Milling cherry logs on bandsaw -- how hard should this be?

[Bob Grassley]

Hello.

I have an 18" Steel City bandsaw. Using a new 3/4" blade.

Today I built a jig for milling some cherry logs. The jig rides on the bandsaw fence and the logs are screwed to it. Pretty simple device.

The log I was milling today is about 8" in diameter. Cutting the edges off was easy---the bandsaw hardly seemed to notice. However, once I started on the major sections of the log the saw really bogged down. The blade was wandering pretty badly (it was tensioned nicely, I believe) and I even popped the reset on the saw.

Is this normal? My feed rate was pretty slow but I was surprised that the saw had so much difficulty. Perhaps this is just a good example of inexperience or perhaps milling wet cherry lumber is just a tough chore for an 18" saw.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[Julian Nicks]

You didn't specify what type of blade you are using. That's probably the problem, since wet wood requires a different blade.

I'd suggest a 2 to 3 tpi skip tooth blade.

[Myk Rian]

perhaps milling wet cherry lumber is just a tough chore for an 18" saw.

That would do it.
I resaw 8" wood all the time on my 14" Delta with a 1/4" blade. But the wood is dry.

[Bob Grassley]

Just checked my blade: looks to be 6 TPI. Not a good choice for this job?

[Mike Cutler]

Just checked my blade: looks to be 6 TPI. Not a good choice for this job?

Not for wet green lumber. On dry lumber it will leave a nice smooth surface. For green/wet you may want to try something in the 2-3tpi range.

[David Keller NC]

Bob - There's another possibility. If your jig is made to ride in the miter slot of the saw table, then the blade has to be very carefully aligned to cut precisely on this line. Otherwise, the blade will be tracking off and binding the blade in the cut, particularly with a wide, 3/4" blade.

You might choose to switch to a thinner blade - it'll have less of a chance to bind in the kerf, and precision is generally not as big a deal when you're sawing a log.

And - I think you will be forced to align the cutting angle with the miter slot at least to some degree. You can do this pretty easily with the blade tracking adjustment, though it will take a fair amount of trial and error.

[Ted Christiansen]

Bob,

I agree with the previous posters on the alignment issue. The problem is that bandsaw blades have a drift angle, and it is difficult to adjust the tracking to eliminate it.

I have cut a fair amount of logs to lumber on my Jet 18" saw, but gave up using a jig or fixture. What I do now is snap a chalk line down the middle of the log and make the first cut freehand. Then I take the half log and place the flat face on the table and cut a straight edge. I then set the fence to the desired width, turn the log end for end and cut the opposite face. Lastly turn the log with the long face vertical, snap a chalk line at 5/4 and cut a board. Repeat until finished.

Regards,

Ted

[Bob Grassley]

Thank for all of the posts. Now that I have a minute to get back to this I am going to swap out blades in my saw. I have a 3 TPI 3/8" blade that should do much better.

Bob

[Kevin Godshall]

I've found out (after much trial and error) that to really do a good job resawing green/wet wood, you really need to have your saw dialed in. Blade alignment, tension, dust removal...... all of it.

I fought with my Grizz Ultimate 14" (with riser installed) for quite a bit before I got it all set up just right. Now resawing is "just another operation" that it does.

The blade is a huge component tho. Like mentioned above, get one made for this purpose and start from there.

[jason lambert]

Also there is more to the blade than just 3tpi a blade used to cut wet lumber the teeth are at more of a off set to each other for a wider cut since the lunber has more of a tendecy to spring closed. Call a real blade place like timberwolf they will set you up or tell you what to look for. Also get the widest blade you can 1" wide or bigger.

[Bill Bezilla]

I have successfully turned quite a few boards into lumber on my 18" Minimax.

Step 1 adjust fence for blade drift
Step 2 make infeed/ outfeed tales so you can safely support the log
Step 3 attach a board the same length as the the log to one face of the log
Step 4 attach a 2nd board 90 degrees to the first. Sometime this tkes some shimming and blocking but is an important step
Step 5 Make first cut with one baord aginst the fence and the other on the table
Step 6 Rotate log 90 degrees and make 2nd cut.
Step 7 remove Board and cut the remaining 2 faces to make a square or recatangular log.
Step 8 Set fence to desired board thickness and start making lumber.

For Green wood - highland woodworking carries a woodslicer specially designed for green wood.

[Cody Colston]

I've sawn several logs into boards on my 17" Grizzly band saw. I use a 1/2", 3 tpi, AS Timberwolf blade and it works great. I pop a chalk line for each cut and saw along it, angling the log as needed to account for blade drift.A large auxiliary table is a big help.

I've sawn lots of Cedar but also Red Elm, Hackberry, Cypress and Post Oak. Logs in the 4' to 5' length are the longest I've done but I have sawn some larger than the 12" re-saw capacity on my saw. Since the log is round, you can saw off the sides to get it somewhat square as the tallest part of the log is not under the guides.