Thread: Cedar Siding

The final plans for the house require 100 more pieces of cedar siding than I cut initially….no sweat, I’ll take a day and cut some more.



The swing-blade mill has an adjustable swinging shim that jams into the frame to set the saw blade at a bevel shown below:



I simply place an unexceptional WRC log in the mill and flatten it’s top by taking off a couple flatsawn 4/4 boards first…an 18.5 inch log with a volume of 140BF by Scribner and a mill value of $150 or so less transportation….



…I drop the mill 7 ½” vertically, square up an edge of the log, set my saw blade on bevel using the shim above, and move the saw 7/8” horizontally (above) into the log for the first vertical cut.



With the beveled first vertical cut made above…



…I swing the blade to horizontal, move the saw an additional 1/8” horizontally and make my horizontal cut.



With the horizontal cut complete, I remove the swinging shim and bring the sawblade back through the log vertically with no additional horizontal adjustment…and I have two pieces of beveled siding above.



From that small 140BF log I recover 29 pieces of siding and a half dozen 4/4 boards that will clean up to 1X6 trim, in addition to some tapered pith waste useful for lath and outdoor chairs. As this is a relatively clear butt log, 21 pieces grade out to No. 1, 8” siding worth over a dollar a linear foot. All-in-all…over $300 retail value in lumber from $150 in log and about an hour’s time.

Making a jig and cutting 400, 18” cedar shingles will be next.