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What's your limit?

Started by Dave Shepard, June 12, 2007, 11:30:03 PM

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Dave Shepard

This goes to all sawmill types. What is the largest log you can, or will, saw? Obviously, it depends on the circumstances. I sawed up several large pine today, and I think they were about the limit of what I can do alone. They were 10' and over 32" small end, with some taper. I run a manual WM.

So what type of mill do you run, and what is your limit, working as you normally do, i.e. if you always work alone or always have a helper. I have done a bunch of these pines in the 32" to 40" range, and it is a lot of bull work trying to turn these suckers.

The second log I did today, I opened up the top and tried to roll it over, and it just sat there like an out-of-work-bum-uncle on your couch. I couldn't roll it against the backstops, so I scooched it back onto the log deck and got the sawn side down and slid it back onto the mill. :-\  That was like trying to displace two bum uncles. ;D

To add insult to injury, I was trying to make some 18" knotty pine boards for panelling, but they kept coming out clear. Don't know what I am going to do with those. smiley_headscratch ;)

Dave
Wood-Mizer LT40HDD51-WR Wireless, Kubota L48, Honda Rincon 650, TJ208 G-S, and a 60"LogRite!

brdmkr

I run a Lucas 618.  I THINK I am supposed to be able to cut 54" diameter and 20' long, but I have never triead anything that big.  I do like logs greater than 30".  I have several SYP logs that are over 32" that are just waiting on me!

The only issue with the BIG logs is that I generally take the mill to the log.  Sometimes I have a guy with a lift that will put the logs on the bunk.  I really like the big logs when he is around.
Lucas 618  Mahindra 4110, FEL and pallet forks, some cant hooks, and a dose of want-to

WDH

My little LT 15 can take a 28" diameter log that is 10.5 feet long.  That is all I can manage to manually turn on the mill anyway (that may be stretching the truth just a little.  Not the log size, but rather my ability to turn it.  With 3 daughters, I am on my own, and Miss Scarlet knows better than to try it.  She is too busy sleeping in the sawdust ;D).
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

Radar67

I have an Ocsar 28 with a custom trailer (13 foot max length). All manual except the hand winch to load logs. The largest log cut so far was 24", 13 foot long water oak. Turning it was a challenge, but it is possible with the Logrite. I usually average 12 - 18 inch logs.

Stew
"A man's time is the most valuable gift he can give another." TOM

If he can cling to his Blackberry, I can cling to my guns... Me

This will kill you, that will kill you, heck...life will kill you, but you got to live it!

"The man who can comprehend the why, can create the how." SFC J

Tom

A Baker 3638  that will cut 36" and a comfortable 24' long.

Firebass

With my swing mill...The bigger the better  ;D

Firebass

Dave Shepard

I guess this is where the swingers shine! Except for the 18" boards. ;D By the time I can afford a hydrualic mill, I will look like Arnolds stunt double.


Dave
Wood-Mizer LT40HDD51-WR Wireless, Kubota L48, Honda Rincon 650, TJ208 G-S, and a 60"LogRite!

Firebass

 I ran into that just that last week. I  Needed 2x10s.  and  I can only cut one-upto 16" per row horizontally with a swinger without rolling the log or cant.  I'm thinking of adding a band saw to my swing mill track.  It could sit at the opisite end of the track until needed then move in and do the cutting that bandsaws shine at.  Anyone ever combined a swinger with a band mill?

Firebass

DanG

My Mobile Dimension Saw, in its current configuration, can handle 42" logs up to 25 feet long.  I don't try to go over 24 feet, though.  I also don't try to get anywhere near that 42" limit, either.  I fail to see what is so fascinating about huge logs.  They are difficult and dangerous to handle, and I find that the wood from them is usually of lesser quality than that from younger, healthier trees.  I think 36" is about as large as I have cut, and it wasn't any fun.  I do like the capability of cutting long stuff, though.

Firebass, that has certainly been thought of and talked about, but I don't think anybody has actually done it.  I think it's a great idea. Go for it! 8) 8)
"I don't feel like an old man.  I feel like a young man who has something wrong with him."  Dick Cavett
"Beat not thy sword into a plowshare, rather beat the sword of thine enemy into a plowshare."

solodan

No limit. The biggest I've sawed with my Lucas is 62", but I would not hesitate to saw something  larger. I have sawed all the way down to 4" just to split some logs in 2 for some trim, but I usually look at anything smaller than 18" as firewood. Sometimes I will slab off some shelving or mantels from those smaller logs, but only if I need to. I will buy a bandmill someday. I think that with a bandmill, a swinger and an Alaskan mill, there is really no limit.

Ianab

QuoteAnyone ever combined a swinger with a band mill?

I think the major downside to that would be - it wont be portable anymore.
The bed/rails would have to be able to load and hold the 5 ft dia logs that the swingblade can cut. A swingblade mill can do it because the log just sits on the ground ( or some seperate bunks ), so the mill rails only support the saw itself. When we cut those big logs, we generally try not to have to move them ;)

DanG.. in this part of the world the BIG logs usually have the good wood in them.  8)

Again - I'm in the Swingblade camp, mill can handle ~60" x 16 ft. I haven't maxed it out yet, but it's cut up 50+" logs with no problems.

