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Things I've learned in my first week

Started by Missouriwildman, September 11, 2014, 11:18:46 AM

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Missouriwildman

Well I've been sawing for about a week now.. Actually I only have about 20 hours on the mill as I have a stupid day job to pay the bills. So far the learning curve is not bad. I'm turning out real nice red and white oak lumber quite easily. I have however learned a couple of things:

You spend most of the time loading, unloading,stacking, moving, stickering, covering, cleaning and general organization of the lumber you cut. The actual sawing is just a small fraction if the time it takes to produce lumber.

I learned you can't saw through the first log stop. I tried with the second blade so I hope I remember that lesson.

You can't back the band out of the cut. The blade will come off the wheels. I learned this trying to back up since i had a knot sticking out far enough the band carriage wouldn't go by. Tried to back it out to get some room to remove the knot.. Yea, that didn't work.

The second cut on a can't is the most important. I see a lot of sawers complaining about log stops out of square.. So what? It's a log stop.. I cut my second cut in the can't then set a square on it and trim the can't square. If you keep your blade parallel you'll get square cants every time.. So IMHO who cares about square log stops. Plus it's rough lumber.. If it's a 16th out.. Who cares... ( I'll prolly get flack for this)

If you don't turn off the blade lube valve when working lumber it will all run out..

Check the fuel.. Almost ran out of diesel once..

And first and formost .. Sawing lumber is a blast!!! I love it!!!

I'm sure more lessons are to follow!!
On order Timberking 1600 , 25 hp diesel, TK blade sharpener and setter. JD 5210 with 540 loader and 5 ton Braden 3 point winch for skidding timber. Bobcat S160 turbo hi flow with loader forks. Chainsaws ms 200t , ms 210, ms 250, ms 390, can't hook, Log waggon and other stuff..I love stuf

Joe Hillmann

I think those first three items are things that most new sawyers learn real quick.  I also think sawing into a log stop/dog/clamp is required before you become a REAL sawyer.

As far as being out of square, if you are sawing 1X and 2x material out of square doesn't matter much,  if you are sawing large beams it can become a problem.  Also if you are clamping you freshly sawn face to the log stop after every turn of the cant it becomes a compounded error and the out of square between the 1st and 4th face you sawed is 4 times what the error is between the log stops and the bunks. 

Joe Hillmann


Chuck White

Looks like you're having a good time Wildman!  8)
~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!

mad murdock

Ain't Sawyer skool fun!!  Good for you on getting the hard lessons learnt first and quick! 8) Now lets see some pics :snowball:
Turbosawmill M6 (now M8) Warrior Ultra liteweight, Granberg Alaskan III, lots of saws-gas powered and human powered :D

bedway

Yup, when I was new to sawing it was a quick case of showing me I didn't know as much as I thought I did ;D

Magicman

Missouriwildman, I certainly disagree with your statements regarding squaring the cant, but to each his own. 
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

bandmiller2

Wildguy your right on the importance of the second cut. Many uprights are not square due to large logs rolling agenst them. My uprights are a little out of square but that allows me to raise and lower them with a cant agenst the stops. I can read the gap and know when the cant is square if more precision is needed I put a level on the verticle face. Frank C.
A man armed with common sense is packing a big piece

WDH

Quote from: Missouriwildman on September 11, 2014, 11:18:46 AM
You spend most of the time loading, unloading,stacking, moving, stickering, covering, cleaning and general organization of the lumber you cut. The actual sawing is just a small fraction if the time it takes to produce lumber.

:D :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

Ga Mtn Man

You are well on your way to a true understanding of the nature of sawmilling.  Congratulations.

This will fix your lube run-out issue:

 
Cheap 12V solenoid valve off of ebay wired to the blade clutch +12V lead.
"If the women don't find you handsome they should at least find you handy." - Red Green


2012 LT40HDG29 with "Superized" hydraulics,  2 LogRite cant hooks, home-built log arch.

POSTON WIDEHEAD

Quote from: WDH on September 11, 2014, 09:00:09 PM
Quote from: Missouriwildman on September 11, 2014, 11:18:46 AM
You spend most of the time loading, unloading,stacking, moving, stickering, covering, cleaning and general organization of the lumber you cut. The actual sawing is just a small fraction if the time it takes to produce lumber.

:D :D

This is what I was talking about in another thread. I only get to saw about 5 hours a day.....the rest of the time is spent......well...you said it Wildman.
The older I get I wish my body could Re-Gen.

jaygtree

i thought i was wrong once but i wasn't.   atv, log arch, chainsaw and ez boardwalk jr.

dboyt

Good to see another Missourian on the forum!  Good points, and it sounds like you're learning quickly.

1) As you gain experience, you will find more efficient ways of handling logs and lumber.

2) The second log stop (and the clamps) don't cut much easier than the first one.

3) Plastic felling wedges are great for opening up the kerf so you can back the blade out (but you can make wooden wedges in a pinch).

