Oak vs chainsaw question

[KMinAF]

I was offered three pieces of rough cut Oak (dunnage) 8" x 10" x 8', thinking I could them re-sawn into usable planks I said yes to the offer. Aside from the fact these things must weigh the better part of 200 pounds each, I loaded them up and took them home. Much to my dismay, none of the local mills are interested in cutting someone else's lumber (fear of nails etc). Plan B; Use my chain saw which is where the question comes in: Both of my saws (vintage Homelite C51 and 14" Mcculloch) will cross cut just fine but absolutely refuse to rip cut. The chain on the Mcculloch is brand new and the Homelite is freshly sharpened with a 30deg angle. What am I doing wrong? Is it because the wood is so hard? I am open to any suggestions.

 

[Finky198]

It requires whats known as ripping chain it has very diff geometry. You're basically cutting through fibers rather than slicing chips.

 

[WWheeler]

It's possible to turn a standard crosscut chain into a ripping chain, but it's more trouble than it's worth. Better just to buy one, but know that even with the right chain it takes a pretty strong saw to handle cutting like that.

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[derosa]

Without a way to keep the saw flat it'll waste a lot of good wood as well, I've seen where a couple nuts and bolts were put in the blade that could run on straight 2x attached to each side of your hoard to help with keeping the cut straight. Chainsaw mills have a fancier blade attachment but still rely on the 2x on each side. Even with a milling chain it will be slow.
Find a friend with a good bandsaw? Someone with a 17" saw or bigger and 2+ hp motor, just use a metal detector first to avoid ruining a good blade. Even with a new 1" resaw blade my saw would probably take over an hour to make 9 8" boards or 7 10" boards so bigger is better here. The local woodmizer will resaw but expect to buy any damaged blades.

 

[manwithtools]

Probably not worth the effort when all said and done. The grade of lumber that is used for dunage is poor enough grade to be used for dunage for a reason, it's not furniture grade.

 

[jumbojak]

Might find someone with a Norwood mill in your area. My brother has one and I think he charges $25 for a new blade if he hits a nail in addition to whatever board feet of lumber you wind up with.

 

[bob15]

You have the wrong saw chain. You need ripping chain.

Saw chain comes in 2 varieties, just like a hand saw; cross-cut hand saw ("normal" saw chain) and rip-cut hand saw (ripping saw chain).

If you must cut it in strips yourself, find a bigfoot circular saw or someone with a portable bandsaw. A sawzall will work but will be tough to cut it straight with any accuracy (been there, did that with an 8" x 8" x 10' hemlock), even after cutting both sides with a circular saw first.

 

[wrenchguy]

+ being frozen.

 

[Richard Cranium]

I second the band saw. Much less waste and a whole lot faster.

 

[MrGiggles]

You need a lot of saw to mill. 70cc minimum, 90 is better, and the right chain to do it.

 

[Boilerhouse]

Is there anyone in the area with a portable sawmill. Cutting other peoples lumber is what they do.

 

[Jazz1]

Might find someone with a Norwood mill in your area. My brother has one and I think he charges $25 for a new blade if he hits a nail in addition to whatever board feet of lumber you wind up with.

Thats what i would be looking for

 

[Showkey]

Do not over look what rosa said.............you will be making a ton of waste. If your cutting 1" rough slabs your making 1/2" of the log of into saw dust in the process. Ok if your doing a few piece on less than perfect wood........but .........any volume at all is going to get old quick.

 

[KMinAF]

It is becoming apparant now why the guy was so happy to let me have them!

 

[bas157]

It is becoming apparant now why the guy was so happy to let me have them!

Worst case....firewood!

 

[ToddW]

8' of 8"x10" why are you trying to rip them into boards... use them to build a shed, or support a span of 8'

If you were local I'd barter something for them! I am building my woodshed with cedar poles because I have them due to drought and beetle damage, and well, we burn oak but if I got my hands on those they'd support the shed in one way or another

 

[kctyphoon]

My vote is for firewood...

 

[jumbojak]

Thats what i would be looking for

Google might turn up results. Heck, they might even come to your house to saw the logs. My brother's rig isn't on a moveable trailer at the moment but the mill is designed to be portable. As much as I hate to say it, Facebook could turn up someone in your area with the equipment to do it.

Just make sure you have a place to store the boards and plentybof stickers to stack them on so you get plenty of airflow. A stack of moldy lumnber is no fun for anyone involved.

 

[cnc-me]

Find someone with a bandsaw to resaw them.
Much less waste than hacking on it with a chainsaw.

I would think even a smaller 20" bandsaw with the right blade would work.