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Just scored 100 plus Ponderosa logs! Now the fun begins!

Started by golddredger, February 18, 2014, 10:52:26 PM

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golddredger

Hey fellas new guy here. I just scored 100+ Ponderosa logs today. I am pretty excited about this. They are good size and I have milled already a bunch from this area so i know the wood and they come out great.  Long straight grain and sweet lumber to come from these. I will haul them home starting tomorrow on my trailer. I have a home built carriage chainsaw mill. I run a mac 105 super on it. But I would like to upgrade here. So I have some questions about which direction I should go. I want to do away with the chainsaw power head. I am thinking about going to a verticle shaft mower engine and still use a 42" bar and ripping chain. OR I have an 18" upright band saw. I could take this saw and put it on it's side widen it to whatever would be best and put a gas engine on it for power. Then I would have a band saw. What would be best? I will take pictures tomorrow and post them here so you got a very good idea of what I have for a mill and my band saw setup to see if this would be a good plan or not. meanwhile enjoy the logs I just scored. There is 2 decks a good 75ft deep these are pictures of them from the front that is 2 different stacks. Lots of lumber in there. The logs on the trailer are some I hauled last summer but wanted to show off my trailer. I have a 12,000 pound winch on the front and can drag the logs up with the boom on the back or roll the bigger ones up from the side. I just picked up a hydraulic lift for the side of the trailer to pick up the smaller logs. I will put it on shortly.





Home built bandsaw mill and trailer for a mini logging operation. Lots of chainsaws and love the woods.

fishpharmer

Golddredger, welcome to FF!  Your trailer appears well suited for the task, nicely done.  Those are some dandy looking logs too.  With all those logs I would work toward a band mill setup, in my opinion it should cut faster then a chainsaw mill of equal horsepower.  The best mill is always the one you have that works ;).
Built my own band mill with the help of Forestry Forum. 
Lucas 618 with 50" slabber
WoodmizerLT-40 Super Hydraulic
Deere 5065E mfwd w/553 loader

The reason a lot of people do not recognize opportunity is because it usually goes around wearing overalls looking like hard work. --Tom A. Edison

kderby

Nice score!  I encourage you to get them milled before warm weather.  I used to be a fan of bluestain but the market is very spotty (pun ;D).  I think the best choice is mill, sticker, dry and sell the lumber bright.  People want bright lumber and not fungus lumber.

Grinding through that with a chainsaw mill sounds like work.  Enjoy the process.  Sawdust is its own reward!

Kderby

backwoods sawyer

Welcome golddredger, Looks like some nice logs to work with, what part of the contry you located?

If you fill in your profile then it helps everyone.

then someone can come along and say something like, while traveling I have spent several nights at the Fossil motel and someone like kderby will know egzactly where you were, by the way folks it is the only motel i have seen with a sign "take a key to any open room, see you in the morning"
Also stayed over in spray a few times
Backwoods Custom Milling Inc.
100% portable. . Oregons largest portable sawmill service, serving all of Oregon, from our Backwoods to yours..sawing since 1991

m wood

that is a score golddredger!  And I like the trailer set up too.  Welcome to the forum.
mark
I am Mark
80 acre woodlot lots of hard and soft
modified nissan 4x4/welding rig
4x4 dodge plow truck
cat 931b track loader
Norwood mark IV
4' peavy
6' peavy
stihl 034
"her" wildthing limber saw
ALL the rustic furniture  woodworking stuff
check out FB

Chuck White

Wow, you made a great score, those look like some beauties!

Welcome to the Forestry Forum, golddredger!
~Chuck~  Cooks Cat Claw sharpener and single tooth setter.  2018 Chevy Silverado and 2021 Subaru Ascent.
With basic mechanical skills and the ability to read you can maintain a Woodmizer  LT40!

dboyt

Golddredger, welcome to the forum!  Looks like you've got a real start on the sawmilling business.  I don't think a chain saw mill will be quick enough to mill that much lumber before degrade starts in.  A band mill would be a much better solution, but the 18" upright would likely be too small, too lightly built, and way underpowered for what you need.  Your best bet would be to get a band saw mill now and get to work on the logs right away.  If the market is good, you may be able to sell the lumber for enough money to pay for the mill.  Any guess on how many board feet total?  When I estimate volume for my band mill, I use International 1/4" scale and add 15% because of the narrow kerf.

