A Sawyer Question

[skypn]

I have no idea what I am talking about, so that is why I'm here.

I have an oak log that is 9" dia, 19" length. It was part of a tree that was cut down last Dec in SE MI, and has been stored outside since. I would like to make an 8x10 picture frame from it, so, I think I need to yield four joined and planned boards roughly 1" x3 to 5"x18".
I have many, many questions
. Here are just the first four.

First, before I do anything, how should I store this log until I do anything.
Second, how should I slice it? I have a band saw with an 8" clearance, and a chainsaw. Will either of these tools help me?
Third, will a log this size give me the yield I need? I can always grab another log, as there is quite a few.
Fourth, ballpark,  how long will it take to dry if I put in my house (basement ok?)?

I'm not doing this to try to save money, and the tree didn't mean that much to my SIL (who the frame would be), just thought, what the hey, it would be cool to try, and not let all that oak just get burned.

TIA

[Wild Turkey]

You want to trim it to a square log that will fit in your bandsaw, then cut that square into quarters, yielding the "quarter sawn" flecks.

First inspect it for any radial cracks. You will need to saw along the biggest cracks to form the "quarters" so do some planning and layout before you cut.

Maybe someone else can tell you more about drying.

[Steve N]

I have an oak log that is 9" dia, 19" length. It was part of a tree

That was either a really small tree, or maybe that size of a piece is off of a limb???????????

Limb wood has a lot of stressors, and even the best of care you will be hard pressed to get something as exacting as a picture frame to come together, and stay that way. The stress in a limb causes it to move a lot when it is drying, and it is usually more susceptible to seasonal movement as well.

Quote from a guy who knows more about wood than I do.

"Limbs have a great deal of tensionwood and compressionwood (hardwood and softwood, respectively). Flat lumber is hard to achieve."

So if it was a smallish tree, good you can use it, if it was a limb, if you have a lathe you could try turning it, but lumber is a tall order for limbs.

[skypn]

Yes Steve, it was a limb. Thank you for sharing that information, as I would have never thought of that. You have saved me a ton of aggravation and wasted time.

[TomFromStLouis]

Limb wood is usable as lumber IF it was a perfectly vertical limb. Any leaners are out. How to tell? The pith on vertical growth should be dead center whereas leaning limbs will pack on more wood under the pith for support. So if your pith is way off center you have firewood.

Since I actually know a little more about this subject (even though it is probably a dead and done thread), I will advise that cutting the log into slabs or chunks or boards is the first step towards drying. Oak must be dried slowly. So I would have established a sizable flat along one edge of the log (jointer) and used this to run it through the bandsaw. 

For me, converting a small log into any kind of usable wood was a very valuable step in becoming a woodworker.

[MichaelMouse]

Limb wood is usable as lumber IF it was a perfectly vertical limb. Any leaners are out. How to tell? The pith on vertical growth should be dead center whereas leaning limbs will pack on more wood under the pith for support. So if your pith is way off center you have firewood..

If you use the stuff on the up (larger side) of the heart, should be no problem.  LOTS of axe handles have been rived out of open-growth branch wood, which, by the way, is what I'd  do to establish my flat to rest on the table.  Froe ideal, wedge and glut acceptable.  The medullary rays make for an easier split.

[Steve N]

Tom that is interesting. I've never met a sawyer who would mess with limbs, instant firewood. Can you say a % you find as good and usable. The guy who I quoted was Gene Wengert who by the Mousketeeers thought must be a no good quack hack. All this time I thought he was pretty well respected. Or maybe he stepped in it

[TomFromStLouis]

Gene knows his stuff. Much of what I know comes from him.

To me, anything above the first main crotch is limb wood, don't know if that is correct use. Nakashima preferred slabs with big knots from branching, so by my thinking he used limb wood. I suppose others could call those second or third cuts trunk wood. Whatever, vertical growth good. Not always worth sawing though, especially when sawing for grade.

[ianab]

No professional sawyer is going to mess with a 9" dia limb. It's very likely to turn in a pretzel is it dries due to the uneven stress, and the wood from any 9" "log" is going to be both small and low grade.

But, that doesn't mean you can't putz around with it and make a couple of small bits of "project wood".

End coat it with some sealing wax to stop the ends drying out too fast and cracking. Then I would rip it in 1/2 lengthways with a chainsaw. That gives you 2 D "logs" with a flat edge that you can run through the band saw and make some small boards. Stack these up out of the way on stickers and forget them for a few months. If they turn into pretzels, you have some nice dry artisan kindling. If they stay straight enough to joint and plane into a picture frame, carry on.

I sometimes putz around with small offcuts of wood like that, just to recover something "different". Sometimes it works, sometimes it goes on the burn pile.

[alnandy]

Our firm has over 4 mills that custom saw for us; everything from walnut to pine to exotics. We tell them where and how to saw our logs. We will use limbs; we bought the tree and are not in the firewood business. The top half of a limb has wood in tension, while the bottom half is in compression. The correct way to saw lumber from limbs is to orient the limb/log so the sawn boards contain only tension or only compression wood. Orienting the log is easy, as the end grain shows the compressed or tensed growth rings clearly. We had to teach this well known procedure to a couple of our suppliers.
Also, Gene Wengert has had a highly respected career with the Forest Products Laboratory. He's probably forgotten more than his critics ever learned. I don't always agree with Gene, but that doesn't mean either of us is wrong, just different approaches.