Winter has struck!

[VT-Woodchuck]

Snow on the ground and my LT15 is covered and hibernating peacefully. I did build a saw shed this year that covers the power unit so it is better protected than previous years. I had heart surgery in June and September and October weren't long enough for me to get caught up. Didn't get accomplished what I wanted to, but.......



 

Even though I'm not sawing, I'm thinking about next summer and a question comes to mind. What implements, accessories, gadgets do you use to make life easier// more efficient when milling? Winter is a good time for projects!

[Magicman]

It looks very peaceful there and your sawmill is sleeping soundly. 

Ah the wait.  Thankfully I do not have to wait for Winter to be over, just for this knee to recover.  I have only been down for 2½ weeks and am already anxious to smell sawdust.  I know, I know, but this patient sometimes has very little patience.  :-\

[hacknchop]

Hang in there MM taking all the time you need to recover , just keep posting and commenting then before you know it you'll be back in somebody's yard turning logs into lumber and of course "magic money".

[terrifictimbersllc]

It looks very peaceful there and your sawmill is sleeping soundly.  

Ah the wait.  Thankfully I do not have to wait for Winter to be over, just for this knee to recover.  I have only been down for 2½ weeks and am already anxious to smell sawdust.  I know, I know, but this patient sometimes has very little patience.  :-\

Something doesn't feel right when you're not sawing.  Hope you get better quickly. 

[Andries]

...... What implements, accessories, gadgets do you use to make life easier// more efficient when milling? Winter is a good time for projects!

A clever guy on the FF once said: " it's a material handling problem with a sawmill in the centre ".
So, to make all the handling easier, make up some Bibbyman sawhorses.  They are a super design for right next to the mill. You can stack and sticker on them, freeing up the loader for slabs, logs everything else. 
A sticker house is also a good off season project, and both projects can be made in a warm shop.
Run a search in the sawmilling part of the Forum, there's tons of good ideas in there with all the design mistakes worked out of 'em.
🔥🎄🔥

[florida]

No kidding! It was 45 here this morning so we all stayed home. :D

[Old Greenhorn]

No kidding! It was 45 here this morning so we all stayed home. :D

I'm sorry, but this is kind of "in your face".  ;D If we got a 45° day here, I don't care ow sick I was, I would be out there making hay of some sort. I don't feel bad for ya, sorry. ;D :D

[Bruno of NH]

Right now it's snowing out again and been out side working on the skid steer.

[Jeff]

45°?  Is winter over??

[SawyerTed]

Low 50's here.  Today was a leaf cleanup day and day for cleaning out the tractor and boat sheds. The Doctor and I had a good day.

I'm sure we aren't cutout for harsh winters and we get our fill of snow the four or five times a year it does. 

While it may seem like we Southern Boys "rub it in a bit", we really do respect our brethren from the North and your resilience in dealing with the snow and cold. 

Remember us when the temperature is 98 and the humidity is 90 percent in July and August. 

[K-Guy]

@SawyerTed 

I don't feel bad about living someplace that gets a little snow and cold, when I see the hurricanes and tornadoes you guys get. I'm grateful.

[Old Greenhorn]

Remember us when the temperature is 98 and the humidity is 90 percent in July and August.

I didn't mean to imply we had it worse than anybody else over the course of a year. It's our turn for the challenging work weather, that's all. We get our share of 95°/95% humidity days, but not too many. I have have family on the gulf coast and I have been down there when it so so hot and humid that you could swing your hand through the air and it comes up wet. Now its one thing to be sitting on the dock or the beach and complaining about the heat, but it's another to be trying to work in it. ;D We all get it one way or the other. SOme years we get it worse than most. I hope this ain't one of them.

[Chuck White]

Once in a while it seems like we have the advantage over you guys in the South!

This time of year we can stack our snow, how many of you have ever tried stacking rain?  ;D

Just sayin'!  ;)

[SawyerTed]

The handiest "gadget" I've added to my home site is roller conveyors and slides made from dump truck liners.  Roller conveyors to move cut lumber and slabs away from the mill.  Some I've purchased some I've built. 

[Southside]

Remember us when the temperature is 98 and the humidity is 90 percent in July and August

Those are the days I look forward to that time of year.  It sure feels nice when it cools off like that after a warm spell....

[VT-Woodchuck]

Even though it is past my milling time frame, work continues in the wood lot. I have quite a bit of Ash and seeing that the EAB is only 5-10 miles away, I decided to log of the really good ash - 18" and up. The market for ash is poor but I hated to see it just die and be cut up for firewood. To sweeten the pot a little, the forester marked some mature maple, birch and pine. Some of the maple and birch are veneer grade and that's exciting. Next year I will mill up some of the smaller ash for personal use. The last time this lot was logged was back in the early 50's, so it was a good time to improve the growing conditions for the rest of the trees. It will also improve wildlife habitat and maybe get some grouse back.

 

[Ed_K]

Do the forester's tell you to leave the smaller younger ash? The thought is that the EAB won't bother them as they tend to fly from top to top an miss the under story trees. We've been doing this now for 7 yrs now in western Ma.

[VT-Woodchuck]

Ed, one reason was that I am going to mill some of the ash that I can handle more easily. I had not heard about EAB liking to stay high, but the forester said that there may be some evidence that some ash may be more immune than others. The two may be related, who knows?