Hello all, Our neighbour has had an Oak tree felled and I've now got some disks from the trunk. They are about 90 cm diameter and 25 cm thick (and very heavy!!). (BTW I asked about this tree in June: http://community.screwfix.com/threads/how-much-is-the-timber-in-an-oak-tree-worth.144933/) I want to do somethng with them - they were and others are going wood burning stoves. That seems a shame for such lovely wood. Anyway, I'm thinking of trying to make table tops and would like advice on how I could get then cut into two or three slices and the surfaces planed. I'm thinking a cut disk about 50 mm thick would be strong, is that reasonable? Thanks for the help. Steve
First things you will have to allow the timber to dry out, it can take 1 year for 1" to dry out. Or you can work it 'green'.
Steve, make sure you work it green. The wood's softer then but be prepared for disappointment. The oak will split along the medullary rays and likelihood is that it will fall apart. Try to get the wood cut into rough boards it's much more workable then. Good luck.
I'm not as far as working it yet, cheers. It is certainly green, less than a week since it was felled. The disk is 80 cm in diameter, not that makes a lot of difference when it needs to be cut. Would a chain saw make a neat cut? Thanks, Steve
You can look at the two chainsaw cuts top and bottom of your round and judge how good it might be. I would say yes, no problem, IF the round was still a trunk and 1m long. Biggest problem now would be holding the spare end to be able to safelly cut your discs. Bandsaw (industrial)would be the ultimate blade, and a local saw yard might manage it, otherwise very skilled chainsaw expert and 3ft chain. Alternative is bow saw, by hand, very long-winded, hap-hazard, having to turn to continue, hard work maybe. Mr. HandyAndy - Really
The biggest bandsaw I used had a 22" cut and even the 6' dia saw blade only cut a few inches bigger and it was rough.
timber cut accross the grain will only have a small fraction off the strength compared to cut along the grain you will need it with a good supporting frame with no more than say 200-300mm unsupported to get the full strength and as said a 90% failure rate if you are hopeing for a near perfect surface
Forget - not likely - well not yet I'm thinking somethn glike this - but flatter (ha ha) with oak underneath to support
Wire saw? A long one. And two students... Or chust a chain saw. Get the uneven surface levelish with an electric planer. I think I would make them thicker than 50mm, tho'.
I have done some work at a pallet reclaiming unit, they have two horizontal bandsaws which can cut upto about two meters wide, the depth of cut can be varied. Basically it's a steel flat bed with the blade running side to side. They adjust the cut height to allow pushing of a whole pallet through cutting off the eight corner pillars flush to the pallet cross members. That would be ideal if you can find one local.
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