I am helping a friend mill down some cottonwood and not sure where to start. It was cut down with a chainsaw to roughly 7" square boards 6' long. The sides are not perfectly parallel to each other and rather rough from the chainsaw cuts. Can I run this through the planer and slowly work my way down then to the jointer? I have never worked with this rough of a cut only the store bought rough cut lumber that doesn't need nearly as much work.
I think you have a dilemma. The only tool you have that can work a 7" piece is the planer (unless you've got an 8" jointer)
You could make a sled and run it through 2 sides to get it down to 5". but that's a lot of waste. (then resaw with the tablesaw or skil saw) definitely not ideal.
Where are you located. Do you know anybody with a bandsaw or bandsaw mill. That would be the easiest.
I use a jigsaw to cross cut rough lumber about 4" long and a bandsaw to rip it at least an 1/8" over-sized. From there it goes to the jointer to flatten one face then the planer to mill it to final thickness. The last thing to do is joint one edge on the jointer and rip to final width.
To get 1" thick material from 7" - bandsaw or a mill with a large diameter blade. Find someone with a bandsaw or portable bandsaw mill like a Woodmizer. Here in Missouri some folks advertise in the "materials" section of Craigslist that they will saw lumber, so you might check your area.
Looks like I'll be looking for a band saw. The tree was cut down 7 months ago and has been outside here in nevada so it has been pretty dry. Anything I need to know about moisture and if it is dry enough to start on?
I doubt a 7" piece will be dry even in Nevada. I don't want to start another "how long does it take to dry lumber" war, but an average is about an inch per year.
For about $30 you can pick up a moisture meter and be sure.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
LumberJocks Woodworking Forum
2.5M posts
96K members
Since 2006
A forum community dedicated to professional woodworkers and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about shop safety, wood, carpentry, lumber, finishing, tools, machinery, woodworking related topics, styles, scales, reviews, accessories, classifieds, and more!