No tail man sux !

[scully]

I got my mill and imediatly had all sorts of dreams that my son would come around and take an interest ,and like so many it would become a "father-son" deal ! My son has taken a prity rough road in his 26 years but like any father I pray for a turnaround and the chance that we can do great things together . I lost my job in sept. and through my son got this timberframe resto at just the perfect time ! Wich brings me to the issue of a tail man . Not haveing anything but a plow truck and a borrowed log arch moveing and positioning logs is a bit harder than I like but I do real well and have a system wich works very good for now . But haveing a tail man that you can depend on is important to say the least ! I have had a couple includeing my son but reliability and abillity are huge factors ! So far I am disapointed ,it seems like good guys that are willing to work like that are tuff to find ! I tailed plenty for alot of years and all it did for me was make me want a mill of my own even worse ! It's good work but around here seems like nobody can get their head in the game ! So I find myself handleing 24' logs alone and pulling rips and boards alone more often than with help .Through it all I still get such great satisfaction every time I cut another board but I watch productivity fly out the window so fast it hurts ! I guess what I'm asking is ,does anyone else have trouble finding a good tail man ? I hope that when the better weather is here I can find a guy that is eager and will jump at the great opertunity of learning a skill ! I'm just kind of bummed right now !

[drobertson]

Having a tail man is always a bonus in my book.  I had one good one a few years back, not counting the boys, they help when they are home.  I worked with him back on forth on the headsawing, it took a lil patience, but its nice to take a break from the saw and do no brainer work once in a while. He only worked for a few months, sure miss him and the help.  Spring is just around the corner, and warmer temps will follow.

[Chuck White]

It's a real plus to have the helper!

I got into sawing by helping my FIL on his 1992 LT40G18 manual.

I tailed for him almost 2 years, then he wanted me to take the mill "on the road" and do a few jobs.

Into my second year with his mill, I decided to get my own, so here I am today.  My wife tailed the mill while I ran it.  She ran it a little.

I started with my wife tailing, then I got a neighbor/classmate from school tailing the mill for 3 years, then he decided he wanted out, getting to old he said, so now I have a nephew helping on the mill.

With a hydraulic LT40, sawing alone is possible, moreso than with the manual mill.

[beenthere]

Scully
Seems you would be cutting logs to a more manageable 12' length instead of 24' if working alone. Sticking 24' lumber would get old even with a helper.  ;)

[rooster 58]

     Hi Scully, I'm sorrry to hear that your son doesn't seem to be interested. I understand how you feel because I have two sons whom aren't interested either, partly because I moved 2 hrs. from home and live in a very rural area.
    I also am facing possible labor issues. If I put my mill where I live there are few people and not many want to work. Trying to locate an hour away to be more centralized and have a larger work force to select from. Good luck and I wish the best for you

[pineywoods]

Scully, you have to learn to work smarter, not harder. Figure out ways to get the job done without that tail man. Hydraulics and a tractor with forks will go a long ways. Time spent building labor saving devices and equipment will pay big dividends. I essentially shut my mill down for a month and spent the time building a hydraulic system. I saw alone, but my productivity is  just as good or better than it was with help...

[flyboy16101]

I have been fortunet enough to have help widly avalible during weekends and evenings from several people. Only 2 of which are my age and have no problem switching between sawing and tailing which is great and they are ok sawing but learning very fast. My problem (which im guessing I am the only one with this problem) is the other 3. They are very good with the controls and knowledgable but only want to tail. They are all over 60 with numerous health problems but insist that I run the controls while they do all the lifting. Needless to say I would rather be tailing because of health and the fact that they know a lot more than I do (all 3 have worked in sawmills off and on there whole life). But over all I have noticed with help that my generation is usually lazy and dont want to work. I would be willing to say that only 5 or 6 out of my graduating class of 100 are willling to physical labor.

[leot]

My collage age daughters are the best help I can get.  Them boy friends will work all day for a date.

