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How do We Cop with saw milling addiction ?

Started by TimberScottcree, August 09, 2019, 10:23:03 AM

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TimberScottcree

New to the Forum Done a lot of reading of different threads and topics with same threads over and over ..

So i was not sure HOW TO  jump in to the forum , head first maybe?

any ways So My names Scott ,. I'm up N.H.-U.S.A way i recently Became addicted to sawmilling and slabbing any thing i can get my hands on.

I have been struggling with this addiction since i saw my first woodmizer how to video .

I then had to do this .. My first interest in how to saw mill . started with me and my wife bought a house with some land.
and there was no garage on the property for my shop tools and projects so I was forced to work in the dirt drive way on the tractor the cars and welding in the rain not a great plan.

Being we just bought the place we had no money and could not afford to fork up money for construction of a shop or building of any kind.

sawmilling out a timber beam building seemed like a good idea at the time to get shelter for my projects cheap and fast ..

Boy was i wrong .. Let me tell you a story and i hope you EnJoy ... I think i want to share this as i feel the New to the Game people are not prepared enough and don't understand what they are getting in too.

this has been hard on the family .. .financially and physically ..

the more i researched the more i had to do this.

so i could not afford a saw mill either really had such a tight budget any thing i would buy cut in to our 100 dollars a week for food..

i decided i should try and build a saw mill from what i had or could get my hands on .. started in november of 2018 got a trailer frame and a rail system concept laid out and welded up then winter hit and with no shelter i stopped my project in december till end of june when the mud dried up and rain stared to brake long enough to work out side again ..

so all winter i was staring down a rail bed and watching youtube videos of sw milling then came across cooks saw mills and his shared information really appreciate all he shares with us people he should get a metal or something for just being there ...

so i stared of with a steel on steel 24 inch wide saw with a 1 inch x 140 long blade and a 3 hp DC 180 volt motor and cut my first short log ..

that was the end of my normal life .. Waring this is a long detailed story so you may not want to read it all ...

it was not enough i quickly became and addict like the saw dust was hitting my nose and my pupils were then becoming fixed and narrow with tunnel vision of only the saw bed and log pile.

The need for more quickly depleted my log pile  { 5 down trees } ...
my wife could see the panic in my eyes that i could not be with out and we spent the better part of the spring doing nothing but tracking down and obtaining any trees worth cutting on the mill we drove 2 hours at a time to tree clearing sites for free trees and hand loaded them on our car trailer .. and
then the pile became 20 logs again .. once i started cutting the addiction worsen ... it was a craving .... like a gate way had opened and there was no turning back now..  but i found after two logs that 3 hp was not going to get me there any time soon ... and i had to have this obsession filled as i felt ass soon as i cut wood at level to be called a sawmill i would be successful and set out to obtain the wood mizer power speeds and feed rate of cut and get the same productivity as one of there saw mills only then would my craving for more be satisfied ( so i Thought ) i then stopped cutting on the 3rd log and went in search for more HP ...

Well this is where the family started to see there was a problem ..  I didn't have to money for a fancy harbor Fright motor or even enough to make a OBO.(or best offer ) on the Craigslist. so still jonesing for that Next Fix of HP meets sawDust. Went in the shed and sacrificed our snowblower. as my Wife watched from the Bay window with confusion at first when i was headed toward the shed with the kubota tractor.   and then the look of Confusion converted to Horrified  as backed away form the shed with the snow blower hanging of the front forks with a Chain like a  Pig on a meat hook ..

within hours the 3hp was converted to a Gas 12HP... and we were cutting again ...

this 12 horse motor was just what i needed .. it got me going and satisfy the craving with white pine and spruce logs sawdust and chips were flying and the smell of pine and glory was in the air.  after 3 more logs it started again the cravings nipping at me. like what if, how could this get better,is there a more satisfying wood,a more rewarding cut,  so again i turned to the the internet and found some one Giving away some red pine about 20 more logs.

i told my wife i bet those would be good for making shop siding or maybe some beams and post to get started  so we hooked the trailer to the truck again and added 20 more logs to our pile of 15.

So even im seeing my problem at this point looking at a log pile of 35 logs in my small yard and only a 12hp 12 inch wheel band saw with home made parts and pisces

its getting deep now  .. while trying to process this pile that looks like a mountain too me at this point .. mind you i'm getting 24 inch wide  4 min cuts at 12 feet at this point my estimated fpm is 4 -5 feet per min.

i feel like we are not going fast enough and in my mind i think maybe i'm not clearing the cut fast enough to get the chips out and this is why i can't feed any fast with out knocking the blade off .. so i speed this saw up ... from 5,000 sfpm to 9,000 sfpm ..  ok now we are clearing chips and getting only angry pixy dust coming out the end with minimal speed improvements.. my craving for more thickens right about the time that every thing go's to S%&$# (crap). the bearings at these speeds are frying them selfs .. stainless steel is turing turing brown then blue then dark blue ... we are cooking the bearings to 800 and 1100 degrees Fahrenheit. Damb. it we can not continue like this But but that ball in my gut is still growing so i push forward for a solution. i look to the internet and find this forestry forum and start looking for answers  i see some differences where i'm not using a suitable lube system just a wd 40 spray here and there.

so I craft there amazing guides out of 10 bearings with oilers and inter thru hole circulation and hand made jackets and valleys for lube distribution with the over flow being extruded thru the gap in the center of two pairs of bearings then soaking the blade yes this will do !!!!

