Desperate in New Orleans

FrankA · April 06, 2004, 04:16:29 PM

Hi guys. I have a great cypress log, about 13 feet long, 27" or so across and no way to cut it into lumber. I can't move it to a sawmill and have been searching (without success) for someone, anyone, who can come out and turn it into lumber for me.

I'll pay for the service, but I haven't found anyone who can do the job. I've called lumber yards, sawmills, the forestry service and posted to a number of web sites, but turned up only dead leads.

I'd hate to see this great log go to the land fill. Any takers? Any leads? Any ideas?

Thanks,

Frank Andrew

Ron Wenrich · April 06, 2004, 05:12:03 PM

Welcome aboard Frank. Over to the left, under those ads, there is a section that says "Find-a-Sawyer". Click on that and pull up the state of Louisiana. You'll see that we have a mill listed there that buys logs, and custom saws, and seems to be close to the Big Easy. May be worth your time to send him an e-mail. Tell him you came by the way of the Forestry Forum. Let us know how things turn out.

LSUNo1 · April 06, 2004, 05:57:02 PM

Frank I'll call you. Over the weekend I finally got my trailer outfitted with a winch and we'll see if we can at least drag it up on my trailer and out of your neighbors hair.

I dont have a mill at present but I know a guy on Ames Blvd. who has one and will cut it if you bring it to him.

Mitch

Fla._Deadheader · April 06, 2004, 06:06:05 PM

Welcome to the Forestry Forum, Frank. Notice how quick this bunch is to help??? Hope ya stay around and enjoy yerself. ;D

Jeff · April 06, 2004, 06:41:48 PM

COOL

ARKANSAWYER · April 06, 2004, 08:50:31 PM

LSU1 If you get Franks log on your trailer come on up and after the dust settles we will go fishing. Spring has sprung here and fishing is good.
ARKANSAWYER

LeeB · April 06, 2004, 09:50:55 PM

Glad to see you made it over here Frank. I told you they could help you here

Great bunch of people here. If you and LSU can't drag it up on the trailer, remebeber what I said about rolling it up the side with ramps. LeeB

FrankA · April 07, 2004, 06:35:21 AM

Thanks everybody. I hope Mitch and I are going to be able to move it on Saturday to a local mill. We'll take a look at it on our mutual lunch breaks today to see what will work the best.

I appreciate all the input.

-- Frank

QuoteFrank I'll call you. Over the weekend I finally got my trailer outfitted with a winch and we'll see if we can at least drag it up on my trailer and out of your neighbors hair.

I dont have a mill at present but I know a guy on Ames Blvd. who has one and will cut it if you bring it to him. [\quote]

LSUNo1 · April 07, 2004, 08:24:36 PM

Thanks for the offer ARKANSAWYER. I'd like nothing better than to come up for a visit to Hog country. I have a feeling I'd come back home a better sawyer.

Actually Im going to Alexandria, La. for a few lumber sawing and drying classes in May, which aint too far from Shreveport, which aint too far form the Arkansas state line. If I can get the wife to handle the my three indians for a few more days :-/...well if you get down here before I get up there, you have an open invite

Mitch

LSUNo1 · April 10, 2004, 10:00:08 PM

Frank and I were able to hook up this morning to load the log and haul to "Mr. Johnny's" 70 year plus circle mill. A rather unique operation. Still kicking myself for forgetting the camera.

Anyway I did want to show a couple pics of my new Log Gettin Rig. It consists of a 10,000 lb trailer and 10500 lb MileMarker hydraulic winch. Thanks again to DanG for the tip. It is a quiet, smooth machine that will pull all day long.

Photo below is of the winch mounted on the front of trailer. I got the rear mount hoses that are long enough to reach from the p.s. pump to the back of the truck. Have additional hoses from winch to tongue of the trailer. Quick connect fittings on all. Just hook up the trailer connect the hoses and ready to run.

This one shows my 10 minute plywood ramp made with scrap around the shop. Steel ramps underneath, plywood just gives the log something to slide on. Gonna do something permanent out of steel.

Got some good cypress wood out of Frank's neighbor's tree that otherwise was headed for the dump. And had a darn good time doing it.

Hey!!! How'd that one get in here... 8)

Mitch

Norm · April 11, 2004, 05:33:42 AM

Good looking outfit Mitch.

I didn't know LSU had a LaCrosse team. ;D

Haytrader · April 11, 2004, 08:43:21 AM

Mitch,

Me and my Sooners wished that decal wouldn't have been printed.

:-[

FrankA · April 12, 2004, 07:42:36 AM

Thanks to everyone. Lots of you had great ideas for how to move the log. Of course, the problem is always finding someone with the gear you describe and the will to use it. I searched and called and networked the heck out of things.

