I have to cut down a large straight oak. What should I do with it.

[Mike]

I live near annapolis md. There aren't any saw mills around and it seems a shame to burn it. What would you do?

Looking for some out of the box ideas!

Mike

[mark]

Rive it, and then sell it to chairmakers. It's what we use for the backs of windsor chairs.

[Mike]

What does "rive it" mean?

Mike

[Andy Dingley]

Split it by hand into radial, tapered boards. You do it with a tool called a froe - a long flat blade with a slightly sharp edge, although it's used more as a prybar than as a cutting tool.

Several logs later, I'm still trying to learn to rive a usable board. OTOH, I now have firewood for the whole winter.

You drive the froe down along the log by hitting it with a wooden implement called a froe club. I'd tell you more about it, but the first rule of froe club is "you do not talk about froe club".

[mark]

buck it into about a 5 foot length, then split it lengthwise with the grain, from one end to another. You've heard of riven oak, or a split rail fence? The rails are split out of the log lengthwise.

[jo4hn]

Andy Dingley wrote: [snip] first rule of froe club is "you do not talk about froe club".

I belong to the Two-in club. We should hold a joint meeting and get a bit of that back and forth flow going. gurk, j4

[mark]

"> You drive the froe down along the log by hitting it with a wooden

That's funny! the key to using a froe and riving oak is to make sure you have equal mass on each side. If you don't it will always run out to the thinner of the two. I've never tried to rive a board -- I'm always riving chairbacks and spindles -- so it really only needs to be about an inch and half square.

[Andy Dingley]

Thanks - worth remembering.

How green / dry is your timber ? I suspect the stuff I'm using is a bit too dry.

[J T]

Fri, Oct 15, 2004, 6:34pm (EDT-3) [e-mail] (Mike) who claims: I live near annapolis md. There aren't any saw mills around

I would say that would depend on what you mean by "around".

?stx=sawmill&sortby=topresults&fr=zerorp-local-srchweb&f=&city=Annapolis&state=MD&uzip=21401&radius=50&dma=512&county=Anne+Arundel&approxSpelling=&probability=10&ed=ao1VLa131DxD_UYPW6iTqWhjWCkjiaiV1Lzb7QGYQQWZp_012X4-&ycatfilt=24263283JOATFlush the Johns.

- seen on a bumper sticker

[mark]

I use green when I can get it -- it steams quicker since there's already a lot of moisture in the wood. Dry works too, but you need the grain to be almost perfectly straight to get a straight split -- at least in my experience.

[mark]

the saw mills around here won't take residential trees. There's too much chance of nails and bullets and what not in them that can be a danger to the guys at the mill.

[bridger]

there is no cabal...

[J T]

Sat, Oct 16, 2004, 8:16pm (EDT+4) [e-mail] (mark) now says: the saw mills around here won't take residential trees. There's too much chance of nails and bullets and what not in them that can be a danger to the guys at the mill.

Then check on someone with one of the portable bandsaw mills. They'll even come to your house. And, no, I'm not gonna look any up.

JOAT Flush the Johns.

- seen on a bumper sticker

[J T]

Sat, Oct 16, 2004, 4:41pm (EDT-3) [e-mail] tells us: there is no cabal...

Proof.

the Johns.

- seen on a bumper sticker

[bridger]

if you want to have a joint meeting, you'll have to hold it in Canada. that sort of thing is illegal in the united states.

[clutch]

Well, find a shop that sells/sharpens bandsaw blades. See if you can post a note. If you were near my home in Michigan, I'd be out to try it out.

My saw is a home bilt that uses 1 1/4 wide bands. First pass through a yard tree is with a older band that is about done for. Can't sharpen them too many times you know. Worst case, a band is 20 bucks.

Wes

[Robert Bonomi]

Build a caber, and start your own "Highland Games" ?