Guiding a Chainsaw

[Jerry Ziliak]

I have a Logosol TimberJig (still in the box).

Need to make cross section cuts from end of tropical hardwood cants, some as large as 20in. x 20in. x 8ft long. Need flat smooth cuts that are at right angles to faces of cant. Freehand cutting does not yield what I need......taper, steps etc. on cut face. Has anyone developed a technique that allows chainsaw's bar to be guided through the cut eliminating the squareness and flatness issues. For me its a quality issue and a productivity issue. Need flat, square faces to take to bandsaw table or I end up chasing my tail and reintroducing "defects" into bandsawn faces and edges.

Don't know if TimberJig can be safely edge guided from end of cant, recognize it is designed for guiding on a long surface in a ripping cut along the grain rather than across it.

A practical alternative to freehand cut offs on the ends of large cants would certainly be appreciated.

[keith ouellette]

I'm not sure if this is practical or even what you want. I saw a jig someone made once. It was over six foot tall rail that had a chainsaw bar attached to it so the chainsaw could move vertically. The log was stood on end an a small platform with a large wooden vice at the bottom and a set of pincers at the top to hold the log. The saw traveled down the rail for the cut, would be lifted up and the log repositioned for the next cut. It was home made and I did not see it work myself but the thing was explained to me and I was told it worked. It would be a lot of work for one log.

[Jerry Ziliak]

I need to cut through the cant while it is lying in place on the ground ......without resorting to freehand cut.