swing blading

[Cedarman]

In So Indiana, at the logging sites, I have seen a lot of big cut offs, especially 3 to 5 feet of white oak doubles.  They would cut the tree down and drag out the double or triple and cut off a big butt because it was too short.  Some places I have seen 20 to 30 and who knows how many more over the hill.
These are 30 to 50 inches in some cases.  Was wondering if a swing blade mill could salvage the lumber in these pieces economically?   The wood would be clear, but short.  What say you swing bladers?

[Fla._Deadheader]

  That is what I would use. You can set up 2-3 in a row, and cut right from one to the next on each pass. Keep yer offbearer hustlin, though. : :D :D

[Cedarman]

I was just wondering if anyone has tried this approach.

[Ianab]

The mill will cut em up no worries right where they are laying. You will have to work out the economics, how much can you sell the short boards for?
I think you should be able to saw out some nice q-sawn boards from that 'rubbish' though.
Would slabbing the whole butt / crotch into table tops be an option?

Ian

[sigidi]

As said yep no worries,

FDH has the right idea load a few at once then go for it you'll get the most cutting time then - there will be some fiddling around to get a straight deck on all of em but there's no worries with that.

or as Ian mentioned, slabbing them through is also an option.

Cedarman as for doing it - I cut up logs of any lenghth if they come at the right price (free ;)) and Lucas advocate you use a 5' log to fine adjust your blade. If they are big enough you'd think there would be a heap of timber out of em

[Captain]

and they cut cedar pretty good too....

[Cedarman]

Most of these pieces are a little too big to put on a band mill.  Especially the ones 30 inches one way and 50 the other because of the double heart. So I just hate to see these pieces go to waste.  Are there any swingers in So In?
The only time I've seen one was in Richmond sawing one of the biggest ugliest knotty maples around and it did a great job.

Captain, our cedars average about 7".  Can a swinger saw such a small log efficiently?

[Ianab]

I dont think "7 inch log" and "efficient" belong in the same sentance  :D

But yes a swingblade will cut them as well as anything else, probably need to put a bit of thought into a better system of holding the logs down and setting up 3 or 4 of them under the mill at once. But once you have done that, away you go.

Ian

[Tom]

A chainsaw is the most effeciant way of cutting up most 7 inch logs.  You buck'em  into 18" lengths and make a "firewood" sign.  They sell pretty good, I hear. :D

While I've cut a lot of 7 and 8 inch logs, I try to limit myself to the 9" and above.    A 9" log may square six inches and there's not but maybe 5 boards in that.   Squaring a 7" log for (3 or 4) 1 x 4's isn't too cost effective. .........unless it's some mighty high dollar wood.

[KiwiCharlie]

Oh Tom, you're priceless!!  :D :D :D :D :D :D :D
Charlie.
:D :D :D :D :D :D :D

[Timo]

 :D :DYeah, that's the original 'swing blade'. The one swinging on the end of your arms with a  pull start!

The nice thing is that below 8-9 inches, you don't even have to split them for nice firewood. Yup, who ever designed those tall woody things sure thought of everything......

[Captain]

I've been known to cut logs down to 6" for customers.   Ian is right, if I were cutting a LOT of small logs, I would spend some time with a bunking system.  Other than that, cut away.  Swingblade mills work on things other than big logs ;)

Also, remember we are down to 1/8" kerf with the microkerf blade system.

Captain

[Cedarman]

Anything less than 10" we normally saw with an enddogging scragg. We can do one every 30 seconds to a minute that way and the slabs go through a resaw at up to 5 slabs per minute.  Big stuff and special cuts we do on our WM.

[Vermonter]

I've sawn logs as short as 3', but learned to make the  horizontal cuts first.  Otherwise, the loose board is sitting on top of the blade.  I've thought about a shingle attachment, but haven't had a chance to put one together.

[DanG]

I'm thinking of an end-dogging system for the MD, to handle those small logs.  That thing'll cut a 4x4 most quick, but I lose a lot of time in shutting down, removing the slab, and installing a new log.  If I could streamline and automate that process, I could do quite well in the board fencing business.

I can saw as short as 1.5 feet before the dog levers start tangling with one another.

[ARKANSAWYER]

Cedarman,
  I know of a guy up in MO with a Lucus and all he does is go to big mills and saw for them .  He gets $0.15 bdft for cants and $0.20 for 4 & 5/4 and all he saws is big uglys and short like what you are talking about.  We run 6, 7, and 8 foot oak in all in the same bundles here.  I bet if you contact a stave bolt mill in MO they would be interested in the white oak lumber no matter how long.  Sawed and dried it would all sell for way more then what you would have in sawing it.  Slabbing it would be a good deal for some of it.  The mills may just pay you to saw it for them.
ARKANSAWYER

[Cedarman]

Arkansawyer,  I just kind of threw that idea out there to see if others thought it might work. Looks like it would work.  We've got a stave mill down the road.   I've got so much to do that the last thing I need is another project.  If I was a young whippersnapper looking for a way to get into the sawing business, I think sawing those big big logs would be the thing. Niche market!!!! Even if the saw mills could saw them they hate them because it takes so much time. There any swingers in So IN?