Whatcha Sawin' 2019 ???

[AK Newbie]

Slabbing Black Oak with Whidbey Island Woodworks and Custom Milling!  My son flies for the Navy and is stationed at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station in Wa.  Each time my wife and I fly down for a visit I get to visit with Jeff and Kelly aka "Redbeard".  This time Jeff grabbed a gnarly Black Oak log and slabbed it on his big Hudson slabber.  It was a beautiful log.  He also demonstrated his Slide Hammer Slab Separator which he helped design with a friend.  Jeff has created an incredible business selling large slabs of every type of wood on the island in addition to doing custom milling.  The workflow stations he has created are well designed and something I hope to add to my milling endeavors.  Thanks Jeff and Kelly for an awesome time, I look forward to the next visit!



 
Big gnarly black oak log...


 


 


 

 

 

 


 
Slide Hammer Slab Separator at work!


 
Work flow...

 

 

[nativewolf]

Cedar beams and fence posts.  We had incredible taper on this one, sawed 12 12" wide boards and quite a pile of batten and other things.  Lots of mouse holes in these big old cedar, a bit disappointing

 .  

We have 3000 bdft to saw but yield is so so and our sawyers blade was diving so much he stopped to take the mill home to adjust, not a great day.  Yesterday we quartered/halfed etc a bunch of larger tops and branches.  Got about 300 posts plus some locust and I consider that a decent day.  Posts get sold to organic farms.

[nativewolf]

A question for all @Magicman and other cedar sawyers.  I've got a sawyer that seems to know what his is doing.  However, his blade keeps diving on this cedar.  So much that we stopped sawing so he could take the mill to Marty.  Is this a common issue?  We cut this large cants in half and then start pulling boards and darned if his blade isn't diving when he is cutting a cant apart (12x6 into two 6x6" for example).  It's diving cutting 1" boards off the cants too.  

[WV Sawmiller]

   Had one of those days. A repeat customer 44 miles away has been pushing me to come saw and today was first prediction for a whole day with little chance of rain so I called and he said come on up. I told him I'd be there about 7:00 am then he called last night about 9:00 pm and said hold off till 8:00 am as he had air up a tire on his loader and get his helper. He asked if I could get a helper and I told him not that late in the day. I arrived on time and he pulled in right behind me about 7:50 or so with his 18-19 y/o grandson who was a decent helper. His loader would not start and they had to leave it hooked to his truck with undersized jumper cables nearly an hour before it started. He is a real good guy, a veteran who had had a broken back and walks humped over so he gets special treatment and consideration. He had several big white pine logs and showed up with his trailer and a small hemlock and some near rotten pine we cut for stickers and 4x4s to stack on. When he moved the second log we found a baseball sized hornet nest on the underside. I splashed a cup of gas on it. I sawed 3.8 hours on the mill having to do some serious whittling to get the logs down to size. It was mostly 3/4" sheeting with a few 4X4s out of the small scrappy stuff and a few 2X4s at the end. My feed system failed and I had to tighten my chain which had sagged a good 6". Turns out the sprocket on the weldment was chewed up and would not run on the chain so I finished the last 8" wide cant, several very wide cants and a 4" cant for 2X4's by manual feed. It was very hot and I nearly overdid it. Final results was about 500 bf/sq ft (I count my 3/4 cuts same as my 4/4 and always advise my customers accordingly - this one knew and agreed up front so no hassle). I got home and unhooked took the feed system apart and will order the shaft and associated bearings from WM in the morning. The bearings seem to be working fine but too cheap not to replace while I am in there IMHO. I have other commitments all next week so it will be later than that. My customer and I are both doing hay tomorrow anyway.


 Loader charging, my truck still hooked up waiting to go there, and a butt log an inch or so bigger than my max specs for my mill. I did learn about overhanging the no-loader side which was a real good thing to learn!


 More logs in the weeds waiting.


 Second log is well protected, well they were. I used environmentally friendly gasoline with up to 10% ethanol so it should be fine.


 Damaged part - weldment shaft with sprocket and one of the bearings still attached. The chewed up sprocket runs on the chain.

[Magicman]

Some days anyone can be the "bug on the windshield" and I am lenient when customers have those days.  Things always seem to eventually even out for both the customer and me.

I agree to go ahead and do a complete rebuild while you have that power feed apart.  Never ever over-tension the chain or you will surely blow the bearings out.

[Magicman]

A question for all ....... and other cedar sawyers

My first question is whether it was clear ERC logs or whether it was a knotty seasoned logs?  On a properly tuned sawmill, sharp blades should not dive but seasoned knots will "knot wave" with a dull/dulling blade.  It would not seem so but ERC contains silica and is very abrasive to saw blades.

