As far as damaging the logs, black powder has an extremely low brisance, which means that it has a very low shattering factor. It does not combust fast enough to produce a shock wave. The brisance of blackpowder is lower than would damage the wood.
And as far as damaging myself, I know how to handle black powder and higher explosives. a bit of cannon fuse and a planned escape route is more than enough to ensure my safety.
It is not as if you throw a match on the powder and hope for the best, you use a long fuse and get well out of harm's way.
Sawing is not an option, since this wood is intended for hewing stock. Some way or another it must be split.
I know there are sawmills that can handle these threes, and I know I could rip them with a chainsaw, but I need them split. If I were after lumber or sawn timbers, then I would definitely send them to a mill. But I am not, I am after split stock.
DLB
