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Thread: Cutting corners

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Location
    Midlands of South Carolina
    Posts
    390

    Question Cutting corners

    I have been cutting up some walnut for bowl blanks. I built a sawhorse stand to hold the logs for cutting in half, and it is stable and secure. I can use the chainsaw to cut the log chunk in half (lying on it's side) to get two bowl blanks, but I am having difficulty sawing off the corners to get a octagonal/roundish shape. I cannot figure out how to secure the "1/2 log" so that it does not move when using the chainsaw to knock off the corners. Since I am cutting with the flat side up (to see the 14"-16" circle better), the rounded bottom wants to roll/pitch/spin at I cut. It is too dangerous to try and hold the piece still with one hand and chainsaw one-handed, so I need a method to secure the blank. I have had limited success with chocks/wedges on each side. Even if I cut with a template on top and the flat side down, it will want to move around. Maybe some kind of clamp frame?

    My band saw is smallish and cannot handle this thickness of blank.

    I assume someone has already worked out a good solution to this

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    Goodland, Kansas
    Posts
    22,605
    I put the flat side down on a couple of railroad ties that I attached a clamp strap to with a couple of long sheet metal screws and big washers. I wrap it around the log, cinch it down and cut. They stay pretty much still for me. I use a electric chainsaw and whack off the corners on the great big stuff but use my Grizzly on blanks up to 10" thick. The corners don't have the be that perfect cause that is what the lathe is for.
    Last edited by Bernie Weishapl; 11-03-2008 at 4:51 PM.
    Bernie

    Never put off until tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow.

    To succeed in life, you need three things: a wishbone, a backbone and a funnybone.



  3. #3
    Rick,
    I just cut a corner at 45 deg with the flat side down on some scrap piece of wood. I also use a saw with a large dog and bring the dog to the wood, then start the cut.
    Rich s.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Longview WA
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    27,312
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    1
    I need a method to secure the blank.
    I just recently built a "bucking" horse to hold logs that are being cut into firewood.

    It was a bit "over built." All of the joints were lapped. One stretcher has a peg on it to hold an eye on one end of a rope. The other stretcher was rounded so the rope will slip over smoothly. Then a "trucker's hitch" is tied to cinch the rope around the short pieces to be cut in half. It could be modified to have a lever, like on a carvers bench, to hold the piece being cut by tensioning the jaw with a rope and hitch.

    I guess I should take some pictures and post them.

    jim

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Mason Michigan
    Posts
    1,949
    This is what I built from a suggestion from Stu.
    http://www.laymar-crafts.co.uk/tip33.htm
    A few hours south of Steve Schlumpf

  6. #6
    follow Pete's suggestion. I built that one and it works great

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Rich Souchek View Post
    Rick,
    ... I also use a saw with a large dog and bring the dog to the wood, then start the cut.
    Rich s.
    Doesn't that scare the dog?

    Doggone it! I was hoping someone else would say that so I wouldn't have to.

    More seriously, I'm really interested in this subject as I haven't come up with a good way to round off large blanks... except hold 'em down with my foot, which isn't recommended by anyone, including my wife. Rich, I know what a dog is on a sawmill, but not sure what you are talking about here. Is it something you built or bought?

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    oregon roseburg, go ducks!
    Posts
    91

    dogs and pallets

    I do alot of chainsawing and yep there are dogs at work , ( dogs are the pointy things next to the bar that dig into the log as the chain pulls), as for a cutting stucture for rounding etc.
    I have a couple of pallets one sits on 2 blocks of wood so its at a 45 degree angle and about knee high . into this i have a couple srap 2x4's to make an X frame . you can load a short log onto it to slice in half etc. seond pallet is just sitting flat on the ground and you can put the half log between the slats to cut off the corners. cut the top 2 corners off then rotate the slab 180 and do the remaining ones. its pretty simple and no nails to hit ( since you know where all the nails are on the pallet) when you have knicked enough of the pallet that it starts to fall apart you can turn the other side up or just grab a new one. pallets are everywhere avalible for free it seems.
    for a mobile take it to the tree thing I have a 2x8 with 2x6 sides about 24 inches long I can take to trees to keep my saw out of the dirt when halving logs.
    good luck, be safe,,,

  9. #9
    If the logs are bigger, in the 12 inch size or so, when you rip down the center, don't cut all the way through. Then, cut a flat size for the bottom of the bowl blank (you have to turn this part off anyway). Again don't cut all the way through. Do this on both sides. Then roll the log over and finish the cuts from the top. This was from Bill Grumbine. Having a flat bottom really helps the blank sit still when trimming off the corners. You can also use the trimmed corners from other pieces to block up the blank you are working on. this is better than cutting a rounded log on a flat surface. Another method is to cut a V into a log end grain wise. This is handy for ripping the round log , and trimming the corners as well. I keep one log on end in my cutting area, and this V happens naturally over the course of a few months of use. When trimming off the corners, I also like the dogs to be in the wood close to the blade. This means if you are trimming the corners, and the top is up, you will cut off the left corner first, and work your way around the log counter clock wise. If the dogs aren't in the log to start the cut, the log wants to spin into the saw. It is a leverage thing. I do keep a bunch of plywood strips, in half inch increments from 1 to 8 inches. When I am marking out a log for cutting, I can mark both the top and bottom of a bowl blank this way. Much faster than measuring out everything.
    robo hippy

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