Cutting logs for rifle stock blanks today
- Thread starter Evanguy
- Start date
after a few phone calls and some reading, I've decided to slab these logs into 3 inch slabs, space them on stickers and put the log back together the way it milled was milled with ratchet straps to hold it as one.
then place it off the ground in a wood shed that has good air flow but out of the sun and had a gravel floor.
the one I milled today, I set it up so the pith was in the center of the 3" slab thickness wise, so ill be able to split it length wise into 2 slabs down through the pith and have 2 quarter sawn boards, the others are just plain sawn. the slabs are 40" long and 22-24" wide over all
nothing looks overly good, I may make a table out of one or 2 but I think slab #2 and slab #3 show the most promise
then place it off the ground in a wood shed that has good air flow but out of the sun and had a gravel floor.
the one I milled today, I set it up so the pith was in the center of the 3" slab thickness wise, so ill be able to split it length wise into 2 slabs down through the pith and have 2 quarter sawn boards, the others are just plain sawn. the slabs are 40" long and 22-24" wide over all
nothing looks overly good, I may make a table out of one or 2 but I think slab #2 and slab #3 show the most promise
- Location
- SE corner Sk
after a few phone calls and some reading, I've decided to slab these logs into 3 inch slabs, space them on stickers and put the log back together the way it milled was milled with ratchet straps to hold it as one.
then place it off the ground in a wood shed that has good air flow but out of the sun and had a gravel floor.
the one I milled today, I set it up so the pith was in the center of the 3" slab thickness wise, so ill be able to split it length wise into 2 slabs down through the pith and have 2 quarter sawn boards, the others are just plain sawn. the slabs are 40" long and 22-24" wide over all
nothing looks overly good, I may make a table out of one or 2 but I think slab #2 and slab #3 show the most promise
Beautiful!
Very Kool ! Good on You - Beats the tree going for Fire Wood ! RJ
Don't write a slab off for furniture projects due to checks or cracks. They can be stabilized with butterfly joints and made part of the character of the piece. A butterfly joint is essentially a butterfly-shaped piece of wood inlet across the check. I see some wonderful opportunities for some really attractive live edged table or counter tops, amongst other things - especially in the slabs having both heart and a fair amount of sap wood.
Ya done good!
Ya done good!
Thank you for sharing. You've got some nice wood there. Much faster drying, much less cracking and much easier to move than a pile of logs.
Having cut it into slabs you have several "Live edge" boards that you could easily sell for upwards of $200 in some places depending on the dimensions. They are all the rage for table tops.
Having cut it into slabs you have several "Live edge" boards that you could easily sell for upwards of $200 in some places depending on the dimensions. They are all the rage for table tops.
Just a bit of advice but when you sticker the sawn wood make sure you place the end ones very close too the end of the boards youve sawn. In my experience the splitting coming from the ends seems too stop where the sticker strips are placed. Trust me, your going to end up with some very nice wood for many purposes1 Good for you and KUDOS for the effort. Slab 1 side B and slab 4 side A slab3 side A will all yield awesome wood if its kind in the drying.
nowarningshot
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
The fourth photo, crotch of two big trunks.....should have some beautiful crotch figure, like a hurricane. Seal the end grain and let them naturally dry for minimum two years.
Thanks for the info guys, also I may want to move my stickers out a bit more then. I'm excited to be able to cut this old tree up and salvage some wood from it.
I did some more milling today. also I noticed the oil based sealer I used to seal the ends seems to have sunk into the wood, so I slathered some oil based enamel paint on the ends as well, ill put a second coat tomorrow.
I milled a 32" long piece that gave me 4 slabs 2.75" thick they are 25" wide. I ran into rot in the bottoms of them, I knew I was going to but I just wanted to get what I could from as close to the stump as I could. Being 32" they were set for 2 piece stocks anyway so even the one with the worst rot can yield a butt stock and forend
also I milled 2 more sections of logs I got today that I plan on using for a kitchen table and one bench for it(as our kitchen table is one side against the wall). The 4 long boards are 2" thick 75" long and about 16" wide and the 2 boards from a broken crotch are 3" thick and 40" long. I may mill another narrowish (14"wide) 6' long log tomorrow to make the bench top one peice.
the 2 big crotches that I have, I sealed the ends of them and I cant mill them yet. My biggest bar will do 36" max on the mill. ill buy a 60" 404 bar for my 084 when I get to milling that. they are over 50" in the widest parts. so I wont have any more pic updates until I get the bigger bar, chain and mill. it very well may be a next winter project.
I did some more milling today. also I noticed the oil based sealer I used to seal the ends seems to have sunk into the wood, so I slathered some oil based enamel paint on the ends as well, ill put a second coat tomorrow.
