Pulled from the burn piles

Sixacresand · February 18, 2014, 09:53:56 PM

Got started a small pile of pine today. A neighbor built a new house in the middle of a pine thicket. He tried to get a logger to buy the trees, but for whatever reason, no one was interested. So a dozer was hired to clear the opening for house and driveway. I was called after the pines were pushed into piles to be burn. The landowner salvaged about 150 twenty foot logs all less than 15" in diameter.

If I can pick up and mill 8 per day then that will be a good days work.

yukon cornelius · February 18, 2014, 09:59:33 PM

score! I wonder how much wood is just wasted every year like that?

Magicman · February 18, 2014, 10:15:30 PM

It's sad but I guess that termites gotta eat too.

BTW, nice score on the logs. ;D

POSTON WIDEHEAD · February 18, 2014, 10:24:10 PM

150 logs?

That place will seem like yours before you leave.

Small Slick · February 18, 2014, 11:36:43 PM

If I can pick up and mill 8 per day then that will be a good days work.

[/quote]

I am very new to milling so I have a question about the volume I can/should expect to mill in a day. I don't mean to change the thread. However under the described circumstance is eight logs a day what one would expect from that type of a log pile??

I have a similar pile and have been very frustrated at the volume of production I am able to achieve; with my lt15. I am sawing 6 1/8 wide by 2 3/8 thick.
http://www.6677g.com/m/index.html?ref=com.healthcode.ltdoctor&client=ios&LANG=en
John

backwoods sawyer · February 19, 2014, 01:43:12 AM

I would expect to have a real short day with a deck of logs like what is front of the mill.
If you are at 8 a day. Take a look at where you are spending most of your time and focus on trimming your time in that area. by the time you finish a batch of 150 you should find it taking considerably less then an hour each. ;)
I would expext to mill 30-40 that size in a day more with a helper.

Peter Drouin · February 19, 2014, 05:53:03 AM

Nice job you have there. How do you like that NEW mill? 8) 8) The more you do, the faster you will be. :D
The most important thing is to have fun with it. I saw for a living, but I make sure [most times] I'm having a good time. :D :D 8) 8)

slider · February 19, 2014, 06:59:20 AM

Six If I remember correctly you retired a while back so if 8 logs a day works for you then that is just about right.Nice mill by the way.

Cedarman · February 19, 2014, 07:48:53 AM

Sixacres,
Since you are just starting out, try different techniques with your material handling.
Change your layout. Slab placement, flitches to be edge placement, finished lumber placement, sticker placement. Even where you place your peavey or cant hook make differences. Don't worry about losing time at the start while you experiment. I call this type of thing R&D. You will learn what to do and what not to do.
Let the journey begin.

Magicman · February 19, 2014, 08:08:49 AM

Quality first. Your quantity will increase with time and experience. Log handling, help, and the cut list would determine how many logs can be sawn in a day.

dboyt · February 19, 2014, 08:41:46 AM

Sixacres, looks like a good score. Way too much wood going to waste. How far do you have to go to get the logs?

Small Slick, small logs mean a lot more time spent loading and handling. As you work further back in the pile, you have to roll the logs further to get them to the lifting arms. If you don't have hydraulics, then building a log deck should be your first project. Sixacres mentioned getting the logs as part of the deal, so he has the drive & loading time to factor in. With the logs at the mill site, 15 to 20 minutes per 14" dia log (working solo) is do-able on a manual mill. Volume per day on my mill peaks at 18" diameter logs. Smaller logs require more handling, and larger logs take longer to wrestle into place. With your setup, just starting out, 800 bd ft per day would be a reasonable place to start, maybe doubling that when you get more experience and the mill set up for a smooth flow of materials (that's with no help).

Small Slick, congratulations on the sawmill & welcome to the forum.

Rockn H · February 19, 2014, 09:16:05 AM

Like everyone has mentioned, small logs mean less lumber per log and more time loading and handling, but I find what always makes the biggest difference for me is how I saw the logs. The fastest way to saw pine is through and through. Then turn the slabs 90 degrees and edge the slabs to width cutting your lumber as you go. I always have more waste this way though. Most of my jobs aren't that big and I'm always trying to get the most lumber out of a log that I can. So I normally turn the log as I slab it into what ever size cant I need, depending on the cut list. Sometimes I'll saw two or three logs, putting my slabs back until I have enough to group them by size and edge them in groups. More handling just means more time.

Gasawyer · February 19, 2014, 09:55:35 AM

Nice save from the burn pile! As far as production I think I could saw around 4 an hour, bare in mind that I am younger than you. With a helper you can do alot more and not be wore out at the end of the day. Are you putting the lumber on a trailer or stacking it there? That will change your output. I have a board return and would drag back a finished board on to a trailer with each time the head comes back letting the mill do alot of the work.

Cutting 8 logs a day is good production since you are new to this mill. WhenI got my mill it took me 6 months before I felt comfortable hiring out to saw. And now 16 years later I am very much faster. One key is to let the mill do the work since you have gone from manual to a hydraulic mill. Just go at a pace that works for you. You will get comfortable with the mill and get faster. Also one thing that I learned was not to take as long time positioning the log and accept that there is going to be some waste unless the log is perfect.

Good luck and happy sawing!

Small Slick · February 19, 2014, 06:21:19 PM

I need to make a clarification. Having read the posts, it seems some of you are confusing my situation with the original poster Sixacres. This is his thread, I just asked a question about how many logs I might be able to saw to the lumber I needed. I may have accidently hijacked the thread; my apologies.

John

Sixacresand · February 19, 2014, 10:11:17 PM

Thanks for all the comments. By myself with a sorry back, 8 to 10 logs is all about I can process in a day: parbuckle loading, unloading, milling, trimming fletches, hauling off slabs, stack/sticking boards, etc. Running the mill is the easiest and least strenuous part of the sawmilling operation. And as Slider mentioned, I am retired. So I don't hurt myself. :D

Po-Jo · February 20, 2014, 12:14:58 AM

With my manual everything mill . I have been sucking wind lately. I have been sawing 28"+ sweet gum and southern pine and i just cant seem to get it together , these have been bucked to the 10-12' long and from start to finish to include total clean up of the area, I have only been getting 1 a day cut and stacked :embarassed:,,,

I like getting the 18" or so wide 4/4-4/5 boards when I can but working with logs that big manually is killing me. I know most of my time is spent trying to finaggle these suckers and roll them and bibbying these things to get the carraige to pass and cut. I will not go into how I roll them, its not pretty but I am just making sure these things dont take me out, safety first is the name of the game... Times like these I do envy you guys with the hydraulic setups. ;)