Increasing productivity of a one man sawmill operation?

[Verticaltrx]

Looking for some ideas to increase daily production on a manual, one-man sawmill. I have a little Hud-son HFE-21 (21"x16' log capacity, 6.5hp) and average about 80 bf/hr cutting a mix of 1x siding 6-10" wide, and 2x4, 2x6, and 2x8 framing lumber, ranging in length from 8-12' long. Logs are Eastern White Pine and Poplar, 10-20" diameter. I'm edging on the mill, stacking, stickering, sorting, cleaning logs, and trimming knots and ends as I go.

I think I have everything laid out well: pallets for various size lumber at the end of the mill, some 2' tall saw horses on the opposite side of the mill to hold pieces to be edged, skid-steer with forks sitting adjacent to the mill to hold slabs, and the logs on timbers to be rolled onto the mill.

Questions:

1. What are some tips or tricks to increase production when working by yourself? Anything from layout ideas, handy tools, sawmill mods, etc?

2. If business keeps increasing a larger mill might be in my future, but for the foreseeable future I'll be keeping this mill. When it comes to increased productivity does adding hp or adding features make a bigger difference? (remember I'm only cutting 10-20" softwoods). I think things like better dogs/backstops, a sliding log scale, log turning winch, track sweepers, etc might make a bigger difference than a larger motor, but I'm not sure.

3. How much would a larger manual mill actually increase my production all else equal? I'd be looking at something in the WM LT15, Norwood LM29, EZ Boardwalk JR, range.

4. What kind of bf/hr and bf/day are some of you with all manual mills getting, and what kind of wood/lumber?

Thanks in advance.

[fishfighter]

One thing that has helped me and has saved my back is a couple good straps to help turn logs. I dealing with oak, fresh felled logs. Them suckers are WET. I only mill for myself and I am new to this. Another thing I find that helps is having some 2x4 wedges. Those has helped spinning the log with the straps so I can set the logs for my first and second cut.

Water and fueling. Been using 1 gallon mike jugs for water. I see a need that I will go thru 4+ gallons a day. Fuel, Using a 5 gallon can is a SOB to fill with. Thinking of finding some 2 gallon cans.

My cut rate is about what you are putting out. I spend more time felling trees and clean up at the end of the day. I been taking big first cuts off my logs. More slabs then anything. I will be selling those for firewood.

[BmoreReclaimed]

I run an lt15 e10, getting the lumber out of the way and the beams in my case on the saw is the slow part, the cutting aspect is as fast as I can walk.  Sounds like you have a good lumber flow, I think it is definitely horsepower slowing you down.  I couldn't imagine running a sawmill with a 6.5hp, I would put as big a motor on that thing as you think the parts can support! 

[Ohio_Bill]

I would suggest a log deck the same height as the mill. That way you can load several logs on the deck and not have to stop milling to get logs.

[longtime lurker]

My opinion is to look at where your time goes and work from there.

Regardless of the size of your mill the one thing that remains constant is that when the mill isn't cutting you aren't making money, so work on ironing out the wrinkles that reduce the time the saw is in wood. When you don't have a lot of equipment just about anywhere can lead to an improvement - it's working out where you'll get the most bang for your buck thats the hard part, particularly when funds are limited.

Improving the thing that causes you the most dead time gives youmore time to saw, which means more chance of making money.

[Verticaltrx]

Thanks for everyone's quick replies.

My mill is on 6x6 cross ties, which is also what I use for my log deck, so they are basically at the same level. I load about 6-8 logs on the log deck at a time.

Thinking about where my time goes, one of the first things I need is a better cant hook. I'm using some cheap piece of crap from Northern and it doesn't bite at all. I spend a good bit of time trying to get logs turned. I think a couple of different sized Logrite cant hooks would speed things up and reduce swearing.

Another thing that takes some time is trimming knots I missed, knocking off any bark with dirt on it (I do keep my logs pretty clean) and trimming the ends. With these pine logs especially I like to trim about an inch off each end as soon as the log is on the mill. One, to square the ends a little better (I leave them about 6" over length from the woods) and two to get the sap covered wood off the ends, otherwise I'm covered head to toe in sap by the end of the day. Probably an unnecessary step, but makes things more pleasant.

I think I also need more/better stickers as I spend some time looking for good ones and trimming pieces to make more stickers. One thought that just occurred to me is to lay a couple 1x boards along side my cant when sawing 6/4 or 8/4 lumber and therefore make stickers at the same time as milling boards.

