Whatcha Sawin' 2024 ??

[Magicman]

OK, I went back and re-read what I misread.  

The customer wanting the 4X4's is not the customer that has the logs.  That customer only wants 4/4 & 5/4 lumber.

If I am straight now, I see your profit line.

[TimW]

Lynn forgot to say it is clear as mud.

[WV Sawmiller]

    I thought it was clear before. I have a customer who wants 94 8' long poplar (will accept pine) 4X4s for a future building project. The 4X4's are all the customer ordered.

    I have a  neighbor/former customer with a bunch of poplar and pine logs he cut a year ago and asked me earlier if I would saw them on shares. I had tentatively agreed as he is close and it is something I can generally market and there was no rush to complete the sawing. The neighbor does not care what the side lumber is as he can use all sizes including the wormy pine 4/4 for sheeting/siding.

    The stars aligned and I chose to use these shared logs rather than cut a tree or two off my place, which is/was an option. It works great for my neighbor because he has many logs that will barely make a 4X4 but they are good solid logs and other than taking longer they are making a good 4X4 post.

  My goal is to cut the 94 4X4's and they are my share. My neighbor's share will come out of the side lumber generated. He also throws in a few 12' and even a 20' log in the mix so everything I saw off of them go in his share. He gets half the bf of what I saw. I've told him if he wants something specific give me a cut list and I'll custom saw that as part of his share. So far just under half the lumber sawed went to me as 4X4 posts and the rest is his and I will get more as needed. I always have a need/market for 8' 2X4's, 12' 2X6's and 4/4 sheeting. I could even use the wormy pine but I asked today and he is fine as that being part of his share as he can use it too. He's been helping me saw mainly by loading the logs as I saw and stack. He can't off-bear much because of his physical condition but I am happy to get any help I can.

  As of today I have cut a little over 1818 bf. Of that 789 bf are my 4X4's. I need to cut about 2 dozen more then I will stop and go work on some other mobile jobs and come back later and saw some more for both of us. If I get specific orders I'll make them out of the shared logs if they will do so. I have one likely small board and batter 8' poplar sale coming up. The 1X4's will make the battens. If I need more 1X8's than I have at home I'll cut them out of this stack as part of my share. 

  I took pictures but it is the same piles as yesterday only a little higher and there is a 20' 4X6 and a 20' 2X6 added in a new pile. That, plus a 12' 2X6 is all the small diameter 20' log would yield. (I think he put a cabin log in the pile by mistake but had told me if I came to one to cut a beam or two and he was happy with it.)

    So far everything seems to be working well on this. He has no more cash involved, I'm cutting what I have already sold and can use the extra generated. And he is 2 miles away. It is easier than me cutting and dragging down another tree or two.

[TimW]

Howard,
       You know if you don't post photos...............that pile DID NOT grow.

[WV Sawmiller]

There! See the 20' stack in the top picture? Count the 4X4s in the second picture then compare to yesterday.

[cutterboy]

I finished sawing up the white birch logs a couple days ago. These are the last of the birch.



White birch is a very pretty wood and being one of the softer hardwoods it saws easily.





This short log gave me some really nice boards.




Stacked in the barn to dry. Don't worry. I added weight to the stacks after I took the pictures.




Now it's time to start on the maple logs.


  Keep on sawing.....Cutter

[olcowhand]

Don't worry. I added weight to the stacks after I took the pictures.

I'm not worried, Cutter; You've probably forgotten more about sawing and stacking that I'll ever learn.
Very nice Lumber!

[WV Sawmiller]

  Okay, I finished sawing today.

  There are 98 4X4s in the stack behind my mill fenders. That is 4 more than the customer ordered but I always throw in extra in case there is a bad spot or something in one. The stack to the left is 8/4 side lumber, mostly 8' 2X4's with an occasional 2X6.

This stack is the 4/4 side lumber. Mostly 1X4. About 225 bf here. Lots of this wood ( Most?) has a lot of spalting. Is is pretty wood.
The owner is leaning on our stack of wormy pine. Good solid 4/4 board but there are holes from the worms. In the rear is a stack of 12' 2X6's and a few 2X4s and a small stack of 12' long 4/4 boards (1X6's and 1X4's). The long ones are a 20' 2X6 and 4X6 beam,

  When it was all said and done we had 2492 bf. After I take out the 4X4 posts I still get 201 bf of the other lumber. The owner told me I could take my share from any of it. I told him for the time being I'll just leave it with him and will have 201 bf line of credit to draw when I have a specific need. He is fine with that as am I.

  I called the buyer for the 4X4s and he is coming tomorrow to get his lumber.

    The owner will move the rest of the wood to his house a couple miles up the road and properly stack and sticker and cover it. He will clean up the slab pile and pile some more logs in the middle of the lot for future sawing. Neither of us are pushing that but I can call to expedite the log moving any time I need more lumber and I assume he'd call me is he needed some sooner too.

  Again, this (sawing on shares) is not something I would normally do but in this case it seems to be working well for both of us.

[WV Sawmiller]

  I drove to a customer 42 miles away to saw these 9 logs today., They were from a big WO and RO tree in his back yard. I had seen the trees 5 weeks ago before he bucked them and we discussed set up option. The logs were so big my mill cried when I parked it beside them. The customer wanted 1X12's and 2" battens. He later agreed to a few 1X8's and 1X6 for nailers for a metal roof. I hit 4 small nails in a tight group on the first log when gun barreling it to fit my mill. When I got the cant to 12" and started on the first finished board, my mill suddenly idled down and would not rev back up. Fortunately my customers helper/buddy was a retired mechanic and immediately spotted a broken throttle spring. He rode with me to show me where the local hardware store (A Do it Best) and miracle of miracles they had one in stock so 30 minutes later we were back in business.