[red oaks lumber]

i always saw alone, if you get setup right i get the log canted, at that time i stop and throw the slabs in the rack, any flitches are on the log arms. then i'll cut the whole log then sticker the lumber, saw my flitches and repeat the steps again on the next log.with the drag back feature i have 6x6 on the floor that all the material drops down on.

[Larry]

My tail man's name is Mr Drag Back.  He is the silent type so we get a lot more work done.  Don't have to pay him much and he is always on time.  Perfect help don't ya think?

[Chuck White]

I have been fortunet enough to have help widly avalible during weekends and evenings from several people. Only 2 of which are my age and have no problem switching between sawing and tailing which is great and they are ok sawing but learning very fast. My problem (which im guessing I am the only one with this problem) is the other 3. They are very good with the controls and knowledgable but only want to tail. They are all over 60 with numerous health problems but insist that I run the controls while they do all the lifting. Needless to say I would rather be tailing because of health and the fact that they know a lot more than I do (all 3 have worked in sawmills off and on there whole life). But over all I have noticed with help that my generation is usually lazy and dont want to work. I would be willing to say that only 5 or 6 out of my graduating class of 100 are willling to physical labor.

My guess is the helpers see that there are less decisions to make while tailing than when sawing, leaving the decisions up to you.

The tailer that I had after my wife went about other things was an old school classmate of mine who was also 3 years my senior and in not so good health.  He was real good at it too.  He decided he didn't want to tail anymore and I now have my 16 year old nephew helping.

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

Scully....I feel for ya. I did the same thing to my Dad. I had to get out and sow my oats and didn't care anything about the farm in my 20's.
My Dad would holler at me sometimes and you know I deserved it. But one day he quit yelling. He gave me all the line I wanted to run with until I got into a little bit of trouble. And instead of him looking for me.....I had to look for my Dad in the situation I was in. Later............
The judge looked at me and said, "Son.....I really believe in my heart that every young person should get into trouble at least 1 time in their life just to know what it feels like. This is your 1 chance to change your walk of life and guess what will happen if I see you in here again?" My Dad was standing right beside me and did not say a word and when we got home, NEVER said another word about what happened.
That believe it or not hurt because he DIDN'T yell at me.
Ever since that judgement day, I got a good job with the state of S.C., I help my Dad on the farm, I have a good family and I saw lumber and love it.......I never jumped the fence again.

The moral of the story in my opinion, you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink....but one day he will get so thirsty he will come back to the well. Give him time Scully. 

[drobertson]

david this explains allot for me concerning your anticts ;D  Wisdom is only acquired from life expeirences.  And in the end the dad is most always the wise one.  Love, Love, Love, followed by Paitience, Paitience, Paitience. and in when all is said and done,  a big hug, and a big  ;D  Family is family, and it gets no better in my opinion. david

[rooster 58]

    Well said my friends. My oldest son took a few years off my life. Of course, as Poston said, you try to coach your kids and then it's up to them. Only time I got real ugly with Jake was over his mother.
    We got this call one day and had to rush to the hospital. He was ok but drunk and belligerent, especially to my now ex-wife. A few days later he called to apologize. I told him he could get away with that with me, but explained that his mom would lay down her life for him, as would I. And I told him then if he ever treated her like that again I would absolutely kill him. PERIOD!
    He never did anything like that again. He has now straightened his life out and should finish his degree next year. Hang in there Scully, it seems like you lose them for awhile but they come back

[flyboy16101]

My guess is the helpers see that there are less decisions to make while tailing than when sawing, leaving the decisions up to you.

I would agree but they never hesitate to let me know when I'm doing it wrong. Which if you ask them is most of the time. I wouldn't say that my way is wrong, their's just ususally works better. Lord knows I got a lot to learn from them.  ;D

[Nomad]

My guess is the helpers see that there are less decisions to make while tailing than when sawing, leaving the decisions up to you.

