[Frosty]

I wasnt sure where to put this.
My great uncle Has some cherry, beech, and some basswood for me and someone is coming with a sawmill on wednesday and he would like to know how what size I would like it cut. So i was wondering if you guys might know. I would like the finished piece to be around 2x8. But how much extra should I add to prevent surface cracks?

 

[Daren]

Cutting it oversize will not prevent surface check. Are you going to use it rough sawn or plane it. I figure 10% shrinkage from fresh sawn to dry. Since you said he is coming to you, that tells me bandsaw. Depending on how good your sawyer is figure another 1/16"...maybe 1/8" :glare:each side after it is dry to plane the saw marks out.
If I am sawing wood that I want to finish 2" (full 8/4) surface planed I saw it 2.30". He is probably running a WoodMizer, his numbers may be different (my little mill only saws on the 1/10 scale, each click up or down is 1/10")
He can probably tell you what he normally does, and there are a couple other sawmill guys here who may chime in. They may even disagree with my advice. That is my 2 cents though.

 

[Frosty]

Thanks Daren.