My brother-in-law is a logger and tree clearer and I have been on him for a while to keep his eyes open for good bow wood. Well my patience has finally paid off. My question is, The trees that he has felled are BIG. Are they are too big? We are talking 16" to 24" in diameter. Can they be hand split without having a heart attack?  I have some experience in splitting trees but they were much smaller.I have a brand new maul and 8 wedges. The logs are as follows: (2) 18-22" honey locust, (2) 20" hickory, (1) 16" mulberry,
(2)18" black walnut.
I am not really sure how expensive it would be to have them sawn into board lumber, but I hoped that some of the "WOOD GURU'S" might know how to deal with these behemoths.
thanks a lot.
Brent Driggers

You got your work cut out for you there. I've split Osage in 6" and 10", but what you have there is MAN'S work. I have a guy with a portable bandsaw mill I think he gets $.30 per board foot to cut. Personally I wouldn't tackle logs as big as you have there. Maybe the 16" Mulberry.

i use a chainsaw on stuff that big, quartered out they would be more managable. still a lot of work.

Jim,
DO you use your chainsaw to just square up the sides or actually rip the thing into quarters?
after quartering, what, do you go to the bandsaw?
Kenny,
thanks, I didnt think about that.
Ill be looking for someone in the lower half of Georgia or Alabama with a portable saw.

I've cut staves from 18" osage and 24" black walnut.  Don't waste time with a sledge & wedge trying to split a log that big.  Rip it down the center with your chainsaw first, following the grain as best you can.  (No small task in itself.)  Roll the log over to finish the job, if you can, or finish it off by splitting.  (You might have to double your wedge up side by side, and cut stringers with an axe if you can't get your saw in the Vee.

Once it's in two, then break out your sledge and wedges.

tanks adam! Ill be buying some extra wheaties.

i use a chainsaw to rip it into at least halves if its still too big quarters. seal the ends good.

I dont know about georga but in mo. it is not expensive at all to have the mill cut it. if your brother is a loger have him ask when he drops them off. also do you need the whole log? have him square out or quarter the log or whatever gets you close to what size you want.JMO dont forget the pics. Good luck.
G

I like working with bigger logs. Usually you will get better quality wood with fewer knots. Using a level to draw plumb lines on the ends of the log and connecting them down the length of the log with a chalk line you should be able to get a nice straight cut. I don't bother with wedges anymore. It wastes way too much wood and its not to hard to follow the grain with your layout and cutting lines. If you are into making board bows or laminated bows then a portable band saw mill is the way to go. It is amazingly inexpensive for what you get with very little labor on your part involved. Just be aware of what you want and don't hesitate to let the sawyer know how you want it cut. You can turn really nice wood into scrap in a hurry. Hope you work it out. Sounds like you have some nice wood there.

The black  walnut  is probably worth enough to buy a nice laminated bow or a lot of osage staves, and since there  is better bow  wood, why  split it. The stuff makes beautiful cabinets and guns stocks.

The hickory, locust and walnut should be a piece of cake with a maul and a few wedges.  Not sure about the mulberry.  Not sure if that's always the case but has been my experience.

thanks guys. My aim is to outfit at least two of my bowmaking buddies with a number of staves if I can.
(also as many as I can keep in my workshop) All of my bows up to this point have been board bows. I am really excited but nervous about making some real selfbows, but at least I should have a lot of extras when I screw up.
Jim the mainer, I hadnt even thought of that. You got me thinking about furniture now. All of the other logs have been cut to 8 feet or so except the BW. It is still 11' long and straight.