsepower required on a bandsaw to be able to cut logs like that?

[@russbowman6801]

Nice job. I avoid the pith, cut it out all together for some varieties at least.

[@Mr_Rick]

You used a 3/8" blade at what TPI?

[@WoodsmithShowandmagazine]

As coarse as possible. This one was about 5TPI

[@EclaWood]

Trik membelah kayu yang kreatif 👍

[@mikejustice1196]

The only thing that made since was the two screws and the fence

[@davidrussell7227]

What brand and model is your band saw? Thanks!

[@julelys43]

How Many horsepower does your bandsaw have?

[@bitsurfer0101]

What does acrossed the grain mean?

[@Armo-fxdf]

thankyou, great tuition here

[@lkjyuiop1987]

This looks like a fun hobby to get in to

[@shivatouristtravelling1171]

சூப்பர்

[@TheRealMikeD]

The video mentioned in passing putting some sort of sealer on the ends of the boards to prevent checking, but didn’t go into detail. What would you use to seal the ends, and is checking a bigger issue in lower humidity environments? I live in Colorado, where it’s super dry. TIA!

[@daveklein2826]

Anchor Seal is the gold standard, but you can also use latex paint or poly for some success. Anything is better than nothing

[@chips4289]

Dont forget to tell that you had dry the lumber using stickers after milling boads, then joint one edge and then rip on the tablesaw, then use the dimension planer, use the router table to cut the tongue and grooves, then after installing you need to use a large beltsander to finish. Some people without experience in wood work think they can do this with just a small home bandsaw. I told her I would mill her logs into usable boards. I have a portable sawmill and can mill logs up to 30" in diameter. she seems to now think she can just throw these on a home bandsaw and dry for 2 weeks... it may appear and feel dry, but use a real wood moisture meter and see what it is inside, the wood usually shrinks about an 1/8" after drying.. 1" thick boards maybe in 6 months air drying. After seeing videos like this she seems to think a home use bandsaw will do it fast, not even a commercial saw would keep up with a real sawmill the teeth are 7/8" tall. What you are doing may be good for a small project but couldn't imagine doing an entire floor.

[@samueltraina3106]

The rule of thumb with drying does depend on geography. In the arid southwest, it only takes about 12 to 14 months for 8/4 stock to air dry to 8% (basically independent of wood type). It is better to use a moisture meter than to rely on a rule of thumb

[@mikejustice1196]

Moisture is measured up weight, not a $2 meter.

[@dpmeyer4867]

thanks

[@bitsurfer0101]

How could you get mostly quarter-sawn wood from that log?

[@eitantal726]

zigzaging. You start by making 4 quarters. Then for each quarter, shave a board, turn & rotate 90, shave a board, turn & rotate, until the end. If you look from the top at how you cut, you'll see a zigzag line

[@JimE6243]

Good info. Thanks. Metal detector?

[@WoodsmithShowandmagazine]

Hit or miss in my opinion. I don't use them on my sawmill, because it's not worth the time. Ill usually give the log a visual inspection and remove anything I see. Otherwise, the best metal detector is a new blade, as that's when ill find it :-).

[@Bogie3855]

Way too much wood in the waste cut bro.

[@robertpalmer3166]

Rad bro.

[@nnamerz]

Forgive my ignorance, but what is the purpose of putting stickers on the cut lumber? And are they a special type of sticker?

[@robertelawson4185]

Stickers are 3/4 X 3/4 pieces of scrap that are put between drying boards to allow air flow to dry them.

[@nnamerz]

@@robertelawson4185 Thank you for the explanation. Definitely not what I thought he was referring to when I first heard it, lol

[@azwheeling8189]

You also want to put the stickers as close to the end of the boards as possible. Like 1/2" in or so. The old timers say if the ends crack the cracking stops at the stickers. I don't have a problem with cracking or checked boards as I watch my lumber like a hawk from the time I aquire a log chunk until it is stacked for drying and about 2 weeks after initial drying. I also dont expose my drying lumber to windy days. Drys too fast and that causes checks and cracking. Gentle breeze out of direct sunlight then back into my wood shed at night. Once lumber is not "wet" anymore and about 30 percent moisture it goes into the shop loft until dry. One vent on each end of roof for ventalation. Also a box fan in front of one vent to increase ventalation if needed. I keep an eye out for mold on the lumber for about 2 weeks after it goes into the loft just to make sure that does not become a problem. i have dried thousands of board feet doing this. Some wood needs weight on top to keep from warping to. Or clamping aparatus if you have it.