A sawmill's not enough ...

[Brucer]

Back in 2008 it became obvious that I was losing work because I couldn't keep up to demand during the peak timber-framing season in these parts. I added some home-made material handling equipment but I found I was still losing a lot of time edging on the mill. So I did the math.

I figured that there was enough work, and enough time savings, to justify a gas powered twin-blade edger (diesel was too expensive). So I started writing up a loan application ... and then the economy went south. Aw, well, it was a dream ...

I still wanted to watch one in action, though. Especially now that things are picking up and I've got too much work on my plate. I saw one about 6 years ago, before I even had a mill, but WM hasn't had one at their local demos since. I called Marv this spring prior to their demo, and he told me they'd just sold the last one they had in stock. They wouldn't be getting another one until after they'd been here. However, he did promise to send my new 6' extension with the guys when they came -- that'd save me 10 hours of driving.

I met the guys at the exhibition site to pick up my extension and, big surprise, they were towing an edger! "I thought you didn't have one," says I. "It's used," Gary replied, "we just picked it up."

Here it is ...



2003 Wood-Mizer twin blade edger.
22 HP Kubota diesel.
38.9 hours on the meter!!!

It's mine now ;D ;D.

[WH_Conley]

Well, you did take it home, didn't ya?

[Chuck White]

Sometimes luck just comes your way.   

Congratulations on your new edger.  ;D

[fishpharmer]

Brucer, WM had one at the Perkinston, MS open house a month or so ago.  I can absolutely see the time savings of having an edger over using the mill, it was impressive.   Now we need to see some pictures of you running it. 8)

[Brucer]

Well, you did take it home, didn't ya?

Well, not exactly. There's a story to that.

I saw the edger on a Friday morning. Went to my Credit Union to see if there was the remotest chance of getting a loan by the end of the day. "Possibly", said my favourite loans officer. But I would need to update my business plan and finish up my 2009 financials before I could submit an application. By the afternoon I realized I didn't have time to write a solid, convincing proposal. Best to wait and do a good job rather than submit a half-baked application and have it turned down.

Barb & I went to the Saturday demo so I could see the edger in action. Barb hadn't been to a show before and was looking forward to meeting the guys from Salmon Arm. Timing was tight because she was heading off two days later to visit her Mom in Ontario.

At the show Gary told me they'd found a problem. The sliding collar on the movable blade had some slop on it and was vibrating at idle. He figured they would have to take the machine back with them and get that fixed. He also told me there was another prospective buyer coming to take a look at the machine that weekend. So knowing that I wouldn't be taking the machine home with me that weekend, we settled down and enjoyed the demo.

In the flurry of getting Barb off to see her Mom, dealing with customers, and hiring a part time employee, I didn't have a chance to get back to my loan application for a couple of days. In any case, it sounded like the other guy was going to buy it so my heart wasn't exactly in it.

Thursday after the demo, Barb calls. She had been relating the events of the weekend and out of the blue her Mom said, "Oh, I'll lend him the money." Just like that. So once again, panic city.

Call Wood-Mizer. Yes, it's still available, but two other buyers are seriously looking at it. First one to make a deposit gets it. Marv is expecting a call from one of them later that morning.

Look at the financials -- OK for this year, take a chance and hope next year shapes up the same way. If not we'll be dining on sawdust. Call Barb's Mom and tell her I'll take her up on her offer.

Call Wood-Mizer with my credit card in hand. The other buyer had called but said he needed to discuss it further with his business partners. So I got there first.

Then a wait -- Barb was going to bring a check back with her the following week. Marv had to fix the loose collar. I had to schedule a trip to Salmon Arm.

So, 3 weeks after I saw the machine, I finally brought it home.

Work is still at half throttle these days, so we've only had three edging sessions. The first two were not all that productive. By the third session we had a system going and edging time was just under half what it would have been on the mill. That's better than my break-even point .

We've got some new ideas to try out next time -- my target is to reduce edging time to 1/3 to 1/4 what it was on the mill. I'm pretty sure we can pull it off.

Whew, what a ride ;D ;D.

[sigidi]

Brucer, one of my favorite saying is "if it's meant to be - it's up to me" what a ride to get your edger hey? these little stories make things all the more enjoyable hey?

[Magicman]

Well, congratulations on getting that "new" machine.  I can read excitement in your post.....

