Hello from North Carolina

millwright · August 03, 2013, 08:24:25 PM

Welcome to the forum. I saw a lot of cedar power poles and have been using a Garret Ace with good results, though you still hit an occasonal rock.

MRowsh · August 04, 2013, 09:45:21 AM

Thanks for all the welcome notes. Appreciate it.
And yes to the guys close by for getting together and talk wood and sawing. I will possibly ask for help when I get my saw mill. And thanks for the offer.

Questions:
1. For a 19 ft long saw blade, what is it's cutting life before sharpening is required? Of course assumption is, that it does not hit anything else except wood. And if the saw goes through a hard none wood object, is it done with and useless, or it is repairable?

2. Is it possible to use freshly cut pine lumber to be used for building sheds, and green house? Or we should not do it?

Thanks much
MR

redbeard · August 04, 2013, 11:31:10 AM

Band blades are whole another animal. The key is to replace you blade before it gets dull. Pushing dull blades through the logs is hard on them and shortens the life. 19' is a lot of teeth. I get 300-500 bf out of a sharp band mine are 12'-6" it varies on what your species is. Its your call if you want to get into sharpening & setting. The long haul it will pay for it self. In the 7 years I have been milling I could have paid for a sharpener setter 10 times. Your blades are probably going to run 30-$35 new. If you have a huge supply of logs you will be able to mill you sheds, garage, and even a house pkg. In several weeks with the mill you chose, you will have a huge pile of lumber in no time.

scsmith42 · August 04, 2013, 12:53:39 PM

It's always great to see another FF member from NC; welcome to the Forestry Forum! I'm located about an hour west of you, in-between Sanford and Raleigh. You're welcome to stop by, but since I run a swing mill my setup is going to be different than yours.

There is a FF member named Ivey who operates one of the large LM mills. He lives about an hour and a half east of you in Burgaw, which is near Wilmington.

It would be very beneficial if you could spend 1/2 or even a full day with a band miller between now and when your sawmill arrives. You will leave a lot of do's and don'ts with respect to the mill, and they can offer some good advice about when to sharpen, etc. You will also want to learn about stacking and stickering lumber, and you're going to want to learn about proper ways to dry lumber.

In one of your earlier posts you enquired about building with green pine; yes it's doable but it's a good idea to understand how the wood will move as it dries and to plan accordingly. You can find a lot of good info on this topic in the archives here on the FF.

Also, if you search the archives there are some interesting articles about Aquaponics - I think that the last one that I read was by Ron Wenrich and it was very insightful.

MRowsh · August 04, 2013, 01:10:29 PM

Thanks scsmith42, I think I will ask Ivey to see if he is willing to let me help him one day, and learn from him. First I have to find his email address or find out how I can send him a message. That was a very good advise, because his saw mill possibly has a lot in common in functionality with LM2.
I assume he got the one with my favorit engine, Diesel in it. I wanted a Diesel engine too, but the cost increase was over $5k, and I could not handle it.

drobertson · August 04, 2013, 03:53:10 PM

Welcome back home Mrowsh, looks like you picked a good one, seen one working several years back, although this one had the 51hp cat. Nice mills, only issues I noticed were the usual bearing type stuff. Big heavy duty rascals they are, you should be pleased. A note on metal detectors, if you are in a timber stand the metal should be negligible, yard trees in the hardwood variety will most often show bluing in the butt cut. Pine will self heal and hide the signs, as well as hickory. Hope all goes well in your new career, david, and thanks again for your service!

Nomad · August 04, 2013, 08:20:21 PM

MRowsh, send him a PM. It will notify him by email that he has a message waiting here, and tell him the content.

Shotgun · August 04, 2013, 09:13:13 PM

MRowsh-
Here's Ivey's profile (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=3632). You can send him a PM (Private Message) by going to his profile and looking for 'Send PM' in upper left. Note that a PM is not an email message.

thecfarm · August 04, 2013, 09:16:43 PM

I have cut the tree,brought it to the mill,sawed it out and started building with it. But that was hemlock and Maine. Buildings are still standing. I would not do this with a house. What I mean,is start to finish off the inside. Maybe build the shell and let it dry for a year.

MRowsh · August 05, 2013, 10:59:33 AM

Thanks shotgun, I sent him a PM.

