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I think I found a niche

Started by AnthonyW, September 01, 2015, 09:13:47 AM

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AnthonyW

I might have found myself a sawmilling niche. Sawing hardwood ramps for loading heavy construction equipment.







The jig setup results in making ramps in pairs. Each little ramp weighed in at 140 pounds. So far the only problem I have found is the need for heavy equipment to get the ramps off the mill.  How they muscle them around is their problem.
'97 Wood-Mizer LT25 All Manual with 15HP Kohler

Magicman

Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

pineywoods

I use the same technique to make wheel chair ramps...custom made for each application..
1995 Wood Mizer LT 40, Liquid cooled kawasaki,homebuilt hydraulics. Homebuilt solar dry kiln.  Woodmaster 718 planner, Kubota M4700 with homemade forks and winch, stihl  028, 029, Ms390
100k bd ft club.Charter member of The Grumpy old Men

tburch

Perhaps drill a hole through them and tie a section of rope as a handle?   Or two rope handles since they weigh so much. 

Pretty clever. 
Peterson 10" WPF with slabber. Cooks AC36 Diesel.
'94 Ford 4830 Diesel 2WD & FEL.  Norse 450 skid winch.  Logrite fetching arch.  Fransgard Forestry Grapple.

beenthere

Clever, and thanks for the pics.

When do you flip the end support down? Is it on some hinges?
See it is down in the 3rd pic.
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

AnthonyW

Quote from: beenthere on September 01, 2015, 10:54:02 AM
Clever, and thanks for the pics.

When do you flip the end support down? Is it on some hinges?
See it is down in the 3rd pic.

The end support is on hinges. It originally hinged just for storage so it isn't sticking out there all the time and taking up space. But I found it must be lowered in order to remove the 'upper' ramp after the angle cut is made.

One photo I did not think to take is after the cut is made but before the upper ramp is removed. I will try to get one the next time. It is a hoot to see. The saw head ends up trapped with the blade in the triangle of daylight between the jig and the cant (photo #2) and the high point of the cant is higher that the top of the throat. To get the head out, I have to flip down the end support and push the top ramp to the left. This allows me to raise the head while moving forward to get it free.
'97 Wood-Mizer LT25 All Manual with 15HP Kohler

AnthonyW

Good or bad I don't know. Customer got back to me. Loves them, exactly the right size. Wants more milled as soon as he finds and gets some logs. Love the "custom milling" but man those things are HEAVY! Oh well. I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. Work is work.
'97 Wood-Mizer LT25 All Manual with 15HP Kohler

mesquite buckeye

Tell him they will lose weight when they get dry. ;D
Manage 80 acre tree farm in central Missouri and Mesquite timber and about a gozillion saguaros in Arizona.

drobertson

Looks good, and you are right, work is work.  This will surely lead into something else.
only have a few chain saws I'm not suppose to use, but will at times, one dog Dolly, pretty good dog, just not sure what for yet,  working on getting the gardening back in order, and kinda thinking on maybe a small bbq bizz,  thinking about it,

AnthonyW

Quote from: mesquite buckeye on September 02, 2015, 10:25:17 AM
Tell him they will lose weight when they get dry. ;D

That much I know and is something they are hoping on. Unfortunately I can't leave them on the mill until they lose enough weight that I can move them.
'97 Wood-Mizer LT25 All Manual with 15HP Kohler

addysdaddy

amazing coincidence. Had a fellow call tonight for 2 x car ramps... heard i am working with hemlock. wants 2 ramps 12 inch wide x 12 feet long x 6 inch deep. works out to 72 board feet per piece roughly... wondering what to charge for custom milling with my own trees... would appreciate any input... Love the ramp jig by the way. have to figure out how to trim the end of a 12 foot stick... thoughts ?
Trying to think of something Cool to say kinda defeats the purpose.
LT10
Kioti with winch.
Husqvarna fan

AnthonyW

Quote from: addysdaddy on September 02, 2015, 05:43:44 PM
amazing coincidence. Had a fellow call tonight for 2 x car ramps... heard i am working with hemlock. wants 2 ramps 12 inch wide x 12 feet long x 6 inch deep. works out to 72 board feet per piece roughly... wondering what to charge for custom milling with my own trees... would appreciate any input... Love the ramp jig by the way. have to figure out how to trim the end of a 12 foot stick... thoughts ?

These ramps contain about 24bdft (10bdft for the flat spot plus 14bdft in the angled section) and weighed in at 137lbs. Those 12' ramps could top 300lbs! Each.

Your 12' ramp may actually be easier than my 34" ramps which takes a short 5' cant. How much of the end do they want cut off in inches? It is easier to work in inches than degrees. To figure out how to strap, block, or jig, I have one piece of advice...SketchUp. Not sure which mill you have. If it is trailerable, don't forget you could put one end of the cant on the ground as long as you have a plan to clamp it fast.

As for charges, I would not reduce your rate if you charge by the board foot. Yes, you are cutting a cant or timber which some offer at a discount. But you also have to then include your time for figuring out the jigging and rigging to make the angled cut and the time spent to actually doing it. After the cant is cut to size, there is a fair amount of time the blade is not in the wood (to steal MM's wording) while you set the cant for the angled cut. Due to the short length and the hope this is not a one off job,  I spent time making the jig to reduce the time at the mill. With or without the jig, it was and is my time spent on the job.
'97 Wood-Mizer LT25 All Manual with 15HP Kohler

slider

Poston would get 300 a pair but he lives in a gated community.
al glenn

POSTON WIDEHEAD

Quote from: slider on September 02, 2015, 08:58:16 PM
Poston would get 300 a pair but he lives in a gated community.

Yep, I sold them the gates for 300 each.  :D
The older I get I wish my body could Re-Gen.

addysdaddy

I think he only wants the last 12 inches or so angled... I believe he's using these for the bridges over a dug pit so he can work underneath the car. Hope he has some help lifting them. I'm working with an LT10 so will have to shift the log while cutting to get the 12 foot mark. All in good fun :D
Trying to think of something Cool to say kinda defeats the purpose.
LT10
Kioti with winch.
Husqvarna fan

AnthonyW

I see two ways to use the mill to make the cut.

1- Tip the cant up and cut off the top; as I do. Unfortunately, tipping the 12' cant to cut off the last 12" results in the top end being 6' higher than the bottom. This might be doable if the mill was trailer mounted and the end placed on the ground. With an LT10 on the ground, I don't this this would work.

2- Tip the cant up and cut the bottom off. The top of the cant would still be 6' from the ground, but the cut would be made 6" from the bed. I would suggest rigging in a way similarly to my jig, with one support on the lower piece (12" triangle) and two supports on the upper piece (12' long).
'97 Wood-Mizer LT25 All Manual with 15HP Kohler

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