And Mitch came through for me. His new hydraulic winch on his double axle trailer could probably load the super dome if you had a cable long enough to wrap around the base. Saturday morning we hooked up the log, winched it up onto his trailer and took it to a sawmill in LaFiette.

That sawmill, and the people that run it, were quite an experience. The mill is probably a 100 years old and looks every bit of it too. An antique diesel tractor engine powers the contraption with a fifteen foot drive belt. A combination of levers, wheels and shorter drive belts moves the sled forward or backwards. The main drive shaft has a circular blade with enough of a bend in it to rattle like a train of empty boxcars moving at 70 MPH, a dented and rusted log sled that sometimes stalled out the mill by moving too fast and a few very knowledgeable guys running the operation.

The whole work area was covered over-head in bits and pieces of wood nailed together over the decades to form a kind of framework to support the wisteria that provided the actual shade. Even though the huge yellow jackets and bumble bees buzzing around the wisteria blooms were furious at the incredible racket and thick diesel fumes, we all managed to avoid getting stung.

We cut some gorgeous lumber out of the trunk. I gave Mitch three nice boards, (around 15" wide, just over 12 feet long, one just over 2" thick and two 1" thick) for his effort and the use of his trailer, truck and winch. In turn, I stacked more cypress wood in my back yard than I'll need when it dries - though I can always come up with another project or two!

Thanks a ton Mitch! I really appreciate the help and the opportunity to watch a log of mine become lumber. That's something I've wanted to do for years whenever I've seen a nice trunk get cut up and hauled off to the landfill. It was a great first experience.

And thanks to everyone here that posted ideas and suggestions. It's appreciated. The next time I come across a good trunk, I'll already have a stack of ideas and resources for finding a way to turn it into lumber while saving some space in the land fill.

Cheers,

Frank

Fla._Deadheader · April 12, 2004, 07:54:59 AM

8) 8) 8) Glad ya got it done, Frank. Stick around and let us know what else ya get into. ;D ;D ;D

LSUNo1 · April 12, 2004, 10:50:19 PM

Hey Norm...I had to look it up but yes we do have a Lacrosse team. We suck at it right now but them Hawkeyes and Cyclones ? better look out up there cause were gettin better at it.

Haytrader...another quarter and that decal probably would not have been made.

Frank...now I dont feel so bad about forgettin the camera...nice description.

Norm · April 13, 2004, 04:53:11 AM

Mitch Patty smacked me in the back of the head for my LaCrosse crack. I might need one of those helmets. :D

Ah yes the cyclones football team, they really should play LaCrosse instead. :D

DanG · April 13, 2004, 11:08:36 PM

Well, ain't that a nice little story, though?

Dontcha just love it when a plan hatches out, right before your eyes, then actually works out? Sounds like a real fun little project.

Mitch, I knowed you was gonna like that winch. I still haven't found anything that will stop it. Me and Eric found some big ol' rubber wheel chocks up at Mr. Hootie's, and I bought'em, thinkin' they was the answer to my prayers. First time I got in a real bind, that winch just pushed'em into the ground!

I have to chain the front of the truck to a tree, if I want to get real serious about it.

Stan · April 15, 2004, 03:24:42 AM

QuoteMitch,

Me and my Sooners wished that decal wouldn't have been printed.

:-[

I think you're lucky to have got into the game, "Fight on for old SC".

LSUNo1 · December 16, 2005, 11:08:27 PM

Through this forum, and in fact this very thread, I met a kindred spirit here in the N.O. area. Frank Andrew and I teamed up on several other occasions to fetch and saw logs into lumber.

One of the things Frank was doing with the lumber we were sawing was building a sailboat. He finally finished the boat which was about 19 ft. long and he named her "Fox Feathers". About 2 weeks ago he and his wife took her out in Lake Pontchartrain for her maiden voyage.

Tragically, at some point during their cruise the boat capsized and Frank and his wife were missing. One week ago their bodies washed up on shore, along with a packed picnic basket and two unopened bottles of champagne.

It has really hit me hard because they were a fantastic couple with a very bright future. Frank's wife was 6 months away from being a Pediatrician and had already accepted the job as town doctor in Rifle, CO. where they were going to settle and start a family.

Frank called me just a few weeks ago and we were going to saw up a few logs he had scavanged in his neighborhood after Katrina. He was an inspiring young man, who has written several books, had a black belt in karate, and at 39 was wealthy enough to retire. But what I liked best about him was his love of woodworking and for making lumber.

