Milling in West Africa

[jonbart]

Greetings:
I have worked in Sierra Leone, West Africa for 8 years (www.villagehopeinc.org).  We attempt to reduce poverty in remote villages by starting commercial businesses that use state-of-the-art methods.  I hope that people on this forum will give us advice on one such business.
The business would make turning and carving blanks and export them to developed countries.  We'd only use small trees destined to die through natural thinning as well as dead and recently down material.  Our products would be ready for retail sale.  We hope this approach would provide employment and avoid over-exploitation of natural forests (I am a research ecologist with 37 years employment in the US government so this topic is close to my heart).
My question is "What equipment for milling and finishing" should we look at most carefully.  I'm a researcher; I'm not asking you guys to do all my work for me.  I just need a little help to get started.
Thanks for whatever advice you can provide.
Jon Bart (jonbart@gmail.com, 208 870-9806)

[beenthere]

Welcome to the Forestry Forum

The one phrase used

We'd only use small trees destined to die through natural thinning as well as dead and recently down material.

bothers me and I have to wonder why the growing stock of these same trees would not be utilized rather than just the dead and dying.
What are they being saved for, and for whom? Seems we could do the most good for these countries' peoples by helping them utilize the raw materials resource that they already have.
This is not a viewpoint shared by everyone for sure. And I don't mean that we should exploit without careful management. Maybe not possible given the land ownership and grip of Int'l groups in control.

[jonbart]

Well, the small trees would be growing, but I understand your point.  Why not use something closer to the maximum sustainable yield?  Sierra Leone at present bans all export of lumber due to past terrible excesses.  This would be a way to tip toe back into the commercial use of forests without opening the door to abuse.

[Ianab]

Maybe the forest has been clear cut in the past, and is regenerating densely, and is due for some thinning? Wont have mature trees for another 20 or 30 years?

Either way I get the idea, you want a sustainable harvest going on, with the locals processing the wood into finished items that can be exported and sold. Fair enough. they can probably make more by processing one tree than selling 100 to a multinational company that exports the logs and leaves them with the mess.

I'd say the best mill for this sort of task is one of the Swing Blade mill. Perterson, Turbo saw or Lucas.

Reason is they are designed to be moved into a remote location, by hand if necessary. Gets away from the whole image of bulldozers tearing up the rainforest. They also have the ability to handle oversize logs from mature trees that may be harvested or naturally fall.
The mills are basically designed for use at remote locations with minimal support equipment

[jonbart]

OK, thanks.  I will look into them.  But maybe a good starting point for this discussion is whether to use a mobile plant.  We'll be working within about 6 miles of our main facility (a processing plant for agricultural products), and we take firewood (from small, fast-growing softwoods, not exotic hardwoods) back to the plant frequently.  So moving the material to a central location is not a problem.  Given that, should we still consider a mobile plant or would it make more sense to establish a central mill?

[Ianab]

Good question...

What size logs are we talking about, and what machinery will you have to handle them?  I mean firewood can be broken down in the forest into manageable chunks and man handled onto a small truck easy enough. 1/2 ton saw logs take a bit more moving, and if we are talking a dense hardwood, that might only be an 18" x 8ft log. Winch the logs a few hundred feet to a landing where the mill is set up, and break the logs down into dimensioned boards there. Once it's sawn, transporting the boards back to base for further processing is straight forward. Packing up the mill and moving it to a new location might take 1/2 an hour with several helpers.

I'm also guessing that machinery is going to be expensive, both to buy and maintain, while labour is plentiful and relatively cheap, although probably not particularly well educated? Again, the swing mills are made with this in mind. All the controls on the basic models are manual, and it's easy to see how it operates. Push this, turn that handle, slide this over here...It's all pretty intuitive. Keep the engine running and the blade sharp, and it will work. Basically means that you can teach someone how to operate it competently in maybe a day, even if they have never seen a sawmill before. If something gets bent or broken, you don't need to be a genius to work out what's wrong and fix it.