As for the low hp of the mill, I think it is definitely a factor, but I'm not sure how much of one. Obviously a mill with double or triple the hp (13-18hp) would saw a lot faster, but I don't think it would double or triple my production, when working by myself. Maybe it is a bigger factor than I'm realizing.

[WDH]

My production on my LT15 is more than double yours.  I have the 25 hp Kohler, and the mill has power feed.  Those are huge improvements over the original LT15 that I had with the 15 hp Kohler and no power feed. 

[Sixacresand]

On the manual mill, turning big logs/cants was the most time consuming and strenuous.  I finally figured it how to take the work out of it, but it still took time.  As far as production, as long as I could keep the blade in a log and head moving, I did great, even with 10 HP.     

[thecfarm]

I like to cut the edges of log that I just did. This way I kinda have an idea what they need. I have done 2 logs and than I have to figure out what needs to be done.

[hunz]

Honestly, you seem like a guy who has his logistics together in order to be efficient; possibly far beyond how together I am at the mill. For me, a 25hp Kohler on an lt-35 left me longing for more. My personal opinion, is that if you want much production beyond your current 80 bd/ft per hour, a larger engine and/or hydraulics are in order. There are plenty of guys here on the forum pumping out some very respectable #s with lt-15's and norwoods; kudos to you fellas! Trying to squeeze more efficiency and time out of the way you stack lumber, edge, saw, or whatever have you, is only going to add to productivity minimally(given the mill you currently have). Please remember I am in no way shape or form trying to put down anyone with a manual mill. I had one for a few years, I just simply know what difference lies within varying mills firsthand. Productivity from a bd/ft per hour standpoint is going to come from optimal sized logs(17"-22"), and that even goes for guys with larger hydraulic mills. The problem with logs this size on say your mill, is the time it takes to flip, work your engine through the wider logs, and manually clamp every time it's needed; this is a limiting factor in your production. In your case, the smaller logs are the only ones that are easy to flip and maneuver on a manual mill, while still being somewhat efficient with your bd/ft rate per hour. In order to see numbers over 200 consistently, in all species of lumber, without killing yourself, you'll need the help of some hydraulics. The Lt-35 I had, was a great mill for the money, and made its own payments every month, and then some from portable saw jobs. The best day I had with that mill was a little over 2,600 bd/ft.

If there is one thing that becomes more apparent to me every day I grow older, it's that a man always wants what he ain't got. I now own a Lt-40 super with a 51hp diesel, I started off with a small manual mill.........I think this will be the mill I keep for a while now, after all......what else could I possible want!

[Verticaltrx]

Lots of great insight already, let me give a little more background info.

I use the mill primarily for supplying lumber for our building projects around the farm and also for my business building small barns and sheds. The actual milling is only a small part of my operation and I spend about 1 day per week on it. I'm harvesting the lumber myself and 'selling' the lumber as a value added product so my return per bd. ft. is actually pretty good. So I'm not in the sawmilling business and I don't have to mill a huge amount to make a decent income. That said, I'd still like things to go a little faster and smoother.

I might be interested in a larger manual mill in the $5-6K range in the next few months if business continues to grow, but that's about the limit of what I'm willing to spend. The Norwood ML26, LM29, EZ Boardwalk JR, and a couple of the larger Hud-son mills are in that price range, the LT-15 is just a little too much right now (unless I could find a used one.) Would one of the 13-14hp mills provide a noticeable increase in production or would I need to be looking at 16+ hp V-twin models to make an upgrade worthwhile?

[hunz]

I would pay more attention to which mill manufacturer has time saving features built in while being ergonomic, before making the 16hp a priority over say a 13-14hp mill.

[YellowHammer]

I mounted a big clock right where it's staring at me in the face while I'm sawing to identify where I'm wasting time and killing efficiency.  It allows me to get a real handle on where I can modify or eliminate steps.  Every time the sawdust stops coming out of the chute I glance at the clock, I ask myself why I'm not sawing, and what can be done about it.
You might be surprised where you are actually losing time and productivity.
YH

[Percy]

Looking for some ideas to increase daily production on a manual, one-man sawmill. I have a little Hud-son HFE-21 (21"x16' log capacity, 6.5hp) and average about 80 bf/hr cutting a mix of 1x siding 6-10" wide, and 2x4, 2x6, and 2x8 framing lumber, ranging in length from 8-12' long. Logs are Eastern White Pine and Poplar, 10-20" diameter. I'm edging on the mill, stacking, stickering, sorting, cleaning logs, and trimming knots and ends as I go.

I think I have everything laid out well: pallets for various size lumber at the end of the mill, some 2' tall saw horses on the opposite side of the mill to hold pieces to be edged, skid-steer with forks sitting adjacent to the mill to hold slabs, and the logs on timbers to be rolled onto the mill.

