"Can I Do Woodworking With Logs Cut From My Property?"

Updated on December 11th, 2024

By: Steve Maxwell

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Video Watch Time = 2 minutes

Question: Is it possible to make something from the oak tree I cut down at my place? I don’t have many tools, and I don’t have any way to bring the log to a sawmill, but I’d really like to make something from at least part of the wood.

Rough oak boards cut with a bandsaw — These little oak boards were cut from the log using a bandsaw. The bark can be left on for effect, or cut off.

Answer: Yes, you can definitely make things directly from your tree. I’ve tackled several projects like this myself. You’ll need to get some kind of tools to make things happen, and here’s what I’ve done in the past.

I started by splitting the short pieces of log into quarters. I’ve used my firewood splitter to quarter 24″ -long lengths of log into pieces. 24″ is as long as my splinter will handle, but if you wanted longer you could use a metal wedge made for splitting wood, driven by blows from a sledge hammer. Pieces of a couple of feet long will work fine and they’re easy to work with.

With the log quartered, you’ll need to find some kind of saw to make little boards. You’ll find 1/2”, 3/4”or 1″-thick “boards” are probably best. I’ve used my bandsaw for this work, but the old timers used to use handsaws. Depending on how cleanly the log split, you made need to plane the split face so it’s flatter and smoother.

Let your little boards dry in a heated, indoor space for a couple of months with air circulation around each piece of wood. After that you can cut, plane and join the wood into projects such as a box or shelf.

End of an ash board showing growth rings — I sawed this beautiful piece of ash lumber from a 24″-long block of ash from my firewood log pile. The grain is almost perfectly 90º to the board face, an orientation called “quartersawn” or “vertical-grained”.

Like I said, you will need to get some tools to make this happen, but it could well be the start of a new and enriching hobby for you. The fact that you’re looking at a log and thinking “what can I make from this?” tells me that you have a woodworker’s heart. Buying tools in response to an actual project will help you choose items you actually need. This is the best way to build a tool collection.

The video below shows me “resawing” a 6×6 timber on a bandsaw. It’s not exactly the same as sawing a log into boards, but quite similar.

Video Feature

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