Cutting thick planks.

[ianc1200]

Last week I bought three iroko planks - 25'/22'/17' long, 20" wide and 4" thick. They had been in a defunct boatyard for many years. They took a lorry with a small crane & four guys to get back & today we moved the two longer one's inside our tent, and cut the smaller for current needs. Putting through the thicknesser made me realise these are much better than I thought - a lot denser and straight grained than the more recent iroko I had bought for planking/decks. My question is anybody got thoughts on how to cut the 25' x 20" x 4" plank into three 25' x 20" x 1" (with a little left over). I have been reading about Wood Mizers - essentially powerful horizontal bandsaws for cutting tree trunks into planks - but these are many 000's of pounds. Various smaller & cheaper versions but would be a horizontal chainsaw and wood handling kit. I can't think these would be accurate enough. My thoughts, having seen how good this wood is, to use as cabin sides for the boat. I certainly don't want to take the planks somewhere given the difficulty of manhandling, but also wondered whether there are mobile people who would do this.

 

[Fr J Hackett]

I think that using a chainsaw and sled you would be very lucky to get 3 planks but should get 2. If I were doing it I would put a plank through the thicknesses and face top and bottom then reference the chainsaw sled of one face cutting in the middle then through the thicknesses again to bring to size.
I hasten to say I have never used a chainsaw sled but seen videos.

Do you have access to a deep throated bandsaw that could take the 20" if so then 3 planks would be doable with a couple of people.

 

[Hacker]

The correct tool would be a resaw. In essence a very large bandsaw with a wide blade and an auto feed.

 

[ianc1200]

I think that using a chainsaw and sled you would be very lucky to get 3 planks but should get 2. If I were doing it I would put a plank through the thicknesses and face top and bottom then reference the chainsaw sled of one face cutting in the middle then through the thicknesses again to bring to size.
I hasten to say I have never used a chainsaw sled but seen videos.

Do you have access to a deep throated bandsaw that could take the 20" if so then 3 planks would be doable with a couple of people.

I cut a 18" section off - I have two large knees to replace. I have a dedicated thicknesser (not planer & thicknesser). In 30 mins we reduced only by 1/4". It felt more like Greenheart than other iroko - so dense. Was trying to get down to 2. 3/4" but the going was too hard and we'd have a huge amount of wastage. Will attempt to put that through the bandsaw, which will go to 10" but might struggle with this toughness of timber & 10".

The correct tool would be a resaw. In essence a very large bandsaw with a wide blade and an auto feed.

I'm sure this is what is needed but beyond my means.

 

[LittleSister]

Last week I bought three iroko planks - 25'/22'/17' long, 20" wide and 4" thick. . .

They're not as thick as two short planks, then!

 

[Praxinoscope]

try contacting a local woodyard or similar, they will have the necessary kit and will probably do what you want for a reasonable charge. Have you tried Paterns in Clacton?

 

[burgundyben]

If you had a saw pit and one of those really long 2 man rip saws?

If you went at it from both sides with a FB size circular saw then rip through by hand?

 

[ianc1200]

Thanks for the thoughts. The chunks we cut off yesterday in the smaller bit were done with a circular saw with 3" cutting depth, so we did a blind cut. Having very carefully marked it out the second cut was about 1/4" out in places..... Showed my abysmal skills. For the long plank, to get to two or three 1" long planks I think doing blind (assuming you would still need to do this with a FB size) won't work/be good enough. On taking to local a sawmill, I could be wrong but believe places who have such machinery are very wary of cutting somebody else's timber, hidden screws/fixings etc.

 

[Fr J Hackett]

You could try the chainsaw sled / mill it seems there are some relatively inexpensive ones

chainsaw sled

 

[Hacker]

Have you got a boatbuilder or college anywhere near you? They might have a saw. We’ve done it for locals before but, as you say, need to be aware of any metal in the wood. You could offer to replace the blade if it was damaged.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

You could try the chainsaw sled / mill it seems there are some relatively inexpensive ones

chainsaw sled

What about the width of the cut? The OP only has 25mm to play with, and chainsaws make quite a wide cut - no idea how wide, but it always looks like a lot when I see stuff with chainsaw cuts. Two cuts are needed, so each cut must stay within a corridor 12.5mm wide - again, not a lot. I can't offer solutions, but I'd certainly be looking at the local sawmill. However, again the OP stated that moving the wood is not on - I can understand it as 25' long planks are a) heavy and b) unwieldy!

