Cutting Oversize Stock Pieces: Best Practices?

Projects
1

so I feel a bit like the dog that caught the car.

I managed to get through a whole workflow and cut a complex shape into a work piece.
The work piece is a piece of firewood which is 9" by 6.5" x 30"+

IMG_1993.jpg2448×3264 1.38 MB

OK, so now I want to snip that off the end, maybe in a way that allows it to stand up with the face angled forward, like a bookend or something. Sounds easy… right?

So I get out the electric hand saw, blade is not really long enough… gonna be a really shaky cut, not really liking that option.
go visit a friend with a circular table saw, the blade is only 10", the blade is not large enough to cut all the way through.
Friend suggests band saw, so I take my head over to Harbor Freight, discover the work piece is too thick for either a 9" or a `14" band saw.

So now I am wondering, what are my options to do this on a controlled cut?
Can you put a chain saw on a table?
What are the affordable options for cutting larger work pieces?

Any advice on this gratefully appreciated.

2

You could cut it with a chain saw and smooth the end off with a belt sander.

3

standard manual handsaw but that’s just me.

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4

is there a way to control that chain saw cut for angle?
I’m not a fan of hand controlled / unstructured cut boundaries…

5

I’m with @rpegg Handsaw

6

It takes practice…use a handsaw.

7

If I didn’t have a bandsaw with a 12inch DOC I would cut that with a handsaw. preferably a Japanese style pull saw ,

9

can you share a picture of the frame guide so I can see what you mean?

10

I’m not sure if this is practical as an answer but it sure does look like fun:

Prazi Beam Cutter on Amazon

11

part of my motivation is that I have a 1000mm X-carve and can easily seeing the diameters of the ends I am carving into going up quite significantly.
They don’t usually come sliced thin like pizza, so I need a solution that will scale to 2-3x what I am showing in the picture…

13

I would probably use a crosscut sled on a table saw. Crank the height up on the blade of the table saw, cut one side, flip and cut the other side. Then use a hand saw to cut the remaining middle piece to complete the cut. That will be quicker and much less effort than handsawing the whole thing !

Either way, you’re probably looking at using a belt sander to even everything up no matter how you cut it.

One of the challenges is making sure everything is square. You might want to invest in a laser level to project straight lines onto the wood, so that you can mark the cuts.

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14

Handsaw, cut it oversize. Flip it over onto your XC and facemill the cut end smooth.

That’s what I’d do anyway.

Really cool piece btw.

15

Just because I know you guys will be amused by it,
here are the chainsaw-based options I have found, in rising order of expensiveness:

my instinct, since I have very little money for this, is to go with the first option, and attach it to an electirc chainsaw in a 16" range. Will give me controlled cuts, should be enough DOC if I set it up right, and will let me see if the need for something more sophisticated is there.

As always, comments and advice welcomed.

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16

WOW! The manufacturer really thinks alot of that third option!

Really neat but it sure doesn’t look like it’s 3000.00 worth of neat.

17

not suggesting anything here…
but you could probably throw something like that together in a few hours with some makerslide and some v-wheels…

as kits go, if you could make it rigid enough for a workshop, you might sell a few…

20

It’d look pretty good as it is, mounted somewhere above the woodpile.

21

For cutting across the grain, you need a crosscut saw. Ripping is with the grain.
Handsaw is the easiest/cheapest option.

23

I would like to take it on an airplane in a couple of weeks,
not so portable the way it is…

24

If there is a cabinet shop or a mill close by I’m sure they would have equipment that cut just the way you want.

25

After 5 days talking about this. Use a handsaw even if it takes a hour to do it.

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