is sawing a log with a chainsaw hard?

[John Keeton]

Justin, I would see if I could get a good sledge, perhaps a froe, and a couple of wedges, and try to split the log. That won't be easy, either, but it probably will go quicker than the chainsaw. It is safer, no waste, and you will get rived wood that is with the grain. Just a thought. I have used a chainsaw quite a bit, and I wouldn't even consider this task as being worth the effort. Ash is going to be very obtainable in the near future with the ash borers spreading rapidly. It will be like chestnut - lots of it, cheap, and then no more!

[Allan Froehlich]

I just bought a Stihl MS290 for this specific task.

I tried ripping a 2 foot long by 1.5 foot across log down the center to see how easily it can be done. It took me about 10 minutes to accomplish this with a very sharp blade. The saw only bogged when I forced it. I think that an Alaskan Mill will make the task a lot easier.

I'd say that the chainsaw would be the real limiting factor.

[Randy Cohen]

I think John has the right idea.....split it first with a sledge and some wedges. It is pretty easy to do if you can avoid any knots.

[Pete Bradley]

Couldda cut it up in the time it took to read this thread...Just duit!
Not hard at all with a strong back and a sharp chain.

He'd not looking to cut it up, he wants to rip it into boards. You're not gonna do that fast with a chainsaw no matter how strong your back is.

[Greg Hines, MD]

You would do much better to find someone with a portable sawmill. Chainsawing a log is hard work. The other problem, if you do not have some kind of guide, is keeping your boards square. The guides help with keeping a consistent thickness, but you may still have some twist to it.

Doc

[Gary Muto]

That's a good idea

[Chip Lindley]

Chainsawing lumber is Very Wasteful, and expensive to get started, buying a decent chainsaw with 20" or 24" bar, and a jig such as the Alaskan Chainsaw Mill to track the saw. Chainsawing wastes almost 1/3 of your wood! Each kerf is 3/8" or more! Thats LOTS of Sawdust!

Bandsaw mills are the WAY TO GO! With only a 1/16+" kerf, it is said that you get every 5th board FREE! I have had much nice lumber sawed by a retiree with a very nice WoodMizer top-of-the-line mill! He charges very little IF I haul the logs to him and handle the lumber as it comes off the mill, stacking it back in my truck. I haul my bark slabs back home also to feed the woodstove!

Try to strike a deal with the sawyer. Many have portable bandsaw mills and will gladly cut your log(s) with another batch they are doing, IF YOU BRING THE LOGS TO THEM. Much cheaper to borrow a truck or rent a trailer to haul the logs, than to invest in a BIG chainsaw rig for just a few logs. Chainsaws are DANGEROUS in untrained hands!! I cannot over-emphasize this Enough!

[Scott Coffelt]

Not that I have tried it, but what about a porta-bandsaw? Takes a much smaller blade so minimal waste. Could one get a 2-3 tooth blade for one of those. Again, never used one but wonder if one fo those could be rented and used. Maybe one could rig up a jig to slide it along. Seems like a similar design to some mills I have seen.

[Tom Walz]

Chain Saws are very dangerous. I have used them 40 years including using them professionally as a logger and they sill scare me.

Steel or titanium toed boots are a really good idea. So are chaps, hard hat as well as eye and ear protection. Good gloves help with the vibration they have some good safety gloves out.

You can do this but it is going to be a lot of boring work. You are going to get very tired and it will be tough concentrating. In the mean time the saw will be vibrating and wanting to drift and twist. Chain saws can get away from you. Chains can come off. Bars come loose.

A table saw takes fingers and a chain saw takes arms or legs. Before you rent one and start cutting find someone who can show you how to do so safely.

[John Keeton]

Each kerf is 3/8" or more! Thats LOTS of Sawdust!

And, that is only if you can keep the chainsaw traveling in a straight line - no small feat on a 6' cut with the grain.

[David Keller NC]

Justin - You don't say how you want to cut the log - the other posters have assumed that you want to rip it (which will yield boards) rather than cross-cut it (which will yield either turning blanks or firewood depending on your needs).

