Thread: Making a small side table from a log round

This is kinda micro-milling and sorta woodwork so apologies if I'm asking this question in the wrong forum.

From the last section of the deodar I've been carving up over the last few months I wanted to have a go at making a very simple small table from a log round to sit by the side of a couch in a house ie not outside where it could be a bit rougher. I want to get this square at both the bottom and the top. The log section is about 350mm at this point.

I can do a rough cut to get a round that's transportable. Any suggestions on how to trim the round to get nice square ends? Would a well sharpened chainsaw with a big enough bar do a good enough job? Or a handsaw used by someone who's a better woodworker than me? Or should I be looking for someone with a big bandsaw?

And I'm guessing that there's someone on this forum who has done this sort of work for indoor use. Should I seal the wood? I think I'll need to remove most of the remaining bark as it's loose and part decomposed. I thought I'd perhaps sand the log a bit to get rid of any dirt. The deodar smells great so 'twould be nice to leave it unsealed but maybe there's some benefits from sealing the round. I guess if it was used to hold drinks the end could be sealed to stop spilt beverages making their way down through the endgrain.

The round is quite heavy. I could make it a bit lighter by carving out the inside.

Dunno.

Haven't done one of these before so grateful for any pointers.