# Chainsaw milling: how thick to cut slabs ?



## NuggyBuggy (Sep 1, 2013)

Newbie alert (I've been around a few years, but still working on my first log :msp_scared:

I've got a Granberg mill and a few ~ 30" logs to mill. Someone advised me to cut my slabs thick, so I did my first few at 2" (only took a few years). I know this way it minimizes waste.

But then I realized my slabs are about 30" wide. When I eventually get to building furniture - someday - how would I take these slabs down to likely working thickness ? I could hand plane them (would take forever), but most of the time I'd be wasting half of the slab. I only have a 14" bandsaw, so I can't resaw them - and if I had a bandsaw big enough, I couldn't manhandle those slabs through one, anyways. 

So what to do ? Should I cut closer to more common furniture working thickness, and just suck up the waste due to kerf ?

p.s. 

As for why it's taken so long... it seems like every time I'm ready to mill, I run into problems that cost me a few months while I detour and try to figure it out. My most recent detours have included learning how to make chains, finding out I put a few links backwards, having my sprocket covers vibrating loose in the cut, spending about 20 minutes trying to get through the thickest part of a log before realizing I just ran out of bar and wasn't actually moving, etc.  All of this made worse by the fact my stuff is at my cottage and I have two little boys....


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## Justsaws (Sep 2, 2013)

Pretty much depends on what the wood will be used for and to a degree what type of wood.

I generally mill in 1/4" increments, so wood that is for rough work like storage shelving anywhere from 1"-2" thick. If I am planning on using the lumber for finished work than typically no more than a 1/4" over the final desired dimension on narrow boards but on wide boards it may be increased depending on the type and condition of the wood. Narrow finished boards(flooring, rails) will often be cut from a thick slab to yield the flat purposed surface, less kerf waste. Better stability while drying.

The wood that I mill for family I usually ask them what they would like and go from there, in many instances the answer has been 1-1/8", or increments of 1/8". It works best for them.

Basically leave room for the wood to move while it dries but not so much that the "value" of home milling is lost in wasted cut offs and time to finish. 

The one thing that lots of folks seem to forget is the wood can be as think or thin as the person using it wants it to be within the woods capability, just because lumber stores sell 3/4" and 1 1/2" thick pine does not mean that is what it has to be. The other thing to remember is most furniture and cabinet work does not need pieces over 4' long, makes storage, drying and cut thickness choices easier if the wood is cut to thickness over 4' instead of 8'.


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## scogar (Sep 3, 2013)

For years I didn't get a CSM because everyone told me of how much wood I would waste - the same goes for how thick to cut your slabs. At some point I actually realized the absurdity of their arguments. To avoid the inevitable waste one gets by a chainsaw kerf I was not milling at all and either letting the wood rot or using it for firewood.

That's when i said *&*^%$# it - I'm going to get a CSM and i could care less of how much kerf waste i have because otherwise I'll waste the whole log. So for me I cut wherever I want. To see what happened I brought my mill as tight as it could go, i.e., 3/4" and milled a run at that size. Those planks are intended to be brought down to 1/2" for wooden boxes so I'm fine with that. Yes I probably wasted at least a half dozen or so extra boards had I cut them at 1.5" but you know what - it was crappy pine anyway. And now I have much less work

Unless you have a reason to worry about thickness (like it's otherwise valuable wood or you need to minimize waste) go close to what you need and to heck with the kerf waste.

Scott


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## GeeVee (Sep 3, 2013)

NuggyBuggy said:


> Newbie alert (I've been around a few years, but still working on my first log :msp_scared:
> 
> I've got a Granberg mill and a few ~ 30" logs to mill. Someone advised me to cut my slabs thick, so I did my first few at 2" (only took a few years). I know this way it minimizes waste.
> 
> ...




Fixed it for you. 

PS, A circular saw can always be used on a thick wide slab to make fit the throat of your band saw.


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## gemniii (Sep 4, 2013)

NuggyBuggy said:


> But then I realized my slabs are about 30" wide. When I eventually get to building furniture - someday - how would I take these slabs down to likely working thickness ? I could hand plane them (would take forever), but most of the time I'd be wasting half of the slab. I only have a 14" bandsaw, so I can't resaw them - and if I had a bandsaw big enough, I couldn't manhandle those slabs through one, anyways.
> 
> So what to do ? Should I cut closer to more common furniture working thickness, and just suck up the waste due to kerf ?


When you have wide slabs you need to take extreme care they don't warp and crack.

Read up here on using a router to plane wide slabs. It's not to difficult to jury rig a wood frame to plane a wide slab. It's time consuming planing, but then a nice 30" plane is going to run about $20,000 and be 3 phase. Heck a nice 20" used planer runs about $1,000.

Cut your wood up, plane it with a router. Then if it doesn't work make it into firewood and try again.

Remember it takes a while to grow and dry wood. My first pitiful project was a worktable for my chain grinder.

It took me 30 years to grow the tree.
about 4 hours to cut it down.
About a day to clean up.
About 2 hours to cut 2" thick slabs.
About 8 months to dry (and I should have taken longer).
About a day to recut it with table saw and pound the table together.

So just do it and if you make mistakes do it again until you get it right


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## Nato (Sep 5, 2013)

Try this.


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## stihlruns (Sep 5, 2013)

*Quarter Inch Rule*

The 1/4" rule is about right. Just remember that the first and last slabs (cuts near the edge) will warp more than the middle or quarter-sawn cuts as they dry. Seal the ends with a mixture of glue and water to reduce splitting.


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