Good luck, and keep us posted on your progress.  Nice job on the trailer.  Looking forward to seeing the log lifters.
Norwood MX34 Pro portable sawmill, 8N Ford, Lewis Winch

Magicman

Welcome to the Forestry Forum, golddredger.   :)

Those logs surely would look nice on a bandmill.   ;D
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

justallan1

Welcome to the Forestry Forum, Golddredger.
Nice logs and trailer. If at all possible I'd look into a bandmill. If you could dig one up used at a decent price you may be able to pay for the mill with what you have there.
I agree with Kderby, that you want to get it sawn asap, before it starts turning.
I'd like to here where your located, I'm betting between dredging and ponderosa your in Nor Cal, just a guess.

Allan

Planman1954

When I see a pile of logs like that, I see a nice home! (Well, with a little work involved.) Nice score!
Norwood Lumbermate 2000 / Solar Dry Kiln /1943 Ford 9n tractor

AnthonyW

That's a nice pile of logs and a nice trailer. What kind of trailer is that? Home made? Can you post some pictures of your log lift when you get it on the trailer? I am working on doing the same thing (hydraulic log lift on the side of a trailer). I'm going with a design similar to the WoodMizer log loader. I'm planning on having the two pistons each lift a pair of arms separately (four arms total). This way I can lift any size log from 2' to as long as the trailer.
'97 Wood-Mizer LT25 All Manual with 15HP Kohler

thecfarm

golddredger,welcome to the forum. Between you hauling and sawing,you are going to be real busy.  ;D  What's all the lumber going to be used for? Are all those logs free?
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

PC-Urban-Sawyer

GoldDredger,

I know you want to save money on your mill. I think you'd do well to look at buying a bandsaw head from Linn Sawmills (http://www.linnlumber.com/) They sell heads and other parts in just about any configuration you can name. That chainsaw is gonna get old real fast and the little 18 inch shop bandsaw would probably be a pain in the *** to convert.

Good Luck!

Keep us updated (and remember, no pictures, it didn't happen...)

Be Careful!

Herb

two-legged-sawmill

Hello Golddredger, welcome to the FF, nice looking trailer and log pile.
Dboyt has the right idea on sawing the logs, use a band mill, you will gain a lot of lumber that would be saw dust with chain saw mill. plus less labor.
Good luck and get'er done!  Dansr.
"There are no secrets to success. It is the results of preperation, hard work, and learning from failures"

golddredger

WOW holy smokes thanks for the replies!!!!
Yes I am in Northern Ca. Paradise to be exact. I did get the logs for free. So my only cost is hauling them home. I am going to put them up on some smaller logs as runners to keep them well above the ground. I suspect it will take me awhile to get them all milled. I do not have a plan for the logs. So I will need to put a plan together as to what sizes I should cut them. I am still very new at this milling thing.
I built my trailer. I still need to put a deck on it. But it hauls long longs just fine now and with no deck I am saving the weight so I can haul more logs. My truck can tow up to 9000 pounds. The trailer has brakes on BOTH axles so it stops like a dream. So I haul 3 to 4 big logs at a time. The trailer is 19ft deck. Seems to be a good combo and it tows nice with zero issues. My mill can run up to 36" logs and 15ft long will fit. I will snap some pictures here in a bit. I been searching locally and mills are spendy. I can fab anything so I will see what I can dream up and get built right away. After a bunch more reading I am pretty convinced I need to do a band mill asap. I only need the band saw portion and I will use my frame and carriage. So I should be able to put this together fast.  My 18" band saw is industrial. It has an 1 1/4" blade on it and it has rubber bands 18"X1 1/2" on the wheels. So I can get the Timberwolf replacement bands mine are due. And buy some more 1 1/4 blades at whatever length I decide it needs to be.

