resawing Buckthorn logs

[mr_skittle]

Common Buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica) is a pretty common invasive species all around the Great Lakes (and beyond I'm sure).  I frequently hike a piece of city land where they have recently done a removal and treatment of the shrub. While most of the wood is pretty small in diameter I was lucky enough to find a few that were worth bucking up and dragging back to the car.  Something I was happy to think of at the time was to get pieces with a crotch. I've never used this wood before, has anyone else? I believe I've heard its good for turning...

 I got a really great, old Delta bandsaw last summer and had yet to work much with it. After poking around online a bit I found a couple of log resawing sleds that I liked and threw one together. It's really remarkable how easy it is to cut logs on your bandsaw with a decent sled and a good resaw blade. I have to say I was a little giddy about it, especially when I saw the results.  See for yourselves. 

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Turns out I'm still learning the ins and outs of the new system. Guess I can only put 5 pics per post, or there's a total size limit. Here's a few more pics. This method makes for quite a bit of waste it turns out.  Not a bad stack of really nice wood.  I cut it at about 5/8 - 3/4 thick hoping for some usable half inch material. I should be able to get about 4 inch wide boards out of it. I'm thinking picture frames or small boxes maybe. Any suggestions for how to use the crotch pieces in a way that shows them off?

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I considered whether or not to share this next bit, but we're all kind folks here right? No need to be too embarrassed...

As I said, this bandsaw hasn't seen much action since I got it and gave it a full tune-up last summer. I know most everything about best practices on the bandsaw but as we all know, skill comes with practice. For the first 2 logs I hadn't had any issues when I occasionally backed the sled out past the blade after a cut, but on the second to last cut I lost focus and it's going to cost me $30.  There was some frayed splinters on the end from the chainsaw cut and as I tried to back up the sled, the blade caught on them and forced my fairly new Wood Slicer blade into the metal blade guard. You can all guess the results. I tried to make another cut and it was miserable. The blade was shot, or is it? Can anyone tell me if it can be sharpened or am I looking at an order to Highland Woodworker? Definitely a learning moment but I can almost guarantee it won't happen again.

So there, I've laid my foolish move out on the table for everyone to see. Say what you will, but rest assured that I've already cussed myself out for it.

[TomFromStLouis]

Converting almost any log into lumber is a rewarding experience. I congratulate you. I do not have any buckthorn knowledge, but if it is prone to warping consider clamping your stack as it dries.

Some people resharpen bandsaw blades. So far this excludes me.

[Bill Holt]

Your boards look interesting; I also suggest clamping or weights.

Sharpening is a breeze, there are several You Tube demonstrations.  That said...sharpening will not restore any "set" that was damaged.

Woodworking is such an amazing journey!

[jlanciani]

Not trying to pick nits but you sawed the log, later on you may decide to resaw the slabs.

[Alan S]

A woodslicer has very little set to begin with, and is good for straight cuts in dry stock with little waste.  Resharpening works (I've done it on a woodslicer) but it becomes even worse for green wood as the set decreases, and it's not usually worth the bother to set teeth on a bandsaw blade.

For slicing up green wood into boards, the damp fibers expand into the kerf more.  I'd use a blade with more set, perhaps the one Highland sells specifically for that purpose.  An inexpensive 1/2" 3 TPI blade will work too.

[jteneyck]

You should wax or paint the ends of the boards immediately to prevent them from splitting, if they haven't already.  And put them outdoors or somewhere else where the RH is pretty high.  You want green wood to dry slowly; if it's indoors it will dry too quickly and split.  Where I live in NY it takes 4 to 8 months to air dry 4/4 lumber properly.  With all the work it takes to turn a log into lumber you want to do everything possible to make sure it ends up usable. 

John

[Admiral]

I just was cleaning up the shop and noticed some 2 foot log sections of Osage Orange I picked up from a utility crew cutting around wires, and some logs of either Bradford or Cleveland Pear.  They've been sitting for about 2 years whole as I never got around to milling them.  I was thinking of saw and chisel handles for the pear, mallets from the OO.  I wonder if they are dry.

[Bibliophile 13]

I've been resawing logs on my little bandsaw for years. It is, indeed, rewarding when you get good results. For larger logs, I often split them into halves or even quarters and then saw them up from there. Good outfeed support helps a lot with stuff longer than a couple feet.

I would also suggest getting a different blade. Resawing lumber is always a hazard, and if you're going to ruin a blade by hitting some kind of debris, best not to ruin an expensive one. Also, if you're doing a lot with wet lumber, a blade with more set won't be as prone to bog down. Get the coarsest hook-tooth blade you can put on the saw and go at it.

[Stwood_]

Yea I've done that over the years, saving those special pieces.
Some were walnut, which I've made all my current Buck chisels handles out of. I still have a lot of that laying about.


No ideas on the buckthorn. I've never seen it up close I guess.