Chasing the Sawdust Dream

[DanMc]

Someone may have already said this, but woodmizer should be paying Woodland mills a commission.   I have seen too many people starting out on the HM126 (myself included) and then growing to a woodmizer.  And then that Woodland machine may spawn yet another woodmizer customer later on.   

[Resonator]

Still chasing...
Tax time came around again, and I "paid" a visit to my accountant at his office. Things went good and he was able to hunt me up some good business deductions. He's also good at hunting elk.




A repeat customer called and wanted some 2x's for a deer blind, so I cut a couple storm damaged white pine to fill the order. One was a nice big one that produced most of what I needed. Started using a few drips of diesel from a bottle to keep the blade clean, makes a world of difference.






Had some nice pine jacket boards and edgings I ripped down while I was at it, always need more stickers. ;D



Had a business meeting with my farmer friend at his hunting cabin that he built. Almost every stick of lumber in the building frame he cut on his LT40 hydraulic, using logs from off his land. Everything on the inside he also cut from the paneling, to the cabinets, to the black cherry spiral staircase.
Shows what someone can do with a with trees, a sawmill, some woodworking skill, and a dream. ;D
Just another day...chasing the sawdust dream.

[RockChucker30]

I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this.  Inspirational and entertaining, well done. 

[Resonator]

And then there are days that are a struggle.

Had a new customer call said he had 2 - 8'+ long red oak logs to cut, I said bring them over. He said one was over 30", I figured I could handle it. Didn't realize how big (pushing 3' across") and HEAVY they were until he arrived. Luckily for him his buddy brought them on a 5th wheel trailer along with a (CTL) skid steer. If he hadn't brought that, there is no way I would have gotten the biggest one on my mill. Every step was a struggle, cutting almost 24" slabs (he wanted as wide as possible), I learned just what truly max size mill will handle. I changed blades often and there was still a little wave at the knots, and a slight crown across the width. Didn't help that by having the saw head up so high it was right at eye level, blowing sawdust in my face constantly. :
I used the claw winch and a little help from my tractor to turn the cant, and keep whittling it down until it fit between the blade guides. I did also use the trick where the cant is over the stops toward the saw head, to get another inch of cut. All the fight did produce some beautiful slabs to show for my work.




br>

Full 2" red oak slabs, you do feel it the next day after stacking these. 



Also got some wide clear 1" jacket boards, which he requested to leave the bark on. Barely see it in the pic also, I made sure to put dry wood to cover the forks. If you put wet oak directly on the steel, it can leave black marks.



The second log (aprox 28") I hoped would be lighter, but my tractor couldn't budge it. After discussing it with the customer, we decided to cut it into 2 - 4' logs. Reducing the weight by half, so I could load it on the mill and making life easier. In the end I learned what my mill will handle, and honestly I would probably refuse this size job if offered it again. But that is part of the game, you take the good with the bad and learn from experience.



I was very pleased to be given an old photo from my family's past. About 100 years ago some of my relatives started a business and became hugely successful (a whole story in itself). One of their endeavors was logging off some of the thousands of acres of land they own. This pic is of some of logs going to the mill being scaled, caption "Feb 3 1930, 3000 Ft Logs", (I'm guessing sugar maple). Makes me appreciate the hard and dangerous work these men did, especially in the cold of winter. And serves as an inspiration on the tough days to show that they built a business from nothing, and made it a success by pursuing a dream.
Just another day, chasing the sawdust dream.

[Walnut Beast]

Nice job and interesting 👍

[chet]

Love the old pic.  8)  Was that from the Wausau area. Imagine trying to stop all that weight with mechanical brakes.

[Resonator]

Yes Chet, pretty sure it was taken in my area not far from Wausau. Looking at the truck it most likely had no air brakes, no cab headache rack to keep from being hit with logs, and no power steering either except the drivers Popeye arms (back when men were men).

