Whatcha Sawin' ???

[redprospector]

Ok, I'm back to sawing now. Finished putting everything back together about 7:30 this evening, and had to try it out on a small Pine log before I left.


  

 

I'm sure part of it is the fact that the old Kohler was pretty tired, but the 35 hp Briggs is impressive on the B-20. I should have done this a while back.
Tomorrow's agenda consists of 60 1x12x10's, 60 1x4x16's, and 80 3/4"x6x8's. We'll see how far I get.

[paul case]

Good that you got it back together. I switched motors a few times and it was always the pulley that I had to go get.

1x4-16 green anything are kinda like a wet noodle. I can never make them look like much until I put bands around the stack.

Sawing a list like that is good therapy. From what I hear you are gona need some good therapy with everything else you are taking on.

PC

[thecfarm]

Kbeitz,I have cedar.  ;D Just don't expect anything 8 inches wide.  :  I have some good size cedar,but by the time I get to good wood,the size has gone down.I ones I cut down,the middle has rot,some I could almost run my arm inside of.

[Kbeitz]

Kbeitz,I have cedar.  ;D Just don't expect anything 8 inches wide.  :  I have some good size cedar,but by the time I get to good wood,the size has gone down.I ones I cut down,the middle has rot,some I could almost run my arm inside of.

That's one thing that always puzzled me. I hear that cedar is great for ground contact but I also hear that the middle of most large cedar trees are rotten.

[grouch]

Kbeitz, you need to experience the sticky sap and the knock-ya-down aroma!

Doesn't UPS handle things up to 6 ft long? How much would it cost to UPS a cedar log to PA?

I have cedar; just nothing like what Magicman is always posting. Most of mine is fence post sized, so I have yet to saw one, either.

Eastern red cedar sapwood is not very rot resistant. Stick one in the ground and after a few years you'll have a heartwood stick wobbling around in an oversized hole.

[Kbeitz]

I have worked with cedar in my wood shop. I can buy lots of stuff made with it at our flea markets.
I buy used furniture made with it real cheap just for the wood. So I get to smell it every so often.
Sure is some pretty wood.

[Magicman]

Sawing ERC can be either a pleasure or a nightmare.  My yesterday's log looked nightmarish but turned out OK. 

First, the customer had bucked 4' off of the butt end to avoid the possibility of metal which is common in ERC trees that size. 

Yes, there was some rot, but not as much as we originally thought would be there.  Maximizing the log's yield is done when you saw only one edge and leave the other live.  That way the woodworker and easily get the boards that he needs with his table saw.

With most ERC, I find that hourly rate is best both for me and the customer.  The above was all sawn 1 1/8".

[redprospector]

Good that you got it back together. I switched motors a few times and it was always the pulley that I had to go get.

1x4-16 green anything are kinda like a wet noodle. I can never make them look like much until I put bands around the stack.

Sawing a list like that is good therapy. From what I hear you are gona need some good therapy with everything else you are taking on.

PC

Yep, and lots of it. 😉

[gww]

Cedar is my favorite logs to cut.  It is the one log that I can cut ten of with out going through a blade.  It seems to dry pretty flat and one of the best things is that it is light compared to handling oak.  Wear gloves or the sap can turn your hand black.  I don't think it makes my garage smell like x-mas cause it is just a little too strong when you have a lot of it in a closed place.  I don't like the debranching of the logs but do like how my home made mill cuts them.

I just made 5 cedar chest and I have enough that I could make 3/4 more.  I want to use the wood for bee hives or something but my wife won't let me cause she says it is too pretty to waste on bee hives.  I don't want to build more cedar chest and think this is unfair but she is my wife ;).
Cheers
gww

[fishfighter]

Got out to do some edging this morning. I had my batteries on charge, so I disconnect the power drive chain and was just going to push the mill head. Takes about a minute to do that.

Put the first slab on and sawed it. Got to thinking that pushing the head was never that hard before. Started a inspection. What a big mess. Both tracks had a ton of SYP sap stuck to the top of the rails. Never had that problem before. Anyway, went to make a second cut. Was still hard to push the head. More inspection, I found that the wheels on the saw discharge side were caked with SYP sap real thick. Another first. Took a screw driver and clean them and readjusted the cables that clean the wheels.

After that, things were smooth and finish up all edging. ;D Another learning curve ball. :D

[Darrel]

Kbeitz,I have cedar.  ;D Just don't expect anything 8 inches wide.  :  I have some good size cedar,but by the time I get to good wood,the size has gone down.I ones I cut down,the middle has rot,some I could almost run my arm inside of.

That's one thing that always puzzled me. I here that cedar is great for ground contact but I also
here that the middle of most large cedar trees are rotten.

The middle of most large cedar trees do not have ground contact.  ;D :D ;D

[78NHTFY]

Between picking them up at the customer's house (with Case 695/PATU forwarding trailer), loading them on the 'Mizer and sawing and loading on his truck, put in 8 hours working with 8 Eastern White Cedar logs and sawing everything into 5/4 boards.  Widest was 18".  First time cutting this wood--great aroma, easy to cut, light to handle.  He paid me for a blade lost to nails in the main trunk but the wood is so light I finished cutting with the bad blade with hardly any waves-- I just cut very slowly.  Customer helped so it made the job go faster than otherwise. No idea of bdft but his Truck bed was filled up to the top of the back window. 8).  Cut everything thru & thru then edged--this gave him all the stickers he needed.  Here's a pic.  Maybe some day some red cedar, right Kbeitz?  All the best, Rob.   