Two of the logs were bad and there was a lot of waste on one of the others but here is 909 bf of very pretty 4/4 oak boards.

  My minimum fee includes 1,000 bf so I billed this one accordingly and told the customer I was discounting the blade damage fee as a trade off for mechanic services. He was very happy and his helper loved the mill and asked all kid of questions about it and I showed him all the features so it was a real good even if it was a long day.

[Magicman]

That is a nice lumber whack.    All is well that ends well. 

[WV Sawmiller]

   The big logs slowed things down because I had to keep turning them and trimming down to fit. My lifting arms would just creep up with the log and usually that means they will be real slow to turn, if at all but these all turned real good. 

    The customer started stacking about 9-10 feet wide and I convinced him to put a break in between for better air flow and he did that. It worked out well as he had one big stack of 10' boards than a decent stack of 8's.

    The site was real steep to work n but everything in WV usually is.

[fluidpowerpro]

Finished a job yesterday. It was 99% Black Walnut with some Red Oak, Cherry, Hickory and Butternut. The customer wanted 2" and 6" slabs and also ended up with some 1 1/4. No edging so it sure went fast.
It was my first time sawing Black Walnut and love it. It sure cuts straight compared to pine. 
Perfect weather with frost in the morning and mid 50's all day. I sure noticed it driving home. When its hot out I'm beat at the end of the day but not when its cool. Great day, nice customer, hope to mill for him again.

[Magicman]

Congrats on what sounded like a very nice sawing job.  

[WV Sawmiller]

   I got an unexpected call from my helper from yesterday's job. He said he was just checking to make sure I made it home okay and to tell me how much he enjoyed sawing with me yesterday. I have gotten a few calls like that where the customer called to check that I made it home okay and to thank me for coming out. 

    Such calls are always welcome and appreciated. I remember the old saying "Everybody needs a pat on the back once in a while. Sometimes high - sometimes low."

[RetiredTech]

I haven't had a chance to do any sawing myself. Somewhere between hwy 24 and Natchez, Ms. I realized I was catching up to a pickup pulling a sawmill! It was a green Woodland Mills, not sure what model. That's the first time I've seen one on the road. I slowed down and followed him all the way to Natchez. It just made me feel good to see it.

[trimguy]

So I spent 2 weeks after Helene cleaning up some of our properties . I was able to salvage some logs for the mill
.



The 2 small red oak are 16". The other pile has red cedar, pecan, cherry and a couple of chinaberry. 
Is chinaberry good for anything ?
I don't know when I will be able to saw them, I had to go back to work this week and still not done cleaning up.

[NewYankeeSawmill]

... I realized I was catching up to a pickup pulling a sawmill!

It's funny working remote I get to places I've never been quite often. Be dipped if half the time I don't pass a stationary sawmill in a barn or on a farm somewhere's along the way... I honk and wave!

[Magicman]

Quote from: trimguy on 10/17/2024, 7:38:22 PMand a couple of chinaberry. 
Is chinaberry good for anything ?

Yes, Chinaberry is not a native species and is in the Mahogany family.

[trimguy]

The chinaberry is kind of small and crooked, but I haven't cut any before. Thanks Lynn.

[SawyerTed]

Spent 3 hours on 9 logs this morning.  Turned out around 900 board feet of white oak (1 log) and cherry (8) logs.  We started with breakfast at 7:30 at the Olympic Restaurant and got the mill set up and sawing about 9 am.  Wrapped up at noonish and went to lunch. 

The photos are of about half of what we cut. 

[TimW]

Howard, I just saw your photos.  You did good.

Something is wrong between me and FF.  It takes forever to change pages and I can't see photos.  I had to go to Mircosoft Edge to see Howard's photos.
I'm not getting email alerts either.

[Magicman]

Not sawing of course, but we did click off a few miles heading South today.  My first sawing is Saturday the 26th but I have a "whole house" framing lumber job to look at before then.  I got the inquiry a couple of days ago.

We have stopped for the evening, heater running last night and air conditioning now. 

[Magicman]

Just got an email from a new customer that I had communicated with a few months ago.  17 Oak logs staged and ready. 

[WV Sawmiller]

  I drove 13 miles for a mobile job for a many times repeat customer. Actually 2  as two brothers are building cabins on the Greenbrier river using wood we have sawed there before.
  I set up on a stack of real pretty tulip poplar logs. The 12' logs were sawed into 2X10's and the 8' logs became 2X6's.



  Here is the start of the 2 cabins with footers above the high water mark. Wood used is some we sawed here before.


    2X10s for floor joists.

  8' 2X6's and 2X4 for dunnage. Some 4.4 side lumber stacked nearby outside the picture.

  I wish you could see them better but I sawed 3 of the prettiest 12' long 4X8  RO beams I have ever seen and they are on the bottom with the side lumber cut into 4/4 for trim. All from one 16-17 inch diameter log. The customer said get as many 4X8 beams as the log would yield. I turned it many times but could not get more than 3 without splitting the pith but the 3 I got were really nice. Turns out he needed 3.

  Beautiful weather, no breakdowns, close to home and done by 1:00 pm.

[Magicman]

Good job!!  Those should be nice sitting and overlooking the river.