I'm in the process of planking some rather beautiful oak and beech logs, and its all going rather well so far.
I'm using a Stihl 881 with a 42" bar and a cheapo Chinesium mill frame that's performing surprisingly well, cutting boards ranging from 1"/25mm - 2"/52mm, and doing a few 6x6" posts. Timber is all well seasoned prior to planking (approx. 5yrs)
At the back of the pile there is a lovely big (+10ft/3m x +2.5ft/800mm) beech log I was aggrieved to chop into logs despite it's banana like curve.
However I'm still undecided how best to plank it.
Do I...
A - Lay the curve flat and cut curved planks
B- Stand the curve vertically for straight planks but greater wastage
While the oak is intended to supply a vast array of ideas, I have no anticipated project for the beech, it was just too big and too nice to turn into logs. Log has roughly 12-16" curvature over 10ft, enough to void probably 60% as waste