So I finally got the driveshaft on the 3 pt hitch post hole digger straight again so I'm going to dig the holes to build me a loading deck for my lt 15. I was going to use cross ties because I have a good supply of them and they should last a while in the ground. I am going to bury 4 legs into the ground and then put tops on them for the logs to rest on. At the end I am going to put angle iron that pivots so I can get the logs from my deck to the mill. Anybody got any suggestions for anything else I should do. I was also going to put ramps on the deck so I can get those bigger logs up on it that the loader on my 36 hp tractor won't pick up. Anny suggestions are appreciated
Maybe instead of putting the deck on posts in the ground, put it on skid runners so you can pull it out to clean out under it. Also there may be cases when the deck would be in the way.
I'm thinking something like a giant sled.
I'm using a grapple bucket on my tractor...Couldn't be easier. Pick it up, wash it and set it on the mill gentle as can be. It'll pick up any log that my mill is able to cut. Something to consider. I know they're not cheap but I plan on buying one when the guy I borrowed this one from tells me he needs it back!
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I am interested in your loading deck because I am planning to do the same thing...very similar to how you described yours, except that I'll use Cedar posts as I have an abundance of them.
The ground slopes where I placed my mill and I stage the logs on the uphill side for loading onto the mill. I don't have a tractor/loader so I parbuckle the logs onto my trailer and drag them off in the staging area with an anchored chain.
I'm thinking of leveling the area where the loading deck will be which will lower it in relation to the grade. Since my mill bunks are only about knee high, I wouldn't have much of a ramp to get logs onto the deck.
I have 4 6x6s laid parallel with the mill and 3 6x6s adjacent to the mill for the logs, the 3rd one is for those 8 footers that want to rool crooked so they dont fall in between if you just had 2. I also have hydraulic loading so I only need the deck for ease of rolling the logs.
You will love the log deck. Mine is very simple, but it handles as big a log as you can fit on the mill. It is four posts, two on each side, with a 6x8 oak timber on each side bolted to the posts. The swing arms are 8/4 oak.
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I have been kicking around the idea of beginning a build of a log loading deck. I will build mine out of steel, most likely 2" x8" rectangular tube or heavy channel. There will be a hinged flip down arm that will allow rolling a log onto the saw and then fold back up out of the way. I think that if I do it right, we will be able to roll logs off of the trailer onto the log deck (for times when the tractor is at the site where the logs are being loaded onto the trailer). Also, I plan to add some slots to index the forks into to facilitate moving it. With a manual mill, I anticipate this saving a lot of time fetching logs with the tractor. Caveman
Here's mine.
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The supports are 32" 8x8's. I scraped off the top soil where each support was go to and made sure the ground was level. I didn't worry about minor differences between the heights of the supports. By making sure they were level it was easy to shim the beams at each point. I even had a sawmill nearby to custom cut the shims to exact thicknesses. ;D
The beams are exactly level with the top of the mill so I can roll the logs directly onto the mill. I strapped a piece of 1" lumber to the top of each beam to keep the beam from getting chewed up. These 1" pieces are cut short just enough that the saw head will clear them in its lowest position.
The nice thing about this arrangement is that I could completely dismantle it for cleanup and in the winter when the snow flies. It's very flexible -- easy to adapt to just about any height for various mills.
On a manual mill where you have to edge slabs on the mill, the swing arms allow access to the sawmill bed, dogs, and clamps without having to climb or step over the log deck. That saves a lot of wear and tear on the body.
A log deck should be one of your first projects.First is to have your mill at a comfortable working hight,mills with wheels are about the right hight.A deck should have removable pieces so your not climbing over it.Metal pieces that swing down are handy but in the way when you want to stack boards that need edging.I have two removable oak 2x3" to connect mill and deck.My deck is two super duty 8' oak sawhorses easily transportable and movable to clean under. Frank C.
Frank,
You make an excellent point about the swing plane of the swing arms. Having them swing to the side or having them removable makes it easy to off-load and re-load slabs that need edging. Arms that hinge up would be in the way.