4) If the mill has adjustable stops, take the time to keep them square.  It does save time.  I use a carpenter's level-- it is quicker than a square to double check on the second cut.

Another thing, we love photos.  When you have time, set up a gallery & post a few of your mill & the logs you're cutting.
Norwood MX34 Pro portable sawmill, 8N Ford, Lewis Winch

5quarter

being out of square with your own lumber is not a big deal...it'll all get edged at some point anyway. But if you're sawing for others, its a big deal. If you think you might ever saw for others down the road, square up the squaring arms. the better your lumber, the more $$ you'll make.
What is this leisure time of which you speak?
Blue Harbor Refinishing

Missouriwildman

Agreed, so far I'm just sawing for myself. I've got so much timber I'll be sawing on it for years. I'm producing mostly 1" and 2" stuff right now. I have cut a couple beams and I made sure to square them perfectly. I'm getting where I can look at the first cant face and tell if it's perfectly verticle making the second cut square. Your right about the log stops, they take so much abuse that for me it isn't worth keeping them square.

And I learned you can't saw through the log dog. I missed the stops and tried to saw the top of the dog. Needless to say.. That ruined a blade.,

Sawing lumber is a blast.. I made some cool 2 x20 x 12s.. I be never seen them in a store..
On order Timberking 1600 , 25 hp diesel, TK blade sharpener and setter. JD 5210 with 540 loader and 5 ton Braden 3 point winch for skidding timber. Bobcat S160 turbo hi flow with loader forks. Chainsaws ms 200t , ms 210, ms 250, ms 390, can't hook, Log waggon and other stuff..I love stuf

mesquite buckeye

X2 to dboyt's comment #3. You can also tap a hatchet head or chisel into the kerf to open it. Just remember to take them out after you get backed up.
Manage 80 acre tree farm in central Missouri and Mesquite timber and about a gozillion saguaros in Arizona.

Jim_Rogers

One thing about backing out the blade. Make sure it isn't turning when you try this.

Also, as mentioned wedge the kerf open with something, an axe, a hatchet. I use a long handle ice chopper. For you southern guys who may not have ever seen one, it's like a edging tool to edge a lawn except it is curved on the bottom it's straight. Or it's like a hoe without the bend in the bracket to make the hoe 90° to the handle.

I also have a chuck or length of a broken blade, about 2' long. I slide that into the kerf and drag out the sawdust behind the blade that is binding it up and not allowing it to slide back. I've used that many times to get a blade back out, when I need to.

Jim Rogers
Whatever you do, have fun doing it!
Woodmizer 1994 LT30HDG24 with 6' Bed Extension

FarmingSawyer

When I 1st got my mill I sawed into the last stop within 8 hours of running. Haven't done that again in years. But.....today I grazed the top of a dog while paying attention to the lube flow & whether the blade was tracing right on some 1/4sawn 5/4 oak.....stupid thing is I nicked the top of a dog which wasn't even on the cant....it was backed off and just not seated down all the way..... Didn't dull the blade, but it it knocked the set out of a enough teeth to make a kerfy mess out of the next cuts....
Thomas 8020, Stihl 039, Stihl 036, Homelite Super EZ, Case 385, Team of Drafts

thecfarm

FarmingSawyer,You have a Thomas mill,I marked mine. I have them marked in inches. 4 inches is really 3½ and 6 is really 5½. So when I saw 6 inch lumber,I know I have a ½ inch too much. No more guessing for me. Now if I have them at 6 and change my mind and make 4 inch lumber....... ::)
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

FarmingSawyer

Quote from: thecfarm on September 18, 2014, 08:51:58 PM
FarmingSawyer,You have a Thomas mill,I marked mine. I have them marked in inches. 4 inches is really 3½ and 6 is really 5½. So when I saw 6 inch lumber,I know I have a ½ inch too much. No more guessing for me. Now if I have them at 6 and change my mind and make 4 inch lumber....... ::)

If you look at my new post from tonight closely you'll see I took your tip and marked mine up the other day....no more fiddling with a tape measure and trying to remember if the blade will clear the stops.....a real headache and time saver.... Now if I could only figure out some improvement for those dogs.....
Thomas 8020, Stihl 039, Stihl 036, Homelite Super EZ, Case 385, Team of Drafts

Delawhere Jack

Well Missouri, you've gotten through all the fun stuff. From here on out it's nothing but shear drudgery.... :(

But seriously, after 50k board feet or so, it's still a kick when you get into some nice logs. Even a bad day milling beats working that "stupid day job".  ;D


Delawhere Jack

You'll probably want to square up the backstops too. Sure, it doesn't really matter when you're milling 4/4 boards, but sooner or later, someone will ask you to mill some posts or beams for them, and you'll want to shine.

Set them so that the tops of the stops are tilted in slightly, about 1/32", so that when you apply a little clamping pressure they flex to 90deg.

Happy Milling!

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