[ljmathias]

DanG! And I was all set to make the deposit on that edger when some stranger with a long sob story ends up beating me to it!   :D :D

Just kidding.  Still don't do enough same-size lumber to justify an edger, but then again, I've got a whole bunch of dimension wood to cut for my oldest son's house.  Got a few 2X's cut but need a couple hundred more.  Good think Katrina was so kind to me.

Lj

[Brucer]

Still don't do enough same-size lumber to justify an edger...

The Wood-Mizer twin blade edger has a fixed blade and a movable blade. Just turn a crank on the front of the machine to the appropriate mark and feed your flitch through. It has increments of 1/4" and can cut 3" wide to 15" wide. Thickness up to 2".

Pictures of the edger in action are in the works. Just have to figure out how to get my wife, her camera, me, my helper, and a bunch of flitches all in the same place at the same time ???. In reasonably good weather ;).

[boman1]

Congrats on the edger purchase! I have a ED26 Woodmizer edger.It is a huge time saver and money maker.Since I'm paid by the bdft on most of my jobs,I never quit cutting cants on the sawmill,and I pile the flitches in front of the edger to be be edged by a part time helper two to three times a week. I will post the flitch pictures when I get a chance....its a huge pile ! I would say I make as much money with my edger as my LT40 Super !

[Brucer]

A couple more images from the demo.

Here's the front of the edger. The big dial is used to set the spacing between the blades -- pull the pin, turn to the appropriate hole, release the pin. Then feed your board through.



And here's the other side of the edger. The "black boxes" house the feed roller and saw shaft bearings. You can just see the 10' outfeed table connected to the back of the edger (right side of the picture). This mounts on top for travel.



Funny -- at demos you never seem to see big piles of slabs, edgings, or sawdust. That's what the blue roll-off bin in the background of the last photo is for. Out of sight and out of the customer's mind :D.

The only signs of age on this machine are the fuel tank and they emergency stop button. The plastic has faded significantly but the paint's still shiny. I suspect it was kept in an open shed -- kept direct sunlight off the machine but the plastic caught some indirect UV.

[customsawyer]

Happy for you. Them edgers sure make it go smooth. ;D

[ljmathias]

Didn't know it was that easy- how do the saw blades hold up in terms of sharpening, and how do you sharpen?  Don't answer if don't want to condemn me to torment and torture- me tormented, me tortured by the wife who already knows I have enough tools... just have to be strong and get my wife to insist I need one.  Got to use the force: "These are the tools you're looking for..."  "Yes, Obiwan, I hear and obey."

Lj

[Dave Shepard]

I suspect you send the blades out. We have the ED26. I think they are carbide tipped. I don't know how to really quantify how much lumber has been through ours, but I've probably sawn 75mbf on the mill, not sure how much has really gone through the edger. The blades are still sharp. They take a pretty thin kerf as well, not the 1/4" like the old Chase with the insert blades I used to run. Even sawing alone it saves time, if I could find a good way to accumulate flitches and edge them all at once, it would be even better.

[boman1]

how do the saw blades hold up in terms of sharpening, and how do you sharpen?  

Lj

I sharpen my blades with a diamond wheel that we use on our big circle saw edger blades.Its mounted on a drill and the angle is adjustable to work on the WM blades while still on the machine.I have in the past removed the blades and had a saw shop retip the blades with new carbide when the tips were broken . I run mostly hardwood through mine and have to resharpen about once every two months. They hold up well.
Here's the picture of flitches after a day of sawing to be edged...

[Brucer]

Gary at WM told me they get about 60,000 - 80,000 BF before the blades get too dull. We didn't get into sharpening.

The blades on my edger have 4 inserts in the sides of the blades that project a little beyond the kerf. If I feed the board through straight (haven't totally mastered that yet), they shave the saw marks off the edges.

[LorenB]

Brucer,

Congratulations on the new edger. 

I bought one on my first job, which was a huge (for me) job.  I cut about 25,000 board feet at that job.  About halfway through that job I realized that an edger wasn't a luxury, it was a necessity. 

After we got the edger, the cutting literally went twice as fast.  That edger paid for itself on that one job.  Admittedly it isn't as nice as a WoodMizer, but it wasn't as expensive either. 

Best of luck with the new toy... I mean, tool. 

-- Loren

[customsawyer]

The edger will be able to edge a good bit of wood between blade changes. The best way to tell if the blades are getting dull is the sound of your engine when it has to start working harder.