But i must change my lube formula as i'm not lubing bearings for good mechanical properties and and the blade for cleaning and pitch sticking problems with the same source i find information about diesel and chain oil .. so i mix up a batch of chain oil base light ten it up with a 25 percent wd-40 and diesel for the detergent factor and want it to be thin enough to go thru the system and not cling to the wood in the cut .. so i add a bottle of running alcohol for evaporations and cleaning. this is working amazing the bearings are no longer turning blue... but suddenly there new problems ..
we can not keep the blade on the steel wheels.. unsure if its the slippy lube or the there is a bigger under lying reason i try different things with not much  success  one of them being tracking the blade hard back in the wheel and putting the pressure in the guide bearings cranking the tension to the failure point of the bearings now the Dynamic load rating of the bearings in the guides are exceeded and the bearings a cracking in half and failing again ..

this is not ok so i replace them and try again trying keep the tension high to get around the main problem the sub problem, i decide to back the feed and sfpm down by 35% so now we are at 7500 sfpm and probably feeding at 2-3 feet per minute now as any wiser person can figure .. well this is the opposite of what you want to do its like 1 step forward and 2 steps back with will not curve my appetite and full fill my needs.

but i push forward the season is closing in on me ..and the weather has not giving us much time or a brake to succeed and advance our position.
then suddenly ... half way thru a log there's Blue smoke on one of my guides and then a screeching .. and then sparks i slow down assuming there's a fail bearing in there again but im mid cut and try to baby it thru the log .. only 4 feet to go .. at 2 feet per min ...  its like looking down the barrel of a loaded gun now .. my feed system was not designed to go this slow and and starts to operate out if its torque and power range its not happy so i start to hand feed thru the rest this uneven hand feed pressure is the last straw and suddenly we have fire the lube concentration on the hot bearings has ignited in to flames. i quickly release the feed and stop the drip lube feed shutting down the motor that is spinning a blade of fire at this point and small globs of oil soaked sawdust that are now multin balls of fire a hurled thru the air in a spiral array like a 4th of july spinning disk.

thank fully the weather had been crap that week and soaked every thing this spread of fire and sawdust is not a good mix nothing else was catching that was not coming of the machine.. quickly running around stomping out the smoldering piles of dust and ash soaked in oil i decide this is not going to work like this ,, and give up for the week ...

But my addiction to making boards and saw dust does not give up as easily as i did . forces me to a another impulsive move to get back in the cut ..

I thru 4 sale signs on the family's four wheelers   selling nice bikes for bottom dollar 1/2 what they are worth to get them moved ... it works the wheelers all sell in a weekend and we have cash .. so i pay off some bills that we had backing up in homes to move a lil wood to market to pay them ...  leaving some for the mill .. so i quickly come up with a plane to abandon the seet wheel and small bearing guide system ... and replace the whole saw head with a new custom from scratch build saw head with trailer tires a 3 cyl 18 hp diesel.. and all the right specks to meet the bottom line woodmizer and harbor freight mill model.

this cost us a lot more money then i planed on spending ...  and in my excitement of getting more HP.. and better blades system i decide to have a tree guy knock down some of out oak,... and he does and i start preparing the machine to take on these mammoth heavy logs ...  

then come the black cherries i start piling them all up and do not even have a spinning saw yet when will this odd feeling end so i stop doing crazy impulsive tuff 'i think to my self..

then the day comes ... i fire up the motor and start shaking and hurrying with excitement ,,, it s running its working all is well one board 2 board 3 board ...
oh boy 5 boards wait is only been 5 mins ..

so i set up the camera to see what is going on .. sure enough basic math and htat video shows me that roughly we are now around 20 feet per min cut speed blades staying on lube is working well and we are getting saw dust and boards and the smell of pine and success is in the air .

then it starts in again ... more more more .... .

my mind starts spinning i'm leaving work early to go cut wood on the mill .. and thinking numbers in my mind and come up with how to get about 20% out of the blade power and speed and another 200% on the feed speed.

OMG when will this End and the craving for more more more stop... if any one waled in off the street they would say this is fine why do i need more more more and want to go bigger better badder on this ?

so i end this with be careful  of the addiction it will get you and never let go ..

