# Cutting out the pith !



## woodtickgreg (Nov 7, 2016)

At the end of a long tiring day of wood cutting and dropping a walnut I took a few minutes to show folks how to chainsaw large logs to make bowl blanks and cut out the pith to also yeild pepper mill blanks. Bear in mind that I cut wood all day and the chain was pretty much shot and dull, heck I was pretty much shot and worn out myself. When the saw is not running you may hear gunshots, I was right near an indoor gun range! Gotta love the second amendment!

Reactions: Like 6 | Way Cool 2 | Informative 1


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## Tclem (Nov 7, 2016)

I disagree. You said the wood is green. That wood looks brown to me

Reactions: Funny 4


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## barry richardson (Nov 7, 2016)

Thanks for posting! Those are some nice chunks, looks like you have some turning to do....

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## woodtickgreg (Nov 7, 2016)

barry richardson said:


> Thanks for posting! Those are some nice chunks, looks like you have some turning to do....


Not yet, actually I have a lot of processing to do!


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## woodtickgreg (Nov 14, 2016)

I finished up all the processing of the blanks, got them all cut and sealed with anchor seal. ended up with a very nice pile of walnut blanks in various sizes!
I am very happy with what I ended up with. 1 full day to drop the tree and clean up the brush and load the logs, and 5 to 6 hours to process all the blanks pictured. some are 24" tough cutting end grain all day, went through 2 chains as even green end grain walnut is hard!

What I started the day processing out with.


 
A little hard to see but if you can zoom the pics you might be able to see the la you lines of how I like to cut them.


 
The sharpie didn't like the waxy anchorseal.


 
Quite a pile of sawdust for a day of endgrain cutting. filled that 30 gal can 3 times.


 
Me in the pic to give perspective to what the yield was, some big blanks there! all sealed on the ends with anchor seal.



So a little sweat equity and I ended up with a nice stash of walnut blanks. Like I keep saying folks, wood is everywhere and it's free! you just have to look for it and be willing to put the work in sometimes. this summer was very productive for me as far as wood scavenging goes!

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 2 | Way Cool 2


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## duncsuss (Nov 14, 2016)

Just curious (since I've never used a chainsaw, and probably never will) -- why did you cut them end-grain? I've seen folks set the logs in a V-shaped support and rip them.


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## deltatango (Nov 14, 2016)

That's an awesome stack of walnut blanks there Greg. Just fantastic.
Great wood.

Mark

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## woodtickgreg (Nov 14, 2016)

duncsuss said:


> Just curious (since I've never used a chainsaw, and probably never will) -- why did you cut them end-grain? I've seen folks set the logs in a V-shaped support and rip them.


Because when you rip them with the grain the wood chips are long and stringy and can plug the clutch area and even stall the chain. Plus looking down on the log I get great control and can see exactly where to cut the log to remove the pith and slab the sides if need be. That husky 365 has plenty of torque for this kind of job. most people don't cut this much at one time, lol . And one more thing, I really didn't want to be lifting 24" across wet heavy logs, nope, just roll em to where I want them and slice em.

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Creative 1


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## duncsuss (Nov 14, 2016)

woodtickgreg said:


> Because when you rip them with the grain the wood chips are long and stringy and can plug the clutch area and even stall the chain. Plus looking down on the log I get great control and can see exactly where to cut the log to remove the pith and slab the sides if need be. That husky 365 has plenty of torque for this kind of job. most people don't cut this much at one time, lol . And one more thing, I really didn't want to be lifting 24" across wet heavy logs, nope, just roll em to where I want them and slice em.


All makes sense to me -- next time I see somebody ripping I'll ask them how they get around the strings plugging up the mechanism.

Thanks!


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## woodtickgreg (Nov 14, 2016)

duncsuss said:


> All makes sense to me -- next time I see somebody ripping I'll ask them how they get around the strings plugging up the mechanism.
> 
> Thanks!


Ripping is entirely another topic, it's all about the position of the bar. When logs are cut the way you are describing in a cradle and setting the bar on the log perpendicular to the log that is called cutting with the grain and that makes the long chips, you can see some of that in my video and see me pulling the chips out to free the chain. The way I cut down on the end grain is basicly ripping, the same cut that is made when milling logs for boards or lumber. A skip tooth chain may be better for cutting with the grain.

Reactions: Informative 1


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## woodtickgreg (Nov 14, 2016)

Got a little better video done, kind of a part 2.


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