Thread: Firewood or Slabs?

Thanks for your efforts Geoff and sorry for reminding you of your losses in those terrible black Saturday fires.
Thanks also for the links.

My dilemma is that my big saw is only a Stihl 038 with a 24" bar and for a larger saw capable of driving a 48" bar & chain I'd be outlaying over two grand. A bit much (if I had the readies) for a one off job.

So I'm wondering if I took my time and was extra careful with setting up and progressively supporting the cut, if I could get by with a double cut for each slab. I haven't heard of it being done before but figure it just may be possible, even if it requires some power planing/sanding to achieve the desired finish.

Would appreciate comments/advice from anyone who has had chain saw slabbing experience.

G’day Roger,
To help you a bit...and I will use imperial..you don’t need that big saw, it would be a grand thing to have but cost prohibitive .

i estimate the logs as 36” diameter, so flick a chalk line about 6”in on the roughest side, and rip that flitch off.

another chalk line on opposite side, again 6-8” in, you now have two good slabs/flitchs that can be used as seats or bar tops.

now what is left? a nice relatively squared log of about 24”diameter, which you can handle with a 28-30” blade.
Perhaps look at those cash converters ,you might find a 30 “ blade, a new blade and chain would be preferable , your engine should drive it ok.
“
chansaw mills are not that complicated , if you are handy with tools , even carpenters tools make one using bits of 3x1 , of course the pros use high tensile steel , but you are not in a hurry.

wear chaps, ear muffs, glasses and roll the logs on some firewood so off the ground,and keep the chain sharp.

all the best with it.

dave
.

If Sydney wasn't a Covid hotspot, I reckon Dave would be on the way now, Roger.

Originally Posted by Hogarthde

G’day Roger,
To help you a bit...and I will use imperial..you don’t need that big saw, it would be a grand thing to have but cost prohibitive .

i estimate the logs as 36” diameter, so flick a chalk line about 6”in on the roughest side, and rip that flitch off.

another chalk line on opposite side, again 6-8” in, you now have two good slabs/flitchs that can be used as seats or bar tops.

now what is left? a nice relatively squared log of about 24”diameter, which you can handle with a 28-30” blade.
Perhaps look at those cash converters ,you might find a 30 “ blade, a new blade and chain would be preferable , your engine should drive it ok.
“
chansaw mills are not that complicated , if you are handy with tools , even carpenters tools make one using bits of 3x1 , of course the pros use high tensile steel , but you are not in a hurry.

wear chaps, ear muffs, glasses and roll the logs on some firewood so off the ground,and keep the chain sharp.

all the best with it.

dave
.

Thanks for the encouragement & advice Dave, much appreciated. I understand what you say & may have to adopt your method however I'd really like to get a few slabs of maximum possible width with rough/irregular sides. Even incorporating some of the knots along the side to add character to the slab.

I took a few measurements yesterday & figured that the first and maybe even the second cut from the same side or top would be achievable with the 24" bar & one of the cheap (about $150) chainsaw slabbing mills. This woud result in one flitch & one slab about 18" wide. I would then need to try a double cut as indicated in previous post and if unsuccessful I could then revert to your method and be satisfied with narrower slabs & sawn sides/edges.

Plenty more thinking time in the coming days/weeks and will investigate thr purchase of a 30 or 32" bar & ripping chain.

Once again, the diversity, knowledge & advice on this forum amazes me, not to mention the prompt responses.

Originally Posted by V8Ian

If Sydney wasn't a Covid hotspot, I reckon Dave would be on the way now, Roger.

Sydney you say Ian, I was there in 1966, noticed some blokes spreading macadam on a perfectly serviceable gravel road; have they finished yet?

My chainsaw mill arrived today but still waiting for the 42" bar & 3 ripping chains.

So in the meantime I assembled the mill & gave it a run with my 24" bar & chain
I made a couple of brackets to support my ladder as a guide for the first cut. Worked really well but unfortunately I was only able to get about halfway along the first cut before the 24" bar was just too short to proceed any further due to the widening of the log at that point. The 24" bar loses about 4" of effective cutting length when clamped in the mill.


The bar clamps were not positioned correctly in this shot - corrected before commencing first cut.






Almost at limit of cut with 24" bar & chain

Well done Roger; if I can be presumptuous and offer a tiny spot of advice,
Allow PLENTY of thickness on the slabs , the odd chipper groove, shrinkage ,cupping, warp can all affect the anticipated finished product.

you will enjoy all this work👍👍

Dave

Originally Posted by Hogarthde

Well done Roger; if I can be presumptuous and offer a tiny spot of advice,
Allow PLENTY of thickness on the slabs , the odd chipper groove, shrinkage ,cupping, warp can all affect the anticipated finished product.

you will enjoy all this work👍👍

Dave

Thanks Dave. No need to feel presumptuous, I'm willing to accept all the advice I can get. I've actually been wondering what thickness I should cut and I guess it depends on the proposed usage. This is a bit of an unknown at the moment as it depends to a large extent on how the slabs turn out.

However, I've had interest from a friend who wants to make a hexhagonal table from some of it. Two inches seems to be a common size for slabbing, do you think this would be enough, keeping in mind that he will probable do quite a bit of dressing of the timber and may even use a thicknessing planer?