I hope to join you soon my brotha!

What ya getting?

I'll PM you.

You might check the forum and owner lists at Logosol (http://www.logosol.com/) and see if there's an owner in your area willing to split or quarter the logs for you. It's not as fast as black powder but far less chance of destroying the log or something even more attached to (like an arm or leg).

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

I think most of the really big stuff that was riven was of very high quality. I've heard of gunstock posts being quartered out of one log. If you've got four or five foot diameter low quality logs, you may not be able to split them without hydraulics. I quartered a 14" or so white oak cant that was clear, but had less than ideal grain, and it was no easy job.

From what I can tell based on observing the standing trees, most of this stuff is of excellent, dare I say almost immaculate, grain quality. The bark seems to indicate very straight grain, as the ridges proceed straight upward with no spiral. There are no knots or limbs for perhaps 30 feet (the trees in this woods are very tall and straight, there is some good genes present as well as excellent soil and other growing conditions)

However, I have yet to thoroughly inspect the timber. I have not yet got the clearance to cut it down. This is all based on initial observation. Once I get a good look, I might change my mind...

Plan B for the oaks is to saw them into boards and timbers, if they are not suitable for hewn timbers.

I am looking forward to the opportunity to take my hewing axes to some virgin white oak...

You could score in a few inches around the outside to guide some wedges in. Why can't you quarter them with a saw, and then hew the saw marks off? Do you need the riving to show in the finished timber? Most of my hewn timbers are sawn first to save the jacket lumber. I have some 48' sticks coming in soon, and half the footage of those logs will be high quality side lumber, can't waste it hewing the timber.

Dave, you have an extension on your mill?

Just yesterday I had to rip a 12'x8x8 with the chainsaw, my mill was stuck behind some scribe stuff and there was no way I was going to move the timber. Hewed the chain saw marks off.

Yes, we got a 24' extension, which is just an LT40 manual frame without the sawhead. We are getting a concrete slab soon, and the whole thing will be bolted down. I'll have to slide the logs a little, as the mill capacity will only be 45'. We've got two traditional Dutch floor systems to build, and that requires 18 40' to 45' timbers and 6 26' timbers for the pair.