Questions:

1. What are some tips or tricks to increase production when working by yourself? Anything from layout ideas, handy tools, sawmill mods, etc?

2. If business keeps increasing a larger mill might be in my future, but for the foreseeable future I'll be keeping this mill. When it comes to increased productivity does adding hp or adding features make a bigger difference? (remember I'm only cutting 10-20" softwoods). I think things like better dogs/backstops, a sliding log scale, log turning winch, track sweepers, etc might make a bigger difference than a larger motor, but I'm not sure.

3. How much would a larger manual mill actually increase my production all else equal? I'd be looking at something in the WM LT15, Norwood LM29, EZ Boardwalk JR, range.

4. What kind of bf/hr and bf/day are some of you with all manual mills getting, and what kind of wood/lumber?

Thanks in advance.

Looks to me you have it figured...them numbers with a little 6.5 Honda is impressive..

One thing, if you arnt doing this already, is to sort your flitches for edging into similar width AND length piles(consistant bucking helps with this). I see you cut 10 inch so your mill is capable. Take all your flitches that will make a 1x6x10(sort them accordingly) and pile them in a manner(as you are cutting logs) so as when you have 10 of a particular sort,  C clamp  each end of a completed pile in a fashion that allows you to make the two cuts(no steel) that will yield you 10 pieces of 1x6x10. Ima lousy splainer so I hope you get my drift. I did this for many years with my old LT40 before I got an edger..

Nuther thing a wise old sawyer told me when I was explaining to him how I was gonna improve productivity with my mill. He said "What the point of workin on your throat if your butt is plugged?" Point being, I must be able to sell what Im cutting or all the speed in the world aint gonna help. You may have that figured already but I thought Id throw that in anyways...:D

[Corley5]

Get an edger.

[customsawyer]

I hear that's what Danny did. :D

[WDH]

I was gonna say that too, but I wanted to avoid any undue attention  :D.

Verti,

While the LT15 is a bit higher than your price point, the power feed is a huge time saver.  I do not believe that the other manual mills less than $10,000 offer that option.  It is a game changer in my experience. 

[Cedarman]

If everything is perfect, you can only squeeze so much efficiency out of your operation as it is.  There are 2 things to look at.  Increasing productivity and or increasing profitability. 
Let's say you are at 80% efficiency.  Then no matter what you do , you can only squeeze another 25% of productivity from your current set up.
To go to another level will take bigger more efficient equipment.  This involves time and expanse.
Determine how much production and how much profit that new level of production will produce.
Where do you want to be in a few months, a year, 5 years.  What are your long term goals for your business?
Working on increasing profits is different than increasing productivity.  Whole new discussion for that.

[JSNH]

6.5 hp is pretty low. Can you go to a 10HP single phase electric? It would almost triple your hp and cut your fuel expense. It would also make it faster and more pleasant to run the mill (a lot less noise).The motors last time I priced them were over $800 so it would be over a $1000 upgrade after pulleys, belts and wire.  The bobcat must do wonders getting stuff moved around so you have that covered. I have seen some pretty nice slab racks on the forum. Slabs always eat up time. A good slab rack and band them and get them out of the way with the bobcat.
I like your approach use what you have and add the most value to it.

[slider]

You mentioned stickers.I like others have stickers all cut to one length.48 in. is the width i like for good air flow.Go ahead and cut up a good supply and have them on hand so you won't be wasting time searching for different sizes.The skid steer was probably the best time saver for me.Now if i can just wiggle wdh out of that edger my numbers will come up quiet a bit.

[justallan1]

I have the same mill and I feel a huge loss in time I found was positioning logs to fit. There is another thread here discussing clamping where I posted a pic of the stops that I added to mine. Those stops save a bunch of time for me, both in loading and clamping.
Due to my eagerness (or stupidity) I tend to put logs on that are a hair to big for the carriage to clear and have to spend the time with a chainsaw to trim them up. I've found trying to make them "just fit" is a big waste of time and now saw off a real good chunk making darned sure it will fit the first time. I figure your first cut is junk anyway so it's not costing you anything. I also saw the "horns" off before a log goes on the mill.
I think another thing for me is trying to get all the life out of each blade as possible is a mistake. With a 6½ HP engine I can feel and hear when my blade is going dull. I saw logs in my spare time and have no schedule to meet, but if I were on a job I'd take a look at the money difference of BF sawn in a certain amount of time and the cost of fresh blades more often.

