# Red Oak Lumber



## HalDougherty (Jul 15, 2009)

*Quartersawn red oak - splitting a big log*

It's Been a while since I've split logs. When I was growing up, I lived in a farmhouse that was heated by a furnace and a fireplace. I cut, split, and stacked a lot of wood. I got 3 big red oak logs and one big sycamore log this week. All 4 are big enough to quartersaw and one is so big, that it has to be split to make it small enough to fit on my sawmill. It got easier after I made some big hard maple wedges.

My neighbor across the road lives in a log home that was built in the eary 1800's. The original kitchen was a fireplace in the center of the house. It was an open walkway between two big rooms. Later they built a kitchen in a separate building behind the main house.










After it was spread open enough with the maple wedge. I put a scissors jack in the split and forced the log into two big slices. It's a small log, only a little over 4', but it should make a good supply of quarter sawn flat boards. You can see the sycamore log laying in the background.










The split is 36" long and each half is 24" wide. I should get 3 or 4 quartersawn boards at least 20" wide. I'll know tomorrow when I saw again.










Here's the other two red oak logs that will be quartersawn. They are just over 30" wide, so they'll saw without splitting them first.










It was almost 100 degrees here today. The only way I could stay cool was to freeze bottles of water and take frequent water breaks in the shade. It was hot work, swinging a sledge hammer and splitting this log. I sure hope the wood is worth the effort.


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## grizzman (May 10, 2009)

HalDougherty said:


> *Quartersawn red oak - splitting a big log*
> 
> It's Been a while since I've split logs. When I was growing up, I lived in a farmhouse that was heated by a furnace and a fireplace. I cut, split, and stacked a lot of wood. I got 3 big red oak logs and one big sycamore log this week. All 4 are big enough to quartersaw and one is so big, that it has to be split to make it small enough to fit on my sawmill. It got easier after I made some big hard maple wedges.
> 
> ...


oh it will be worth it…cant wait to see some boards on this one…nothing like swingin a sledge hammer…hitting wedges…hearing the wood crack…not comes the fun part…listening to the saw cut that wood…have fun…..


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## STL (Aug 24, 2010)

HalDougherty said:


> *Quartersawn red oak - splitting a big log*
> 
> It's Been a while since I've split logs. When I was growing up, I lived in a farmhouse that was heated by a furnace and a fireplace. I cut, split, and stacked a lot of wood. I got 3 big red oak logs and one big sycamore log this week. All 4 are big enough to quartersaw and one is so big, that it has to be split to make it small enough to fit on my sawmill. It got easier after I made some big hard maple wedges.
> 
> ...


Hal, It will be worth it when you see the rays in those Q-sawn boards! Great job!


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## Jim Jakosh (Nov 24, 2009)

HalDougherty said:


> *Quartersawn red oak - splitting a big log*
> 
> It's Been a while since I've split logs. When I was growing up, I lived in a farmhouse that was heated by a furnace and a fireplace. I cut, split, and stacked a lot of wood. I got 3 big red oak logs and one big sycamore log this week. All 4 are big enough to quartersaw and one is so big, that it has to be split to make it small enough to fit on my sawmill. It got easier after I made some big hard maple wedges.
> 
> ...


Very ingenious, Hal, Thanks for sharing the experience. Someone else may have to do that .
That is one big log. It should yield some real nice wood!!..........Jim


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## HalDougherty (Jul 15, 2009)

HalDougherty said:


> *Quartersawn red oak - splitting a big log*
> 
> It's Been a while since I've split logs. When I was growing up, I lived in a farmhouse that was heated by a furnace and a fireplace. I cut, split, and stacked a lot of wood. I got 3 big red oak logs and one big sycamore log this week. All 4 are big enough to quartersaw and one is so big, that it has to be split to make it small enough to fit on my sawmill. It got easier after I made some big hard maple wedges.
> 
> ...


My Father always told me, "Work Smarter, Not Harder!" Splitting this log was a lot of work in the heat yesterday. I have a red oak log down in my woods that I still can't get home, so I'm going to split it this week. Only this time I'm using something different. A chainsaw to make a plunge cut in the middle of the log, some black powder (about 2 to 3 oz charge) and that log should open right up. Anybody got any extra cannon fuse? I'll make a video when the time comes.


