Slice Logs into Lumber on a Bandsaw with a Simple Jig 

I love this so much. There are many trees that have fallen here in Orlando from Irma and now we can put them to good use! Thank you.

This little band saw has turned out to be the best tool purchase I've ever made ru-vid.comUgkx5ZrqmYO2uJq_nuU8TopyWxVzn8vqmPUL Once doing the set-up as per the included suggestions, this table top tool has been my go-to saw ever since (8 months as of this review). There are few things I wouldn't attempt with this saw. It takes up much less space than my table saw yet delivers twice as much punch. I've used it to create slices of wood no thicker than an 1/16th of inch by using the POWERTEC BS900RF Rip Fence. For small shop projects this tool can't be beat.

I'm pretty sure that this is one of the best wood preparation videos I've ever seen. It's quick and to the point, but leaves out nothing that I could see. Covers how to cut the boards properly in a quick and easy to understand way. Yeah, it's definitely up there in my top 10's somewhere.

One of the best videos I've seen on making my own lumber on the bandsaw. You cover every step in the process from making the jig, how and where to cut the log, how deal with the pith, to stacking, measuring moisture and painting the ends. You even answered a question I've long had about whether to wait after felling the tree before cutting into lumber. Excellent, excellent job sir.

Very good video and well instructed. I've just cut some trees down for my daughter so on the strength of your video I gave it a go. Wow, I'm hooked. Unfortunately it's like making wine, you have to agonizingly wait before using it! But again, good effort mate.

Thank you so much for this wonderful video. Now in '22, I've been contemplating buying a decent bandsaw (perhaps a Laguna 14/12) and your video has sealed the deal. I absolutely love the idea of sawing logs and all that goes with it - the excitement of revealing the figure, the anticipation waiting for the lumber to dry, the satisfaction of doing it yourself etc. Big thank you from Sydney - Dave (new subscriber!)

Thanks. I am a very very green woodworker when it comes to harvesting trees. Thanks for the wisdom.

Excellent tutorial!! I bought a crane for my truck bed and I've been retrieving free logs that people post online. I can't lift the heavy logs so the crane works great.. I plan to use another lift in the shop to get them onto the band saw. I have been wanting to resaw wood for sometime now and your video has helped me tremendously. I actually lucked out and got a bunch of black walnut logs last week. I cant believe he was offering them for free. I also took the branches about 3" across for spoon carving. Thanks again!

Thanks a lot, so much simpler / better than the other overly complicated designs I've seen. subscribed.

Can't wait to make my own lumber! Thanks for the demonstration. I really like the simple jig! Lots of access to maple etc. here in Minnesota.

This is exactly what I was looking for! Got some small logs from my tree but no clue how to process them on my own. Thank you!

I just made your sled today! You were right, it was easy. I created mine in a half hour and cut up my very first log. Yes! Oh, thank you!

I just picked up a 17" General bandsaw and am excited to grab some of the chunks of wood from out back (also in MN) and start the drying process. Nice job on the video and you have a new sub.

From one MN woodworker to another: thank you!

Definitely food for thought. I wish I saw this past October. I had a oak cut down and I split it up for firewood. I had some pines cut too, maybe I should try this. logs are 20" in diameter. Thanks

Loved your video. I’m about to mill a bunch of logs with my bandsaw and this video was great. Very detailed and informative 👍👍

I'm just getting into this with a small bandsaw I got for Christmas. Great fun! Thanks for the tips!

I'm thinking with extended infeed, outfeed and fences this could do some amazing full length lumber. Great video, especially the end grain post cutting tips.

Awesome demonstration mate! I'll return to this video for sure once I get my new band saw.

Thanks. Very easy to make and not complicated at all for an amateurish like me.

Great video. Very easy to follow. I had made a jig for the same purpose but yours is much simpler. Thank you.

Nice job Paul! I live 60 miles so of you.

Excellent job on this video sir, First time I have been to your channel, enjoyed it enough you now have a new sub. Thanks again for sharing this information with us, I appreciate you. Have a blessed week. Dale

Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I learned quite a bit and will being this in a few weeks

Very easy to follow video. Nicely done. Thank You,

Great instructional video. I always wanted to know how and if I could do this with my bandsaw with minimal cost. Thanks

Excellent video! Thanks for sharing

Thanks for the great video! Can’t wait to try this for myself.

Oh man I want that band saw so bad. That's a beautiful machine

Great presentation and explanation... thank you!

Great video, and a topic rarely covered. Thank you.

Works good, great explanation. Thanks Paul.

Thank you. Simple jig. Well done video.