Give me just a bit here and I will get some photos.
Again thanks for the responses!!!
Home built bandsaw mill and trailer for a mini logging operation. Lots of chainsaws and love the woods.

scully

Hey ! welcome . That is one heck of a pile of logs ! Just my opinion here but with that amount of milling ,it seems to justify the purchase of a band mill ! Go used new whatever bare bones or high end ! You will increase your yeild in BF and save a ton of time ! There are many to choose from and the price points are real good IMHO . Just a thought but if you continue to get that amount of logs or even saw for someone else the mill may well pay for itself ! Good luck what ever you decide !
I bleed orange  .

mad murdock

very nice whack o logs golddredger!  The SP105 is a nice saw, I think Hiltop366 made a CSM as you describe, using a vertical shaft lawn tractor engine.  I would second the comment on Linn Lumber mills.  They can selll you pieces, kit, or the whole completed bandsaw headrig, that you can adapt to your track and logbunk setup you already have built.  Would be a SAWeet way to slice those logs up.  You will have to get busy thinking up buildings and other things to make with all the lumber you will be getting from that haul!
Welcome to the Forestry Forum BTW.
Turbosawmill M6 (now M8) Warrior Ultra liteweight, Granberg Alaskan III, lots of saws-gas powered and human powered :D

golddredger

Ok here is the pictures of my mill and my band saw I was hoping to convert. This band saw is heavy cast iron. It will unbolt apart in the middle allowing me to open it up with a spacer I will build to whatever width I choose. I took a picture where to arm to the top comes apart. It has a big bearing out the bottom with large belts to choose speeds ect and the electric motor is underneath the entire thing. So when it is on it's side i can just bolt the Gas engine in place and run the belt to it very easy.











Home built bandsaw mill and trailer for a mini logging operation. Lots of chainsaws and love the woods.

Sixacresand

"Sometimes you can make more hay with less equipment if you just use your head."  Tom, Forestry Forum.  Tenth year with a LT40 Woodmizer,

redprospector

I think that Reliant band saw will serve you better as it sits. If you want to put a band saw head on your mill build one, or buy one that was designed for milling.
Just my opinion.
1996 Timber King B-20 with 14' extension, Morgan Mini Scragg Mill, Fastline Band Scragg Mill (project), 1973 JD 440-b skidder, 2008 Bobcat T-320 with buckets, grapple, auger, Tushogg mulching head, etc., 2006 Fecon FTX-90L with Bull Hog 74SS head, 1994 Vermeer 1250 BC Chipper. A bunch of chainsaws.

m wood

indeed that is some nice framework for your CSM, I'd think of fabbing a bandmill head for that and do what redprospector said, leave the vertical bansaw the way it is. just my humble opinion.  Sounds like you'll be preserving those logs the right way till you can get to them.
I am Mark
80 acre woodlot lots of hard and soft
modified nissan 4x4/welding rig
4x4 dodge plow truck
cat 931b track loader
Norwood mark IV
4' peavy
6' peavy
stihl 034
"her" wildthing limber saw
ALL the rustic furniture  woodworking stuff
check out FB

Magicman

That is a nice CSM/slabber, but I can not offer you any encouragement on your band saw idea.
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

Part_Timer

retrofitting the band saw onto a frame to mount to a track would be a fairly straight forward proposition if you have fabricating and welding skills.  If you don't then the purchase of a small hobby type mill may be a better solution.  It all depends on your skill level.
Peterson 8" ATS.
The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.

Cypress Sam

I think it is possible to convert the band saw to run on your mill.
But a purpose built mill head would work better and last longer.
SAM

petefrom bearswamp

I skipped a lot of the answers, but isn't there a lot of waste with a 3/8" kerf on the chainsaw mill?
And a lot of time and fuel not to mention labor.
The smaller WM and Norwood mills aren't overly expensive and would yield a lot more lumber.
If you plan to do more if this if might be an option even if you have to finance.
Kubota 8540 tractor, FEL bucket and forks, Farmi winch
Kubota 900 RTV
Polaris 570 Sportsman ATV
3 Huskies 1 gas Echo 1 cordless Echo vintage Homelite super xl12
57 acres of woodland

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