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Tiger
7th June 2009, 06:55 PM
I've just spent an hour and a bit cutting up a camphor laurel log. The log is about 15 inches in diameter and 12 inches in length. My 1800 watt electric chainsaw struggled (cutting lengthwise) badly even after a sharpening. My bandsaw has a capacity of 8 inches so I couldn't run it through there until I broke the log down.

The log was a few years old not sure how old but wasn't by any means green and so I expected a bit of a struggle. Am wondering what manual means I could use to cut down logs or is it a matter of getting a more powerful chainsaw?

mkypenturner
7th June 2009, 06:58 PM
bigger chainsaw about a 16-18 " bar should do anything you will ever need
troy

funkychicken
7th June 2009, 07:04 PM
Camphor is soft stuff, get yourself a decent chainsaw (Stihl or Husky)

BobL
7th June 2009, 07:11 PM
Seen this? http://www.woodworkforums.com/showthread.php?t=97921

Seriously, even an 1800W CS should be able to rip through CL, my guess is your chain is not properly sharpened.
Most turner's chainsaws I see are poorly maintained and very poorly sharpened.
What raker depth are you using?
Post a close up side on picture of a cutter and I'll give you a diagnosis.

joe greiner
7th June 2009, 11:25 PM
What Bob said. (except for the explosives).

And a spare new chain is always handy.

Cheers,
Joe

rsser
7th June 2009, 11:27 PM
If it's straight grained just split it with an axe or splitter.

Timber stacker
8th June 2009, 02:31 PM
I'd say get a better chainsaw, my kettle has 400 more watts than your chainsaw.

Skew ChiDAMN!!
8th June 2009, 05:07 PM
Ripping 12"x15"dia? What Ern said!

For that, a chainsaw is overkill. :rolleyes:

turnerted
8th June 2009, 05:49 PM
I assume you are laying the log on it's side when cutting it or are you standing it on end and cutting down . If you are , it will always be a hard job .

Ted

thefixer
8th June 2009, 10:30 PM
:whs:

Cheers
Shorty

Sawdust Maker
8th June 2009, 10:38 PM
I'm not sure black powder would be that popular in the suburbs - but what fun - would wake the neighbours chooks up :2tsup:

Tiger
9th June 2009, 11:04 AM
Thanks for the guidance. Ted, you've got it right, I was cutting the log in the garage because it was raining outside (for once) so I stood it upright, it was a bit easier lying down.

Ern/Skew, what type of splitter is adequate, tried an axe but it might have been too light, what poundage should I look at and can will one from Bunnies do?

rsser
9th June 2009, 11:20 AM
You may not get much choice in Bunnings and that's fine; my local one supplies one with a quite oblique angled head: 35 degrees included angle. Sometimes you'll see them with a more acute angle a little more like an axe and I'd avoid these as the head tends to get buried in softer woods.

To get an accurate split down the middle you can rest the point on the end grain and start it with a few hammer blows.

Good luck.

Texian
9th June 2009, 12:44 PM
What Ern said. Two steel wedges and a sledge hammer. Works on oak. Dunno about those southern hemispherical woods (oops, timbers).

bobsreturn2003
9th June 2009, 01:47 PM
my electric saw does logs in camphor in a few minutes it can cut hardwood too .get a new chain or learn to sharpen properly, or get it done at a sharpening shop ,easy to sharpen when you know how. have petrol saws to 95cc but for small stuff the electric is fine . cheers bob

turnerted
10th June 2009, 06:00 PM
Tiger
Glad we solved the problem .
I use a bit of pine board with a couple of blocks about 200mm apart screwed on to stop the log rolling around when cutting it . This way I don't have to worry about the chain hitting concrete if I need to work indoors . The flatter you can keep your saw the easier it will cut .

Ted

Paul39
15th June 2009, 11:36 AM
With straight grained wood, splitting is easy. Two wedges started in a cut across the end of the log where you would like it to split will do it. You can use a hand saw, circular saw, chain saw, whatever is at hand. An inch or two is enough.

The heaviest hammer you have is best for the wedges. I prefer the wedges over an ax or splitting maul because I don't always strike where I want with those.

In the photos I was too lazy to make a cut so just started the wedges. The two with the sharper angle started easier than the other two. They tended to bounce out.

The last photo is my timber gloat. My brother in law had a maple tree die. These are the still damp trunk pieces. Several 3 & 4 way crotches and Ys.

rsser
15th June 2009, 11:38 AM
Good tips Paul, and a great haul there.

Yeah, you can even split a crotch piece if you have enough wedges but how it opens up can be a bit of a lottery. (You start from the thick end; damn good exercise too.)

Tiger
17th June 2009, 10:29 PM
Thanks, Paul for your advice. I should point out that the log wasn't straight grained ie parts were but there was some wavy grain throughout.

Paul39
18th June 2009, 02:34 AM
As Ern says above wavy grain and crotches can be split, but it may split in a way that you may not have intended.

My wood is all free and picked up for the dual purpose of turning and heating, so I am willing to take a risk on a funny piece if I have 3 to 5 more like it.

Even if it does split wrong you will still have one good one. You might get a bowl and a platter instead of two bowls.

A new chain or professionally sharpened one on a chain saw will slice right where you want it. Gas or electric, doesn't matter.

There are learned raging discussions about filing a chain for ripping vs cross cutting. I find an ordinary sharp chain works fine on both my big gas and smaller electric saws.

With patience, a big bow saw with a new blade and wedges following the cut works fine.

If one is retired or doing turning for amusement, one does not have to have all the wonderous expensive time and labor saving tools.

I saw recently in a National Geographic magazine from the early 1900s a photo of a set up in one of the Pacific Islands where logs were made into boards by two men. Log on 6 foot high saw horses, one man above, one below, saw about 6 feet long with a T handle on each end. Caption stated that production was about 50 ten foot boards a day. Assuming a ten hour day, that is 50 feet of cutting per hour. The boards averaged about 8 inches / 203 mm wide.

That to me is astounding. The boards looked almost as straight as if cut by a saw mill.

Rum Pig
18th June 2009, 12:24 PM
I will just let you know what I do as there is heaps of info and suggestions already.

I recently purchased a big petrol chain saw and a electric chain saw from stihl. My intention were that I would use the big saw to chop down the trees and cut up into pieces and split down the middle and use the electric saw for shaping as I do not own a bandsaw. But the little electric saw is just fantastic just the other day I was splitting Iron wood logs about 300mm across with no problems you just need the sharp blade and let the saw go at it own pace. I think it has more grunt than my old cheap 35cc petrol chain saw had.

Hope this helps

joe greiner
18th June 2009, 09:56 PM
I saw recently in a National Geographic magazine from the early 1900s a photo of a set up in one of the Pacific Islands where logs were made into boards by two men. Log on 6 foot high saw horses, one man above, one below, saw about 6 feet long with a T handle on each end. Caption stated that production was about 50 ten foot boards a day. Assuming a ten hour day, that is 50 feet of cutting per hour. The boards averaged about 8 inches / 203 mm wide.

That to me is astounding. The boards looked almost as straight as if cut by a saw mill.

That was once the only way to cut boards, or a variation of it. The man below stood in a pit, and may have been the origin of the surname "Pittman," as in "Pittman arm" of automobile steering mechanism.

Cheers,
Joe - purveyor of useless information

RETIRED
18th June 2009, 09:58 PM
That was once the only way to cut boards, or a variation of it. The man below stood in a pit, and may have been the origin of the surname "Pittman," as in "Pittman arm" of automobile steering mechanism.

Cheers,
Joe - purveyor of useless informationor "the pits" in reference to a bad experience.