 

 

 

 

 

 






3 cylinder diesel 6,000 sfpm 25fpm Dims { 16'L x 32"H 36"W }
18HP 56tq blade size 142" 1.25 thru 172" @ 2 inch wide
Power source for operation /Diesel / Battery /Hydraulic

Bandmill Bandit

The most effective way to deal with the addiction is

Faster Feed rate.
Older logs 
Younger saw blades  
and 
MORE saw dust
Skilled Master Sawyer. "Skilled labour don't come cheap. Cheap labour dont come skilled!
2018 F150 FX4, Husqvarna 340, 2 Logright 36 inch cant hooks and a bunch of stuff I built myself

Southside

Franklin buncher and skidder
JD Processor
Woodmizer LT Super 70 and LT35 sawmill, KD250 kiln, BMS 250 sharpener and setter
Riehl Edger
Woodmaster 725 and 4000 planner and moulder
Enough cows to ensure there is no spare time.
White Oak Meadows

Crusarius


Old Greenhorn

Quote from: Bandmill Bandit on August 09, 2019, 11:08:46 AM
The most effective way to deal with the addiction is

Faster Feed rate.
Older logs
Younger saw blades  
and
MORE saw dust
Perhaps those are the words Tom T. Hall and Dixie were searching for when they wrote:
Faster Horses
Younger Women
Older Whiskey
and More Monyyyyyyyyyyy!
Still one of my all time favorite writers
Tom Lindtveit, Woodsman Forest Products
Oscar 328 Band Mill, Husky 350, 450, 562, & 372 (Clone), Mule 3010, and too many hand tools. :) Retired and trying to make a living to stay that way. NYLT Certified.
OK, maybe I'm the woodcutter now.
I work with wood, There is a rumor I might be a woodworker.

TimberScottcree

Haha thanks I hope some people Get to enjoy my long story about Coming to ( wait for it big word coming out) FFFFFruition!!! in the saw milling world ...  even now sitting here thinking about cutting when  i get home.. lol 
3 cylinder diesel 6,000 sfpm 25fpm Dims { 16'L x 32"H 36"W }
18HP 56tq blade size 142" 1.25 thru 172" @ 2 inch wide
Power source for operation /Diesel / Battery /Hydraulic

Bandmill Bandit

Once you got saw dust in your blood it is terminal! There ain't no cure and there ain't no clinics or therapy facilities to help you recover. (not that any one would want to)

I have heard that people that try to become saw dust therapists end up addicted just as bad. It even effects girls.     
Skilled Master Sawyer. "Skilled labour don't come cheap. Cheap labour dont come skilled!
2018 F150 FX4, Husqvarna 340, 2 Logright 36 inch cant hooks and a bunch of stuff I built myself

Southside

Yea - you end up going to 12 step meetings in places like Rentz, Georgia.... :D  

"Hello, my name is Jim and I have a sawmill, but I can stop anytime I want to".... ;D
Franklin buncher and skidder
JD Processor
Woodmizer LT Super 70 and LT35 sawmill, KD250 kiln, BMS 250 sharpener and setter
Riehl Edger
Woodmaster 725 and 4000 planner and moulder
Enough cows to ensure there is no spare time.
White Oak Meadows

thecfarm

You are is so deep now,you have to look up to see the bottom!!!  ;D  We are all the same.
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

doc henderson

you all need emersion therapy, saw all day and night until you are sick of it!!! works about 12% of the time! :D :D :D
Timber king 2000, 277c track loader, PJ 32 foot gooseneck, 1976 F700 state dump truck, JD 850 tractor.  2007 Chevy 3500HD dually, home built log splitter 18 horse 28 gpm with 5 inch cylinder and 32 inch split range with conveyor powered by a 12 volt tarp motor

Southside

Next thing you know the poor guy will be talking SGU's and looking for advice on ritual chicken sacrifice.   :D
Franklin buncher and skidder
JD Processor
Woodmizer LT Super 70 and LT35 sawmill, KD250 kiln, BMS 250 sharpener and setter
Riehl Edger
Woodmaster 725 and 4000 planner and moulder
Enough cows to ensure there is no spare time.
White Oak Meadows

LeeB

And then some people try to mask their addiction to chickens with a sawmill. This does not help.  :D
'98 LT40HDD/Lombardini, Case 580L, Cat D4C, JD 3032 tractor, JD 5410 tractor, Husky 346, 372 and 562XP's. Stihl MS180 and MS361, 1998 and 2006 3/4 Ton 5.9 Cummins 4x4's, 1989 Dodge D100 w/ 318, and a 1966 Chevy C60 w/ dump bed.

petefrom bearswamp

To cope with this IMO just keep at it until the fun is gone and it becomes (for us selling service and or  lumber) just a job.
Such is the case with me after only 19 years.
I now cant wait for the last sawdust to exit the chute.
Still have about 6-7 mbf to saw tho
Kubota 8540 tractor, FEL bucket and forks, Farmi winch
Kubota 900 RTV
Polaris 570 Sportsman ATV
3 Huskies 1 gas Echo 1 cordless Echo vintage Homelite super xl12
57 acres of woodland

Nebraska

I feel your pain, contemplating a repower to hydraulic,  so I can listen more closely to the blade singing, or another mortgage and an lt40 superwide.  

Maine Gal

Hi Scott, from a fellow New Englander! I very much enjoyed your story. Milling is very addicting and when the mill isn't working it's very frustrating while jonesing for that next fix.  :D
That's a nice looking palomino you guys have! Welcome to the forum, I'm fairly new here myself. It's a great helpful group here and a wealth of knowledge.

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