Allan

[cntryby]

Looking for some ideas to increase daily production on a manual, one-man sawmill. I have a little Hud-son HFE-21 (21"x16' log capacity, 6.5hp) and average about 80 bf/hr cutting a mix of 1x siding 6-10" wide, and 2x4, 2x6, and 2x8 framing lumber, ranging in length from 8-12' long. Logs are Eastern White Pine and Poplar, 10-20" diameter. I'm edging on the mill, stacking, stickering, sorting, cleaning logs, and trimming knots and ends as I go. You could try doing as much as one thing at a time as you can. i.e. at the end of each days milling I pick up my flitches and cut stickers. I have them stacked and waiting, I have a barrel of dry ones waiting to use. I try to trim any protrusion on the logs as I stage them for the mill. I do all my edging at the end of the day as well.

I think I have everything laid out well: pallets for various size lumber at the end of the mill, some 2' tall saw horses on the opposite side of the mill to hold pieces to be edged, skid-steer with forks sitting adjacent to the mill to hold slabs, and the logs on timbers to be rolled onto the mill. Hard to say without seeing your set up, but I use my forks to keep the height just right for off loading the lumber, I do several logs then take the lumber to the stack to sticker them.

Questions:

1. What are some tips or tricks to increase production when working by yourself? Anything from layout ideas, handy tools, sawmill mods, etc? A floor jack may help with turning the logs. You may have to sharpen the teeth on the cup to get a good bite in the wood. On the other hand, if your pretty handy with the skid steer, keep a chain handy and make a couple wraps around the log, as you pick it up it turns the log while unwinding. For the size logs you doing though, a good can't hook should be quickest. What tool are you using to debark? A piece of a sharpened leaf spring welded to a handle works pretty good for me. Heavier seems to help.

2. If business keeps increasing a larger mill might be in my future, but for the foreseeable future I'll be keeping this mill. When it comes to increased productivity does adding hp or adding features make a bigger difference? (remember I'm only cutting 10-20" softwoods). I think things like better dogs/backstops, a sliding log scale, log turning winch, track sweepers, etc might make a bigger difference than a larger motor, but I'm not sure.

3. How much would a larger manual mill actually increase my production all else equal? I'd be looking at something in the WM LT15, Norwood LM29, EZ Boardwalk JR, range.

4. What kind of bf/hr and bf/day are some of you with all manual mills getting, and what kind of wood/lumber?

Thanks in advance.

After time on that mill, you will be amazed at how a bigger mill produces. When you move into hydraulics, its just mind blowing.

One more thing, I never make a stack of lumber so big that I can't pick it up with my tractor. I don't won't to have to handle individual boards more than I have to.

[Verticaltrx]

Wow, so much good info here, I'll be putting several of these tips to work tomorrow.

As for debarking, right now I'm only debarking areas that have dirt on them and I use either an axe, hatchet or draw knife. I might try making a debarking spud out of a leaf spring as mentioned.

The more I think about adding a bigger motor, or electric motor, the more I think I should probably just upgrade in mills. This mill only has 16" dia. band wheels and therefore a lower band speed than mills with larger band wheels. Adding more hp might keep the motor from bogging as much, but won't increase band speed.

I'm looking real hard at the Norwood Lumberman MN26. It's 13hp, 26" log capacity and they claim it can produce 2200bf a day (I'd guess this is from the Sawmill Shootout, probably with several people running it and an edger). Regardless, it has double the power of what I currently have, a lot more ease of use features, and is only $4900 with a track extension and a box of blades. If I sell my current mill for $2500 then that's only $2400 out of pocket which I could easily handle right now.

As has been mentioned, I also don't intend on getting too much mill and cover myself up with lumber. I work by myself and can only utilize so much lumber per week in building barns and sheds.

[justallan1]

@Verticaltrx  I just put mine on CL here for $2500 with 7 new blades and 8' extra track and have got a few calls just since yesterday with one guy wanting to drive better than halfway across the state, so you should get what your asking in my opinion.
It's a great little mill, I've just outgrown it.
I've been looking real seriously at the EZ Boardwalk Jr and the folks at the plant sure seem very accommodating. I did get a chance to go take a look at one a couple towns away and am real impressed with the entire set-up.

Allan

[drobertson]

With any mill reducing the steps between lumber stacks, slab rack,  as well as getting another log ready to go without too much wresting. A  log deck is handy, logs roll on rails better than on the ground.   Sorting fletches is helpful, but keeping them of near widths requires some turning of the log, so efficient turning would be at the top of the list too.  lots to consider.  A hydraulic mill would be nice, but if you don't need that much investment or lumber, then reduce your steps between turning, stacking and loading.