My favorite wood grain is that found inside the crotch of trees. But to slice it, I need to reduce the width of the crotch so it will fit the gantry of the sawmill.
![](https://pro2-bar-s3-cdn-cf.myportfolio.com/c3db43b622526832dc2359d8b6bb24aa/17ea27c2-b317-4647-8831-fe19967e6fc7_rw_1200.jpg?h=862c2af89b6c1f5fc99cf4623c391958)
Cutting the first leg
![](https://pro2-bar-s3-cdn-cf2.myportfolio.com/c3db43b622526832dc2359d8b6bb24aa/3d71b361-e302-4607-8b67-bd4cd2a53788_rw_1200.jpg?h=cf265f381c69327fc07b3bcfe3ab11c1)
Finding the middle of the log
![](https://pro2-bar-s3-cdn-cf4.myportfolio.com/c3db43b622526832dc2359d8b6bb24aa/ff49adc1-611e-4b3c-bd51-b05577d3f197_rw_1200.jpg?h=48d1afffe88e498efab4a7a812a160aa)
Clamping is a problem as the log is very tall, and too short to fit between the log rests. So i used a flitch to fit between two log rests and clamp the log against it.
![](https://pro2-bar-s3-cdn-cf6.myportfolio.com/c3db43b622526832dc2359d8b6bb24aa/a78fc04b-7e3f-413a-a05f-26af258f50cf_rw_1200.jpg?h=9cacf706032eb4b6ba24c7fc322a024b)
Cutting the second leg
![](https://pro2-bar-s3-cdn-cf2.myportfolio.com/c3db43b622526832dc2359d8b6bb24aa/34e2c832-c519-4106-9a40-35b2708a02a3_rw_1200.jpg?h=371c46c3d6a7d5ca9d91dc0b864c6458)
![](https://pro2-bar-s3-cdn-cf6.myportfolio.com/c3db43b622526832dc2359d8b6bb24aa/00beec35-f840-4d86-a3f8-d77321de59d9_rw_1200.jpg?h=4240bbf2421ff060cbc74d8d12d5e441)
I stabilized by hand the log to prevent resonance from the vibrations to break the clamping off.
![](https://pro2-bar-s3-cdn-cf2.myportfolio.com/c3db43b622526832dc2359d8b6bb24aa/d8e6fe8d-87d4-418b-beb2-4b24c900cbb9_rw_1200.jpg?h=5aef9185480867fdfe6c782dc8654955)
![](https://pro2-bar-s3-cdn-cf6.myportfolio.com/c3db43b622526832dc2359d8b6bb24aa/acbf94ec-7e39-41f9-acf8-b41d0c0a4c89_rw_1200.jpg?h=97693debaf476ab0da5a6bca597671df)
Leveling all 3 piths (tree and each branch)
![](https://pro2-bar-s3-cdn-cf1.myportfolio.com/c3db43b622526832dc2359d8b6bb24aa/99a7fd55-fa8b-404a-a10f-1b8fb5768d56_rw_1200.jpg?h=23ea7cfd57ce766f08395886689534b2)
![](https://pro2-bar-s3-cdn-cf6.myportfolio.com/c3db43b622526832dc2359d8b6bb24aa/a54acfaf-c42d-4ec7-ae27-32674d21862c_rw_1200.jpg?h=7b35034bbd31d44e4316a6ad2de9790f)
![](https://pro2-bar-s3-cdn-cf3.myportfolio.com/c3db43b622526832dc2359d8b6bb24aa/4b9c875c-ad8b-44ba-894b-bff4aeb8b7cd_rw_1200.jpg?h=c2fcdb2a00cd3ff75a755bc04c39ab7d)
First few slices then the log can be turned over and be much more stable
![](https://pro2-bar-s3-cdn-cf2.myportfolio.com/c3db43b622526832dc2359d8b6bb24aa/d6009aaa-907d-41f7-8406-9833665e1ebf_rw_1200.jpg?h=1c612e95775292e993619aa13173a9fd)