This tree was down - Mature!

Nice Load for the Iron Mule

The Lumbering Beast!

This tree was 55 years old - butt log was 26" on the small end

250 board feet Scribner

This log is as big as I can quartersaw on the Wood-Mizer

The first cut skims a little bark

The log is rolled, skimming cut, rolled and the third skimming cut is made
This removes the bumps and some of the bark

Once all 4 sides are skimmed, the log is split right down the center
I removed the board drag-back mechanism to have enough clearance for big logs

I measure up from the sawmill bed to the log's pith to level the center of the log

The top half was slid off - these logs are why I have the biggest Logrite cant hook
The lower cant is rotated 90 degrees. The pith is leveled with the bed

From the pith -the saw is moved up several board thicknesses
The cant on top is slid off for the moment

Now nice quartersawn boards are cut, one after another
Once the saw is below the pith, each face is compared to know when to rotate the cant
The good face is placed down on the bed for the rest of this process

Logs often bend when quartersawing - this set of logs was pretty well behaved
The saw head is set above the bed to produce four 4/4 boards and the top cant is cut off
Due to the irregular shapes of the many cants, boards are sawn from the bottom of each cant

The top cant was rotated 90 degrees and the good face is placed down
Both cants are sawn into 4/4 boards and the new top cant is set aside

High quality quartersawn lumber is produced

Cants that have been set aside get their time on the sawmill
The best quartersawn face is down and the saw is set to make four 4/4 boards
The top cants are again set aside for a moment

Once these cants are processed, the other half the log is cut the same way
This is a lot of work, but the excellent wide quartersawn boards are worth it

All the boards are stacked in the Solar Cycle Kiln for drying

This "Vertical Grain" cherry will make a stunning wide plank floor!

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