Got me a log

Welcome to the first post of my blog. I've been a woodworker, sometimes professional, sometimes amateur, for almost 20 years, but I'm just now hopping on the blog bandwagon.
My big project at the moment is a contemporary take on the Windsor chair. So, the first step was to get a log.

I got this one from my local sawmill. It's white oak, about 14" diameter. The sawyer chainsawed it in half for me, which was very helpful, since the log weighed about 600 lbs!

Next, I split the pieces into quarters with a maul, steel wedges, and wooden "gluts" (big wooden wedges used to hold the crack open). Here's the result, zealously guarded by Benny (this blog's namesake):

That was definitely a hard day's work! Next, I'll be splitting and riving the parts.