shingle milling

[jason.weir]

You guys may have seen the shingle mill video I made almost 10 years ago, shortly after I got the mill running

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lu2Ezj__hLE

I ran it a bit, sawed some shingles for some local guys and a few bundles for @shinnlinger and then put it away.

Well life gets busy and the mill has been sitting since then without any use, save the occasional demo at Deerfield fair by a local antique tractor club and one trip to Ralph Bradley & Family's "I love old tractors" show in Woodstock NH.

Fast forward to a couple days ago @pinefeller calls asking if the mill was up and running.  He needed some shingles, well it was not in cutting shape and the 3-71 detroit power unit I wanted to run it with (bought from @JSNH quite a few years ago) has also sat unused, actually I had never heard it run.

We dragged both of them out of deep storage and onto the front lawn, much to the chagrin of my better half and the delight of my 12 year old boy.  As can be expected my 8 year old daughter was not moved the slightest in either direction, actually seemed kind of annoyed that I would even ask her opinion.  She thought the detroit was noisy.  I told her she was not the first to think that..





The 3-71 needed a new starter, fuel filters and the throttle linkages un-rusted.  It didn't make 1 complete revolution before roaring to life.

In the meantime @pinefeller milled some green pine into 8", 10" & 12" flitches on his mill and cut them to 16" in length



We sawed for 4 hours today and made 5 bundles - about 125 sq/ft put up 4" to the weather.  It took us a while to get into a rhythm, first bundle took almost an hour, last one we did in 25 minutes.  The detroit and mill ran flawless cudos to the guys that designed these old machines.

Here is the first bundle.



I took this picture after we finished for the day.



I'll see if I can get a decent video of the whole operation tomorrow.  We anticipate 20 more bundles, should be 8 or so hours, maybe less we should have some more help.  4 guys would be perfect, it would allow the mill to run non-stop.

More to follow.

Jason

[thecfarm]

Everyone needs a shingle mill!!

[47sawdust]

That's the best looking front yard I've ever seen.Your daughter must be a little miffed about the trampoline though.
Two or three more pieces of equipment would flush it out nicely.Thanks.

[Peter Drouin]

Very nice, I hope to get mine up and running soon too.
Is it easier to cut a cant then cut to length?  Do you put the knot in the middle of the chunk?
 I was talking to a guy about that . He said to pull the tree out and cut it so the knots are in the middle so you have a clear shingle on the ends.
No knots to fall out. He left them round. 

[bandmiller2]

Jason, what is your procedure to set and sharpen your shingle saw.?? Frank C.

[jason.weir]

Jason, what is your procedure to set and sharpen your shingle saw.?? Frank C.

Just how you told me years ago, as much a hook angle as I can reasonably get and half a tooth set

Very nice, I hope to get mine up and running soon too.
Is it easier to cut a cant then cut to length?  Do you put the knot in the middle of the chunk?
I was talking to a guy about that . He said to pull the tree out and cut it so the knots are in the middle so you have a clear shingle on the ends.
No knots to fall out. He left them round.

It doesnt save time cutting cants but some of the wood was too big for the mill and this is a way to use big junk wood that otherwise would have been outside boiler wood.  Added side benefit the blade seems to last better with the dirt & bark cut off, imagine that..
We try to keep the knots in the middle, sometimes its just what the log gives you.

[bandmiller2]

As I mentioned before most of my shingle chunks were a byproduct of logging, the tops of pine between the nodes. These chunks are knot free and you can usually get a good 16" chunk. Its very important to have straight cuts on the chunks as most shingle mills will tend to twist the chunks if the feed rolls don't get an even grip. When I was in a hurry I'd mill a cant and chunk it, its a real spoiler. Green pine shingles cut and edged will not end up square as the thin top dries and shrinks more, that's why if you watch a carpenter shingling he uses a block plain to true up the edges, unless they were rebutted. Its more work but I would cut and dry shingles then square them up on a table saw. Really though a small gap is good for shingles. I modified a set of feed ratchets by grinding off every other tooth that gave me a 3/4" butt and a very robust shingle with a good shadow line. I don't miss cutting shingles as it get real boring real fast, I'd hate to make a living doing it. Frank C.

[jason.weir]

As promised here is some more video & pictures of yesterday's shingle milling

Here I walk around our setup while we're waiting for the old Detroit to warm up, pretty smokey on startup but runs like a top - almost 10 hours so far and haven't used 5 gallons of diesel.

0721180814.mp4 - YouTube

Here we're cutting pretty clear 10" shingles

0721180829.mp4 - YouTube

We had just finished, Bob's taking a break.  Almost a full 1-ton load of shavings piled there.




More of the boys resting



Full truck load of odds and ends that didn't make a shingle



finished product - not too bad on 150 year old equipment and a bunch of dubs running it



5 hours work here - close to 3000 shingles.  Works out to a shingle sawn, edged both sides and bundled every 7 seconds.

About 5 square if laid 4" to the weather.



Hopefully we'll see some pictures when @pinefeller gets them up on his house.

Jason

[barbender]

That's awesome! I dream of making a shingle sawing rig for my Woodmizer, I've never really cared for the method that is widely used for making shingles on a bandmill (sawing blocks, clamping them in a jig and running the head through them). That works ok, but it makes it hard to utilize the pieces I would typically want to use for shingles (big blocks of white cedar with a hole in the middle). 

[Satamax]

Daft question guys. 

How much does a shingle mill like this costs in the us? 

I have no idea if there is any left in France. If even they ever existed here. 

[jason.weir]

Daft question guys.

How much does a shingle mill like this costs in the us?

I have no idea if there is any left in France. If even they ever existed here.

I've seen stand alone mills go for $2500-$5000.  We've still got quite a few of them around here and you can get a better deal if you are patient.

I've got a couple thousand dollars into my complete setup.

Jason

[Peter Drouin]

Good job. 8)

[4x4American]

That there is a skookum choocher

[jason.weir]

skookum choocher

Hope I wasn't the only one who had to google that....

[Satamax]

skookum choocher

Hope I wasn't the only one who had to google that....

Thanks Jason, for the price range. That's a lot for old iron. That's about what i paid for my mill. 
And even after googling, i don't know what skookum choocher is. 

[Peter Drouin]

`skookum choocher  :P

[Bruno of NH]

Young fella lingo 
For when some machine they like

[47sawdust]

4x4 has his very own dictionary,one of a kind and rare.....kinda like himself ;D

[shinnlinger]

I remember showing up at Jason's place with some bolts and him just laughing because I was wearing Bog boots and cargo shorts.  He said I was going to fill them up real fast, and he was right!  Here are the shingles these days, cupola and dormer, untreated just like the rest of the place.  The blade texture is really something.
here >
 

[Bruno of NH]

Dave 
Don't forget about the Northern Project 

[moodnacreek]

That's a nice set up. I wonder if all heart pine shingles last longer. Anybody here of a logger called a ball-hooter ?

[welderskelter]

Not wanting to hijack this post as I really like it. But what kind of wood works for shingles? All we have is ash oak maple basswood and poplar. Just curious. Harold

[jimparamedic]

White oak and cedar for roof and just about anything on walls