This place is all of a sudden a little bit lonlier.

beenthere · December 16, 2005, 11:49:27 PM

LSUNo1
Very sorry to hear about FrankA and his wife. What a tragic ending to a budding life ahead of them.
This story of how this forum brought FrankA into our lives, and gave us the enjoyment of how a budding relationship can happen with a sawmill involved, was a joy to read. Just the ending is, as you said, making it a bit lonely here too. :(

Jeff · December 17, 2005, 01:40:56 AM

What a horrible sad thing. I just spent several minutes on Frank's website that is linked to his profile reading about the building of the boat.

I remember your meeting very well as we awarded a rust reaper award because of how you jumped in to help frank.
https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=6564.0

I'm so sorry for the loss of your friends.

ellmoe · December 17, 2005, 06:37:04 AM

LSU1,
Wow, what a tragedy. I'm sorry for the loss of your friends. I just read this thread for the first time and chuckled at how enthusiastic your friend was. Then I read your post, what a change in emotions. A terrible waste.

Mark

Fla._Deadheader · December 17, 2005, 07:44:34 AM

WOW, no words to describe my feelings going from a great story, to a tragic ending. Very sorry for the loss of your friends. :( :(

chet · December 17, 2005, 08:51:38 AM

What a tragic and sad ending to two young lives. :(

Kirk_Allen · December 17, 2005, 09:22:52 AM

So sorry to hear the bad news. What a tragedy.

sandmar · December 17, 2005, 12:45:24 PM

So sorry for your loss. Another reminder has fragile and precious live is. Enjoy each day and remember to tell your friends and loved ones what they really mean to you. You never know when that last meeting will be.

Sandmar

woodbowl · December 17, 2005, 01:21:20 PM

I'm sorry the tragic news, It's going to be tough for a while.

doublecut · December 17, 2005, 04:06:52 PM

How sad and what a tragic ending. We are very sorry for the loss of your freinds. Our condolences from all of us here at D&L . He will be remembered here.
doublecut

Kevin · December 17, 2005, 04:26:38 PM

That is a very sad tragedy, what a horrible loss and waste of life.
My condolences.

Frank_Pender · December 17, 2005, 04:45:34 PM

Thank your sharing your friendship with Frank. He sounded like a real nice fella to be around. Like was mentioned early life is precious and we never know the reasons for losses such as Frank and his wife. Our thoughts and prayers are with you as we all grieve for Forum friend and work mate. :'(

tnlogger · December 17, 2005, 09:17:49 PM

LSUNo1 sorry for your loss but think their were doing something they loved with something built buy their own hand and together. the good lord said it was time and as we know when he calls we follow.

customsawyer · December 18, 2005, 12:27:05 PM

Sorry for your loss. Wish there was more to say that would help heal the wound. Most has been said allready.

LSUNo1 · December 18, 2005, 01:12:40 PM

Thanks everyone for your sentiments. Frank's mother- in-law's quote in the paper was very similar to yours tnlogger. She took solace in the fact that they were doing something they loved and were with the one they loved.

This thing that we love to do, being around trees, making lumber, making things out of that lumber, is a "calling" I believe. Its obviously not about money or prestige. I dont know many in my town with these interests and even fewer who are willing to actually spend the time and effort to find logs, fetch logs and saw them into lumber.

I do have my good friend Bud who owns a Logmaster sawmill near here and he and I have alot of logs to saw once I get my house flood damage repairs complete. Frank has a magnolia log, a sycamore and a persimmon sitting in his front yard that we were going to saw up in the next couple weeks. He was very excited to see what that magnolia was going to look like.

Thanks again everyone.

Frank_Pender · December 18, 2005, 05:00:51 PM

Just a thought LSU, you might check with his mother and see if you and your friend with the mill might saw the logs and incoroperate them into your remodeling and perhaps something for their home as well. It is called building memories on this Tree Farm. ;D

ARKANSAWYER · December 19, 2005, 08:40:15 AM

You know in this profession and passion that most of us share is dangerous. I have "cracked" my leg and has some very close calls over the years. Some on here are missing bits and pieces from the danger that always lies just a hair away. But when the Good LORD calls to be doing what you love to do with the one you love is to go a happy man. If I can not die in the arms of my wife, engaged in mortal combat that would earn me the CMH then please let me lie down in a pile of sawdust of my own making. For all of us must go at some time that is sure. What we heard was not a waste, but a fulfillment of all that is good and right. How many have passed and not even ventured to find their dream or talent. Blessed are those who have found the pearl above all others and kept it for their own. Live, Love and Laugh for life is to short not to enjoy it. After all down in New Orleans they know how to send the off.