I seal wood end grain with an old iron and scrap candle wax or cheap wax from a reuse store. Works great the heated wax works it way into the end grain.

Great video Paul, and I wish I watched this sooner. I've got some cherry logs to slab out, but the logs have been cut from the tree over a year ago. I hope they are still wet enough to cut.

Good stuff. Waiting on my Grizzly 17" to arrive in a few days. Looking forward to cutting into some of the Walnut I've got out back.

Fantastic! Just acquired a chunk of maple myself. I plan on going to the tool library to slice it up!

100% valuable info!Thank´s Toolmetrix!

Wow, that was really good info and the jig would be perfect!

Excellent video!!! Would love to give this a try. Thanks for the info.

Another Great Video, thanks for all that information

well done Paul .great tutorial.

Great videos, thanks for uploading, I subscribed!

Looks good, Paul

An old timer taught me if you cut down or cut up a piece like you have there and aren't going to be using it for a while. He always saved extra paint and people he knew would give him leftover paint that they no longer needed because they changed color etc. He would clean the ends of the wood so there was no excess dirt or sawdust. Then he would put as many coats of paint on the ends that it takes to seal it. Usually 2 coats. This controls the drying and it dries all over at a slower rate so it doesn't split as much. He was in his 80's around 2001 and was running a woodmizer portable sawmill. He would cut when weather would allow him to get back in the woods then cut when it was too muddy to drive in the woods.

Excellent Laguna I have one too. Cheers Jeff

Nice presentation!

Great! This was just what I needed!

Hi ... great video, I'm a fan of the design and George Vondriska's videos as well. I have only a small bandsaw, however ... specifically, a Harbor Freight 9" Benchtop Band Saw (62" blade length). It only has about 4 inches of height capacity ... so I was finding it difficult cutting down my timber into small enough sizes to be able to mill it down further on my tiny little bandsaw. In order to help facilitate this, I have built a tiny chainsaw mill for my battery powered Black and Decker 10" chainsaw, but the going is certainly quite tough. Especially if all you had to start off with was just a crosscut blade for the chainsaw and you are working with North Texas Mesquite or Osage Orange, or even some Cinnamon. Some people out there might even find some extra-hard woods ... :) In some situations, I have simply taken a sledghammer and some cold chisels and split some log sections into manageable chunks to work with on my bandsaw. Now ... the purpose of all my wood and woodworkiing tools isn't to make cabinets or boards, but to make turning blanks for my mini lathe ... 4x4 is typically about the biggest it can turn without bogging down seriously, as it is a Harbor Freight 8x12 mini wood lathe, so the bandsaw's max capability is well within the range of what I need. The only other use I really have for the bandsaw is milling pen blanks, bottle stopper blanks, and perhaps some decorative work. I just wanted to post this here in case there are those out there who are in my situation ... you want to mill some pen blanks or bottle stopper blanks, or perhaps a few small pieces of wood for some project or another, but all you can get are big honking chunks and you have no idea how to break it down into something manageable. Also, make sure you are using appropriate blades for the bandsaw if you want to do real woodworking and milling ... the "all purpose" blades that Harbor Freight sells are for cutting metal and light wood, and they have teeth like a hacksaw blade (10 tpi). This is NOT AT ALL suitable for resawing or even proper woodworking usage ... great for 1/8" aluminum stock or single sheets of plywood, though. Hit up a site like TimberWolf and get some 2tpi or 3tpi blades that are as wide as your bandsaw can handle (mine SAYS it can handle a half inch blade, but that's a lie ... 3/8" is as wide as it can handle and still have the blade riding on the crown of the wheels with the gullet of the blades properly centered). A wider blade tends to flex or deflect left or right quite a bit less, giving you a straighter cut. It also has more metal ... which means it will build up heat more slowly, and dissipate heat faster, leading to less stress on the metal. A thinner blade is made for turning short radii, for decorative work, and is made to easily turn and follow curves. You don't want to overwork a thin blade, it'll heat up fairly fast, the heat cant escape, and you end up melting the rubber on your bandsaw wheels or the blade snaps. Keep on keepin on, my friend!

Perfect. I make cooking utensils out of mesquite and have been buying milled wood from a buddy. But...I have a shop and a field full of mesquite trees. I'll be buying the Laguna 1 3/4 HP saw after Christmas.

Good info! If you cut windows along the vertical side of the jug, you could line up the contact point of the log easier. Also, you need an outfeed table/roller.

Great information, thanks for sharing.

Great video. Thanks for sharing. .

Thank you for a very good video. Very informative.