My guess is that you wish to cut this down into guitar necks, in which case you're talking about ripping (cutting along the grain). If instead you want guitar body blanks, that's a bit easier because you can cut the log in half into 2 three foot long sections, and figure you'll lose about a foot off of each blank to end checking.

I have an Granberg International Alaskan chainsaw lumber mill, a Stihl 066 Magnum, a 4 foot bar, and various rip chains. I've sawn up quite a few red oak and white oak monster logs, so I can give you an idea of the difficulty.

You really cannot do this without a monster chainsaw and a chainsaw guide (like the Alaskan). It -might- be possible to do if you're ripping 3 foot long sections of the log without one, but a 6 foot long section will pretty much require it. Even with an 066 magnum (one step down from the biggest saw Stihl makes), it takes roughly 20 lbs of force against the saw in the direction of the cut, continuously, to make about 3 inches a minute in a 20" diameter red oak log. 20 lbs. might not sound like much, but when you have to push against the saw continuously, you will be one tired puppy at the end of the day (I certainly am).

The reason so much power (from the saw and you) is required is that, as other posters have noted, you're cutting end-grain, which is very much harder than face or edge grain.

So - I think you can see that ripping one 6' long ash log into boards is not a practical way to save any money, because you'll need about $1100 to buy the saw, the rip chains, a power sharpener, and the chainsaw jig (the lumber mill). If you're going to do it on a regular basis in a location that is inaccessible to a trailer-mounted bandsaw mill, that's a different story.

Finally, and even though ash does not split easily, what John suggested is the quickest, least labor intensive, and cheapest way to get guitar neck blanks and guitar body blanks - a few wedges and a sledge hammer are really cheap in comparison to a chainsaw lumber mill.

[Cody Colston]

No offense taken I just don't know how to go about doing this. there isnt a sawyer around who will set up for less than 500bf and I dont want to haul these logs all the way to him and back.

At .30 cents per bf, the 500 ft. minimum is only $150. That's probably less than renting a large chain saw for a day and if you count your labor, considerably less.

If you are set on sawing up the log, I'd haul it to a sawyer...in fact, I have a friend who regularly gives me Cedar logs off his place as he clears it. When he has a trailer load, I go pick them up and haul them to a local sawmill to be sawn into 5/4 planks. I usually get 300-400 bf per trailer load for less than $1.00 per bf including my gas.

[Justin Cavender]

I am wanting 10/4 slabs for making electric guitar bodies Ash is a great wood for electric guitars has lots of sustain and is very stable. I have located a come along truck and trailer to borrow and a place to dry it so I am going to haul it to the sawyer. Will waxing the ends and stacking and stickering under a deck be a good place to dry it?

[Cody Colston]

Will waxing the ends and stacking and stickering under a deck be a good place to dry it?

Under a deck will be okay if 1. It is covered from the rain and 2. It gets plenty of air flow. Make sure it is well off the ground and if more than one layer, be sure and place the stickers directly above each other.

I think you made a good decision about taking it to a sawyer.

[James Carmichael]

I'll bite. Is this a trick question? What do you think chainsaws were invented for? Sorry if I sound sarcastic but I had to respond to you. Please don't take offense. It will be harder if you have a dull chain. You might want an extra chain depending on how many cuts you plan since ash is a pretty hard wood.

I'm pretty sure he means milling the log, not felling. The latter is what chainsaws were invented for, the former is a beating for chainsaw and operator.

Unless you intend to get into milling your own lumber on a regular basis, I'd take it to a mill.

There's various forms of chainsaw mills, going from a couple hundred bucks to the $2k price range (just for the mill). For regular milling, a commercial chainsaw (e.g. Stihl or Husqvarna) minimum 70cc, is recommended.

Google Logosol and go to their site. They're a mfr of higher-end CS mills for the hobbyist. They have a search for registered mill owners you could contact. If there's one near you, they may mill your log for free and/or let you try it out (I expect you'd have to take it to them, though).

As you can see, I've researched this considerbly as I have access to many acres of hardwoods, but concluded that pushing 50 and degenerative disk & joint disease starting to take hold, running a big chainsaw all day just wasn't going to be much fun anymore.

If I ever get around to harvesting much timber, I'll locate a portable mill.