I just see it as way to get your operation going on a modest budget. A portable sawmill, some basic tools and a used Toyota pickup, and you are harvesting wood.

There is also the option to saw construction material for the locals. Doesn't generate cash as such, but it certainly can improve their living conditions if they  can build better houses for less cash outlay.

[Ron Wenrich]

I had a similar project that was proposed to me in Angola several years ago.  Nothing came of it, but they were looking at trying to offset lumber prices from South Africa and using it for construction wood. 

My idea was to use the swing blade type of mills and train the locals on use.  My idea was that the swing blade mills are highly mobile.  You take the mill to the log.  Training of locals is very attainable.  When one locale is done with it, it can be moved to another village and the process starts again.  Saw maintenance is very easy and the circular blades are very durable and suited for dense hardwoods.  I didn't like the idea of a central mill in this scheme. You could use a central area as a concentration yard.  From there you would break down your product into the different uses.  A central mill means you have to haul all the logs to a central mill and have logging equipment.  I'm not sure that works well into your plan, and is also very expensive. 

The problem you may have is that not all wood is suitable for turning or carving.  Not all trees are even suitable for construction wood.  I would think that fuel wood is in demand in local villages, and some of your dead or dying stock would be better used for that.  Construction lumber would be next.  Then you get into uses such as furniture grade and turning stock.  A lot depends on how much value added you want to put in.  The more you do, the better the income potential. 

[drobertson]

All I know about wood turning blanks from a friend who does it says he like to have no center wood/Pith, in the blanks, they tend to crack out more easily he says,   hope all goes well with your venture,

[scsmith42]

Swing blades have the advantage of greater blade longevity than band mills, IMO.  However, it is more difficult to secure smaller logs by for milling as you can't use the weight of the log to hold them in place.

As others have asked, approximately what diameter and length logs?

[Verticaltrx]

I think a small portable bandmill would be more versatile than a swing blade mill. Also has a thinner kerf for less waste, which may be important if you have limited/small trees.

The mill I have, a Woodmizer LT15, is very popular in under-developed countries for work like you are describing, all the way up to full production sawing. Also look at the offerings that Norwood has.

You should watch this if you haven't already, they are doing something similar:
https://youtu.be/C1_oZ4-KcsA

[WV Sawmiller]

Jonbart,

   Good luck on your project. I am no expert on what would be your best mill for the area. I worked in Cameroon and my last assignment was Guinea. I lived right next to the Kissadougou River and loved it. Wonderful people in both places. Not sure what issues you will encounter with the stability of the local and SL governments.

   There are a couple of videos and Woodmizer Way features discussing cases where missionaries set up mills in the Congo, Papua New Guinea and Mongolia. I'd suggest you read up on them and possibly contact the missionary in the Congo if he is still around. I think in the jungle they used WM LT15s and in Mongolia an LT40. I would suggest the diesel engines as from my experience diesel was much more readily available there than gasoline.
 
   How will you get the logs to the mill and the wood to the markets? I'm assuming the rivers are going to be your best bet. Either that or transport the mill to the sites. In Cameroon and Guinea large dugouts and plank built boats were commonly used for hauling lumber and sand. I'd think you could load a mill in a couple of them.

   Not sure how hard the woods you are cutting will be. Carvers here like soft woods but I have several ebony carvings I treasure from Cameroon. There are master craftsmen there. I wonder if making the carvings there in SL and transporting them might be an option vs selling the blanks.

   What support equipment is available in the area? I understand WM has an Africa office although I think they are in South Africa. Might be worthwhile picking their brains for their experience and suggestions. If they are like the dealers here I'd bet they could be very helpful. Same goes with other major mill dealers if they operate out of Africa too.

   I used to love to stop in the local "towns" and larger villages and see their sawmills at work. Very primitive but they made do. They'd hand plane the green boards and make furniture, door and frames, etc. It looked real good but was bad to warp. In Douala we had a few very professional furniture makers we bought from. One Italian was one of the best craftsman I ever saw. Too much of an artist instead of a businessman. Don't know if he is still there or not.

