Coffee Table Cottonwood Slabs?

Decided to try my luck at free hand chainsaw slabbing with a piece of cottonwood that stands somewhere between 4 and 5 feet high. I used a 20" bar on the saw with a chain I'd sharpened to 5 degrees for ripping instead of crosscutting. As you can see from this photo, the 20" bar didn't even come close to going all the way through the log:

But I went ahead anyway and made three total cuts down the length of the log with the 20" butt kicker.

Don't know if anyone noticed, but the photo above also shows one slab already on the ground to the left in the picture. Here's another look at it on the ground.

I'm thinking there has to be a better and safer way to do all this. So, I'll lay the log on its side, make a cut from one end of the log into the groove all the way through, go to the other end of the log and do the same thing from there. Somebody please remind me to set the log "up" on some wood planks or something to keep it off the ground and help prevent the chain from digging some dirt!

I'll post some photos of the slabs once I'm done. These old bones of mine just do NOT seem to want to cooperate as much now as they did when I was younger!

Cottonwood anyone?

Some pictures of before and after cottonwood rounds a neighbor and I were able to scavenge after of bunch of trees were blown down in a windstorm (tornado) in the metro area. I'm slabbing these to use as wine racks big enough to stand alone on the floor and as tabletops for coffee tables if the mood strikes me.

Size perspective:

Started out with a 20" bar on the chainsaw to slab these up. Not a good idea. Way too small. So, got out the 32" bar. Worked a lot better, but was a real butt kicker. Had a lot of poop and vinegar to start with, but ran out of vinegar pretty quick. You can guess the rest.

Anyway, here are some after photos of the peeled and slabbed logs:

15 slabs, all of which are still wet after more than 2 years drying time. So, am leaving them in the "solar" kiln outdoors for awhile. The tall one in the back of the picture will be cut lengthwise and I'll try to make a coffee table outta that one, too - who knows, maybe two coffee tables.

Tenon Making Jig

I tried to use the Veritas tenon makers, but couldn't get them to work (tenon maker challenged, don't ya know). Talked to a friend and he suggested this jig for my tablesaw:

Works great, but if you aren't extremely vigilant while using it, you could either lose a finger/fingers, or wind up with a log in the gut from kickback, or both. Not the safest tool in the shop, but it really does work well for smaller tenons. May need to make some modifications to it to allow for larger tenons sometime down the road.

Here's a step by step of how to use it:

 The mortise is made using a forstner bit of the same size diameter as the tenon.

Again, this is NOT to be considered a "safe" tool jig. Proper protective gear is essential as is proper setup and operation. Making tenons using this jig can be very hard on the tablesaw, as well. Slow as you go is the only way to move the piece into the saw blade. Keeping your hands back on the piece is also essential. As you can see from one of the photos above, it would be very easy to forget how close your hands are to the saw blade. If you do, you might just be minus a few digits in very short order. Best thing to do is make your pieces long enough to begin with so your hands don't even come close to the blade, and then lop off the extra length when your tenon is done.

Tools - Simple Drill Press Table

Not the prettiest tool in the workshop, but one I could afford, and one that serves the purpose very well cuz I ain't afraid to ding it up like I would be with some of the drill press tables I've seen. Basically consists of one piece of chipboard shelving and scrap 2x4s underneath to sorta clamp it on the drill press table attached to the column.

This one works really well because this is a radial drill press that actually hangs over the outside edge of most projects when fully extended. Makes it very versatile.

Tools - Router Planer

This is one of the most versatile tools in my workshop. It's home made, designed and constructed by me, myself, and I.

Very simple in design and ease of use, this planer will handle pieces up to 40" tall and almost that same length.

I'll also be posting a variation of this planer in another post.

Disabled Website

A quick note to let you know my website has been disabled. So, if you'd like to keep up with what I'm doing, project wise, you can see things as I post them on my new Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dead-Wood-Renaissance/361417090585685

I'll continue to post tidbits of project progress on this blog along with a few tips on how I go about doing some of the stuff I do.

See you there.

Root system coffee table

This is just one of my projects in the works. When it is done, it will be turned upside down from the photo and a glass top will show off the grain in the wood.