Logs too big for my sawmill (video) UPDATED VIDEO OF SAWING

[123maxbars]

the only complaint about my LT35 is the log size capacity. I wish I could get bigger timber on the mill without having to split it first.
This video shows how I split a 46in diam Red Oak log for my mill yesterday. This log was given to me 2 years ago by a tree service.
I plan on getting it on the mill this week for quarter sawing.

[WV Sawmiller]

  Nice vid. I have the same mill and sawed a 8' X 42" diameter WO that fell in SuperStorm sandy. Nearly tore up my ATV and log arch hauling it and by the time I got done I don;t think I got 100 bf out of it because of shake. I trust you will fare much better than I did. Good luck. Let us know how it turns out.

[123maxbars]

  Nice vid. I have the same mill and sawed a 8' X 42" diameter WO that fell in SuperStorm sandy. Nearly tore up my ATV and log arch hauling it and by the time I got done I don;t think I got 100 bf out of it because of shake. I trust you will fare much better than I did. Good luck. Let us know how it turns out.

Hope to have those logs on the sawmill tomorrow.

[MbfVA]

You fellows need a swing blade (circular) mill.  Mine is a Peterson WPF 10",  and it can be set up over up to a 5 foot log.  A bit more kerf & no log handling hydraulics that you can get on some of the wood-mizers (it has 1 electric motor for the up-and-down function of the head; The ASM model will do automatic feed as well, more money and complexity), but blade cost per mbf is a fraction of that for band saws & it will handle those big logs.  If you want to cut nice big slabs, beyond 20 inches wide, you need the "slabber" attachment for your circular mill.  I'm still learning on mine, but it will cut up one heck of a big log, and you can take the mill to the log and "build" the mill over it.  Lucas, Turbo Saw, and a couple of others make circular swing blade mills as well.  So far I have found my Peterson to be extremely well designed & built, using almost all aluminum and stainless steel, but the others have qualities as well.

If you're going to be transporting it to get to those big logs that are not easy to move, take careful assessment of the portability of the mill, and your ability to move it.

It may be because I am new, but I did not understand your comment about shake – did you mean the mill shaking and causing cutting problems?

[WDH]

Sweet success!

[YellowHammer]

Nice.  I've often wondered how the Porta Power system would work splittingogs.  Just curious, with the 880 why didn't you rip it with the chainsaw? 

[WV Sawmiller]

It may be because I am new, but I did not understand your comment about shake – did you mean the mill shaking and causing cutting problems?

MbfVA,

   If your glowing comments about the swingblade and slabber attachment include an offer to send me one go right ahead and I will send you a thank you card every time I use it.

   The shake I was talking about was wind shake or sometimes called ring shake. It is damage in the wood itself caused by high wind and such where the wood tends to separate around the rings. You get a bunch of splinters instead of solid wood when you slice through. Some woods, like Hemlock, are more subject too it that others.

   I am sure in this case the very high winds which took town a 42" fork off a 5' white oak twisted the wood around creating the damage.

   BTW - very good question. I hope my answer does it justice.

[nativewolf]

quite a bit of shake damage is caused by bacterial or other issues (freeze/thaw).  Very hard to detect.  Also called "ring shake", some good research indicates that trees with shake issues often have them before coming down, good article

articlehttps://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/pubs/gtr/gtr_ne267/gtr_ne267_156.pdf

[jaygtree]

i like your videos. thanks for posting them.  jg

[Dan_Shade]

I once sawed a log where the center of it had completely separated around a growth ring.   The outer part  could have been like a big pipe.

[MbfVA]

Hi, WV, come on over to Fluvanna some time & I will demo the swinger.  I was all set to buy band and then learned about the swing mills. Each has its merits of course but finding this cherry used one helped me decide.

Nativewolf'll give you a ride if you meet him somewhere.

Dan, we'd all love photos of that pipe-like tree  Don't set us up for disappointment with that description and leave us hanging for the visuals, you hear?

Strengthens my long held belief that Mother N provides us with the best science "fiction".  She does the best CGI around.  Completely Great for the Imagination.

[SawyerBrown]

Nice video, 123!  I've had to do the same several times (same mill, LT35), and will again tomorrow ... maybe get some pix too.  That one is only about 38", but (as you say) is too big for the mill.  Did one a couple of weeks ago, we ended up with a TON of nice quartersawn lumber -- got pix of logs (below) but I almost always forget to take some of finished product!   (The halves closest to the street came down that way ...)

 

How are you going to process it from here?  Quarter first?  (The issue being that there's less than 12"
 of "throat", so you can't quarter it on the mill)

[123maxbars]

Nice.  I've often wondered how the Porta Power system would work splittingogs.  Just curious, with the 880 why didn't you rip it with the chainsaw?

always wanted to try splitting one this big with a maul/axe etc. a lot of work but it was fun to do.

[123maxbars]

Opened up one of the logs today that I split on the previous video.

 

[123maxbars]

Nice video, 123!  I've had to do the same several times (same mill, LT35), and will again tomorrow ... maybe get some pix too.  That one is only about 38", but (as you say) is too big for the mill.  Did one a couple of weeks ago, we ended up with a TON of nice quartersawn lumber -- got pix of logs (below) but I almost always forget to take some of finished product!   (The halves closest to the street came down that way ...)

 (Image hidden from quote, click to view.)

How are you going to process it from here?  Quarter first?  (The issue being that there's less than 12"
 of "throat", so you can't quarter it on the mill)

Nice job, those are some good looking logs!!

[WDH]

Good job, Nathan.  I bet a bunch of people never heard of a medullary ray  . 

[WV Sawmiller]

Hi, WV, come on over to Fluvanna some time & I will demo the swinger.  I was all set to buy band and then learned about the swing mills. Each has its merits of course but finding this cherry used one helped me decide.
Nativewolf'll give you a ride if you meet him somewhere.

Thx for the invite. Looks to be about 200 miles from here and I don't know when I might be near there. As mentioned many times in various threads the big thing if I ever went to a big slabber, which I would love, would also include the support equipment to use with such slabs.

[fishpharmer]

Nathan, you do a great job with your videos and milling.  I was involved with a similar project years ago with FF member @DonK  I haven't seen him on here lately.  Here is my relatively poor quality video in comparison .   We used a bottle jack and my Stihl 880.

[YellowHammer]

I bet a bunch of people never heard of a medullary ray  .

I saw one the other day on the Discovery Channel.....but don't think this would fit on my mill without splitting it. 

Good job also, 123, you got it done.