 

[Fr J Hackett]

What about the width of the cut? The OP only has 25mm to play with, and chainsaws make quite a wide cut - no idea how wide, but it always looks like a lot when I see stuff with chainsaw cuts. Two cuts are needed, so each cut must stay within a corridor 12.5mm wide - again, not a lot. I can't offer solutions, but I'd certainly be looking at the local sawmill. However, again the OP stated that moving the wood is not on - I can understand it as 25' long planks are a) heavy and b) unwieldy!

As I said before at 4" thick he would probably be able to get two planks that could be reduced in the thicknesser to 1"

 

[debenriver]

Thanks for the thoughts. The chunks we cut off yesterday in the smaller bit were done with a circular saw with 3" cutting depth, so we did a blind cut. Having very carefully marked it out the second cut was about 1/4" out in places..... Showed my abysmal skills.

As burgundyben says – if you make blind cuts both sides with as deep cutting circular saw that you have – probably 3" - but you can get (perhaps hire?) deeper cutting saws. Then cut with a 2-person pit saw. It would be slow, but with a well-sharpened saw and two people (one on top and one underneath), you should get a reasonably accurate cuts. This is how planking was cut from timber baulks before the days of mechanization. We still used pit saws in my early days (1960's) – not to cut planking but to cut thick wood keels, deadwoods etc. out to shape, after making blind cuts top and bottom.

Cheers -- George

​

 

[Humblebee]

As others have said above, approaching a local sawmill or other place equipped with heavy woodworking machines might be the best answer.
If that's not possible, maybe hire a saw, something like this? A day should do it.
Floor Standing Bandsaw (For Hire)

 

[Fr J Hackett]

As others have said above, approaching a local sawmill or other place equipped with heavy woodworking machines might be the best answer.
If that's not possible, maybe hire a saw, something like this? A day should do it.
Floor Standing Bandsaw (For Hire)

I very much doubt that you will be able to hire a band saw with a 20" clearance which is the width of the OPs planks and that one certainly won't do the job.

 

[Humblebee]

I very much doubt that you will be able to hire a band saw with a 20" clearance which is the width of the OPs planks and that one certainly won't do the job.

OK father, I didn't say "this one", I did say "something like this."

 

[penfold]

Thanks for the thoughts. The chunks we cut off yesterday in the smaller bit were done with a circular saw with 3" cutting depth, so we did a blind cut. Having very carefully marked it out the second cut was about 1/4" out in places..... Showed my abysmal skills. For the long plank, to get to two or three 1" long planks I think doing blind (assuming you would still need to do this with a FB size) won't work/be good enough. On taking to local a sawmill, I could be wrong but believe places who have such machinery are very wary of cutting somebody else's timber, hidden screws/fixings etc.

You'll never know until you ask; worst case scenario is you pay them for a new band which isn't very much money in the context of the timber you're cutting up.

 

[ianc1200]

Again thanks for thoughts. I had seen the relatively inexpensive sleds & horizontal chainsaws. I looked at somebody's set up this afternoon locally & couldn't determine whether this was a horizontal bandsaw type - they were closed and I didn't want to trespass, but will go back as my first option. As soon as you start looking at such things you are plagued with targeted adverts on FB etc, but from these I have found there are mobile people with wood mizers so going to see as 2nd option if any in NE Essex/Suffolk etc. Like the suggestion re offering to pay for damage to blades/equipment. Have been told the iroko was in that yard for at least 40 years.
Bit of thread drift - I've been told this by two people now, plus the seller of the iroko mentioned it - this yard where the iroko was had built a steel Thames Sailing Barge in 4 parts, to be reassembled elsewhere. This barge was then featured in the film Atonement (2007) filmed at Redcar and was another Dunkirk WW2 film. The sails used on the barge came from a TS Barge called British Empire, and were shredded so to be be like the photo's of the Will Everard on the beach at Dunkirk. The iroko was to be used in the construction of the barge but wasn't.

 

[B27]

Last people I saw cutting planks on that scale were at a steam fair.
Monsta circular saw.

 

[Rum Run]

I'd be phoning saw mills that buy whole trees and see if they have a bandsaw like the one at a mill in Kent I worked at in the early 80's. The band wheels were 8ft diameter with one in the floor and the timber was dogged down onto a carriage on railway track. That machine would put a cut through 5 feet of wet oak at a walking pace, with a kerf of about 3/16".