how would you mill this log?

[STLfirewood]

I have been thinking about thi tree for years. It sits along the creek at the edge of iur field. I would love to be able mill it and make 2 slabs out of it. My grand plan woul be to join the slabs on to each other and leave the outside edges live. So it would make a really nice radius bar between 20-24" wide. Only problem is I have no idea how to do it.

 

[cityslicker]

I would use a chainsaw mill and some well thought out rail system for the first cut. I just worry about how flat it would stay during drying being that the stress inside the log would likely be immense. I would still try it though if I were you!

 

[mad murdock]

You could try and freehand it with a chainsaw as well.

 

[singinwoodwackr]

waste of time, IMO. that tree has way too much tension to bother with trying to make lumber...whatever boards you get will warp.

or..are you talking about the dead log?

 

[jrhannum]

I’d cut her down and hook onto my pickup and drag that sucker up and down the hard road, give her a flip or two and let the road-surface “sand” off the bark and sapwood on top and bottom of the arc. (Don’t get caught by the troopers.) Those surfaces should become co-planar and one surface (the best-looking one) should be chosen as the guide-plane for yer Alaska mill. After the first slab is off, ya might drag her again to knock off the high spots, then cut the pair above and below the pith line. Seems to me better than free-handing it.

 

[Greenland South]

Any tree can be milled with a little thought. Cut it down,lay it on the ground and build some rails. Nothing will happen if you leave it where it stands. Except it will eventually die and you'll always wonder what if........

 

[Jim Timber]

I'd make an Alaskan mill, but extend the saw's rails way out (like 8 feet, or whatever the max distance from your opposite track is plus a little extra) and then build your tracks like a saw horse running either side of the log with enough room for you to be in there too. Clear as mud?

/\ o /\

Level the two of them to each other in line with the cut and hang the saw down into the log.

 

[beachcomber]

You could set it up flat on horses or some logs then drive lag bolts all parallel to your first cut then your guide board only needs to be about four feet long. After you cut your first four feet slide your guide board down the next bunch of lag bolts etc.

 

[Woody912]

waste of time, IMO. that tree has way too much tension to bother with trying to make lumber...whatever boards you get will warp.

or..are you talking about the dead log?

Lots of reaction wood in that baby, I'm not a miller but joining sounds like a problem to me. Ever had any desire to go into the boomerang business?

 

[jrhannum]

see the attached; safer than going out on the highway

 

[Jim Timber]

You've gotta move the ladder doing it that way Jr. I'd have the rails made from saw horses (not your ladder - no ladder needed) outside parallel to the length of the log so that you can make your initial cut in one fixturing. After the top has been cut flat, you'd lose the rails and additional extensions on the saw and go back to the traditional Alaskan. You'd need to extend the saw's frame to span the distance, but the whole set up could be done out of a few straight 2x4's for very little money if you needed to buy dry straight wood.

 

[discounthunter]

cut it into 6ft sections,mill the boards out to look like curves,build benches.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I'd "mill" it with my chainsaw......into 20" lengths and use them to heat my house...

DM