Help on live edge boards.

[jbrowning]

Good morning everyone, a friend of mine does tree removal and he has a bunch of black walnut and maple logs that he would like me to come by and look at and see if I can use any of it. Now I have no band saw (I have been looking for one but not seriously) maybe it is time to get one. Is there anything I should steer away from on live edge logs? All the stuff I have gotten has been from Lowes or Woodcraft. I do have a planer and jointer.

Thanks

Jim

[Roberta Moreton]

Are they freshly cut. Drying your own lumber takes at least a year. It has to be sealed. You never know exactly what you're going to get.

[Scrappile]

Having and know how to dry it would be my biggest challenge.  I have had little success trying.  I know Black Walnut cracks a lot while drying if not done correctly.

To resaw will need a good band saw.  At least a 14" with a riser block.  The only other thing I know is the bark on Black Walnut can be very hard on blades, both chainsaw chains and band saw blades.  Where I live there is lots of dust and sand.  When I cut some black walnut logs up the bark had lots of dirt/sand buried in it.  Dulled blades bery quickly.

If you have a saw mill somewhere close might be worth having them saw them into boards.

[Bill WIlson]

Getting lumber directly from logs can be rewarding and also a lot of work.  How big are these logs?  If there are full length logs from the trunk of the trees, my suggestion would be to check on sawyers in the area that have a portable bandsaw mill.  They will come to the logs and mill them on site.  Trying to do it yourself, without the proper equipment will be pretty tough.  A standard bandsaw is not the tool for cutting boards from logs.  You may be able to handle a couple shorts this way, but not much beyond that.

Air dried walnut is usually preferred over kiln dried as it is believed to better preserve the rich color of the walnut.  Some folks claim that kiln drying walnut can cause the color to look faded.  Air drying is something you can do yourself, but you will need to create the proper conditions to get good results.

Be aware that the lumber you get from logs will be a mix of grades.  Not all of your boards will be furniture quality.  In fact depending on the size of the logs, the yield of top grade lumber may be pretty small, but that doesn't mean there isn't a lot of usable wood in those logs.

[jbrowning]

This is what I'm hoping to make from the logs he has. Somewhere in this post I feel like Paul Harvey and his "The Rest Of The Story" line.

[MrsN]

I have saved a few pieces of firewood and cut them up for different things. The size of the logs that you are getting will impact what you want to do with them.  If you have bigger pieces getting someone to to a portable saw mill thing would be a great option. 

Having the wood dry out is important, but for "rustic" looking things a few extra cracks won't matter much. 

To make the candle holder I would take a log and re-saw it on a bandsaw down the middle then lots of quality time with a sander. Drill some holes, put a finish on it and you are good. 

[Dan]

Free wood! You can never go wrong. Worst case you can burn it. I say take what you can. 

[bandaideman]

I was fortunate quite a while ago to get some oak and walnut that had been cut from a friends woods a milled. He did not what the outside parts with bark or small pieces. they had been in his barn for many years and of course fit in my truck nicely. All that to say I took some with the outside bark and chanced planing them. The came out very nice the bark smoothed nicely and the eye like pattern on the bark was great almost feather like and the bark remained without falling off........ for the most part. 

[heppnerguy]

I have made an effort at drying wood that people gave me. Some i had for a couple of years or so. Most ended up cracking or warping so that did it for me. not worth the wait, at least for me. I just turn down the fresh wood and buy on line. For me, my space is too valuable to use for speculation material.

 

Dick

heppnerguy

[Bill WIlson]

20 hours ago, jbrowning said:

This is what I'm hoping to make from the logs he has. Somewhere in this post I feel like Paul Harvey and his "The Rest Of The Story" line.

For something that size, I would be tempted to try cutting the flat side, freehand with a chainsaw, using a rip chain.  Then smooth it with a hand plane and remove the bark with a draw knife.  It will minimize the amount of sanding required.  Logs, especially odd shaped ones, like the one in the picture, can be a challenge to resaw on a bandsaw.   If you have a bandsaw that is big enough and you can hold it securely, you could get away with it.