I had a log on the mill that had a split in it that made it a bit undesirable for anything like furniture or otherwise. I was done with it at the time I left it. Today I needed a piece of wood for the top front of the trailer I use to haul firewood home on. I broke it on accident on my last wood haul when I pulled a log right through the front of the trailer with the winch. So this was a chance to put a heavier board on the front to carry the weight of the logs as they come into the trailer as the board is the one I put a snatchblock onto to reposition the pulling rope to a better angle for the logs as they come into the trailer on the winch.
I checked the log against the measurements I needed and there was enough there to try a cut from it. One pass of the sawmill, and I had a good two inch board with a straight line on one side and a live edge on the other side. So I took it to the shop to finish it.
In the shop I used a hand plane to better straighten the straight side of the log to a more finished edge than a rough cut. It was not quite perfect, but close. There is a dip in one end. It was amazing to take a curved edge to a straight one with a scrub plane and a jack.
After finishing the edge, I used the jack plane to put a good finish on the faces of the board. Most of the saw cuts are removed. There are a couple of dashes, but not a big deal where this board will be used. The only place I used another power tool was on the ends, where I used a circular saw to cut the ends straight. The finish is a five foot long, two inch thick poplar board. It was lovely to work, and has a beautiful finish that makes it easy to envision similar boards made into a heavy table. I think a great option would be to get practice in by building a potting bench for Missus.
It is liberating to have a need, then sort it out with a log from a tree rather than a pricey board from a hardware store. It makes me eager to get at it some more!