Getting Lumber Cut

[Chuck Isaacson]

I have about nine black walnut, a few ash, some big red pine and a few other various logs. I took it to the saw mill and it is waiting to get cut. I was wondering what you guys think on how I should get it cut up. I would love to hear your opinions. I want to build mostly tables, cabinets, and other smaller projects. I do have a bed that I want to make though. Let me know.

Chuck

[Paul Greathouse]

I would have it all cut 5/4 (1 1/4"). After drying, jointing and planing, 5/4 will easily yield 3/4", which would be perfect for what you intend to use it for. If you need table legs or something else thick, you can do glue-ups.

I tried to get a higher yield from some logs once and had them cut 1 1/8". I had to be careful how I preped the wood to be able to get 3/4" from it. On some of the more cupped boards I had to go down to 5/8" to get a true board.

[Frank Drew]

Chuck,

I agree with Paul about having boards cut thicker than you think you'll want to end up with once they're dried; if the logs aren't too big 1-1/8" would work; wider boards (coming from bigger logs) maybe go with his 5/4 because there's more potential movement in a wider board.

But don't have all the lumber cut the same thickness; you'll need thicker stock for legs (I'm not a big fan of glueups for this purpose) and if you're planning a bed 16/4 or even 20/4 (4 or 5 inch) might be appropriate for the posts, depending on the design.

Most sawmills like to slab logs (square them up) and then cut for grade, flipping the cant every couple of cuts, but if it was me, I'd have them cut through and through, leaving the bark edge (the waney edge), cutting thinner boards from the outside and thicker stuff from the middle.

[Corey Wilcox]

Chuck,

I like to have my logs squared and then split right down the middle (except for the walnut which I ask them not to square so I can preserve the sapwood). That get's rid of the pith of the log. Then I flip one of the halves on edge and saw through and through as Frank explained above. Doing it this way you'll get some flatsawn, riftsawn, and quartersawn boards which is nice for variety in your projects. I usually cut the bulk into 5/4, but also get some 8/4 along the way to use for table legs. Gluing up thinner stock works fine for table legs, but some times it's difficult to get the grain to match the way you want and the glue line ends up being too visible. Just my $0.02.

[Frank Drew]

For frame and panel cabinets (w/ or w/o doors) and passage doors, the rift and quarter sawn stock Corey mentions work nicely for the frame parts since it's very straight grained and stable, leaving the showier flat sawn material for the panels.