[Wlmedley]

Really enjoy reading your threads.Stuff like this is what keeps me going  :laugh:

[Wlmedley]

Company I used to work for sent me to school at Tomahawk Wisconsin when I was a young man .School was on Drott equipment.It was in the dead of winter.Coldest place I've ever been but they sure had good food.

[Resonator]

Thanks. I know exactly where you're talking about. Drott (Later owned by Case) built their own private resort conference center near Tomahawk, complete with a machine testing and demonstration area. I know the food was good, 20 years ago I used to deliver food supplies to the fine chefs on staff that ran the kitchen.

Side note Drott is credited with developing the 4 in 1 (dozer, clamshell, bucket, scraper) bucket for crawler tractors. In the 1950's International track loaders were made as a crawler tractor only, the attachment made by Drott was then added on.

[Wlmedley]

I was a heavy equipment mechanic for 45years and the company I worked for sold International Harvester and Drott equipment years ago.The best food I ever ate was at that training center.Beautiful country too.

[Resonator]

Still chasing the dream. Cut down some white pine to saw more lumber for my on going garage - shop build. This was a fairly heavy log for my tractor, so I put the factory log ramps on the mill to help steady the log while loading it with the forks. As I've said before, I love sawing this time of year when the bark slips and peels easy. Also nice to fell a tree, and then saw it immediately while it's all fresh and juicy. ;D



Cut some thin spruce slabs last year to use up some knotty logs, just set the crank at 1" (7/8" actual) and made a stack. I now have people that are buying them for cabin signs and rustic trim.






A new customer (who was a referral by one of my repeat customers) had some sugar maple logs he brought. Cut them into slabs, some had really nice color. He had never tapped them for sap, but evidence showed the previous landowner did years ago. I told him I've had customers request lumber and slabs with tap holes for the "look".



Load it up and send it down the road.



Sawed up some sugar maple of my own while I was at it, couple logs I saved while cutting firewood last winter. Definitely saw harder after they've been down a while.



Doing summer bush hogging on the logging / hunting trails back in the woods. This area we had a logger cut about 7 years ago (before I owned a sawmill) and cut the poplar for pulpwood. Those not familiar with the poplar here up north, you don't have to plant it. You cut just down an existing tree, and stand back.
There are hundreds if not thousands of trees now, some 14' or taller already. Trees keep a growin', time marches on.
Just another day, chasing the sawdust dream.

[doc henderson]

what are the dimensions?  species?  of the big log.

[Resonator]

The one in the first picture is a white pine (bark off), around 30"ish at the stump. Cut it to 10' long and it was lopsided in weight with the flared end. My tractor lifted it just barely, glad I had the ramps to keep the ends stable. Also it was plenty splippery, though that made it easier to turn on the mill. 

[Resonator]

Still chasing... 
Sawing business has been slow this year, been working on different construction jobs in the mean time. My greenhouse grower friend hired me to do a bunch of work, including building a new hanging garden for his flowers. He was going to rent a machine to dig the post holes, but I know a smart guy with a PHD. ;D



I did get to use my lumber to brace all the posts until the concrete set. After the posts were set, cables were then strung to hang the plants.



Got a follow up call to see work done on the clearing job I did last year. With a nearly new (54 hours) Cat 308 and a frost ripper, they made quick work slicing the roots and digging each stump.



They also had a tracked skid steer with forks and a bucket to clean up as they went along. Amazingly the site had no rocks (18" of top soil) making for easy digging.



With 2 good operators working together, in 3 hours it was stumped, smoothed off, and ready to drag and plant.



A new customer brought in a trailer load of basswood to be sawn, the trees had been blown down in a storm but were still usable.



Everything was cut to 1 1/2" slabs, and then reloaded right back on the trailer. Of course the biggest butt log had nails in it, and he paid for the wrecked blade. :D
I asked the customer what they will be used for, and he said making ax throwing targets. ???
That's a new one for me, I guess they only last so long and then they are firewood.