Amelia Farms · August 06, 2013, 11:28:51 AM

MRowsh, I am just south of Greensboro, have a WMLT40. I do most of my sawing on weekends, you are welcome to come up any time and see how I do it.
Dave

MRowsh · August 06, 2013, 11:56:28 AM

Hi Dave,
That be great. I would appreciate that. How about October time frame. Now, it is a little too warm for this old soldier! Specially, when I do not have a saw yet. I think I might get it sometimes in November. So, October will do me fine.
Thanks again Dave.
MR

MAI · August 06, 2013, 12:56:12 PM

Welcome to the FF. Our members are full of information and always willing to help. Thank you for serving our country.

Amelia Farms · August 08, 2013, 02:57:02 PM

October should be fine, just let me know a couple of weeks in advance so I am sure that I will be sawing.

Dave

MRowsh · August 08, 2013, 04:04:17 PM

Thanks much Dave.

I bought a backhoe; John Deere 315 SE, 4X4, 4 in 1 bucket, extended hoe. It suppose to get home by August 20th. I need it to drop trees and then move the trunks where I can make some lumber.

ddcuning · August 08, 2013, 05:09:08 PM

Welcom MRowsh, I am over in Pittsboro running an ole circle mill. Good to have more NC folks on the FF.

Dave C

scsmith42 · August 08, 2013, 08:15:17 PM

Quote from: MRowsh on August 08, 2013, 04:04:17 PM

I bought a backhoe; John Deere 315 SE, 4X4, 4 in 1 bucket, extended hoe. It suppose to get home by August 20th. I need it to drop trees and then move the trunks where I can make some lumber.

Excellent choice! Outfitted with some forks, that backhoe will provide you with plenty of lifting capacity for the mill and stacked lumber.

If you're not already familiar with them, the USDA has some great, free manuals about sawing and drying lumber.

MRowsh · August 09, 2013, 08:12:19 AM

Thanks SCSmith42. And yes, I have to build a fork for it. How long should I make the arm?

By any chance, do you have the web site address for USDA free manuals?.

I have dried wood before, but it is not a bad idea for me to check and see what they got.

The first time I dried oak, I did not know to seal the ends, so I had some cracking issues. Next time I used the car undercoating spray cans; and it sure worked good, but the ends looks black and had to cut a piece of before using them. Live and learn!!

I guess this time around, I will use some white paint to seal each end.

scsmith42 · August 09, 2013, 09:45:00 AM

Here is a link to a pdf copy of the air drying manual:

http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/fplgtr/fplgtr117.pdf

Typically the best sources for end sealer are Anchor Seal Classic from U.S. Coatings (I buy it by the 55 gallon drum), or Bailey's End Sealer from baileysonline.com in 5 gallon pails.

The commercial end sealer will not mess up your post-processing equipment. It's best to apply directly to the ends of the logs as soon as possible after felling and bucking.

Re the forks, but best compromise that I have seen are the flip-over kind that stay attached to your bucket. They hinge at the top and flip over the back of the bucket when not in use.

If you build a dedicated fork assembly that attaches in lieu of the bucket, you will be able to lift more logs due to the fact that the center of weight is closer to the pivot point on the lift arms.

I have found that short, heavy fixed forks (36") are better for picking logs out of piles, but longer forks (44" - 48") are better for moving around stacks of lumber. I like to make my stacks around 40" - 44" deep, which allows me to yield two 48" stickers from an 8' board.

MRowsh · September 03, 2013, 02:26:03 PM

At last got the backhoe delivered to me. Welded two heavy duty hooks to the top of the bucket. Now in process of fabricating forks.
Now waiting for my saw mill.
Got a picture to post, but I do not see any option of posting picture here.

beenthere · September 03, 2013, 02:31:02 PM

Posting pics starts out with the pic being .jpg format on your computer.
Then having you a gallery set up via your profile setup.
Then, using the blue "Click here to add Photos to post" line below this window, proceed to the "Upload file" button. If already in your gallery, then go to the "My gallery" button.

A good primer can be found on the Home page, down under the "Behind the Forum" and the first thread there.

Look forward to your pic.

MRowsh · September 03, 2013, 02:49:47 PM

I do not see the "Click here to add Photos to post" at the bottom! I already posted a picture of food on other place, but that option is not at this page!