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## Detoro (Jan 17, 2011)

HalDougherty said:


> *Quartersawn red oak - splitting a big log*
> 
> It's Been a while since I've split logs. When I was growing up, I lived in a farmhouse that was heated by a furnace and a fireplace. I cut, split, and stacked a lot of wood. I got 3 big red oak logs and one big sycamore log this week. All 4 are big enough to quartersaw and one is so big, that it has to be split to make it small enough to fit on my sawmill. It got easier after I made some big hard maple wedges.
> 
> ...


The powder will work! Look forward to seeing the video. KaPow!!!!!!!!!


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## spunwood (Aug 20, 2010)

HalDougherty said:


> *Quartersawn red oak - splitting a big log*
> 
> It's Been a while since I've split logs. When I was growing up, I lived in a farmhouse that was heated by a furnace and a fireplace. I cut, split, and stacked a lot of wood. I got 3 big red oak logs and one big sycamore log this week. All 4 are big enough to quartersaw and one is so big, that it has to be split to make it small enough to fit on my sawmill. It got easier after I made some big hard maple wedges.
> 
> ...


Wow, can't wait to see the video and what you do with these logs. Hard work for sure. I work at UPS in a warehouse and in the trucks loading them, it really saps your strength and you have to pace yourself.


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## HalDougherty (Jul 15, 2009)

*Quartersawn red oak - The Lumber*

Here's a small part of the lumber I cut from a 48" X 4' red oak log. I had to split it before it would fit on my sawmill. The red oak is stacked on a few yellow poplar boards I cut the same day. This is 1/2 the short 4 ft log.










Here's a closer look at the boards on the top of the stack. There were 5 boards cut from the top and bottom of the log that were riff sawn and the rest were quartersawn with beautiful flecks in the wood. I ended up with 10 riff sawn boards and 20 quartersawn boards. The riff sawn boards from the top and bottom of the 1/2 log were from 10 to 15 inches wide and the quartersawn boards were from 20 to 24" wide.










About 1/2 of the riff sawn boards show quartersawn flecks on one side and straight grain on the other.










20 boards in this stack look like this closeup. Waiting for them to dry teaches patience… Or so they say. I hate to wait, but the wait will be worth it.


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## mmccoy1951 (Feb 3, 2011)

HalDougherty said:


> *Quartersawn red oak - The Lumber*
> 
> Here's a small part of the lumber I cut from a 48" X 4' red oak log. I had to split it before it would fit on my sawmill. The red oak is stacked on a few yellow poplar boards I cut the same day. This is 1/2 the short 4 ft log.
> 
> ...


Great looking oak.I cut about 1000 Ft. of red oak Friday.I love quarter sawn oak.


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## ShaneA (Apr 15, 2011)

HalDougherty said:


> *Quartersawn red oak - The Lumber*
> 
> Here's a small part of the lumber I cut from a 48" X 4' red oak log. I had to split it before it would fit on my sawmill. The red oak is stacked on a few yellow poplar boards I cut the same day. This is 1/2 the short 4 ft log.
> 
> ...


You are giving red oak a good name, which can be difficult to due. Great looking wood, the wait will be worth it.


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## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

HalDougherty said:


> *Quartersawn red oak - The Lumber*
> 
> Here's a small part of the lumber I cut from a 48" X 4' red oak log. I had to split it before it would fit on my sawmill. The red oak is stacked on a few yellow poplar boards I cut the same day. This is 1/2 the short 4 ft log.
> 
> ...


I really wish I had a spot big enough for a mill. I love the smell of a sawmill. Really NICE stack of lumber.


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## Bluepine38 (Dec 14, 2009)

HalDougherty said:


> *Quartersawn red oak - The Lumber*
> 
> Here's a small part of the lumber I cut from a 48" X 4' red oak log. I had to split it before it would fit on my sawmill. The red oak is stacked on a few yellow poplar boards I cut the same day. This is 1/2 the short 4 ft log.
> 
> ...


