DIY first cut rails for small logs around 14" diameter?

[MtnHaul]

From time to time I come across some logs that I would like to mill into beams for outdoor projects such as stairs, garden beds, small retaining walls, etc. On larger diameter material an extension ladder is quick and easy to setup for the first cut but it can be a beach on the smaller stuff. I don't really want to pay for the Granberg rail system and was wondering if anyone has come up with a lower cost first cut setup for smaller logs? If I could weld I would just fabricate something appropriate and call it a day but that's something I would have to hire out.

 

[Sloughfoot]

I always built my rails out of straight 2x6 when I was milling. Short ones screwed to each end level and the rails screwed to outside of those. Another short one every 8 feet or in the middle notched in to keep rails from sagging under the weight of the saw. Doesn't matter how the log is laying. If you level each end piece there won't be any twist. Make it as wide, narrow, short long as you want.

 

[MtnHaul]

I always built my rails out of straight 2x6 when I was milling. Short ones screwed to each end level and the rails screwed to outside of those. Another short one every 8 feet or in the middle notched in to keep rails from sagging under the weight of the saw. Doesn't matter how the log is laying. If you level each end piece there won't be any twist. Make it as wide, narrow, short long as you want.

I guess 2x6 selection at the lumber yard will make or break the results. Did you ever plane the boards or otherwise mitigate the variances often found in plain ol' SPF(Spruce/Pine/Fir) lumber? Things don't have to be perfect but when I take the time to mill something I always aim for as close to perfect as is reasonable.

 

[PA Dan]

I had these cut from 1/4" thick steel plate and have 2" square tube that goes in the slots. Have two 11' and two 6' for different size logs.

 

[MtnHaul]

I had these cut from 1/4" thick steel plate and have 2" square tube that goes in the slots. Have two 11' and two 6' for different size logs.

Oh I like that a lot. With the 11' setup do you ever support the middle or is there zero flex with the 2" square tube?

 

[Sloughfoot]

I guess 2x6 selection at the lumber yard will make or break the results. Did you ever plane the boards or otherwise mitigate the variances often found in plain ol' SPF(Spruce/Pine/Fir) lumber? Things don't have to be perfect but when I take the time to mill something I always aim for as close to perfect as is reasonable.

Never had to plane one straight. There was always a perfectly straight untwisted one to be had. Do have to keep an eye on them though, for sure. I was building houses at the time so there was always a stack of #2 select to pick through. I've always been able to find straight ones at the lumber yard. Has taken a minute to find a couple of them a few times.
One time I had a store employee tell me when they're graded the same they're all the same.

 

[MtnHaul]

Never had to plane one straight. There was always a perfectly straight untwisted one to be had. Do have to keep an eye one them though, for sure. I was building houses at the time so there was always a stack of #2 select to pick through. I've always been able to find straight ones at the lumber yard. Has taken a minute to find a couple of them a few times.
One time I had a store employee tell me when they're graded the same they're all the same.

I just noticed you're in NorCal. I've spent some time up there and if my work was easy to relocate I would prefer to be up there. I have some family in Eureka and lived in Covelo for a brief spell. When traveling north on 101 I always feel better once the Bay Area is in the rear view mirror and Hopland is ahead of me.

 

[Sloughfoot]

I just noticed you're in NorCal. I've spent some time up there and if my work was easy to relocate I would prefer to be up there. I have some family in Eureka and lived in Covelo for a brief spell. When traveling north on 101 I always feel better once the Bay Area is in the rear view mirror and Hopland is ahead of me.

Yeh, bay area is a busy place. I can see why folks live there because the summer weather is fantastic and there's a lot of high paying jobs. Too busy for us, though. Norcal gets real nice real quick just north of the bay. We live in the valley an hour or two northeast of the bay and have a place 20 miles south of Oregon 30 miles from the coast in the mountains. Central Valley from Bakersfield to Redding is a haaaard place in the summer. After consecutive 110 degree days we'll drive to the beach in Jenner occasionally just to sit there.

 

[PA Dan]

Oh I like that a lot. With the 11' setup do you ever support the middle or is there zero flex with the 2" square tube?

The logest log so far was around 8'. Didnt see any sag in it. Boards are flat.

 

[Basher]

I like the rail idea and will make up a set if I keep milling long beams. So far a ladder section has worked well enough, 16' and a 20' section easy to shim the center up to prevent any sag, this fall I cut a 21'6" beam out of the 32" X 76' pine I had dropped earlier in the spring. The tree was too heavy to handle/get out of where it was dropped without tearing up the lawn plus there was drainage pipes and a septic field in the only corridor I had for tree stem removal. I still have a good 40' left to do something with.