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Will this entire log have tension in it?

Started by Ronnie, May 05, 2014, 09:52:54 PM

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Ronnie

Customer wants this walnut quarter sawn. He isn't concerned about getting full length boards out of this log but he wants some quality wood to build a piece of furniture with. Should I cut the far end of this log off and straighten this log up, making one decent length log, and one shorter one. Will there still be tension in the bottom part of this log? Magicman once sent me some info about quarter sawing and I can't seem to locate it. This will be my first attempt at quarter sawing. Any suggestions on how I should tackle this. Magicman maybe you could resend me that "how to on quarter sawing"? I sure would appreciate it.   

 

The log is 12' 7". Its fairly straight up to 9' then it veers to the right. It is 24" in diameter.
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Ga Mtn Man

Unless he has a need for longer lumber I would cut it at 8'-6" and saw both pieces. 
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mesquite buckeye

Probably.

I would put it on ear up and trim that hook a bit. Then I would flip it over and cut centering on the high part of the "straight" part. That should help some with the tension. Once you get through the heavy sapwood side, the tension should be a bit less, but watch for boards that lift up or pinch down. If they do, there  is still tension. You may have to flip the log several times to get it to loosen up. Remember, if the board lifts up, the cant is pulling down at the same time. Watch for that. You may have to run a cleanup cut here and there to get a straight board. ;D

Have fun. Leaners and branches are full of tension wood. :-\
Manage 80 acre tree farm in central Missouri and Mesquite timber and about a gozillion saguaros in Arizona.

mesquite buckeye

If you want to have more fun you can get some nice cutting boards out of the ear as you cut it down. The advantage of leaving the log in one piece is you will get some long lumber, although you would get a bit more total lumber by splitting the log like Gmtn says. Regardless, there will be tension in probably both pieces or one big one.

When we cut mesquite, we typically cut at crooks and end up with a lot  of shorts that may be harder to sell and at a lower price. We get a premium for length, thickness and width.

This one is a log you could do either way.

Regarding the quarter sawn thing. I don't really get it for walnut. There is very little ray figure to be gained. I'm thinking it would be prettier plain sawn and bookmatched if you want to get really fancy. I think you may find some interesting figure, especially with the curve, that would look nice mirrored. Let us know how it turned out.

You could get a couple of really pretty live edged bookmatched table tops by forgetting everything I just said and just straighten up the ear side, then slabbing with the belly parallel to the blade. They would be real purdy. 2" thick pair right through the middle could be about perfect. Then worry about the tension later. ;D
Manage 80 acre tree farm in central Missouri and Mesquite timber and about a gozillion saguaros in Arizona.

hackberry jake

Looks like the next one is going to be tougher...
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AdamT

Hard to tell with the lighting in the picture, but it looks like it might have metal in it.
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It's better to have it and not need it then it is to need it and not have it

drobertson

There will be loss in the last bit due to crook.  If he is good, I would shorten it to a workable length.
I think Adam may be right, looks a little funky on the second look,
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beenthere

Quote from: Ga Mtn Man on May 05, 2014, 10:02:45 PM
Unless he has a need for longer lumber I would cut it at 8'-6" and saw both pieces.

Best answer given here, if volume of usable wood is of interest to the customer. Full length cutting will be a lot of waste, IMO.

And quarter sawn walnut is nothing special. Flat sawn is better for grain pattern.  Look forward to see it opened up, regardless of how you saw it.
south central Wisconsin
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Brad_bb

The only reason to Quartersaw would be for drying stability and not for looks as others mentioned.  I would discuss the options with the customer.  Find out if he's asking for quartersawn for looks or for stability?  I don't see how you could quarter saw it without cutting the crooked end off.  Even after you cut it off, how centered will the heart be?  Again, I'd have a conversation with the customer to make sure of what he's really after and steer him in the right direction to get him what he wants.   Are you going to stack it for air drying or is he?
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dboyt

What the customer wants and what the customer asks for can be two very different things!  I have had customers request quartersawn lumber, with no idea what it was.  As noted, it is more stable, but lacks the attractive appearance that oak and sycamore have.

24" is a respectable size, and it would be a shame to waste a great deal of it straightening out a curved log.  If he can live with 6' long boards, I'd cut it in half, (or, as Ga Mtn Man suggests, 8' & 4') and get much more yield out of the log, plus straighter grain (quarter sawn or otherwise).  I'd also bring up the possibility of laying it on its side and live sawing it so that he has natural edges.
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