Question
A new customer has approached me to saw a very large old aromatic cedar tree (dead standing now). My mill handles a 24" cant or 32" in the round. This trunk is 36" at its mid section, not to mention the butt flare and overall length is about 9.5' to the first limb. The only way I see I can saw it is halve the log in the best plane and then mount it on the mill. Customer thinks squaring it to 24" would save more wider boards. That's a lot of hand chainsaw ripping on his part, in my opinion. I need some opinions on this one, fellow sawyers.
Forum Responses
(Sawing and Drying Forum)
From contributor M:
Saw it in half or even quarters if need be. The highest grade lumber will in the outside slabs, which you would waste by squaring. A side benefit of sawing in half would be getting a look at the center of the log, eliminating the little rot surprise common with cedar.
A good compromise would be to get a chain saw mill so you can make straight cuts, then split the log. Keep track of the boards so that they can be jointed and edge glued back together. This will also cut down on planer loss due to cupping.
By the way, that one job paid for the chain saw milling attachment, plus I got to keep the center 3" thick flitch. Sweet deal! I have used the chain saw mill on several jobs since then, and would never go back to freehand cutting.
