Laser technology

[Kevin]

I`m thinking about getting  a small laser light for getting that first cut on the log with the band mill.
It would take the guess work out of where the blade will be when cutting the outside slabs on logs that aren`t true.
How do you folks handle this, just eyeball it?

[Tom]

I eyeball it.

Don't buy anything until you have run the mill.  you will be amazed at how easy it is to read the level of the log.  

You will find things on the mill to sight down.  The blade makes a good sight.  the clamp or dogs make good sights.

It is a lot like using the sights on a chainsaw.  Take your time and it will come to you.

There is a lot of pride to be gleened from entering and exiting the log at the correct spot.  It is especially special when someone with no experience sees you do it and you say, "oh, it's nothing, just takes a little experience to develop the eye".

Unil you learn or if you want to be really accurate, put the blade at the entry point and read the scale then raise the blade over the log and lower it at the tail to the exit point.  The scale will tell you which end of the log to raise or lower.

You will be amazed at how little time it will take you to develop an eye.

[Kevin]

Ok Tom, thanks.
I`m head`n for the green room again, talk to you in a couple of days.

[Ron Wenrich]

I've done it both ways on a circle mill.  Even run a vertical edger without lasers.  But, I'm not sitting on top of the log either.

Lasers have some drawbacks.  They will cost about $1000, minimum.  Dust can be a problem.  If you have too much background light, they don't work too well.  

I'd stick to the old fashioned way of eyeballing.  You'll be surprised how good you get.

[Jeff]

Ditto
(Pre-Laser Days)
On my vertical edger  I have 3 blades. The bottom two adjust to variable widths while the top and middle are fixed at 3.5 inches. When I open a face on the log, I have to determine the width of the face, then determine where I will set my verticals at. I can not see them, so this is all by judgement.

I first had to estimate the distance from the bunk to the bottom edge of the open face and set a blade there. then determine the width of the face and set the middle blade at the top edge. All of this is done on the fly, no stopping to study and contemplate.  I go so I would never miss.

Even sitting back in a booth, it is surprising how fine you can tune your judging and eyeball skills. It takes a little time, but it happens.

We now use lasers, and when one goes out, I have trouble, because I have lost that instinctive ability of judgement.

Of course I consider putting lasers on a lil ole bandmill like putting  cruise control on a unicycle ;)

[yooper]

I was recently digging through an old issue of Sawmill and woodlot (Feb/March 2001) and came across an ad for
mini lasers specifically designed for saws. I visited the website listed in the ad, they list all the models they offer
but no prices. I also eyeball my cuts, but if a laser could be had for a couple of hundred dollars, I would consider it.

www.cemarelectro.ca

When I previewed my post I noticed the forum turned my typed website into an actual link, pretty cool stuff.

[yooper]

I can see I don't have a very good handle on the preview button. I didn't hit the post button on the last three messages,
but they posted anyway. How do I back out of preview without posting?

[Jeff]

Yooper, you just found a bug.  I don't have a clue why this is skipping preview. But for now, just go back and hit your modify post button. and you can change what you don't like. (I have to do that seems like every post!)


They probably did not list price because it would scare people. I know our lasers cost upwards of 4000 dollars including the hardware to mount them. But lucky us, we got some sort of grant a few years ago that payed for it!

[Bibbyman]

Well, Yooper,  

I had the same problem with preview and double posted the other night.  I just thought I was the only one with 10 thumbs!  :'(

(Or maybe I didn't have the right combination of Smileys?) :D

[Jeff]

I'm not sure at this point how to fix this, as I have myself buried elseware, but I do know how to change the preview button to say Out of order!

[Bibbyman]

One thing that works  - after the fact - is;  you can select "Modify" on the ones that you posted in error and then select "Remove".

Note that my second posting that stated there was no Back button no more is,  well,  no more!

This leads me to a question;   Can you modify only your own posts or can you (the average person) modify anyone else's too?  
 

[Jeff]

You can modify your own posts. And if you are a moderator, you can modify posts in your area, and if you are an administator you modify whatever.

You have control over your posts unless a moderator or administator puts a lock on em...

Sometimes the little "new" sign will show up when its not supposed to, thats usually a sign that somebody deleted a post they made.  I strongly frown on deleting a post after it has been on the board and read by others. I fully encourage one to delete a post if you write it, post it, and then suddenly feel it was inappropriate.

[Don P]

I've debated one of the rotating construction lasers on a mount that would put it on the same plane as the saw. They start at about 400 bucks. Jeff do you have a plate on yours that tells the nm of the laser? That seems to be the big difference. You guys that saw every day have  "the eye" it takes either a little sneaking up on the cut or a few nice firewood slabs for me to get it back each time. A blown opening cut can really mess up a good log.
I had a post vaporize the other nite but shouldn't complain it was a bum guess :D

[Ron Wenrich]

We are using those mini-lasers.  Their cheapest is around $300, but it can't be used outside.  None of the minis can.  The background light will drown out the laser.

This company is in Canada, and we had to do some of the engineering work to make their setup work.  All working fine, right now.  Their lasers are pretty durable.

In years past, they used to use shadow lights.  Basically, a bright light with a piece of wire that cast a shadow where the saw was located.  They would be too big to use in most portable applications.

[Jeff]

Those old Shadows lights were a major source of sawmill fires. If you got one, you best keep it clean. Those Halagon bulbs work at extremely high temperatures, and you know how much dust there is going to be over top of a carriage at that point.  We had one fire at the first mill I worked at. The light had been cleaned just a week before, but we were sawing old dry ash. Extremely dusty and dirty.

Luckily I was sawing when the thing started burning. I was able to rake the burning dust into my coat to contain it and keep it from dropping to the floor.  If it would have happened at quiting time, and gone unnoticed the mill would have been toast.

Our Lasers are about 20 inches long. I was running 1 on the headrig and 2 on the vertical, But I stopped running the top edger laser, as it was always giving me trouble.

[Ron Wenrich]

How do you have 20" lasers mounted on the edger?

We originally had the minis mounted with the cylinders.  It was a mill design by Morbark.  They lasted about 2 weeks before they were pretty well destroyed.

Now, we have them mounted behind the edger. They can shoot to the end of a 20' log.  

I've also heard that you can mount them at the end of the mill, with some sort of remote setup.  It wouldn't take me too long to hit it with an edging strip.   ;D

[Jeff]

I"ll have to get you a picture.  Our lasers are remotely located on a sliding rail away from the edger. A cable and pulley system connects the laser to its edger blade assembly.

They are pretty much out of harms way, and the most trouble I have is when the 1/8 aircraft cable jumps a pulley and gets frayed. I then have to replace the cable.