Too many wedges?

[stig]

Strange as it might seem I have in my living room a huge entertainment center that was originaly purchased in Germany .Book end matched raised panal doors .The kicker is ,it is made of American white oak .Go figure that one .

A forester I fall trees for regularly use to say: wood is only worth anything, when it's been sailed around the world.
When America was first settled, and they started shipping huge logs of american chestnut, Black walnut, pecan etc. back to the old world, furniture makers like the Chippendale brothers were in extasy. Europe had been drained of that quality wood for generations.
I have a piece of white american oak, I bought in my local lumberyard a few years back, wood likes to travel!

 

[Al Smith]

I suppose it has to do with the type and demand for wood types as to the value .

I know some locals that in their own rights are pretty fair furniture makers . I don't happen one of them though . My best is just good cabenetry .

However some of these guys buy monkypod ,Hondurian mahogany and other exotics and pay dearly for it . Then too the local oak and walnut ,blackcherry, brings far more on the global markets than it would ever fetch here . One local log supplier ships the majority of his stuff to Japan .

 

[Al Smith]

Now ,back to this veneer cut out of the log .On regular quarter sawing ,the way I 've seen it done ,the log is first squared . The log is either plain sawn down to the cut or the side pieces are cut deep and then resawn on the quarter .The remainer of the squared log is then quartered .These quarters are flipped on evey cut there after resulting in the quarter sawn lumber .

The method as I understood the discription for the veneer is similar to what's called flitche cutting ,which I've only seen done on a bandsaw for making wood siding . The resultant lumber however has a taper .I wouldn't see where this method would be much good to resaw for bookends though . What would you do with the taper ?

 

[stig]

Run it through a planer, and the taper is gone!
That is why you cut it as thin as possible in the first place. It only has to be thick enough to slice through once it's dry, any thicker is just waste.

 

[Al Smith]

Well you could of course plane it ,probabley the only way you could do it .

There is a local pallette works that use resaw bandsaws for reclaiming lumber .Those things could shave it off an eighth on an inch thick if they wanted to . Horizontal roller table deal that use rubber tires for wheels with down feed rollers .They work slick as a grease on a doorknob .

 

[Dave Shepard]

I've noticed that all of the dimensional lumber around here for quite some time has come from Austria, Germany, and the Czech Republic. We have a stack of rough sawn dimensional hemlock, but I think it cost us more to mill it out than the stuff from across the pond.

 

[SkwerI]

Burnham, I've purchased a couple of those hardhead wedges shown in your pictures and I kinda like them, but I wish they were thicker. They don't have quite as much lift as the K&W red and white wedges.

 

[Burnham]

I know what you're saying, Brian...but remember, thicker wedges, for a given length, have less mechanical advantage than a thinner wedge. Hardheads generally would be used for more difficult situations, where the lift comes under hard driving. So a low angle ramp is in line with that objective.

Cut yourself a 4x6 inch piece of that high density plastic Al sent you and stack a second hardhead on it after you get the lift started with the first wedge. Recall Stig's technique? That'll give you the extra lift you're wanting, I bet.

 

[SkwerI]

Good idea, Burnham.

 

[stig]

I

Cut yourself a 4x6 inch piece of that high density plastic Al sent you and stack a second hardhead on it after you get the lift started with the first wedge. Recall Stig's technique? That'll give you the extra lift you're wanting, I bet.

The thread about wedges and stacking them was what caused me to think about making those wedge plates of nylon instead of iron.
Since then I've shown them to a bunch of fallers around here. The reaction has been the same from all of them:Now, why didn't I think of that ?
Now everybody here are cutting up plastic into little squares.

 

[Newfie]

I find that the hard heads stack nicely if the situation warrants.

 

[Burnham]

Me too, Newf...but some folks don't get with the stacked wedge thing a'tall.

Different strokes and all that.

 

[Burnham]

The thread about wedges and stacking them was what caused me to think about making those wedge plates of nylon instead of iron.
Since then I've shown them to a bunch of fallers around here. The reaction has been the same from all of them:Now, why didn't I think of that ?
Now everybody here are cutting up plastic into little squares.

I think it's brilliant, Stig. Just keeping my eyes peeled for the proper stock to find me so I can make some too..

 

[Al Smith]

Well,actually I did cut some nylon 6/6 for wedges last week or so .Several sizes .I haven't had a chance to use them yet though .

You have to get real creative to clamp them in a horizontal bandsaw .

I'll take a pic the next couple of days of them if I don't forget .

 

[Al Smith]

Here is a couple .They didn't come out as well as I'd hoped . I have 4- 5 more at work I haven't brought home yet ,slightly different .

 

[Burnham]

Wow, home made wedges too! Al, you are a wonder.

 

[Knotahippie]

Cool stuff you guys,

I rarely use wedges.

Had no idea there was that much to em'.