This is really nice video and giving me a scene how to do it when my 1st bandsaw coming

good video thank you

Very nice tutorial.

Very well explained. Thnx

what a tease. milling a log, and not giving us a close up shot of the figure. that's the most gratifying part! ;)

Great video, thumbs up

I bought a Laguna Revo 18-36 last fall and yesterday I bought a Laguna 14bx 2 1/2 HP 220 volt band saw. I am now in the lumber business:) Now I just need to figure out how to get dust collector to hook up for each tool in my shop.

Great video. Looks like a longer bandsaw table would work well here.

Thank you for the video! Well done! I just purchased the Bandsaw that you are using in this video.

Thank you

God, wish I had your Laguna! I use a Wen 6” resaw. Just bought it

awesome thanks.

thank you

Thank-you!

I seal my ends with boiling hot candle wax, just dunk the board ends in. Cheapest option using old candles from grandma.

I like the jig. Ben looking for one. I Will make it. Thanks!

Awesome video Paul. Great to see you!! Hope all is well in the Great White North!!!

This is a great tutorial. I’m awaiting delivery of a Jet 14” bandsaw which I bought mainly to slice up tree logs for lumber. I have many logs that are several years old and if the moisture content is too low I’ll have to cut it all up into smaller piece and make bowls or small projects. Any new logs I acquire I’ll be sure to process ASAP.

subscribed great vid! thanks!

Should have left it on the Jig. But; if not concerned about even thickness this is a great idea as after it drys, you can plane it and run it through a thickness planer.

Nicely done! You have a new subscriber................ :)

OK, I ordered the Green End Wood Sealer and the moisture meter. I think I already have all the other products placed in the video.

Just got a tabletop bandsaw for now, maybe one day I'll build a fullsize

Very good information! Thank you for taking the time to produce and post. It has been a year now, how did they come out? Is the moisture in your range?

Great video, Thanks! A small kiln may be useful to sterilize the lumber after getting MC down to around 15% or less as there are many logs/trees that are infested with wood boring beetle larvae. I have seen people use air dried lumber in a project just to see beetles crawling out of the finished product a few months later 😢. Maybe an idea for another build video???

Thank you Boss, in future can you make a video for Band Saw about Safety

Thx

Great video thanks, can I just ask whats the maximum height under the guides your bandsaw can cut? it looks pretty big!!

Thanks for your presentation. Please tell me, how can I stop cracks in pine wood. After I cut the tree should I dry inside a house or use any chemicals?

Heavy woodworker or a heavy hitter woodworker😄 nice jig .Thanks

Nice idea. Ok now that I have the jig, all I need is a $2k bandsaw!

for end sealing; just apply some titebond and glue newspaper sheet. Works wonders.

Thank you, cutting the thickness thinner say

Hi Paul, Thanks for the info, I really liked the video. Curious what your thoughts are on milling branches. I have some large Walnut branches that were horizontal that id like to use for small projects but have read the tension in branch wood makes it unreliable for project use. Any wisdom you might have on this would certainly be appreciated.

3/4 " is the max blade for the Laguna correct?

I really like the video, my main question is that if my 12” log is 24-36” long I probably need to build a support table to help handle? I have a 14” Laguna bandsaw

Great info. Thanks. Do you ever have problems with the blade “gumming” up from wet wood? How do you deal with that? Is there any blade treatment you use. Mine gets so bad I have to scrape it off with a wire brush or putty knife. Also, it “gunks up” the tires on the wheels. Again, what do you do for this?

I live in SoCal where it’s dry and temps can reach triple digits in the summer, what kind of precautions should I take when I let wood dry?

Im loving the ToolMetrix t-shirt how can i get one of my own

Hi, Nice demonstration. What is the longest log that this technique will work on without too much trouble? Do you make the wooden jig to be as long as the log? Thanks

What are some things to do differently if I have a dried piece of Mesquite I wanted to do this with?

I would like to mention, that board that has the pith which is the worst part of the log also has the quartersawn wood. Which is the best part of the log. So don't throw the whole thing out just remove the pith and you have two quartersawn pieces that are the usually most stable of the whole log. HTH

Thank you well presented. If you like bark less wood keep away from Dogwood 😂

Very informative. I have a question. Tell me about your light. Did you buy that arm and add it to the Laguna?

Is your Lagunas a 110 OR 220 VOLT. Tell me about your lazor printer one of these days also. Thank love your videos

I am cutting cross cut logs into "slabs" for cheese boards. What can I use to prevent cracking that is food safe? love the video and the tips for the band saw. I really enjoyed this! Thanks