Oak Tree Lumber bandsawing safely

[Michael Thuman]

My son had an oak tree brought down it was 42" dia at base and has been split in 3' to 4' sections.

I am attempting to quarter saw these shorter logs but most except my 17" band saw capacity of 12" so what I do is start trimming up the log then turn it 90 then run in through the band saw again.  The challenge is the saw to cut 12" of green oak stumbles badly and stalls the motor.

I found out my BS was set to the lowest speed possible.  I moved it up to the next pulley and now it cuts much better.

But as you can figure when Chain sawing the logs into quarters the plan is not very flat.

 

I am considering building a bandsaw sled guided by the slot in the table.

some of these quarter logs go close to 350#.

and are 18" or so wide at the widest.

So my sled will be 19" w x 36" long with qty 2 3/4" tables.  The top table will has slots the bottom table tee nuts they set the distance to the blade and pray it will be tables enough to travel in the table groove.  the top table will have a large fence with large gussets qty 3 mid and ends. 

 

My question is a sled a pain or savior?  if worth it I will build it and upload pictures.

As it is my sled could be off the edge of the table so do I need counterweights ?  Should i be concerned that the heaviest part of the log will be the last cut . For example I have a log that has 18" wide but about 11" tall..  but I want to put the screws into the chain sawed face and slice off 1" strips until we are at 11" x 11" then I saw then turn 90 saw turn back 90 saw until I am down to nothing.

The existing fence will be used when I get smaller pieces.  But the sled i am thinking is the only way I can move 250# pieces of wood across the band saw.  You see the chain sawed split is often slightly concave or convex and there by no very smooth sliding into and out of the BS.

HOw do I lift the 250 to 300# sections with a chain lift to a table the same height as the band saw.

The slot is 7" off the blade.  The table is only roughly 14W" x 14"L

So far the band saw has not tipped over and is not deflecting noticeably.

For 3/4" finished wood i cut 5/4" for 1.5" I cut 8/4 and for 2" I cut 10/4.

 

[lew]

Following 

[Michael Thuman]

Should I build the sled or not?

[DAB]

Is it possible to move the saw and leave the wood stationary?

[lew]

No experience here with logs that big but trying to man handle something that big on a shop bandsaw seems dangerous. 
 

What about something like this

 

Amazon has several versions 

[Gerald]

I resawed some cedar logs on my BS about 20 years ago and will not do it again. Have since built sleds for short logs (less than 18) for ripping and crosscut.

 

YES you do need a sled and a outfeed support, infeed support is nice  too.

[Fred W. Hargis Jr]

No experience at all doing what you want to do, but if I was faced with that problem I'd probably try to some up with a different apporach. Those logs are just to big to try and manhandle on a stationary bandsaw.

[Cal]

I agree with what's already been said. 

If I was doing this I would either look into Lew's suggestion or look for someone with a Wood Miser or similar.  A possible bonus to having someone else do it is that you may find a reliable source for other local hardwood lumber.

[HandyDan]

I suggest looking for a local sawyer.  They are set up for this.

 

https://woodmizer.com/us/Find-a-Local-Sawyer?gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIw_XtpsijhQMV3AatBh1NmwCCEAAYASAAEgJhXPD_BwE

[DAB]

going back to my question, long ago, on a This Old House episode, Tom Silva had a large rafter (8x12 perhaps) that he needed to cut some end details on.  so he supported the beam, and added/used the wheels on his band saw to be able to move the saw relative to the large heavy beam.  worked well.

 

you'd need a fairly flat floor for this to work.

[Michael Thuman]

On 4/1/2024 at 9:16 PM, DAB said:

Is it possible to move the saw and leave the wood stationary?

No the BS is stationary

[Michael Thuman]

On 4/2/2024 at 7:50 AM, HandyDan said:

I suggest looking for a local sawyer.  They are set up for this.

 

https://woodmizer.com/us/Find-a-Local-Sawyer?gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIw_XtpsijhQMV3AatBh1NmwCCEAAYASAAEgJhXPD_BwE

Those bs move over the wood.  Due to site un levelness they refused to come.  I had to quarter the logs with a chain saw.  All the pieces are 3 to 4 foot in length and 1/4 of the log or 1 peice weights in at 350 to 500 lbs.  

 

[Michael Thuman]

I am going to fashion a larger version of the 176 issue of wood may 2007 then adapt it for use.

I do have heavy duty infeed and outfeed rollers.

BS is a 17" and very stable.

 

[Michael Thuman]

The only  issue so far with the sled is that there is an undermount Hard wood block and my rollers stands interfere with.  i am thinking of a redesign were the bottom is perfectly flat.  Put the Hardwood on the top and put a cut out in the top so that when at the max cutting the top sled will sit over it.