Spalted Red Maple 4x4s

[Shawn Curry]

This one came down in a windstorm about a month or so ago. It had been hanging up on an old sugar maple for a long time. Not the biggest log - about 14" avg diameter, if that. I already have a nice stockpile of wide live edge slabs, so I decided to saw it into some center-cut 4x4s, possibly for some leg stock or something.

 

[Shawn Curry]

Some close ups.

 

[Runknpap]

Nice man. I want me one of them grizzly 17 bandsaws. I dig your nice long resaw setup.

 

[amberg]

Very nice, is that a 460 on the mill?

 

[Shawn Curry]

Very nice, is that a 460 on the mill?

It's a 661, running a 30" bar and 404 chain. It cruised through all of those cuts - I made all of the 4" cuts on a single tank.

 

[Shawn Curry]

Well I should end up with at least 5 or 6 set of legs out of all those. So I decided to make some matching tabletops today. 6 slabs, 6' long, 2-1/4" thick, and the widest one is 27".

 

[trying]

Those are some really nice slabs. Could you show us a little more of your bandsaw and sled setup? thanks t

 

[Shawn Curry]

Those are some really nice slabs. Could you show us a little more of your bandsaw and sled setup? thanks t

Thanks! Sure thing. I got the idea after seeing a youtube video. I've done small logs on it too.

I built 2 roller tables, each with 6' of cheap roller track I found at an online warehouse supplier. I never fully secured the track - it just sits in some slots I routed in the table top. The outfeed table is almost twice as wide as the infeed, which is nice for supporting large offcuts. The saw is a Grizzly 513 (under a grand delivered) - 2hp, 17" throat, 12.5" resaw, running a Lenox Woodmaster CT. I've gone through a few nails with it and it made a nice smooth cut. Very happy with this blade.

The sled is 8' long, with a 10' runner let into the bottom which rides in the miter slot of the saw table. I also routed some t-slots into it at 1' intervals to accept Rockler style jig hardware. The idea was to give me a way to position the pipe clamp without having to screw it down to the sled each time. The clamp gets used for just about every cut - and it also comes in handy as a full length handlebar. It's a Jorgensen deep reach pipe clamp, supported on Jorgensen 'pipe saddles', which are getting harder to find, but can be ordered direct. I drew some index marks on it in pencil which have come in real handy, but wears off quickly.

Works great. Way more work than a real band mill, but way more cheaper.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

Where is winter?! Looks like it's still summer out wherever you are.

Interesting setup. Wish we had trees like that around here, would make for some nice lumber on the Woodmizer.

 

[skindaddy]

how a about a pic of that ladder guide for the mill

 

[Grey]

That looks great. FWIW, I shoot for rift/diagonal grain on legs. It gives the most consistent straight grain on all 4 sides. However, in this case, the spalt pattern overpowers the grain so they all look awesome!

 

[Tommy 67]

Very nice! I like your resaw setup. I might go this route instead of spending so much on a band saw mill.

 

[Shawn Curry]

how a about a pic of that ladder guide for the mill

It's the granberg guide rail system. I could have DIY'd something but I think I got my money's worth already. I'd want to make one just like it. Each of the cross members has a dawg and 4 positions for set screws, and can be positioned anywhere along the length of the rails. So you can get an accurate setup quickly - usually takes me less than 10 mins to set up. I like to saw square to the heart center, so having the set screws makes it really easy to correct the taper.

That looks great. FWIW, I shoot for rift/diagonal grain on legs. It gives the most consistent straight grain on all 4 sides. However, in this case, the spalt pattern overpowers the grain so they all look awesome!

Yup. Here's some ash that got the same treatment as the maple - shows the grain a little better. I halved the logs though the heart center, and then 'roughed out' the 4" thick 'blanks' with the CSM. I then resaw them through the center again on the bandsaw, and then finish dimensioning the rest.

The maple reveals some nice figure when its sawn this way as well. 2 of the faces of each piece have this quarter sawn edge grain.

Very nice! I like your resaw setup. I might go this route instead of spending so much on a band saw mill.

Nice! I hope you do! I've strongly considered one myself - I have 14 acres myself, and I have run of my neighbors' next 60 - all wooded. I'd need another building though, cause the garage is filling up quick with the system I've got now.

 

[marti384]

Your boards look good. I have the same bandsaw, what blade are you running on it for resawing?

 

[Shawn Curry]

Your boards look good. I have the same bandsaw, what blade are you running on it for resawing?

I'm running a Lenox Woodmaster carbide tip. I've also ran a Laguna resaw king. The Laguna made a smoother cut but it was slower. The difference for me might have been tooth count - I think the Woodmaster is 2 tpi and the Laguna is 3-4 variable.

 

[IanB22]

Beautiful log...caught it at just the right time for some great leg stock. Jealousy here.


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