Now what?!?

now what? Just sit and stare at the wood and smile! :)
I’ll leave the wood experts to give you some tips.

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

I envy you! You might start by building Bob #2's saw sled. I get the impression that when you cut into a log, it’s always a bit of a surprise. Have fun!

-- Coffee is best with a fine layer of sawdust on top. -- http://www.north40custom.com

Time to get a lathe! Bowls are a gas to make. You should tell Santa to get you a mini-lathe to start with…

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

for poor guys like me, I just stand the stump up and eye ball a cut line and use a chainsaw to hack out slab sections of wood about 2” thick. Then, I paint the end grain with left over latex paint, and sticker it to dry. This type of wood slabbed into sections like this will take 2-3 years to dry, but would be good for a lot of projects. I have made bench seats, chair seats, walking canes, and all kinds of things from wood salvaged like this. In fact, I look every piece of firewood over well before deciding it is best used for heat.

An Alaskan chains saw mill would be great for work like this, but I don’t have one.

-- Mark DeCou - Kansas Flint Hill's Artisan

Wel Danny boy I can’t tell where you are from, but if you were in Michigan you might find an Amish community that has a saw mill and see if they will cut your log. better yet you might buy some lumber already cut. I have bought some pretty good hard wood from them. True you have to stack and sticker it and let it dry but you can get some fine wood that way.

-- grumpa,Michigan

Most sawmills can’t handle short logs. The machinery is made for longer wood.

Good luck.

-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com

Karson you are right, the key word though is most, the older type with the big saw blades would not be able to saw a short log. However the newer band saw type mills do an excellent job of it. I had a small (4’) red cedar log that the mill made 1/2” boards for me,makes very pretty boxes and other items.

-- grumpa,Michigan

Looks like it is time to break out the hand tools http://www.greenwoodworking.com/riving/riving.htm

-- Urban logger, http://nelsonwoodworks.biz/

Or buy one of these http://www.cumminstools.com/browse.cfm/4,2228.htm . I have my own sawmill . I have several huge expensive chainsaws too…the little cheapy I linked I also have and use alot. I will drag a piece out of a burn pile somewhere or something and slab it up freehand with that little electric chainsaw in the wood shop.

Cut it thick, let it dry and plane the short boards.

-- Urban logger, http://nelsonwoodworks.biz/

I’m torn… I’d like to try the riving but I’m not sure of the results since its maple and not the oak that is in that article. However, I would also like the excuse to put a chainsaw. Damn the choices!!!

-- Happy Ripping!!!

Daren hit the nail on the head with that Greenwoodworking weblink. Our forefathers didn’t have the luxury of the machine in most cases, or transportation in others. I’ve burnt a lot of firewood while camping last season that I’ve felt would’ve made a nice box or bowl. So some of the items on my Christmas list are a Froe and Draw Knife. Unfortunately, it means there might not be any campfires next season! Just remember to split it a little at a time and take it in sections. That wet wood eats wedges and mauls and will wear you out. Try a woodsplitter first to get the main sections apart. OH…I had a cord of Catalpa cut and split into half log chunks. Shoulda had it split into eighths as it was a real bear to split with hand tools. I will shy away from that if it comes available again. It was like trying to split a wet sponge!

-- Bob Vila would be so proud of you!

Alot of woods rive well. Cherry, walnut, mulberry, osage, apple, cypress…are a few I have done just that. But I can see a big knot on the side of your “loggette”, it will not split well. There is your excuse to buy a chainsaw :)

-- Urban logger, http://nelsonwoodworks.biz/

Everyone has great ideas. I came across some firewood cutters that had cut down a four foot diameter western big leaf maple and could see the fiddle back figure in there split wood and almost cried. I lost it, scolded them (to put it lightly) for cutting it down and the three big guys just stood back as I puled up to there pile of 18” rounds and loaded my truck until it was full. They knew I was a nut. I made 5/4 X 18” flitch cut boards that went to a violin maker, there blanks are 1-1/8” X 3” X 15” and they sold for $50.00 each for the fiddle back blanks. You can find some real nice wood in salvage logs. So theres no question the short material can be used for more than firewood. It takes a little more time for me to clamp and set the round for cutting but it was well worth it. You can contact Wood Mizer and they can fix you up with a sawyer near you.

-- Ron, Twain Harte, Ca. Portable on site Sawmill Service http://westcoastlands.net/Sawmill.html http://westcoastlands.net/SawBucks2/phpBB3