# lumber from logs - no mill



## HokieMojo (Mar 11, 2008)

Hey everyone,
My dad cut down a few cedar trees in the yard of the house I grew up in. For sentimental reasons, I'd love to take these logs (trunk about 14" across at the thin end and 6 ft long) and get lumber out of them. I don't think they are valuable enough to bother hiring a portable mill for and trying to go the chainsaw route has proven problematic without a milling attachement/ripping blade. What I'd rather do is find out how I can rip a log using hand tools. I know its a lot of work, but I could use the excersise and am willing to try. Any suggestions on where I can go to find out more information?

I'm thinking some method of splitting the log is a possibility, but the log may be too long for this to be practical. Alternatively, there must be some kind of handsaw meant for this rough cutting but I'm not sure what it would be called, what it would look like, or what it would cost (preferbly used on ebay if they aren't too big to ship). Thanks for any info you may have!


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## GFYS (Nov 23, 2008)

Why not take them to a sawyer?


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## SteveKorz (Mar 25, 2008)

Wow… hand sawing logs to lumber… phew! That was a lot of work just typing it.

Well, they used to use two handled rip saws. The log was placed on tall sawhorses or drawn across a pit with one man on top of the log, and one man on the bottom of the log, both pushing and pulling. Rip saws traditionally have chisel like teeth instead of a crosscut saw that has teeth with more of a point. I suppose you will be able to find a one handled rip saw instead of the two, but I'm sure the one handled ones were probably designed in size to rip dimensional lumber instead of logs.

If you tackle this, you have GOT to post us some pics. Keep your rip saw sharp or you're going to be there for a loooong time. I think I would also tack on a 2×4 with a 1×4 face (like a fence) as a guide for the saw to keep the planks straight.

You may want to try and explore the bandsaw option too… see if you can find one that will be able to mill it into planks. I think I would at least call a portable mill or two.. or three… to get some price ranges before I committed to hand sawing it.

Good luck

Steve.


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## Daren (Sep 16, 2007)

Cedar is not going to split…too many knots, you will just waste them even tryng. I'm with Steve, wore out just thinking about doing it by hand. Why would you think they would not be "worth enough" to have milled ? I am not sure where you live but if you can get them to a mill prices range from $.25-$.50 a bft (I charge $.35) to have them sawn…that is pretty cheap for perfect lumber.


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## HokieMojo (Mar 11, 2008)

Hmmm, just to answer a couple of questions before I have to go, I'll start by answering Darren's question. I hadn't thought of trying to get the logs to a mill, just thought of havinga a portable mill come to me. I guess that makes for a big price difference because at those prices, your idea sounds great.

As for why the chainsaw wouldn't work, where to start…. 1) my saws are underpowered (18" electric" vs 16" gas), 2) I don't already own a ripping blade 3) I don't already own a chainswaw mill. I tried doing this freehand, but the results were poor to say the least, it was also tiring, and felta bit dangerous at times.

I'm definitely going to look for a mill that will take the logs if I bring them there. I've fuond those 2 person saws but they all have been crosscut. If I find a rip saw, maybe I'll give it a go. I think it would be fun to try.

I'll post somemore later.


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## Daren (Sep 16, 2007)

Here is a place to start looking for mills, a little list of links I am working on Nation Wide Sawmill Finder
Maybe it will help ?


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## EEngineer (Jul 4, 2008)

Quite few years ago I found an antique saw at a garage sale and I couldn't resist it at $5. It is about 5 foot long with a single handle and huge cutting teeth. My father (who actually had to use these kinds of things on the farm) told me that it was specifically for ripping logs. Haven't tried it yet, I have to replace the handle. Right now, it just looks cool on my shop wall.


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