# Slabin' a bigun'



## aggiewoodbutchr (Apr 14, 2007)

...as we say here in the Great State of Texas!

This is what my father (hired helper)* and I got done today. This one is 13' long and up to 54" wide in some places. Progress was slow in the widest areas because it was mostly crotchwood and more dense than the rest of the log.





























*=It's a good thing he dosn't read this.


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## aggiewoodbutchr (Apr 14, 2007)




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## aggiewoodbutchr (Apr 14, 2007)

I'll get some more pics up tomorrow after I unload them.


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## 2506 (Apr 14, 2007)

Motivating!!


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## wdchuck (Apr 15, 2007)

Aye carumba!

Beautiful stuff there Aggie.

Watcha going to do with such thick slabs though?


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## CaseyForrest (Apr 15, 2007)

As usual, everythings bigger in TX!!


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## dustytools (Apr 15, 2007)

Nice stuff Aggie (as usual). Are you gonna re-saw and if so how are you gonna go about it on the wide stuff? BRB, gotta go get a towel to wipe the drool off of the computer desk..............:hmm3grin2orange:


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## aggiewoodbutchr (Apr 15, 2007)

Thanks folks.

These will be resawn into probably 3 slabs each. We were just trying to the log down to manageable sizes as it weighed nearly 8000 lbs.


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## aggiewoodbutchr (Apr 16, 2007)

Here they are.

The boss was supervising...






Then dancing on her new stage...






Ok, here they are really.


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## CaseyForrest (Apr 16, 2007)

How long did it take to get through one cut? Also, are you using your modified chain now?


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## aggiewoodbutchr (Apr 16, 2007)

CaseyForrest said:


> How long did it take to get through one cut? Also, are you using your modified chain now?



It probably took about 15 min per cut on average. I had to stop twice per cut to refuel/ oil the saw. It guzzles when pulling that long chain.

I'm using regular chain on these but I have used the modified chain on a 44" bar quite a bit. The jury is still out on that one. I have trouble with it drifting out of line on occasion and I have found it impossible to "adjust" the kerf like you can with a regular chain. However, it does cut much faster when it's sharp.


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## aquan8tor (Apr 16, 2007)

you ever used one of the Will Mallof auto-style winch setups? Seems like it would get old REAL QUICK pushing that beast through a monster log. I had a hard enough time pushing my "little" 394XP/36" alaskan through a 28" hickory last month. I got an entire slab out of each tank of gas, though.


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## wdchuck (Apr 16, 2007)

The new sig pic is pretty cool Aggie.

How much does the 84" bar weigh? 

How much have you used the .325 chain? How's it holding up?

I can just see about 8 coats of shellac on one of those slabs, and use it as a bar top or dining table top.


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## aggiewoodbutchr (Apr 16, 2007)

aquan8tor said:


> you ever used one of the Will Mallof auto-style winch setups? Seems like it would get old REAL QUICK pushing that beast through a monster log. I had a hard enough time pushing my "little" 394XP/36" alaskan through a 28" hickory last month. I got an entire slab out of each tank of gas, though.



I'm actually working on a battery powered winch. I'll post pics when I get it going.


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## Trigger-Time (Apr 16, 2007)

aggiewoodbutchr......................:jawdrop:


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## aggiewoodbutchr (Apr 16, 2007)

wdchuck said:


> The new sig pic is pretty cool Aggie.
> 
> How much does the 84" bar weigh?
> 
> ...



Thanks-

It's _only_ a 72" bar and it weighs 15lbs. The chain adds another 3 lbs.

I have a lead on a guy that's wanting a pair of conference tables...(fingers crossed)...


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## woodshop (Apr 16, 2007)

fantastic... love to see beautiful logs opened up like that, especially if I know the person doin' the opening also knows how to put that beauty to it's rightful end, a nice piece of furniture.


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## Englishrob (Mar 7, 2008)

What amazing slabs. How do you finish off these surfaces to get rid of any ridges, roughness ready for oiling/varnishing? It's surely too large for any thicknesser/planer.


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## BIG JAKE (Mar 7, 2008)

Nice work Aggie!  And the boss seems pleased (an added bonus). Is that pecan?


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## BobL (Mar 7, 2008)

Englishrob said:


> What amazing slabs. How do you finish off these surfaces to get rid of any ridges, roughness ready for oiling/varnishing? It's surely too large for any thicknesser/planer.



Something like this will do it.


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## Englishrob (Mar 8, 2008)

WOW!:jawdrop: Wonder what the shipping would be to England on a slab like that


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## olyman (Mar 8, 2008)

BobL said:


> Something like this will do it.


 Bob--its dangerous when you post pics like that--another job to make in the shop!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## aggiewoodbutchr (Mar 8, 2008)

Thanks for the comments folks. These are water oak. I can only guess at what freight would be but a 3" slab this size weighs in the neighborhood of 600lbs. 

I've just started work on a table using a water oak slab (different tree) and I intend to post pictures of the process here. To date I've only flattened them by hand or by drum sander. This one will be too big for that and I was considering building a rig similar to the one on the page BobL linked but decided to try something else first. If it works I'll post that too.


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