I would agree but they never hesitate to let me know when I'm doing it wrong. Which if you ask them is most of the time. I wouldn't say that my way is wrong, their's just ususally works better. Lord knows I got a lot to learn from them.  ;D

     I'd guess they figure it's your mill, and you won't learn any more than you know now if you're offbearing and not sawing.  Everybody can always get better and learn more, but ya gotta be doing it for that to happen.

[sigidi]

I have used a bunch of helpers and never seem to be short some help, but to get good help is just plain crazy!!!! most start out ok, but 2-3 days and they are as useful as wet toilet paper......

[bandmiller2]

Scully,I figure everything cutting alone,its a treat when I have a tailer.If you cut alone you only have one dude to worry about. Frank C.

[swampbuggy]

My collage age daughters are the best help I can get.  Them boy friends will work all day for a date.

I like that idea..are your daughters cute? ;D

(sorry, I have a daughter too, and my SIL tails!)

[leot]

Yes  And smart they make the boys do the heavy work.  They slide the boards off and make the boys stack. 

[GDinMaine]

Scully....I feel for ya. I did the same thing to my Dad. I had to get out and sow my oats and didn't care anything about the farm in my 20's.
My Dad would holler at me sometimes and you know I deserved it. But one day he quit yelling. He gave me all the line I wanted to run with until I got into a little bit of trouble. And instead of him looking for me.....I had to look for my Dad in the situation I was in. Later............
The judge looked at me and said, "Son.....I really believe in my heart that every young person should get into trouble at least 1 time in their life just to know what it feels like. This is your 1 chance to change your walk of life and guess what will happen if I see you in here again?" My Dad was standing right beside me and did not say a word and when we got home, NEVER said another word about what happened.
That believe it or not hurt because he DIDN'T yell at me.
Ever since that judgement day, I got a good job with the state of S.C., I help my Dad on the farm, I have a good family and I saw lumber and love it.......I never jumped the fence again.

The moral of the story in my opinion, you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink....but one day he will get so thirsty he will come back to the well. Give him time Scully. 

Great story.  I was on the edge a few times but was too worried to jump the fence.  I just always liked working and the feeling I got when I looked at my work at the end of the day.  Satisfying would be the word.

[francismilker]

Very good life stories here.  I bought my mill with hopes of my 12 year old getting hooked on it so we could do it together.  He's a very trainable kid but don't quite have enough lead in his pencil to lift some of the slabs.  He drags them out of my way and does his best to stack them but I end up having to redo it later.  I never say a word about it, he's doin' his best. 

He likes going to the woods with me to cut trees and likes helping me sticker and stack the lumber in the loft of the barn while we discuss what we're going to build with it.  He asks me every time he pulls off an outside slab, "dad, will this work for a treehouse?".  I need to shut down one day and go build that treehouse in the near future. 

One things for certain, he don't have the same passion for milking cows!  He's planning on never milking again as soon as he spreads his wings and flies! 8)

[beenthere]

By 12, I had more than one tree house built. Along with 3 brothers, seems we spent most of our time in the trees. 
Along with milking the cows, hauling manure, trouble, mischief, etc. etc.  ....

[Dave VH]

  I have 2 boys, one 8 year old, and one 10 year old.  as hard as they try to help, my forklift is my best friend when I'm milling.  My 10 year old is big and strong for his age, he can handle just about anything that I cut.  My 8 year old is small for his age, but he knows how to work efficiently and use leverage to move what he needs to. 
  They are just know starting to actually save me time when they work with me.  I don't always make them work with me, but I do make them work, and how to enjoy work and appreciate a job well done.  It is vitally important to teach them how to work hard and think through a job.  Lazy is a bad word in my house.
  I do love my boys.  I hope that when they are grown, they are still willing to come back and help me sometimes.

[rooster 58]

    I hearya Dave! I must have done something right, my sons and I still hook up as often as we can, even tho I live 2 hrs. away from them now ;D 8)