    Good luck on your project. Please keep us informed of how it works out.

[Kbeitz]

Man I wish i was part of that video...

[Den-Den]

You might consider chainsaws to break down the logs to portable size.  Carving and turning blanks do not need to be long and could be processed at the "central" facility.  A couple of large shop band-saws could cut the blanks into ready to ship size.  If you get into processing lumber, then you will need some type of sawmill.

[jonbart]

Thanks for the great comments, questions, and especially that video.  It is SO similar to what we're trying to do (except we are not affiliated with a church).  Our slogan is "Jobs Change Everything"; our driver put it more simply "When you have a job, you feel good."   

What sized wood are we talking about?  Blanks I've seen online are very small, like 1" x 1" x 12".  One of the most prominent dealers, Bell Forest, for example sells few blanks longer than 3 feet.  So I think we can use branches as well as boles and that we can cut them up using chain saws into lengths that are easy to manage.  (Your posts have made me wonder about a completely different business, based on an LT15 or something similar, that would help local businesses produce boards for sale in-country.  But that's a different business.)  My concern right now is how to turn rounds that are 4-8" in diameter and less than 8 feet long (and in some cases only 1 foot long) into blanks.  I would have thought we'd collect the pieces, load them in a trailer, and take them back to our shop.  But I want to have the benefit of your advice on this issue.

Someone asked "Why not make bowls etc yourself?"  Actually, we do plan to do that.  I'm in touch with the online retailer Novica about that very topic (and about making many other products).  But there's also a large market for blanks.

And to Kbeitz who said "Man I wish I was part of that video...", and perhaps to others of you: you COULD be part of OUR video if you're interested.  None of us from the US is paid so we couldn't offer  you salary but if you were interested in spending a few months with us to set up this business, we'd like to talk (and we would pay all expenses plus buying whatever you told us to buy).  That might actually be a better way to proceed than me trying to learn a skill I know little about.

And a final question: is this the right discussion group or even the right forum?  We're going to be cutting up (small) logs so I thought I should post in this section.  But is this really more a "wood shop" issue?  If so, do you have any suggestions about where I could get help?  I did look online for "making blanks" but all the videos I found showed hobbyist - not commercial - approaches.  That's why I came here.

Thanks everyone.

Jon Bart

[DaveinNH]

A possible resource, regarding turning blanks, might be the American Associate of Woodturners (woodturner.org). This group is the largest organization of woodturners in the world. In addition to the US they have chapters in 36 countries and a global outreach called Turners Without Borders. As a non profit they would probably not get associated with a commercial enterprise, but they might be a source for researching what blank products would possibly be viable. There are also several companies in the US that specialize in importing burls and turning blanks for resale.

[WV Sawmiller]

Jonbart,

   You offer is very tempting. I loved it over there. Not sure how much the Boko haram and other insurgent groups may be active in SL as they are a little south and east of there.

   You might post in the woodworking section here in the forum as to suggestions for sizes of carving blanks. Many check here but maybe not all. Or check with the local carvers there. The carvings I saw varied widely. Most I bought could probably have been cut out of 4"X6" X12" stock. I commissioned a guy to make me "Your problem is obvious" carvings and he must have used 4"X4"X6" blanks. I'll post pictures of some of my carvings. I saw carvings as big as 6'-7' tall giraffes so I think the carvers made what was commissioned or they thought would sell.

   By the way - who do you plan to sell the blanks in Africa or elsewhere in the world. I'm assuming you are making them for local African artists.

   Sorry for picture quality - I'm no photographer. Quart mason jar is for scale. helps show assorted sizes. From an inch or so to 10" - 12" block. Nested bowls were popular with tourists in Cameroon as were the carved boxes in shape of masks. Animals and boats and such are popular. All come with implements like spears, hoes, etc. Not all in my pictures. Keep them up so they don't get broken or lost.


