iDRY Vacuum Kilns

Sponsors:

I need some info on cutting

Started by KjBarnwood, July 08, 2008, 01:46:36 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

KjBarnwood

OK, I've been cutting on my B-20 for 3 years now, 99.9% reclaimed barn beams.  Since there is no such thing as cutting for grade on these I need some things cleared up.

Do most people cut for grade or just plain saw through.  I do understand cutting for grade and read the posts on quarter sawing, but what do most people do?

What if I have a 14" dia oak, cherry, or walnut?  It almost seems too small to cut for grade?  Should I assume that logs over 17" are all cut to grade?

What about pine that is 14" dia or 30"?

Most of what I want to cut now will be for me to use in the next year or two.  Some for building a house and some for finish work.

Thanks
     Keith


Larry

In some species the price difference tween say a F1F and a 1c board could be $1/bf.  You will get more high grade boards by grade sawing than by through sawing.  So the question is which would you rather be doing?

Most any size log can be grade sawn...course the board footage slows way down on the small 10" logs.  Guess you need to determine which markets you want to cater to.  A small walnut log can make money as flooring cants...a small oak might be better suited to farm lumber or a post/beam.

As a matter of preference I saw most any log larger than 12" for grade.
Larry, making useful and beautiful things out of the most environmental friendly material on the planet.

We need to insure our customers understand the importance of our craft.

beenthere

There is an interesting report on Live-sawing red oak low-grade logs that was found in a search of publications on live grade hardwood sawing in the US Forest Service Forest Products Lab site.
http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/

The conclusion was to live saw logs of grade 3 (FS standard log grade) and below, if edging for grade was exercised. see

www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/pdf1987/casse87a.pdf

Another report on grade sawing might also be of interest.

www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/fplmisc/rpt2221.pdf


south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

Tom

Most of my customers have always been looking for the lumber dimension.  I'ts mostly pine, cypress, etc.  This is a case of cutting a log through, but actually is also a grade type of sawing for construction wood.  

If a customer wants an entire log cut in 2x4's or maybe 1x6's, you don't have much choice about how to saw it to maximize quantity and minimize waste. You're basically trying to center the heart so that the boards have the same tension on one side as the other and that you get all that you can get.  That doesn't leave much for grade.  One of your main concerns is strength and that comes from grain orientation.

If a customer asks to have a log cut for "all it will stand", you can grade saw and present him with different sizes of fault free lumber as the log will allow.   That's sawing for grade rather than size.

What it really amounts to is what does the customer expect.

If you are in position of having to grade saw everything, Dollars are the defining rule and you must know the grade rules to do it economically.

When it looks like sawyers are "just cutting straight through", they may not be.  But rather satisfying a customer with a size requirement.

Haytrader

Seems to me you said for your own use (most of your lumber) so I would suggest cutting for your own satisfaction.
If that means more board footage, then through and through makes sense.
If you want to optimize figure for trim, then quarter saw.

Just please yourself........... ;)
Haytrader

milling man

i would quater saw the oak for sure! you might get some nice looking rays and stripes. also i have found that all though quater sawing is slower this method has giving me some very nice looking and very stable wood.

Dan_Shade

I wouldn't attempt to quartersaw an oak log that's under 22" or so, at least 20", much smaller than that, you really loose a lot of volume
Woodmizer LT40HDG25 / Stihl 066 alaskan
lots of dull bands and chains

There's a fine line between turning firewood into beautiful things and beautiful things into firewood.

Bibbyman

We saw a lot of grade.  Mostly oak for flooring and walnut and some cherry.  There are a lot of rules for the proper way to grade saw.  It takes a good understanding of lumber grade standards and rules and add to that what the customer wants. 

But... Grade sawing is easiest style of sawing.  If it's a nice log, take a slab off each face and then take a board off each face. Turn on each cut until you're down to the "cob" and then put the cob in the blocking or firewood pile.  If it's a junky log, do the same.   As long as you do a quality job of sawing, you can hardly go wrong.

The trick comes when you have a log with one or more good faces and the other faces are bad.  You'll maximize your better grade boards by taking the boards off the better faces first.  Here is where some study and experience pays off.  By positioning the log and selecting the faces to put defects on the edges, etc. you can gain a higher ratio of better grade boards.

These comments are about grade hardwood lumber used for flooring, furniture, etc.  Not lumber that is graded to use in general construction. 
Wood-Mizer LT40HDE25 Super 25hp 3ph with Command Control and Accuset.
Sawing since '94

KjBarnwood

Thanks for the info.  I assumed most people cut for grade, but some pics looked like they were cutting through.

Keith

Thank You Sponsors!