Everything is easy with the right tools, but you’re probably not going to want to buy a $10,000 sawmill setup to cut just a few boards. So how do you do it?
There are lots of ways, and they will be tedious, but it could work.
If you’re like me, you want to “use every part of the buffalo.” And that principle applies to the trees on our property as well. We were blessed to have purchased a place with many black walnut trees. They make a beautiful wood. And, we decided many of them should come down, not only for the wood, but to keep them from killing the gardens. Black Walnut produces a chemical, juglone, that kills other plants. So it’s time for them to go.
We have used the walnuts themselves, the husks of them, to make a black walnut stain. That could be a separate post. But the medium size branches all get cut up into firewood, and the trunks are cut into 8 ½ ft lengths to make into boards. A standard board length is 8 ft, but because you’ll have some cracking in the drying process of making boards, you’ll want to go longer; 8 ½ or 9 ft. After felling the tree with a chainsaw (other methods like axe or even a handsaw are possible and I’ve done them), and cutting the trunk into lengths, you’ll be left with a few sections weighing hundreds of pounds. Now what? Some times I have peeled off all the bark with a pry bar. I’m not sure if this was worth the time. Maybe I was trying to marginally lighten the log, or have less material to cut through, but the time it took was significant. When the log lengths are too heavy to carry, I’ve moved them with a nice “cant hook,” a bar about 5 ft long made of metal with a large hook on it. I then slowly work the log into place on my driveway, raising it up with “caveman physics” (TM) and putting it on specially made logs with v-shapes cut into them so it won’t roll away. On these logs get the log length a couple feet off the ground so it can ergonomically be cut.
The primary method I’ve used to cut log lengths is an Alaskan Granberg attachment for my chainsaw. These cost only 100 or 200 dollars. It does have the limit of about 16” wide boards, and goes pretty darn slow! The videos you see on youtube are sped up 10x. Expect to take an hour to cut a single board, and that’s with a sharp chain! The setup is a time-consuming challenge as well. I’ve made my own “ladder” out of 2×4’s which is the guide that the attachment travels on to make the boards flat. And I have additional boards I screw onto the ends of the long lengths, being sure to make them level to the earth, before putting the ladder on top.
I have found another method for making boards that I quite like. I should note first that in all these cases it is really only worth it to make nice walnut, cherry, or cedar boards. If you want pine, its better just to buy it. Well, anyways, I have recently taken to using my circular saw to cut in 3 inches on either side of a log, and then connecting the cut through the middle with an old fashion cross-cut saw. People almost give these things away at garage sales. And they seem to think that their only purpose is to hand them on the wall as a reminder of a bygone era. Well, the saws still work! I get some of the best long wood shaving with a crosscut saw. I’ve got one saw that is a 1-man saw with a handle on just one end, and another saw that is 2-man with a handle on either end. I usually prefer the former. (I’m not saying that I don’t have any friends, I just don’t have any that will work for me for free!)
Well, then you’ve got to stack and “sticker” your boards, with thin strips of wood to keep airflow. And the rule of them is to let them air dry for a year per inch of thickness. I really don’t like drying them outside where they constantly get rained on a grow all sorts of things on them. So I often dry stacks in the garage or a dehumidified storage room by my basement. Mine tend to dry in less than a year by those methods. Some cracks develop, and being cheap (or Dutch, or both) I don’t buy any fancy produce to slow down the cracking; I simply use whatever old paint I have in stock. And I have tons of old paint; often given away when someone moves. You paint the end of the boards of course.
I’ve probably made 400 (?) board ft of mostly walnut over the last few years. I’ve got walnut trim in my house, a door made out of it, furniture, a wall, a desk, all sorts of things. Now I can scarcely handle looking at cheap wood from the store, and would never build anything out of plywood or other manufactured products. Real wood is where its at, and you probably have a ton of it on your property. Even my 1/3 of an acre had a massive amount of walnut and maple.
Well, how else have I cut boards? I’ve definitely used a table saw beyond its intent. But for small (7-8”) logs you can probably find a way to cut them on the table saw as I have. I had high hopes for a bandsaw, but mine is definitely under-powered for anything like a log.
When the boards are dry, you’ll have to cut them straight. I use a chalk-line and a circular saw, and then cut the opposite side on the table saw. I often cut 2” boards as well as 1”, and leave some extra (maybe 1/8”) to account for the thickness that will be removed on the planar. My planar only fits up to 10” wide, so any boards wider than that I usually cut in half.
I do all of this work in my driveway and 1-stall garage with almost no expense. All of the tools I have acquired for free or near free. The work is difficult and tedious, but consider it part of your work out regimen and you’ll be less disappointed.
What else … well, having a friend with a sawmil has also been a great connection. My sawmill friend quickly cut a few logs for me, but then has been too busy to do anymore free work, so I’ve been paying for boards from a professional sawmill. And frankly, you’re probably just better off paying for boards, considering how many hours it takes to cut your own. But, I figure, you’ve got to do something with the trees that fall on your property. I suppose you can always cut them for firewood, but boards are more valuable. Paying someone to take away a fallen tree is the worst sort of modern American lifestyle. We should bring back hard work. A good slogan. Bring back hard work. Cut your trees into boards.