log size for quarter sawing - Woodworking Talk

Dean Miller · 07-14-2009, 12:13 AM

I have a large oak down and plan to quartersaw as much of it as I can using an Alaskan Mill. How small of a diameter is a waste of time to try and quartersaw. Butt is plenty big enough and goes down from there to some 10" diameter pieces.

**Daren** · 07-14-2009, 09:04 AM

It's just personal preference, how small of boards will you use ? A 12" log may give you a 4"-5" wide 1/4 sawn board for the widest from each piece...then they get smaller in a hurry. Bigger is better IMO when milling 1/4 sawn, bigger/better ray fleck and obviously wider lumber. If a guy has the time to mess with small ones and will use the lumber there is no rule saying he can't. A chainsaw mill is going to eat a bunch of wood though. For small pieces I have used the shop bandsaw. On my bandsaw mill I won't (for myself) 1/4 one smaller than 20", just not worth my time. I have milled smaller for others for pay, after trying to convince them otherwise, and the pile is not very big and the lumber not that impressive.

**TexasTimbers** · 07-14-2009, 10:46 AM

I also look at how much taper is in it and how straight it is. I'll usually qtr a sycamore down into the 16" range specially if it's spalted and even smaller on occasion. But I serve some niche market that can use smaller widths & as Daren already said there's many things to consider and no hard and fast rule.

Also like he says using a CSM is going to eat up a lot of it. Since qtr sawing entails so much waste even with a bandsaw, and you have smallish logs to begin with, and then you have all that kerf loss, and you usually only end up with a few boards that have some really eye-pooping ray fleck anyway, just go into it with eyes wide open knowing your stack of truly good-looking qtr sawn material will be very, very small most likely. Maybe even just one or two boards that really shine.

But, you do not say what kind of oak you have. R.o. will not have near the flecking as w.o. will, all things being equal. I see you are in Arnoldville but I don't know what oaks are prevalent in that territory.

If I were in your shoes, I'd boule saw it. That way you'll get some qtr sawn (and the best actually) anyway, and you'll have the least amount of waste. You'll get the absolute most from your log but you'll also get the best variety of grain and form; i.e. you'll have flitches you and can use for live edge stuff, and you can edge the boards you want to make into lumber. You'll have plain, qtr, and rift sawn but you'll have the best angle to get any fleck that may be there, and as stated the very least waste.

Dean Miller · 07-15-2009, 01:24 AM

Good advice guys, thanks alot. I got enough 1/4 out of the last log just boule sawing it for some legs I like to use it for. I wasn't looking forward to wreseling them around for 1/4 sawing anyway. I live in Potter Valley Calif. 150 miles above S.F. Its white oak. Someone said it was tanoak but wasn't. I was surprised at how brutal you have to trim peices to get enough clear together for a table top.