Some hardwoods having a certain grain pattern are now on-trend and pulls great demand. And so, it’s obvious the whole lumbar quarter sawing thing is also becoming a pretty solid chore to learn about.
Depending on what type of wood you are focusing on the method can vary. But if you are someone involved with woodworking to build beautiful cabinets, furniture, and also other astounding crafts out of wood, it’s important that you give some time for today’s topic.
I’m about to discuss the process of how to quarter saw lumber with a bandsaw mill. This one is not just for bare experiments but also provides quite a satisfying outcome.
Here’s How to Quarter Saw Lumber with a Bandsaw Mill
From the choice of your wood to the actual sawing process, let’s go through each segment in depth below.
Making The Choice Of Wood Is Crucial.
When it comes to making the most appealing quarter-sawn timber, wood choice is a very critical matter. Usually, people like to go with either oak or maple for this task. The oak wood is more popular, however. The spectacular ray flecks with this variety are usually most preferable. Maple is also pretty good at it.
The term ray flecks can be unfamiliar to beginner craftsmen. It’s actually the medullary rays of a tree. And often you get them in only quarter-sawn woods. The growth rings perpendicular wood usually contains this specific structure. It’s for water and nutrient transportation basically.
If your project demands woodcutting for let says making a cabinet or any similar furniture, oak is the best option. The value for stability as well as warp resistance is also good with oak.
While if you actually need the sawn lumber for decorative pieces or instrument making, go for maple. These are better for such needs after finishing.
Thoughts about the Size.
A project will need a specific size of log for it to succeed. And if you don’t take the measurements previous to whole lumber sawing process, a smooth outcome is very unlikely to happen.
The board size and length that you’re going to need are critical factors that you can easily decide using the quarter log rule. This is basically an internationally followed ruling for source measurements.
You can easily determine how many boards can be produced from a certain size log. Suppose you have an 8 ft log. In that case for an 8-inch minimum diameter, you will yield 46.6 ft of boards.
Actual Method
Your workshop having the newest benchtop bandsaw is good news for this project specifically. As we are talking about the process that involves this fine piece of woodworking tool. Using a quality band sawmill, you can easily achieve the true quarter sawn lumber. But be sure to have enough patience and dedication for the process whatsoever.
Start by setting up the mill. Make sure the side supports are up for use. Don’t forget the log loader and log turner to be down for the process too. Then you want to place the log on top of log loader. Be very specific with the positioning of log as it will determine a good cut afterward. Then it’s time for the log to be loaded for further processing.
You want to follow the X-Y plane parrel to mill deck formula when positioning log axis. By X-Axis refer to the mill’s running length. While the length running across mill refers to Y-axis. The vertical refers to Z-axis.
Next, you want to maintain the log in X-Y plane for halving. The log loader top half will get eliminated at is the point. Then go for halving the half portion at bottom. The log loader top quarter going off next needs you to clamp bottom quarter portion.
Use the bottom quarter for cutting board then. You want to slide the clamp. As well as the bottom quarter outboard. Get the board off and place it on the drying stack.
Next, you want to stick with X-axis for rotating cant in a 90-degree angle. For the secondary use go ahead and get rid of it. If the cant is quarterly on log loader, retrieve it from that place. The half-positioned cant, however need retrieving and clamping both. Go ahead and halve it. Get rid of the top quarter and let it stay in log loader. And the process will continue until you get all your needed logs cut right.
Wrap Up
And on that note, you now have some good idea on how to quarter saw lumber with a bandsaw mill. The process is not something people try often but surely is possible to proceed with. Different project demands diverse application for log processing. And as a creative person who likes learning various ways, the whole process of true quarter sawing lumber will be fun to know about. Hopefully, you share the same thought. Have a Nice Day Ahead!