Cheers

Ian
Weekend warrior, Peterson JP test pilot, Dolmar 7900 and Stihl MS310 saws and  the usual collection of power tools :)

Qweaver

We sawed this one yesterday on the LT15 and I think it's the largest diameter that we have done.   We were able to turn it by hand but it took two of us.  Debarking made it much easier.  I bucked it at 8'6" because that's what we needed and I wasn't sure that the Kubota would lift it if it was longer.  I love the amount of lumber that a log this size makes but what a pain to load and turn.  I had to trim a little off of the side with the chain saw to let the saw frame pass by.



(I put more pictures of this log in my "Building a Cabin" thread)
Quinton
So Many Toys...So Little Time  WM LT28 , 15 trailers, Case 450 Dozer, John Deere 110 TLB, Peterson WPF 10",  AIM Grapple, Kubota 2501 :D

IL Bull

I have a stationary manual mill that can cut 36" dia. and 37' long.   The longest I have cut is a 31' x 30" dia. Hackberry.
I have built a winch for turning the logs which was the hardest part of milling until the winch.  I work alone but have a Case skid steer and a Ford backhoe with forks so I can handle some heavy boards. 8)
Case Skid Steer,  Ford Backhoe,  Allis WD45 and Burg Manual Sawmill

Burlkraft

Quote from: IL Bull on June 13, 2007, 08:54:27 AM
I can handle some heavy boards. 8)

I've seen him handle some monsters......... ;D ;D ;D
Why not just 1 pain free day?

Captain

My current configuration (8" 30hp Peterson WPF) will do about 50" in diameter, and 40 feet long if I use all of my track.I would prefer NOT to do a 50" diameter log 40 feet long, however  ;)

Captain

Modat22

I can go up to 50 inch 15' long but don't ever want to go there. My back limits me to 18 to 30 inches 15' long.
remember man that thy are dust.

tcsmpsi

My portable, manual LM1 is capable of rendering a log 30" X 19'.

But, I'm not.   ;D

The largest diameter I've run on it is about 26", and it is a double naught pain.

My most pleasurable and productive are logs in the 14-16" range.
\\\"In the end, it is a moral question as to whether man applies what he has learned or not.\\\" - C. Jung

Brian_Rhoad

Breezewood B2000, 26' 6" without extension. 50' 6" with extension. 36" diameter

Dan_Shade

I'd saw up General Sherman if I was contracted to do so.  where there's a will, there's a way

(of course, I've never actually seen General Sherman, but with a name like that, I'd DanG well do my best to finish it off)
Woodmizer LT40HDG25 / Stihl 066 alaskan
lots of dull bands and chains

There's a fine line between turning firewood into beautiful things and beautiful things into firewood.

Don K

Like WDH, I have a LT 15 but I can cut a 17 footer. 25" X 14' spruce pine has been my biggest so far. Man, what an eruptoid log that was. :o  smiley_furious I have since added a manual winch with double pulleys that should flip them big suckas with no problem. Still got to test it though.    Don
Lucky to own a WM LT40HDD35, blessed to have a wife that encouraged me to buy it.     Now that\'s true love!
Massey Ferguson 1547 FWD with FEL  06 GMC Sierra 2500HD 4X4 Dozer Retriever Husky 359 20\" Bar  Man, life is getting good!

Daren

Quote from: Dave Shepard on June 12, 2007, 11:30:03 PM

To add insult to injury, I was trying to make some 18" knotty pine boards for panelling, but they kept coming out clear. Don't know what I am going to do with those. smiley_headscratch ;)

Dave

That is a bummer  :D. I run a T.A. Schmid little manual, the book and website say 36"...I just never found a 36" log, either they are 34" and under and I have done them all. Or they are 60+" and out comes the chainsaw and wedges (hey Jeff we need a chainsaw smiley) and have pulled many 24" wide slabs of 1/4 sawn, the cut width is 26 before bottoming out on the rollers . I built my own little deck that can saw 16'6" long...I could add as much as I need, but have never needed more. I work by myself and use a Case skidsteer. It is a hassle climbing in and out of it to flip the biggies, but that is the only way I got.

Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.

ronwood

Largest log 40 in. 9 ft. long flatsawn. 60 in. bur oak 8 ft. quartersawn. Bur oak was cut into quarters with chainsaw. Some nice 18 in wide quatersawn board out of it.

Ron
Sawing part time mostly urban logs -St. Louis/Warrenton, Mo.
LT40HG25 Woodmizer Sawmill
LX885 New Holland Skidsteer

mike_van

My homemade mill will do 16' 6" x 32" dia. I've had some that big, boy they are a lot of work. I'd just as soon have 24" dia. anyday.  A few white pines I've had were too big, I've ended up cutting a notch the length of the log with a chainsaw so the moveable guide would clear. I haven't had a real monster since I did my logturner last year, before that I've had to get the nose of the front loader on the tractor over the log, use a chain with a low rolling hitch, and raise the loader to turn 90d. Those pull on the canthook till your eyes bug out days are over for me -  smiley_whip
I was the smartest 16 year old I ever knew.

ARKANSAWYER

 
  LT40HDG25 and have not found a log yet that I can not shuck one way or another.  I have shoved whole 42 inch logs through "Wanda" but she does groan a bit.

ARKANSAWYER

BBTom

 

I have cut larger than this, but I agree that they are a pain.  I much prefer cutting 16 - 24" logs. 


This is how you get past the 36" limit with a WoodMizer.  Just make a slot for the head to pass by.


Sometimes you even have to whittle on both sides of the log. 
2001 LT40HDD42RA with lubemizer, debarker, laser, accuset. Retired, but building a new shop and home in Missouri.

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