Ideas for a jig to hold logs on bandsaw?

[Jack Ganssle]

Folks,

Last night I made a sled for the BS so I could run logs through it and make lumber. The results were so-so as the log wanted to move around on the sled while sawing.

Has anyone made a sled or something that worked OK? The problem is that the log is awfully hard to clamp, especially considering that it has to be moved into a new position after each plank is sawn off.

These are short, 3' logs maybe 8" in diameter. I've got some nice cherry that really wants to be made into boxes. And it is sort of fun to harvest lumber.

Jack

[Anthony Whitesell]

If you figure that the last inch or so of the log is junk (ie., that last slice) then you can use a few sheetrock screws through the upright part of the sled (I'll assume it's 3/4" plywood) that are 1 1/2" to 1 3/4" long.

[Dewey Torres]

http://www.kudzupatch.com/woodshop/resaw_logs/

[Peter Quinn]

Sounds like you need a Laguna Log master! Or at least go to their site and check out the goofy video for ideas about how to design similar features into a shop made sled.

Keep in mind the few people I know that make these sleds make one for each log from cheap plywood, screw into one face of the log and cut the jig and log with each pass, so the jig is sacrificial in the process. Nothing fancy, just a few pieces of CDX plywood joined at a right angle.

[Terry Stellman]

I built one like the video. The pipe clamp holds the log and you just slide it through. Mine makes use of the miter slot to control the sled as it slides across the saw. You can make it any length you want but mine is about 6 feet so that it will handle logs slightly less. I have used it on red oak logs up to 16 inches in diameter and the pipe clamp with two screws in each end hold everything very securely. Somewhere out on the web there are plans to build it or something a little smaller, you just scale it to whatever size you need.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1608739040860826638&q=Bandsaw+sled+cutting+log

Terry

[Chris Schumann]

Wood Magazine has an article you can download for $7 that has a plan for a bandsaw log sled. I plan to make one ... any day now ... for some elm and apple from my yard.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUL6FN4bQNs
http://www.woodstore.net/fiyoownwoand.html

And do watch the Laguna Lumber Master video too.

Also, remember that as you cut slices off, the wood may become unsupported. That's why they usually cut one side, then turn the log and put that face down.