Slabwood thickness

[Ax-man]

I know the answers to this thread are going to vary and there is no market so to speak for slabwood but I am going to test the waters by running an ad in our local paper to see if I get a bite.

I finally got around to getting some good logs set-up for my chainsaw mill and want to do a little precutting and need to know what is the most popular thickness for doing this before drying and finish planing by the person who might buy this sort of wood.

Oh , I hope my terminology is correct as some of this stuff is new to me but slabwood with the natural edge is what it is called is before it is edged???? Correct or not. After it is edged it becomes a board or plank????

Thanks in advance.

 

[redprospector]

Around here slab wood is the outside of the log, suitable mostly for firewood.
Of corse then I think that they call a piece cut the width of the log with one or more waine (spelling??) edges a slab.
It may depend on where you are, but the term "slab wood" conjured up visions of firewood in my mind.

Andy

 

[Cody Colston]

Slabs are the outside cuts on a log that will have one rounded face. The bark may or may not still be attached. Firewood is what slabs are fit for, IMHO.

Inner cuts with the bark/natural edge on both edges are called flitches. Edged flitches are boards/planks.

When sawing through and through on my band mill, I remove the slabs and, depending on log size, continue removing flitches until I get down to a point on the log where it can be squared into a specific with square cant. All four sides are done this way. I then saw the cant, producing uniform boards.

Once the cant is sawed, I place the flitches back on the mill, standing on edge and clamped against the stops. I then edge the flitches, flip them over and cut the second edge. The width will be the something less than the narrowest flitch.

 

[Ax-man]

I didn't think I had it correct. I never heard the term " flitches " that is a new one. Looks like I might have to change the wording in the ad.

 

[hamish]

Be sure not to spell flitches with a b at the start!

For your ad think of using "Slab" or Live Edge Slab" or something. Nobody will figure out what a flitch is unless they have sawdust running through there veins.

4x16 solid oak mantel........something of the sort.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Slabs are the outside cuts on a log that will have one rounded face. The bark may or may not still be attached. Firewood is what slabs are fit for, IMHO.

Inner cuts with the bark/natural edge on both edges are called flitches. Edged flitches are boards/planks.

When sawing through and through on my band mill, I remove the slabs and, depending on log size, continue removing flitches until I get down to a point on the log where it can be squared into a specific with square cant. All four sides are done this way. I then saw the cant, producing uniform boards.

Once the cant is sawed, I place the flitches back on the mill, standing on edge and clamped against the stops. I then edge the flitches, flip them over and cut the second edge. The width will be the something less than the narrowest flitch.

This is right, the only exception is, is how you mills the log. It's correct for everything but "grade sawing" or "quarter sawing"...

Generally, i only saw through and through for construction lumber, and the rest i grade saw...

SR

 

[discounthunter]

useing the word slab is perfectly correct in describing a large cut piece of wood. just say the are live edged or bark-on .

i would say 7/4 (1 3/4) would be the most common size. and mentioned a couple mantle pieces ,maybe some 2" stuff.

 

[Daninvan]

I would say that the desired thickness depends on what the buyer wants to use it for. But since you stated you are intending to mill slabs, you must be looking mostly for customers who want slabs, to make stuff like mantles and slab tables, maybe benches?

I milled up some slabs a few years ago for a local company that sells slabs for these kinds of uses. They had me mill them to 3 1/2"- 4" thick. You should also look at websites for places that sell slabs like Hearn, Talarico, West Penn and see what size is most common for them.

You are thinking that your customers will buy a wet slab and then dry it themselves? I am not certain of the wisdom of this approach. Don't you think most potential customers would want a dry slab to use immediate for a project in hand, as opposed to buying a wet slab that will have to be dried before it can be used? Drying a slab will take time and/or money. Most end users have no idea how to dry a slab. I think the size of your potential market for wet slabs right off the saw is tiny. Of course it is less work for you that way, but you are adding less value and will have to sell your product for less money into a tiny market. I suggest you consider either drying the slabs yourself (will take years), or approach a local kiln to find out what it would cost for them to do it. That way you are selling dry slabs ready to use that way more people would be interested in. And they will of course be worth more than wet slabs.

I am not in the business of selling slabs, so take my free advice accordingly!

Dan

 

[BlueRider]

Around here the piece with one flat surface and the outer edge round is called a cap.

A piece with two live edges is a slab.

A flitch is several sequintial slabs from the same log.

I cut everything at 2 1/4" thich and they usually dry at just under 2".

 

[Dave Boyt]

Most common slab thickness I do is 2". They'll mostly go for table tops, so that works. You might also consider cutting the center pieces at around 2", and the outer pieces 1-1/4" thick. Keep slabs from logs together so customers can match the grain. Sometimes I can sell an entire log to a buyer. It will help to post photos with your ad. Here's a photo of how I stack slabs (called the "European" method).

http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff490/dboyt54/Sawmill/Stacking Boards/Cedarstack_01.jpg

 

[qbilder]

Depends on purpose. I'm sawing a big apricot log for a fellow wanting to make a bar. It's going to be one 3" slab from near the center, and the rest will be milled for lumber. Otherwise I keep slabs at 2"-2.5", and clean them up later. Much also depends on the log. I cut a lot of dead, dry stuff. For already dried logs that won't shrink much, I pretty much cut them 1.75" or 2". If it's a wet log, I cut them 3" to allow for shrink & movement.

 

[sachsmo]

You can always cut it smaller.

Aint seen no one cut it bigger?

 

[krawiea]

Hi there

For what it's worth the sawmills in France use various default thicknesses for planking and slabbing. 27, 35, 60 and 80mm etc You find other sizes, obviously, especially when a farmer for instance has cut up his own trees. The farmer over the way from us has a full size old cast iron Gillet bandsaw and he knows that a 9 turns on the screw will bring the carriage closer to the blade so as to give him a 27mm plank, taking into account the kerf.

I imagine these size standards are pretty old here, and designed to render a certain useful thickness for various applications, allowing for shrinkage and planing.

I think in the US there will be similar imperial measures, with final destined planed thicknesses intended.

Andy

 

[Ax-man]

Thank-you so much for the replies. It has been helpful to see how others are doing this and I am pretty much doing the same thing but I have gotten a couple helpful suggestions that I hadn't thought of.

I have some dry slabs to sell but not many and wanted to get more done over the summer but due to the heat and work it just didn't get done . The logs I want to do now aren't fresh some were standing dead trees others have been cut for over a year but they still have moisture in them and I will just have to be up front and say they need to be dried more and let the buyer decide. Got to have some kind of starting point.

Thanks again

 

[Dave Boyt]

Let us know how it works out!