Walnut Log

[Tom Cowie]

Adam it's always great to see what"s inside when you cut up a log. I have milled several and though not all have yielded great boards there have been many beautiful ones that would have been lost to firewood .

Tom

[Frank Drew]

Adam

Have you decided how you want the log sawn? Many sawyers like to "saw for grade", first slabbing the log to roughly square it up, then cutting from the best face for a few boards, then flipping the log and cutting from another face, then flipping again, and so on. Problem with that method is that the centering of the log's natural grain pattern is quickly lost and you end up with narrower and narrower boards, which is why I'd suggest having the log sawn through and through (flitch sawn) without first slabbing. That method, in my opinion, gives the best looking, widest boards. And ask for some thick stuff (10/4, 12/4 or 16/4) from the center cuts since you might need, or want, leg stock.

I also agree to cut heavier than your intended finished size because wood both shrinks and moves (in the case of wide boards, tends to cup), so you'll need extra thickness in order to esure you'll have flat stuff once the lumber is dry and machined.

Most importantly, you need to stack and sticker the wood very carefully so that the wood dries as flat as possible, with as little degradation as possible; off the ground maybe a foot or more (my method: cinder blocks every couple of feet, then two nailed-together pairs of 2x6s on edge running the long direction, shimmed as needed to make sure their top edges are parallel with each other, then 2x4s (a bit longer that the width of your widest, or bottommost, board) on edge every 18-24 inches crossways on top of the 2x6s and on top of those your first board, then 3/4"-1" stickers between your boards lined up with the 2x4s.) And you should have everything ready and be prepared to stack your material right when you bring it home from the sawmill, not a month or two later. Somewhere with some air movement but out of the direct sunlight would be best. You can put some scrap wood or weighted-down corrugated metal sheeting on top of your stack to keep the rain off if it's not under a roof. Note: You're going to need a LOT of stickers -- one very near each board end then one every 1-1/2-2 feet, times however many boards you're stacking; they can be made from scrap, even veneer- or lumber-core plywood, and each layer's stickers need to be the same thickness and about as long as the boards are wide, but you can use 1" thick in one layer, 3/4" in another... [I'm probably telling you stuff you already know.]

Remember, your finished wood will only be as flat as that first layer.

Good luck.

[Charlie Plesums]

....
I do have a Grizz 18" BS with a new 1-1/4-3TPI carbide impregnated blade that I would love to try my hand at sawing some flat stock.. Am definitely saving some of the lower trunk and the 1st branch off , for future use on my lathe... At least if I can screw up the courage to approach that spinning chunk of wood!!
Thank you...
GeneO

The carbide bandsaw blades I know are for dry wood only - use a special blade designed for green wood if you are going to do any of the sawing on your vertical bandsaw.

[Josiah Bartlett]

From experience-
Wet walnut weighs at least twice as much as dry. I hope your trailer is stout.

I second the flitch sawing. If you have a good, big resaw bandsaw I would recommend sawing it into 6/4 or 8/4 pieces and resawing it when you need it. It takes a few years to dry that way though.