Great looking wood, and a wonderful way to acquire it. Now you can relax and start to imagine all the 
various items you will be able to make in a year or so. Thank you for giving us something to drool over, and
I imagine a few Lumberjocks that live close to you are wondering if you might be willing to part with some
of that and what price you might consider, and no 1 year slave labor is not a fair price, unless you throw 
the sawmill in. Thank you for sharing.


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## therookie (Aug 29, 2010)

HalDougherty said:


> *Quartersawn red oak - The Lumber*
> 
> Here's a small part of the lumber I cut from a 48" X 4' red oak log. I had to split it before it would fit on my sawmill. The red oak is stacked on a few yellow poplar boards I cut the same day. This is 1/2 the short 4 ft log.
> 
> ...


very very nice wood want to get rid of some I am open to donations.


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## Bearpie (Feb 19, 2010)

HalDougherty said:


> *Quartersawn red oak - The Lumber*
> 
> Here's a small part of the lumber I cut from a 48" X 4' red oak log. I had to split it before it would fit on my sawmill. The red oak is stacked on a few yellow poplar boards I cut the same day. This is 1/2 the short 4 ft log.
> 
> ...


That is incredible looking grains! I'm envious.


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## STL (Aug 24, 2010)

HalDougherty said:


> *Quartersawn red oak - The Lumber*
> 
> Here's a small part of the lumber I cut from a 48" X 4' red oak log. I had to split it before it would fit on my sawmill. The red oak is stacked on a few yellow poplar boards I cut the same day. This is 1/2 the short 4 ft log.
> 
> ...


Beautiful boards; great job Hal!


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## MoshupTrail (Aug 11, 2011)

HalDougherty said:


> *Quartersawn red oak - The Lumber*
> 
> Here's a small part of the lumber I cut from a 48" X 4' red oak log. I had to split it before it would fit on my sawmill. The red oak is stacked on a few yellow poplar boards I cut the same day. This is 1/2 the short 4 ft log.
> 
> ...


What kind of mill did you use, and how do you make the cuts to maximize quarter sawn boards?


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## HalDougherty (Jul 15, 2009)

HalDougherty said:


> *Quartersawn red oak - The Lumber*
> 
> Here's a small part of the lumber I cut from a 48" X 4' red oak log. I had to split it before it would fit on my sawmill. The red oak is stacked on a few yellow poplar boards I cut the same day. This is 1/2 the short 4 ft log.
> 
> ...


I've got a Timberking 1220 manual sawmill and when I'm finished cutting the 38" log that's on my log deck, I'll have a blog post showing how I cut it.


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## HalDougherty (Jul 15, 2009)

*Quartersawing a BIG red oak log*

Here's a photo and a description of how I sawed a huge red oak log to get the most quartersawn lumber from it with the least waste. My saw has a 34" capacity at the widest point, but the bolts holding the adjustable guide for the blade reduce that some and I had to use my chainsaw a couple of times to get enough clearance for the widest part of the log. The throat opens to make a 29.5" cut at the widest point. (If you take off part of the lube system)

The red lines show the horizontal saw cuts to divide the log into cants. The green lines are the saw cuts to saw the cants into quartersawn & riff sawn lumber. Each slab is numbered in the order I removed them from the log. This isn't the ideal way to quartersaw lumber, but was the only practical way to cut this large log on a manual sawmill and get the most 8" or wider quartersawn boards. I also marked each section as R-Riff sawn or Q-Quartersawn so you can see where the growth rings show on the end of the board. A lot of the riff sawn boards show a riff sawn pattern on one side and a quartersawn pattern on the other.

The log is 38" in diameter at the widest point, before I attacked the wide parts with my chainsaw, and 9' 6" long. My log deck will handle a 20' log, but I have no interest in sawing a log 38" in diameter and 20' long. The weight is just too much. Looks like I'm going to cut my larger logs to 10' 6" from now on.