I milled a 32" long piece that gave me 4 slabs 2.75" thick they are 25" wide. I ran into rot in the bottoms of them, I knew I was going to but I just wanted to get what I could from as close to the stump as I could. Being 32" they were set for 2 piece stocks anyway so even the one with the worst rot can yield a butt stock and forend
also I milled 2 more sections of logs I got today that I plan on using for a kitchen table and one bench for it(as our kitchen table is one side against the wall). The 4 long boards are 2" thick 75" long and about 16" wide and the 2 boards from a broken crotch are 3" thick and 40" long. I may mill another narrowish (14"wide) 6' long log tomorrow to make the bench top one peice.
the 2 big crotches that I have, I sealed the ends of them and I cant mill them yet. My biggest bar will do 36" max on the mill. ill buy a 60" 404 bar for my 084 when I get to milling that. they are over 50" in the widest parts. so I wont have any more pic updates until I get the bigger bar, chain and mill. it very well may be a next winter project.
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- Location
- SE corner Sk
I wouldn't mind having a blank like that! Keep me in mind if you ever want to sell one?
Great thread nice to see . I have several gun stocks that started out that way built by a old friend that has passed he cut local wood dried it and built many works of art out of walnut , cherry , maple , butternut trees .Thanks for posting
yes it definitely a labor of love, I do like making stuff and making useable wood from trees is high on the list. At my house in Nova Scotia I have a sawmill that I build that runs a carriage on a track(like a bandsaw mill), a chainsaw bar and chain but with a 18hp vertical shaft V-twin runs the chain, so its not the first time I've made lumber but it is the first time I cut up a tree that had more value as lumber then firewood, so I'm very glad to have people here helping me learn how to treat lumber of value, and not just some spruce or oak
I milled one more log today, its 6' long I got 3 boards from it at 2.5" thick, (14-16" wide) I may look into a few rifle stocks with it even though its a large branch and not a main section of the tree. if I cant use it for rifles stocks ill make a bench with a slab for my kitchen table I plan to make.
I also added a pic of a large section of maple I plan to mill when I get the bigger bar and mill. that hole in it goes right through and the tree grew like that so its not rot in there. its 60" at the widest part and 60" long
1 bay of my wood shed is full, the 5 logs in there took probably 40 hours total (I wasn't rushing) to have them in the state they are in now. From clearing the branches and getting at the tree to cutting it in usable and moveable sections, then to moving it to my place and milling then, then stacking it and sealing the ends 3 coats
I have 4 more bays and only need 2 per year for firewood (its warm here) so i may get some more logs but I want to wait until after march break for people to be able to claim some of the wood before I tank any more.
I milled one more log today, its 6' long I got 3 boards from it at 2.5" thick, (14-16" wide) I may look into a few rifle stocks with it even though its a large branch and not a main section of the tree. if I cant use it for rifles stocks ill make a bench with a slab for my kitchen table I plan to make.
I also added a pic of a large section of maple I plan to mill when I get the bigger bar and mill. that hole in it goes right through and the tree grew like that so its not rot in there. its 60" at the widest part and 60" long
1 bay of my wood shed is full, the 5 logs in there took probably 40 hours total (I wasn't rushing) to have them in the state they are in now. From clearing the branches and getting at the tree to cutting it in usable and moveable sections, then to moving it to my place and milling then, then stacking it and sealing the ends 3 coats
I have 4 more bays and only need 2 per year for firewood (its warm here) so i may get some more logs but I want to wait until after march break for people to be able to claim some of the wood before I tank any more.
I think you scored a great resource, just not a great one for gun stocks, given the size of the tree.
I think that the contrast between the heart and sapwood is frikken awesome! Will make some really great table tops and such, that will sell at prices that will make you laugh at what a decent stock blank is worth, IMHO.
I am really looking forward to seeing how this works out over time, if you keep us posted!
And, for short term use, put the word out locally and someone may have a huge old saw blade and a couple chains, hanging in their shed. Things like 60+ inch blades tend to scare away folks that are buying old saws and the like, at auction, or at garage sales, and the guys that know, they know that they can be changed, eh.
I think that the contrast between the heart and sapwood is frikken awesome! Will make some really great table tops and such, that will sell at prices that will make you laugh at what a decent stock blank is worth, IMHO.
I am really looking forward to seeing how this works out over time, if you keep us posted!
And, for short term use, put the word out locally and someone may have a huge old saw blade and a couple chains, hanging in their shed. Things like 60+ inch blades tend to scare away folks that are buying old saws and the like, at auction, or at garage sales, and the guys that know, they know that they can be changed, eh.
Ill definitely keep you guys updated, I got my self a few more logs from the main section of the tree to milled, I guess people were only excited at the idea of having made lumber, they didn't think how that would get done. then they see the big pieces of logs and not nearly as much was grabbed as people made it seem like they wanted. ill update with pics when the rai stops and i hope t get milling them on this afternoon or tomorrow.
and ill keep this thread updated as things happen but once I have it all cut there wont be many updates, once I start making things ill keep it updated too.
and ill keep this thread updated as things happen but once I have it all cut there wont be many updates, once I start making things ill keep it updated too.
Really nice wood!! What I do to dry wood is I sticker with at least 1” sticker and put them every 16-20” starting and ending really close to the ends! Then I put a ratchet strap at the second stickers from the ends! Reseal the ends a few times and keep the wood in the shade(no sun at all on the wood)! Can’t wait to see a stock out of these pieces(in a few years!!)
