Cottonwood Coffee Table Slabs (more photos)

As promised, here are some more photos of the cottonwood log being slabbed. It's a process, that's for sure! Son, Bobby, took these first three photos of me cutting down through the log. Cutting this way results in a lot of very fine sawdust if the chain is sharpened properly for ripping.

 This was the first slab that was cut off one side of the log.

 The two cuts in this photo didn't even come close to going all the way through the log with a 20" bar on the saw.

 The cut did go about 2/3 of the way through. So I figure laying the log on it's side with first cuts on the upside should provide a guide of sorts from each end.

That idea worked pretty well, but the 20" bar was still too short to allow it to meet in the middle of the log. So, once again, had to go get Bobby to help me lift the log upright. Final cut is seen below.

And, this is what happens when you "Miss" your mark. That's one of the reasons why I try to make sure each slab has some "excess" that can be planed off using my router planer.

Gonna be a whole lotta fun planing these slabs down for table tops.