Now that I see what you are trying to do, I think you're poor boy approach is quite good. Make the temporary fence and rip it from both sides. Sure would be good to have a reliable helper for this operation.

To rip a 4 X 4 takes a 12" cabinet saw. I have a sixties model Powermatic, 5HP, 12" that came out of a high school shop. It has a Biesemeir fence added. It and a couple of rollers on stands that I have, would make short order out of that job. Wish you were closer.

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2001 SLK 320 six speed manual
2014 Porsche Cayenne six speed manual

Annoy a Liberal, Read the Constitution

In principle yes but I think there's a different work ethic where you are! Besides then there's a transportation problem and perhaps the necessity to buy a unimog and a long trailer. Not a bad idea actually...



I have had real trouble in the past trying to get a straight edge cutting and then flipping over - you need to start off with two parallel sides which isn't likely and then you need to be lucky that the wood doesn't twist after it has been (or during the) cut. I always aim for a nice fraction of a millimeter tolerance but I'm frequently disappointed!

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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

A bandsaw might be a better choice for sawing logs. Sounds like you want a sawmill.

I have a bandsaw and an 8" joiner that make a versatile combination.

Woodworking tools are cheap here but wood is expensive. Takes most of the fun out of wordworking.

Yes I do want a saw mill - preferably a water driven mill in the middle of nowhere with lots of barns for building cars and lots of space for growing me own grub.

How straight are your cuts with a band saw? I've never been happy with jig saws - blades wander and bend - I was guessing a band saw would be similar (though probably not quite as bad as the jigsaw cantilever blade set up).

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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

I agree with the comment above about looking on CraigsList. I bought a Delta table saw about 15 years ago for $150. It was the floor model at a store like Home Depot. It's not very powerful, but it has served me reasonably well all these years. Sawing can be dangerous even with the right equipment, I wouldn't recommend scrimping on something like this.

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" We have nothing to fear but the main stream media itself . . . ."- Adapted from Franklin D Roosevelt for the 21st century

OBK #55

1998 Lincoln Continental - Sold
Max 1984 300TD 285,000 miles - Sold
The Dee8gonator 1987 560SEC 196,000 miles - Sold
Orgasmatron - 2006 CLS500 90,000 miles
2002 C320 Wagon 122,000 miles
2016 AMG GTS 12,000 miles

It has more to do with limited space than work ethic.
City life has some disadvantages.

On the other hand, my late father alway said "the first half of your life you collect all sorts of thing, the second half you try to get rid of them"
Now at 56 I begin to feel he was right.
If I need a truck or a trailer I rent(or borrow) one.

Rob

Do you own a chain saw? There is a very cheap accessory for 18" blades that will roll along the side of that beam and do a decent job. you can adjust the width of the board you want to cut.

A regular saw blade thickness is 1/8" but with the chain saw it takes 5/16" so you'll have a little more waste and the cut is also rough so add that when considering the thickness for the board.

You only need to change the chain and put one with the teeth designed to run with the grain, not crosscut like most are.

No chain saw - yet...

...I'm still in what Rob might call the first half of life - I'm still collecting stuff.

At the moment I'd rather be a collector than be someone who gets someone else to do it. I don't like to turn a technical problem into a people problem; I don't like to outsource.

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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

What if you snapped a really tight chalk line along the middle and then lined up your fence, clamping it at three points. With a square transfer the ends of the chalk line to the opposing face and snap another, again clamping the fence in three places.

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2001 SLK 320 six speed manual
2014 Porsche Cayenne six speed manual

Annoy a Liberal, Read the Constitution

That would work great if the opposing sides were parallel.

But remember he said, "{And sure in principle if you have a nice square bit of wood you can flip it over and cut into the other side - so that the two not deep enough cuts meet - but how many times have you actually seen a nice square bit of wood? If you've ever tried this before you'll be taking your time with a hand saw too!}"

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Behind every great man is a great woman. Behind every great woman is a great behind.