Cutting a log lengthwise for a fireplace mantle

[wawajake]

I posted this in the chainsaw section too but maybe here in the "rural" forum someone has ideas too.

My daughter has enlisted me to get her a piece of maple 5 inches thick x 9 inches wide by 72 inches long for a rustic fireplace mantle...from my woodlot. Now I have made rustic furniture out of my maple trees in the past (bunk beds, bar stools etc). But this time the length wise cut 6 feet along a log (twice) with my Husky 435 chainsaw 16 inch bar seems intimidating without some advice.

I plan on felling a 14 inch diameter maple tree on friday if no further snow storms and cut the log I need 74 inches long. Ideally I would do all the rough cutting in the bush because I need to haul it back to my workshop a half mile by snow machine . So I may need to do the two horizonal cuts in the bush in a primitive environment to get it down to a reasonable 100 lbs of wood . Now I don't need the rough cut to be exactly 5 inches thick , I can get it to correct thickness and width in my workshop later. So I need some way to run a guide on the log in the bush to keep the saw running fairly level for at least one horizontal 6 ft length cut .

Any suggestions? What if I screw a 2 x 4 to each side of the log and try to run the saw along those? Any better ideas? I also figure I need to dry this piece of wood fairly quickly in my garage, so plan on trying to dry it with electric heater ( very dry cold winter so humidity is low ) Any suggestions on that too?

 

[CobyRupert]

Never used one, but I think Husky and/or Oregon makes a special ripping chain for this.
5" x 9" x 72" isn't to big to throw into a truck, do you know anybody with a saw mill?

 

[Gate Lavallee]

put the piece a maple vertical....straight up....put a few braces on it and run the chainsaw down on it as straight as you can go. My tip to you is save the effort of the big piece all in one....it will all warp with time and it will take years to dry...now this from my experience (I have good piece of maple and oak you could make skies out of that i sell you cheap.....lamination is the way. Take your time and cross the grain and it will stay straight and true. Sallut..

 

[dmccarty]

I would cut the log longer than the final product to give you some wiggle room for defects in the wood.

Research how to dry wood. I don't think you want to dry the wood too fast but at a Goldilocks rate.

My first thought was to do as Coby said and get a ripping chain and bar. But if this is only a one time project... I think I would still get the ripping chain and bar.

There are Alaskan Mills that are used to cut up logs into dimensional sizes. The chain saw is attached to the Alaskan Mill and the mill helps cut a line. The Alaskan Mills are not that expensive but they are slow to use. If you Google Alaskan Mills you will see how they are used which should give you some ideas on how to saw up the log.

Later,
Dan

 

[brin]

I would cut the log longer than the final product to give you some wiggle room for defects in the wood.

Research how to dry wood. I don't think you want to dry the wood too fast but at a Goldilocks rate.

My first thought was to do as Coby said and get a ripping chain and bar. But if this is only a one time project... I think I would still get the ripping chain and bar.

There are Alaskan Mills that are used to cut up logs into dimensional sizes. The chain saw is attached to the Alaskan Mill and the mill helps cut a line. The Alaskan Mills are not that expensive but they are slow to use. If you Google Alaskan Mills you will see how they are used which should give you some ideas on how to saw up the log.

Later,
Dan

:thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[Timm250]

It will need to air dry for a few months to possibly as much as a year. If you put a heater on a piece of green wood it will warp & check really bad.

The best way to dry wood that thick is to let it stabilize by air drying with the ends of the piece either painted with a couple coats of latex paint or covered with paraffin to keep the ends from checking. Once it it had air dried to about 18-20% moisture then it can be finished drying by other means such as in a kiln.

 

[Piston]

I would use this a s an opportunity to buy an Alaskan Mill, I bought one years ago for right around $100, although I never use it anymore since I got the band mill. I would suggest quarter sawing the piece you want, however, you'll need at least a 20"-22" diameter log. Is this an option?

If you flat saw it, you may end up with a lot of movement, although if it's going to be rustic then this may not matter. Whatever you do leave the pith of the log out of it or your almost certainly going to have large checks.

If you have a log that is large enough to QS, it will be a very stable piece and not move or check much while drying.

 

[randy41]

you could use wedges and a sledge and smooth it out later.

 

[bigtiller]

This sounds like a job for an old fashion froe.......Do they still sell those things?

 

[Piston]

This sounds like a job for an old fashion froe.......Do they still sell those things?

Yup! Although this would be a long log for a froe.

You could try for the hewn look if your into that sort of thing. You'll need a hewing axe though, and some Advil for your back.