Log Work

Is there anyway to shave the top of a log off so that it is flat without using a chainsaw, that is reasonably quick? Flatten it so it is a ridable skinny that does not have a rounded top. Chainsaws are a little to loud for the area that the trail is and also, I don't have one. Thanks for the help.
-Rob

You could try chipping away the top of the log with the horizontal blade of a pulaksi. It would be slow going but it may get the job done.

relief cuts w/ a bow saw and either an adze or a axe.

yeah, but its time consuming…

bow saw a few inches into the top of a log sideways…then make Xs connecting the sawed lines making a pattern like this all the way down the log that you want to flatten:

|X|X|X|X|X|X|X|

and so on….

once that is done…take your polaksi and start swinging away at the chunks…eventually you will have a flattened logride…now it wont be perfect flat, but its def rideable now..to make it flat, you will need some other tool to make it level….this is where you can go hardcore and use a bow saw to finish the whole thing off (makes arms dead), use a chainsaw (preferred) or you can go completely terminator and break out the sandpaper :)

have fun!

if its a cedar you can usually skip the X part of the relief cut and and just bop the chunks out with a big mallet.

I'll get a close up shot of my final product for you tomorrow. It worked really quickly but i used a chainsaw to make the relief cuts. I also tried using a steel wedge and a mallet to knock the pieces off but the hammer worked the quickest.

even on a big cedar log we make X cuts…

we just flattened a 3 foot wide, 50 foot long logride doing exactly what I described above…but we used a chainsaw :) It took all of 45 minutes and we had a flat log….

amazing how much work relief a saw can make :)

someone should make an electric (battery opperated) chainsaw, so we could do some low profile work in the woods.

Hey, that just got me thinking, doesn't craftsman or skill make a battery powered "Saws-all" recipricating saw? that might help

axe….y waste time doin the other suggested shit…polaskis are f-ing dull…

saw across the log about every 2 cm, same width, same depth, then smash it with an axe

Thanks for the help so far, this forum is awsome!
The wood will be pine because that is pretty much all we have in tahoe.

Every 2 cm might be a little bit overkill for most types of wood, every 4-5 inches works for me, I dont have a chainsaw, we make the cuts with a bowsaw, and then use an axe to knock the pieces it out, they just chip off in big hunks, not perfectly flat, but pretty close. Good luck rad rob.

someone should make an electric (battery opperated) chainsaw, so we could do some low profile work in the woods.

Hey, that just got me thinking, doesn't craftsman or skill make a battery powered "Saws-all" recipricating saw? that might help

ryobi makes an 18V cordless chainsaw, so does Canadian Tire and Sears

ryobi, dewalt and rigid all make 18V reciprocating saws (sawzalls)

have you used one Syncro?

and how are you getting those logs soooo sweet on the corkscrew extension. they look like they have been run through a milling machine. your work is god-like

have you used one Syncro?

and how are you getting those logs soooo sweet on the corkscrew extension. they look like they have been run through a milling machine. your work is god-like

There is a reason he burnt out his Craftsman saw.