 



 



 



 

[jonbart]

To DaveinNH:  Thanks very much.  I will definitely contact the AAW.  We're a public charity registered in both the US (501c3 status) and Sierra Leone.  We're trying to reduce poverty by starting commercial businesses but all profits stay int he community rather than going to owners or shareholders.  So far, I know of 9 companies that sells blanks in large quantities.  I'd hope to get import stats from the USDA on blanks but it looks like they are not recorded separately so I'l do the market analysis by calling these companies.

To WV Sawmiller:  nice carvings!  I was especially drawn to the Fang mask.  I brought one back from SL a month ago and  had it aged by a lab in Italy.  They say it is 60 years old.  It may be worth some money.  I'll look at the wood working section and will probably post there too.  I'm mainly interested in exporting blanks to developed countries.  A 40' container full of blanks would really be worth some money.  If you'd like to discuss possibly helping us, drop me a line (jonbart@gmail.com) or give me a call (208 870-9806).  I was serious in saying that perhaps we should recruit someone like you (assuming you know how to turn logs into blanks).  SL is completely safe and we have an excellent base of operations there (mainly in agriculture but I want to move into forestry).
Jon

[WV Sawmiller]

Jonbart,

   You tempt me greatly and I appreciate the offer but cannot back right now due to family and financial issues but I wish you every success. If you are still interested at the start of next winter I might be more available.

   There are wonderful people in the area you are talking about who just need a hand up. I had a roommate who sponsored one lady to become a nurse and he once set up a lady security guard into her dream job as a hair dresser by buying her either a curling iron or hair dryer (I forget which) and for an investment of under $50, which she could never have accumulated, she went from working 72 hours a week (6 days X 12 hours/day) and making about $80/month to working her own hours (probably 40-50) and making 3-4 times her previous salary doing what she loved.

   My display was to show the variety of blanks that were required/used to make different carvings. What you might offer to sell would be a package of blanks from 1"X1"X12" which might be made for making pens and such, to something as big as a 12"X12"X18" to 4'X8"X2', etc. You might offer a half cubic meter/yard with a mixture of different sized blanks to make up that size block.

   As I understand a true artist looks at the block of stone or wood and frees the sculpture inside. That is why you see such neat carvings from tree stumps, crotches, etc. An artist sees the form inside and removes the exterior hiding it. Give him a small block and he might see a frog or butterfly. Give him a bigger block and he might see a rabbit or fox. Give him a long narrow piece and he might see a cobra. I'm not a carver but wonder how many carve the same thing over and over. Good luck.

[pasbuild]

Jonbart
You mentioned Bell Forest products as one of your research sites for blanks and that most of there offerings are 3' or less and this is true but that is not how they buy all of there blanks, some they buy pre cut sealed and ready for resale and others are in log form that they process. I was up there the other day and they had three Big Leaf root burls the size of a small car waiting to be processed. I know that they only import the best because that is what there clients expect and I question weather you will get the best out of branch wood.
I would suggest you give them a call and pick there brain on what there looking for, ask for Boone (owner) or Eric ( VP ) I think they would be intrigued by your call

[low_48]

Proper kiln drying of those really small blanks will be important. They are mostly used for making wood ink pens, and they have to be really dry so they won't crack. Selling wet or air dried blanks will be difficult. Almost as difficult as drying some of those woods. I can't remember the of the guy from Peru that was marketing turning blanks through Woodcraft, was his last name King? He passed away. I hardly ever saw any of those blanks that didn't have some kind of a crack in it. They even tried individually shrink wrapping them in plastic to limit the cracking. Cracked blanks are almost useless for woodturning. Some small diameter blanks are used by the pool cue makers, but they are even more fussy about dried wood than pen turners. Small diameter trees will produce blanks that are more prone to cracking than larger trees.

[jonbart]

Thanks very much pas_build and low48.  We're planning on kiln drying but your cautions about how hard it will be - especially with small pieces including branches - are well taken.  I will consult with experts on that issue and start giving the practical side of this venture more attention.  I did talk with Boone at Bell Forest, and he was interested.  I'll be talking with him again.