Planing your own log-siding from 2x's vs buying it...

ajbremer · October 21, 2011, 05:44:34 AM

I've often wondered the cost comparison between buying a planer and then planning your boards into log-siding and then selling the planner vs the cost of buying the log-siding. Any thoughts on this? I ask this because I know a guy who bought a planer and then did the whole inside of his house by planning 2x6's into log-siding.

Arky217 · October 21, 2011, 08:52:10 AM

That's a lot of planing !
I would have to want log siding very much and the 'store bought' would have to be very expensive before I would tackle that.

That said, I cut all the lumber for my house on a chain saw mill.
Just depends on how much time your have and how much you enjoy doing it.

Arky

October 21, 2011, 09:01:50 AM

I have a neighbor up in the Jemez who did plane lumber yard purchased 2x6 #2 SPF into simulated logs using a Makita 3 1/4" power hand planer. He did it in such a manner as toleave the wood with a hand hewn appearance. Sorry, I have no pictures. This was for the interior of the 3000 sq ft multi level "cabin", not the exterior. They were then nailed to the studs with a space between the "logs" and the spaced "chinked" with a plaster mix. It looks very good.

This DIY approach would lack the overlap joint that the factory milled "logs" have. Unless you figured that into the process.

CjAl · October 21, 2011, 10:30:56 AM

I would think it would be easier to get a chainsaw mill to cut logs in half then peel them.

Pritch · October 23, 2011, 09:09:43 AM

Quote from: MountainDon on October 21, 2011, 09:01:50 AM
I have a neighbor up in the Jemez who did plane lumber yard purchased 2x6 #2 SPF into simulated logs using a Makita 3 1/4" power hand planer. He did it in such a manner as toleave the wood with a hand hewn appearance. Sorry, I have no pictures. This was for the interior of the 3000 sq ft multi level "cabin", not the exterior. They were then nailed to the studs with a space between the "logs" and the spaced "chinked" with a plaster mix. It looks very good.

This DIY approach would lack the overlap joint that the factory milled "logs" have. Unless you figured that into the process.

Don, I've thought about using log siding inside a room and wondered about handling the inside corners. Since the siding planks on adjoining walls would be staggered to give the appearance of stacked logs, I'm curious how they would be trimmed to fit.

October 23, 2011, 09:23:14 AM

This guy "cheated" and filled the corners with a real quartered log fitted vertically into the corner. He also placed vertical real half logs in a few places on long walls as columns. It's in a very big and tall great room. That room alone is probably 30 x 40.

rocking23nf · October 24, 2011, 10:47:26 AM

i paid 1600$ for 100, 16 foot boards. Delivery included.

rick91351 · October 24, 2011, 11:55:20 AM

Sort of depends on the finish you would want. 2x6s really most likely would have to go through a profile planer or shaper. Knives are available but not for really a bench top planer at least that I can find. And would be so slow. You would be looking at a sixteenth to an eighth inch each time you feed a board through. That most likely would be you max depth change because with that profile on a bench top planer it is planing a large surface area.

Planers they use for that type of work are big and very powerful and very expensive for the machine and the knives. Profile knives like that when they become dull are a bear to change out and a bear to set. At least they were thirty five or forty year ago when I was working around those types of planers all the time.

You could rip the excess on a table saw and then made a jig and use a router with a flat bit and surface the area. Or take a hand planer either hand or powered and run that over your ripped blanks, if you wanted a more rustic look. All in all sounds like a great project if you are snowed in for the entire winter and did not have anything else to do.