I guess sawing is a form of hewing. Stud mills take small trees and put them through a 4 sided chipper head, than that cant goes through a gangsaw and out comes 3 or so 2x4's. As for the 12x oak, does it have some large checks, if so you will have to saw around those. Just saw it through and through to yield 12"x5/4 boards, look at your grade and resaw those on a table saw as needed. Here is another gamble, place it on the sawmill with one corner down on the track, in a diamond shape, saw a 4"ish triangle off the top, maybe 5", save it to resaw later. Flip the cant 180 degrees, saw that through and through to yield wider 1/4 sawn stock. Tim

To relieve stress equally saw one board off of one side and then flip 180° and saw one board, then flip and repeat.....

Thanks for jumping in both of you guys!!

Jim That is what I would expect your advice would be but I needed to hear it from an expert in the field.
I expect then as you saw it down in size when it reaches the heart area of the log then that part would be put to some other good use.

Is quarter sawing similar as far as getting the best out of the log?

The old Muley mill that I am familiar with could produce generally just straight sawn lumber, and then you would sort through the sawn boards for the better quality ones, and then cut out areas from them that held the good quality material.
Good logs without knots (usually the butt logs) we would saw for the cabinet maker,without squaring, in this way we would come up with some pretty nice wide boards that contained more of the outer quality lumber which would have been lost in the squaring process, these boards then would be stored and air dried for 2 to 3 years under cover.

I realize that with the modern sawn rigs flipping the logs during the sawing process is not a big problem, just a pain in the neck.

I was wondering Jim though about quartering the log, and then sawing the quarters, is there any advantage in doing this extra work quality wise?

Also what about Timbeals solution of diamond cutting, I never heard of it before, would you like to comment on it

thanks again I am sure from everyone looking in

NH

Quarter sawing is a method to produce lumber that has the annual rings going from face to face instead of from edge to edge. Quarter sawn wood is more stable than flat sawn.


Sawing a log with the blade traveling parallel to the outer surface of the log is called grade sawing. You would saw the best face of a log first then rotate to the next best face, and saw that until the face goes bad. Then rotate again to the next best face and finish on the last face, (as there are usually four faces to a log). The piece left over in the middle of the log maybe wedge shaped, if so then it would be cut rectangular. And this is a very low grade piece of lumber that would be used as a railroad tie or some other type of blocking.


This is one method of quarter sawing for achieving high quality quarter sawn lumber. And depending on the size of the log when you start easier to handle, if large.


I've heard of it before, but I don't know if I'd go that way. It really depends on the target lumber and the stock you have to work with.

Jim Rogers

Hi everyone:Thanks Jim for the information, I know that sawing logs properly is an art, and comes with many years of standing behind the saw and being the one making the decisions.when I was a teen ager I took a load of basswood logs to the local mill.  These logs were if I remember straight 2 to 3 feet in diameter, but had large holes in their centres.  I really didn't know what the sawyer could do with them but I was amazed at that time to see how he cut around  the outside of the logs, and threw the hole out the window.  I took home a nice wagon load of beautiful boards and planks, that he was able to saw from them, I never forgot that day.

Is quarter sawing worth the effort if you have a really nice log, and are paying to have the sawing done by the hour? From my calculations you would not obtain many boards of any width, but rather narrower boards of good quality. There would though be no way to avoid some poorer quality boards in the process, am I not right?

thanks again

NH 

The reason for the diamond was only to gain a wider quarter sawn board. Your log was already squared up. I don't do a lot of grade sawing, mostly timber and long stock at that. The longest to date is 53', lots in the 40's. You can achive the same results as the diamond cut by cutting through and through with live edges, getting the widest flitches possible than resaw those to the grade you desire. Jims method of flipping would be a good idea as will, or else you will end up with a thick-thin board at the end, this is mostly true in your hardwoods not so much with pine. There was a local cabinet maker here who had lots of 2"-4" hardwood stock on hand, whenever he moved he took it with him. He passed on before he could use it all. Tim

Quarter sawn is needed most if you are gluing up a larger suface, and do not want too much seasonal movement. Otherwise, I would just mill the timber plainsawn and select the best pieces.

Hi All-

I'm realatively new to timberframing (I have one raising under my belt but little joinery work) but I've spent a lot of time with axes as a lumberjack competitor.

I'm looking to get my first broadaxe and I have a pretty basic question. I swing an axe right handed with my left hand at the butt of the handle.

I've seen guys on the log holding the axe the way I do with a left bent handle and I've seen guys standing on the ground with a right bent handle. Any advice would be appreciated before I make the investment.

Thanks-

-Kevin

Find some place where you can try some different types and set ups. Most folks have thier prefered method, it's something one must just do. Tim

I agree with Tim, try to find someone with some axes and wood.(you're welcome to try mine...) I've gone through the process of setting up a tool before and did not like the result in the end, then had to start over. If you can find something that feels good, at least you have something to start with that you can work with.