I am guessing that the blade was hot when it was diving.  4°, 7°, or 10° should not matter with ERC.

[nativewolf]

Diving was worse around knots but this was green ERC, just cut last week and these are big logs, some 30" at the large end.  Several cants could have been 20' and 12" square.  He changed blades, had some tension issues, took home to adjust...didn't work and finally he just stopped as it was getting frustrating cutting such big cedar into wavy boards.  There were occasionally hard knots in the cants, that I could see causing an issue but it was often just in middle of board or in a large green knot.  Sigh.  

Just thought I'd ask since you saw so much cedar.  He's got to teach a few classes and can't return until the 22nd so it is a real bummer.  I was counting on quite a bit more getting done than actually happened in 3 days of work. He changed blades many many times so I can't think that was the issue, turbo 7 is his blade of choice.

I'll be curious to hear what Marty and his team do to the mill.

[Magicman]

I will too because green/fresh logs should not wave.  Drive belt loose/slipping.

[Bruno of NH]

Your sawyers mill won't see Marty till next week.
He's on vacation till Thursday then delivering some guys new  mill to NH :D

[nativewolf]

Your sawyers mill won't see Marty till next week.
He's on vacation till Thursday then delivering some guys new  mill to NH :D

Yeah...so you're the cause of my delay this week  8)  Congrats

[nativewolf]

I will too because green/fresh logs should not wave.  Drive belt loose/slipping.

We'll find out next week it looks like.  Someone is getting a mill delivered first , congrats to Bruno.

[Southside]

Cedar is about the easiest wood there is to saw, aside from the taper and bark that can clog up the chute.  He has something going on with the mill or the set on the bands.  

[longtime lurker]

Been busy, got a lot of catch up reading to do I see.



 

 

Beer o'clock today, still a whack of this log to go, and the best part of him is still to come.  Put a straight edge on 'em.... I'm carrying 1/16" deflection over 5 foot wide slabs. Not too bad for a guy who only cuts lumber and stays away from this live edge gig.... I dunno what im doing right, and i'm a bit concerned that when I have to roll the slabber bar I'll never get it dialled in this good again. Worry about that when we get to it I guess.

[busenitzcww]

 

 

 

 

 

Wacked up a walnut log today. Actually two from the same tree. 30" butt. Got a couple 2" boards as well. Bottom rows are 20" and then we went to 15" wide. Hopefully we can get some weight on them and get them to stay flat. Pretty clear lumber to boot. My wife played tailgunner and stacked/stickered it. Fun change of pace as we've been slabbing a lot lately.

[WDH]

That is what I call doing it right, Sir. 

[Darrel]

Yup, very nice walnut!

[doc henderson]

Well having a BD for my MIL and her twin sister.  combined they are 150 years old.  My wife wants a few upgrades to our home and of course has offered to help!     .  We plan on being at the pig roast so let me introduce my wife Georgia.



 

sanding some ERC to put up one the ceiling of our front porch.  sanding away in the AC in the shop.



 

a few of the 16 half inch thick, by 8" x 11 feet long for panels on the porch ceiling. now with spar urethan rolled on by paint roller.

[muggs]

To Busenitzcww, Is that an electric motor on your mill? If it is, What is the HP and how do you like it.

[Peter Drouin]

Hi Georgia, and welcome.

[WV Sawmiller]

Doc,

  Is Georgia visually impaired? She looks too attractive to be married to an old coot like you. :D  Tell her we all say hi.

[busenitzcww]

To Busenitzcww, Is that an electric motor on your mill? If it is, What is the HP and how do you like it.

Yup, it's a 3phs 10hp. I've only had it around 2 months but so far I've really been impressed. I've maxed the cut width out several times and it seems to do alright. Gotta slow down feed speed anyways or the cut starts getting wavy. Kinda thought about putting a 15hp on it but we'll see. I also like how quiet it is compared to an engine. I still wear earplugs but at least you don't have to shout at your help! Lol

[doc henderson]

@busenitzcww   @farmfromkansas   @Tom the Sawyer , nice to see a few from Ks on the forum.  

[PA_Walnut]

Been raining maple...which I do NOT like to saw when it's 100° and 100%, but gotta get it when you can.
Fans, fans and some more fans. 

Large, wide curly soft with excellent figure.




45" wide Ambrosia with excellent markings and color throughout!

[WDH]

!

[longtime lurker]

that's nice!