WDH,probibly best of boath worlds would be a telescoping piece like a steel tube in a tube slide it out to load, push in to walk by. Frank C.
Belive Frank has a good idea with tube Most steel outlets sell 2x2 box tubeing same as hitch stinger and the tubeing that it fits into. But Bibbyman's thought about giant sled for clean up is good thought. It is amazeing how much crap accumulates at this part of my mill
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This were the hard way block perchase and boat winch >:( Sure wish this area was still that clean bark can not seem to fall off anywhere than here But that boom lash up I used would not be so bad with height of band mill and it were affordable ;D ;D
CC, how do you have the winch attached on your tractor to that nice "boom crane"? . That looks very handy.
That's a good looking old Fordson Major too Cap'n... Do you need another one for parts? I have one my Dad bought new in 1959.
Here are somemore pics of boom
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In first pic you can see boat winch bracket welded to 1 1/4 water pipe I built bumper out 6 in chanel iron with ends boxed welded another piece in about 3 in then drilled thru both plates and the pipe fer 1/2 in bolt My guy back goes thur another block(pully) at top of boom and is hooked to 3 pt lift arms One end has 4 ft of chain to adjust boom height.
Steamsawyer
If it wernt so far to Flordia I would be on it like ugly on an ape 59 should have live pto where my 57 is not live only drawback of Eldon as we call the major. But they are a horse of a tractor I have hauled 1000 pound square bales of hay and dont tip ot bother Major at all but about kick my &&s even with fall block winching em up
Here's a few shots of mine. I never have any trouble with the arms being in the way (unless I forget to put them up when I start sawing). When there's nothing on the rack, the arms just fold back and rest on a nail. Of course, it depends on what 'side' of the mill you load from. Obviously, mine is on the sawdust side. They are just far enough apart that I can get the tractor (blade or fel) between them to move sawdust, from time to time. I try to use the blower 2 or 3 times a day to keep sawdust blown out beyond the racks, where I can just drag it around.
The third picture, if you look closely, you can see the notch in one of the arms where it rests on the rail for loading logs to the mill. Mine doesn't hold many, but that is a personal choice that can be changed as one wishes.
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WDH,been thinking about those swinging arms to load logs and swing up,why not have them swing 180 degrees and lay beside the dead deck timbers,out of the way for " edgers". Frank C.
That would work, too. Anything to make edging easier. Edging on a manual mill is four times the work as sawing the boards.
And that's a good point. My deck design works for me because I have an edger. It would certainly have to be designed differently if I had to edge on the mill.
Frank,
You could also hollow out a section of the main beams, and the swing arms could hinge up and over 180 degrees to fit into the recess.
Alas edging boards is a pain in the butt.What I do is stack the "edgers" on the dead deck usally in two piles wide and narrow.When I get the cant I'am milling down to 4" I stack the seperate piles on edge in front of it.The cant gives needed support and you can push the trimmins on top of the cant to save trips to the slab pile.When cutting heavy timbers I load one log at a time on the deck cut and roll back on the deck to be removed with forks. Frank C.
It is not too hard to slide a big beam back onto the log deck and pick it up with the tractor forks like you suggest. The thing that I learned is to edge the boards that need it after each log and don't build up a big pile because it will kill you.
Thanks for the pics CC. Looks very handy.
John and I worked on our log deck some today. I started building it earlier in the week and still need to bolt it to the poles and strap it down. We used rail road iron for the counter weights. We may need to remove a bit of it but the idea is for the arms to swing up when not loaded with a log. I hope that this deck improves our efficiency - saving me from getting on the tractor each time we need to load another log.
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I hope those posts are in the ground a few feet ..
What size pipe?
The posts are in the ground more than they are out. The pipe is 2". The span is 42" to the mill. If they bend, I have a lot of 4" but I think they will work out okay. 2" of fall between the deck and the mill.
That should speed up production