 

[cutterboy]

Well, I don't have any cedar on my farm but I have plenty of Danny's favorite....HICKORY!


 

Actually I love the look of hickory lumber and it sells but it is hard and heavy. The bark on the shagbark hickory is a pain. It is like hard overlapping plates that stick out and can do funny things with the blade. I stripped the bark off one log and left the mess in the woods but it took too much time. Anyway, it makes nice lumber. I sawed one up today and will continue with the others tomorrow.



 


 


 


 


 


 

      All the best, Cutter

[Bruno of NH]

Cutter nice looking wood

[Peter Drouin]

Nice stuff,  8) 8)

[WV Sawmiller]

   Sawed about 1,000 bf of Red Oak today. Everything from 4/4 to 4X4 to 8/4 (live edge and edged) etc. Half the time when I would start to edge something the owner would decide he liked it live or with one squared edge and grab it from me. Pretty good day. 75 miles round trip, just beat the rain, bad road getting in but made it okay. About 60 yards from the Greenbrier River. Several deer walked by withing 40 yards with me sawing. Flock of baby turkeys at the main gate when the guy opened it for me.

   Can't get the pictures to load. Says missing some required parameter so I'll skip that. One 16 log really taxed my hydraulics and was about all we could do to get it loaded. Lifted it fine but the claw turned struggled with it. Finally got it loaded and whittled down to something I could cut and got some pretty lumber out of it.

   Had to rush home and go bait up my catfish lines. Son ran them this morning with poor success. I had 5 weighing little over 32 lbs tonight. We had 9 weighed 64 lbs yesterday.

[WDH]

Cutter,

Pretty, but    ;D.

[Deese]

Made a pile of 2 1/2" wide batten strips yesterday evening. Got to cut about 40 more today.


 

[Ianab]

Got some funny looks today. Got back from sawing in time to pick up the kids from school, but I couldn't unhitch the the trailer without unloading the mill and some boards first. So I did the school pickup run with the mill and about 300 bf of Cedar in tow.  :D



Unloading the mill. Will do the boards and sticker them tomorrow.



PS, no small Toyota hatchbacks where abused in this sawmill mission. The Blade runs a 3.5l V6, same as a Lexus RX 350. You do notice the load on the back, but it's not working to tow it.

[grouch]

I was wondering about the rated towing capacity of that car. Doesn't look like the mill and trailer out-weigh it, though.

[fishfighter]

Wanted to saw yesterday, but nothing but rain. In between the rain, I was able to service my mill. Spent half the day sharpening blades. More rain today. :(

[Deese]

Sawed 2x6's yesterday after work. Sawing stickers and 1x's this evening.


  

 

[Ianab]

I was wondering about the rated towing capacity of that car. Doesn't look like the mill and trailer out-weigh it, though.

Rated to tow 2800 lb if the trailer has brakes. We a pretty careful about the balance when we load it, make sure to keep some weight on the drawbar.

[4x4American]

I was just reading an article in the northern logger about how europeans favor cars over full sized pickups (and how that translates into smaller logging equipment)..ianab do you see any american pickups out your way?  Is it pretty hard to get say a 3/4 pickup shipped over there?  I feel like you guys are missing out on alot of awesomeness!

[Ianab]

I was just reading an article in the northern logger about how europeans favor cars over full sized pickups (and how that translates into smaller logging equipment)..ianab do you see any american pickups out your way?  Is it pretty hard to get say a 3/4 pickup shipped over there?  I feel like you guys are missing out on alot of awesomeness!

American style full size pickups are rare. You can get them, but cost of fuel makes them pretty impractical. Smaller pickups and "Utes" are common though, think Toyota Hilux etc. Top selling "cars" in NZ last year were the Ford Ranger and Toyota Hilux. We also don't have the long distances and interstates that you guys have. Narrow winding roads are nicer in a lighter and better handling vehicle. So a regular car / small SUV / station wagon is common, as are utility trailers like mine.

If you need to actually haul a serious load, used Japanese diesel trucks are easy to come by in pretty much any size. 

Commercial logging is all heavy machinery. Think PNW style. It's plantation Pine and Douglas Fir, but large trees, usually on steep terrain.  Log trucks are usually max legal weight and length, and will be kitted out with onboard scales and adjustable tire pressure gear etc.



As for cars, it's relatively easy to import used Japanese vehicles, and there are all sorts of exotic JDM machines that were never sold outside Japan. Nissan Skyline GTRs etc are readily available. My car for example was only ever sold in Japan. It's basically a Toyota Corolla iM, but with 275hp compared to the 137hp in the export version. Don't worry, that makes for a very compact "push you back in the seat" package of awesomeness  :D Not many folks know what they are, so they get very surprised when their V8 or 6 cyl Beemer can't pass Grandad in his "Corolla"  :D