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Tool Talk Discussion Forum

walnut slabs-poulan chainsaw

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coup

01-25-2007 10:37:32




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i bought one of the cheap poulan chainsaw at walmart,my old homelite had been giving me fits...this little saw is cutting good....
my question is i have two locust trees to cut that are about 12inchs in diameter and i have a walnut log about 14inchs dia.-8ft long, that i have been thinking of slabing which one would you do first??how big of slabs would you cut from the walnut thinking of keeping in the barn for a few years....i was thinking 6inchs thick..... ..

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Rod in Smiths Falls, ON,

01-27-2007 04:49:53




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 Re: walnut slabs-poulan chainsaw in reply to coup, 01-25-2007 10:37:32  
As the other guys have said, take the logs to someone with a band mill.

It's extremely difficult to dry a 6 X 6 without having it split into something unusable. A carver one time told me to be sure to cut the centre out of the log. Whatever is left can be dried without splitting because it will all shrink in one direction.

I recently planed some 4" cherry I had cut into flitches in 1998 and stored outside since then. The planks away from the centre were fine and showed no rot, even after long exposure to the elements. The centre plank was split.

Thick walnut will take a very long time to dry. The rule of thumb is three years per inch.

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John S-B

01-26-2007 13:32:44




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 Re: walnut slabs-poulan chainsaw in reply to coup, 01-25-2007 10:37:32  
Coup, that little saw ain't gonna cut it. I have done some slabbing with a Shindaiwa 575 and an Alaskan sawmill and that still is very slow. However if you still want to do it, just sharpen your teeth at 10 degrees. You will need at least a couple of chains. You can also cut as thin as 4/4, but 5/4 will let you get away with more warp or twist. Make sure you stack it flat with stickers in between each layer and as much weight on top as you can get. I have about 500bd. ft. of walnut but I had it cut by a guy with a bandsaw mill. 3 1/2 hrs to do about 900 bd. ft. Good luck.

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jdemaris

01-26-2007 05:27:50




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 Re: walnut slabs-poulan chainsaw in reply to coup, 01-25-2007 10:37:32  
None of the "store-bought" saws are set-up properly for rip-sawing - just for cutting across the grain. That little Poulan probably has low-profile 3/8" or .325" pitch standard chain.

There is special chain made just for ripping, just a there are special handsaws made just for ripping. Specialty chain used to be fairly common, but not so anymore. I have ripping chains in 1/2" pitch and .404" that I use on my gear-drive Homelite 4-20 and Stihl O8G. I've also seen it in full profile 3/8" - but I doubt it's made in the little LP 3/8", .325, or 1/4" pitches. I suspect you could custom-sharpen a small chain to rip better - but I haven't ever tried it. Main thing would be to grind the rakers down.

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Stumpalump

01-25-2007 20:12:31




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 Re: walnut slabs-poulan chainsaw in reply to coup, 01-25-2007 10:37:32  
Hook up a fan blowing at you. After those long cuts your head will spin. Don't run that small saw very long without a cool down break. It aint made to run wide open for extended periods like that.



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dan hill

01-25-2007 15:31:49




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 Re: walnut slabs-poulan chainsaw in reply to coup, 01-25-2007 10:37:32  
It takes a lot of power to rip slabs with a chain saw.You would be better off taking the logs to some one with a band mill.Chain saw takes a wide kerf.I have ripped out 8x8 beams with a chain saw in the past, its hard work.I have a band mill now.



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coup

01-25-2007 15:48:01




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 Re: walnut slabs-poulan chainsaw in reply to dan hill, 01-25-2007 15:31:49  
actually when i said slabs i meant 6inch thick plates of the log to be used to make bowls in ten or so years....thanks



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Pooh Bear

01-25-2007 22:15:50




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 Re: walnut slabs-poulan chainsaw in reply to coup, 01-25-2007 15:48:01  
You are wanting to crosscut the tree into round slabs?

The problem will be that logs shrink radially causing checking and cracking. You won't be able to make bowls out wood cut like this.

Pooh Bear



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coup

01-25-2007 14:39:44




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 Re: walnut slabs-poulan chainsaw in reply to coup, 01-25-2007 10:37:32  
thanks,,,,, ,,,



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Dave Anderson

01-25-2007 14:24:54




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 Re: walnut slabs-poulan chainsaw in reply to coup, 01-25-2007 10:37:32  
rip your walnut first, try to keep the center out of your cants or they'll split, paint the ends with latex paint to slow down end checking. Harbor freight and Northern sell a cheap board-maker that attaches to a chainsaw.



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RustyFarmall

01-25-2007 12:09:11




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 Re: walnut slabs-poulan chainsaw in reply to coup, 01-25-2007 10:37:32  
Cut your locust trees first while your chain is still sharp. Ripping that walnut into slabs will take the edge off of a chain faster than anything else I know of, so you may want to invest in some type of chain sharpener, even a file will work, and learn how to use it.



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JT

01-25-2007 11:27:12




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 Re: walnut slabs-poulan chainsaw in reply to coup, 01-25-2007 10:37:32  
If you are going to try to cut slab wood, you might want to look into a chainsaw with bigger chain, and the get a ripping chain, a regualr crosscut chain will cut long ribbons of wood that can caught up in you saw cover, a generally amek a big mess. Plus the 3/8 low profile chain that is used on the cheap poulan saws will nto cut with the grain very well.



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T.R.K.

01-25-2007 11:26:44




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 Re: walnut slabs-poulan chainsaw in reply to coup, 01-25-2007 10:37:32  
It depends on what you want to do with the finished wood. If you just want boards make your blocks some multiple of the finished size plus the saw kerf-(kerf is the amount the saw removes when it cuts boards apart.)

From prior experience, if you are thinking gun stocks or some such you want your final size to be 2-1/4 inch or 2-1/2inch thick.



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IH2444

01-25-2007 11:10:19




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 Re: walnut slabs-poulan chainsaw in reply to coup, 01-25-2007 10:37:32  
I am not sure on the thickness, but paint the ends with a sealer to minimize splitting and checking.



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