My friend the custom fishing rod builder sent me a pic of one of his latest award winning projects. He made it from black walnut and box elder I sawed for him some time back, glad I could help in a small (board footage) way.  ;D
Just another day... Chasing the Sawdust Dream.

[doc henderson]

glad you are keeping busy.  here is how we do targets for axe and tomahawk.



 

 

 

 

 

[Resonator]

Looks neat Doc!
From what I read it's like throwing darts at a dartboard, taken to another level.

[Nebraska]

Your friend has talent that's a nifty fishing  rod!

[Resonator]

 


Still chasing...



Checked back on the clearing job again. What was black dirt, has become green vegetation in just a few weeks.



New customer brought some nice, round, black ash logs for me to saw.






Made some nice 1" random width boards.



Same customer also brought me some not so round red oak "logs". :D



Took some work, but they made some beautiful lumber. I laid each half with the "flat" face up and marked the pith on each end. Then drew a plumb line down from that mark, and put straight guide board lengthwise along the pith. I then ripped it with the Stihl saw into manageable size pieces to make quatersawn lumber from. Some boards even had those wonderful medullary rays.



Loaded up to ship. Customer was very happy with the lumber, a lot of it with clear an perfectly straight grain. Said he will have more logs to cut in the future.



Made sure to take a long walk in my woods and enjoy the fall colors at peek, and think about life (and song lyrics ;D).

Back in the woods, I'll be alright
Chasing after dreams, to ease my worried mind.

Just another day, chasing the sawdust dream.

[Resonator]

Still chasin'... (and shovelin')... ;D



Had a nice spell of warm weather lately, kind of an "Indiana Summer" (you know what I mean" ;D). Was able to get back in the woods and get some trees cut, dry ground and leaves being down made for good working conditions. Cut a few white pine I'd been sizing up for some time.






Wasn't able to slip the bark off easily like in spring, but they sawed up into a nice stack of "rustic cabin paneling" regardless.






Cut a few spruce too, I've sold quite a few of these thin cut natural edge boards for signs and rustic cabin trim.



Had a couple black cherry in the same logging spot, cut them into short logs to try to get some straight boards. I've learned If the end of the log looks like a bullseye, you may have a lot of sapwood to trim. :D



All sawn and sapwood edged, cross my fingers they dry flat. ;D



Fuel up the mill, saw more lumber, send more blades out, answer more calls, stack lumber, and oh yeah... shovel sawdust. ;D
Just another day... chasing the sawdust dream.

[doc henderson]

looks peaceful there, nice sunset.

[Resonator]

Actually sunrise, but yes, peaceful. ;)

[Resonator]

Still chasin'...






New customer brought in some sugar maple logs to be sawn, was nice enough to mark 4/4, 5/4, and 6/4 on the ends so I knew what to cut. Also he wanted nothing narrower than 4", or wider than 8", so that's what I cut. They had been down for some time, some had mushrooms growing on the bark. Turned into kind of a challenge, he brought them when the weather was pretty mild, but the next day winter hit (and the logs froze). Ended up buying some different degree blades from my friend with the LT40 to see if they would cut better. 







>

Was worth the fight to get good lumber, some with nice spalting.



Had a good thanksgiving weekend, with multiple customers who each bought natural edge slabs.



Another new customer that lives in the area drop off some pine and a couple poplar logs to cut. Plenty of knots, pitch, and of course "there's no iron in any of them..." ZING! :D



The customer wanted to be there when I sawed, and loaded the 2x's on his trailer as fast as I cut them. He also took all the bark slabs and the one log that I found metal in. (And he paid for the blade).



Speaking of blades... took advantage of the Wood-Mizer sale and bought a new pack of blades from Indy. 20% off plus free shipping, woo-hoo! 
8)
Just another day, chasing the sawdust dream.

[bigblockyeti]

When is the 20% off and free shipping sale good through?

[Resonator]

That sale was during Thanksgiving week until the following Monday, will watch there ads for other sales.