After I got the log loaded, which was an adventure too, I raised the saw head to it's highest position and then adjusted the blade to take the widest cut possible. I took off an 8" slab (slab 1) and stacked it by the mill. Then I dropped the head down another 8" and took off a huge slab. (Slab 2) It must have weighed 600 to 800 lbs. I slid it sideways and used my log arch to pick it up and set it beside the mill with the other slab. Then I used my engine hoist to flip the 1/2 log, dropped the head again and took off another slab. (slab 3) This slab was thicker because the log wasn't as rounded on this end and I could take a deeper cut. The fatter slab on top would have hit the drive belt if I'd gone deeper. Remember, my Timberking 1220 is a manual sawmill and there are no hydraulics to help load logs & cants. I used a log arch and an engine hoist to load and turn the logs. I plan to build a saw shed over my sawmill and put a steel beam down the length of the log deck where I'll attach a pulley and use my electric winch to load and turn logs.

After making my cants, I cut the center slab into two cants, removed a 4" x 8" beam with the pith centered and cut the two cants into quartersawn lumber. (slab 4 & 5) Then I put the other cants back on the log deck and cut them into quartersawn lumber. I would have cut this log like the diagram shows on the Woodmizer site, or quartered it and put a 45 degree jig under the pointy end and cut all quartersawn lumber, but my saw head wouldn't do it with a log this big. If the log was slightly larger, I would have split it into two cants before I started and if it was slightly smaller I would have used the Woodmizer method. I haven't measured the amount of riff and quartersawn lumber I ended up with, but my narrowest board is 8" wide.
Any riff sawn board smaller than that or that was mostly sapwood got cut into stickers.

I'm making this series of blog posts for everyone who'd like to own their own sawmill and who would like some information about how to operate a manual mill and the equipment needed to transport, load, and turn big logs.


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## Jim Jakosh (Nov 24, 2009)

HalDougherty said:


> *Quartersawing a BIG red oak log*
> 
> Here's a photo and a description of how I sawed a huge red oak log to get the most quartersawn lumber from it with the least waste. My saw has a 34" capacity at the widest point, but the bolts holding the adjustable guide for the blade reduce that some and I had to use my chainsaw a couple of times to get enough clearance for the widest part of the log. The throat opens to make a 29.5" cut at the widest point. (If you take off part of the lube system)
> 
> ...


Wow, that is a big log. It is nice to have a saw mill when the wood becomes available.
Thanks for showing it, Hal!!.........Jim


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## Uriel7 (Jul 9, 2011)

HalDougherty said:


> *Quartersawing a BIG red oak log*
> 
> Here's a photo and a description of how I sawed a huge red oak log to get the most quartersawn lumber from it with the least waste. My saw has a 34" capacity at the widest point, but the bolts holding the adjustable guide for the blade reduce that some and I had to use my chainsaw a couple of times to get enough clearance for the widest part of the log. The throat opens to make a 29.5" cut at the widest point. (If you take off part of the lube system)
> 
> ...


Very nice. Keep blogging and I'll keep reading. I've been falling dead trees since I could walk and always wanted to mill them into lumber instead of just cut up for firewood. It's a pity because I've split many a good hardwood tree into firewood simply because of ignorance on how to mill my own lumber. I'm always told that it is hard and expensive and that you might as well go down to the lumber stores. This is definitely something I want to do.


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## exelectrician (Oct 3, 2011)

HalDougherty said:


> *Quartersawing a BIG red oak log*
> 
> Here's a photo and a description of how I sawed a huge red oak log to get the most quartersawn lumber from it with the least waste. My saw has a 34" capacity at the widest point, but the bolts holding the adjustable guide for the blade reduce that some and I had to use my chainsaw a couple of times to get enough clearance for the widest part of the log. The throat opens to make a 29.5" cut at the widest point. (If you take off part of the lube system)
> 
> ...


Ahhh…. this machine explains where you get all those super nice pieces of wood.


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## NateMeadows (May 11, 2012)

HalDougherty said:


> *Quartersawing a BIG red oak log*
> 
> Here's a photo and a description of how I sawed a huge red oak log to get the most quartersawn lumber from it with the least waste. My saw has a 34" capacity at the widest point, but the bolts holding the adjustable guide for the blade reduce that some and I had to use my chainsaw a couple of times to get enough clearance for the widest part of the log. The throat opens to make a 29.5" cut at the widest point. (If you take off part of the lube system)
> 
> ...


Hal,

That is impressive and awesome!

Nate


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