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sprucebunny, SwampDonkey, GRadice, CCCLLC, wvfdc4, tawilson, TRTermite, Daburner87, newoodguy78, longtime lurker, Nealm66
sprucebunny, SwampDonkey, GRadice, CCCLLC, wvfdc4, tawilson, TRTermite, Daburner87, newoodguy78, longtime lurker, Nealm66
Recent posts
#1
The Outdoor Board / Re: Coyote takes a dirt nap
Last post by SwampDonkey - Today at 04:39:29 PMSome try it for a year from Texas or Florida, way up north here, but the notion of staying fizzles by spring time. Unless your into real ruralness and like winter, you'll meet the doldrums mighty quick. 
#2
Sawmills and Milling / Re: Help with cutting stringy ...
Last post by longtime lurker - Today at 04:25:41 PMIt can't carry an F grade if its boxed heart.
#3
Sawmills and Milling / Re: Whatcha Sawin' 2024 ??
Last post by Resonator - Today at 02:00:15 PMThanks! Yes black cherry saws real nice, and as always the fresher the logs the better. Like I said the difficult part is working around the center rot area. I'll often only get a couple good red boards per face side once I get below the sapwood, and before I get to the rot. Also it's hard to get good 8' boards because of how crooked they grow here. Luckily my customer can use the shorter odd lengths for charcuterie boards, and small cabinets he builds.
#4
Sawmills and Milling / Re: Did something dumb today.
Last post by Nebraska - Today at 01:51:12 PMFor a split second I thought I'd spooked a little rabbit as I had backed up into the spot I was tilling. I saw dead vegetation move kind of in a straight line then a part of a second later I may have used a bad work and shut the PTO of as fast as I could reach it. Could've been worse, it could have been behind me, probably wouldn't have seen it as quick.
#5
Sawmills and Milling / Re: Finally installed a Lubemi...
Last post by TimW - Today at 01:49:22 PMQuote from: Magicman on Yesterday at 07:40:32 AMThat is a sorta expensive upgrade but worth every penny.Lynn,
I mostly saw Pine but I have not made the switch to Diesel yet. When I see any blade buildup, I switch to continuous for probably 5 seconds and then back to pulse. My 5 gallon jug easily last a couple of weeks.
My mix is a glug (about 2 oz.) of original liquid Cascade per gallon of water. I found that even the spindle lube that I was using made suds while mixing and Cascade does not.
I use Dawn dish soap. Works fine for me. But it does make lots of suds upon mixing. I'll try Cascade next fillup.
#6
Sawmills and Milling / Re: Whatcha Sawin' 2024 ??
Last post by TimW - Today at 01:44:09 PMWow, those sure look nice. Wish we had Cherry down here. Is it easy sawing?
#7
Sawmills and Milling / Re: Whatcha Sawin' 2024 ??
Last post by fluidpowerpro - Today at 01:43:54 PMThose are some nice looking boards!
#8
Sawmills and Milling / Re: Sawhead Hydraulic Creep
Last post by fluidpowerpro - Today at 01:41:41 PMI would make sure the spool controlling the head is centering properly. There is likely a spring on the end of the spool. Make sure its not loose.
#9
Ask The Forester / Re: Becoming a Forestry Consul...
Last post by Ron Wenrich - Today at 12:46:16 PMI've been retired for the past 12 yrs. When I was working, I worked with small to medium sized commercial operations. I didn't work with large operations. They usually had things figured out, and had a lot of debt. The smaller operations usually had a limited debt and were actually more stable and easier to work with.
Sawmills have hazardous working operations. But, you learn where not to put your fingers pretty quick. Safety is more common sense than anything else. It seems you get more common sense with experience.
Before you jump into even a small scale operation, you have to know your markets. If you think you'll cut dimension stock like they have at Lowe's or Home Depot, you'll go broke as you can't get down to their prices. If you think you'll build pallets, they better be specialty pallets, as the normal pallet building is highly mechanized. Small operations need to have a niche market that larger operations can't address. It may be portable milling, specialty timbers, slabs, etc.
The hardest part is to source logs. I worked with mills that had either logging crews or access to loggers. You might be able to get urban timber, but usually the species are off for building furniture, or they're loaded with trash metal.
I worked with a guy that had a decent business plan, but had poor follow through with his help. He sourced logs for free, but got swamped with logs when a hurricane came through. And, a lot of the logs were of lengths too short to use. It was where a lot of people had no idea what they were doing, including the owner.
There are other options in the industry that can prove to be profitable. I had one guy that started out cutting firewood, then moved to a small mill, built pallets, then went to building doors and windows. He had a really good local business and had a good local market. Another guy made specialty flooring. Another had a steamer and bent lumber for table skirts. He didn't have a mill, and bought green lumber.
You just have to figure out what you're good at, what you enjoy doing, find a market, and write a business plan.
Sawmills have hazardous working operations. But, you learn where not to put your fingers pretty quick. Safety is more common sense than anything else. It seems you get more common sense with experience.
Before you jump into even a small scale operation, you have to know your markets. If you think you'll cut dimension stock like they have at Lowe's or Home Depot, you'll go broke as you can't get down to their prices. If you think you'll build pallets, they better be specialty pallets, as the normal pallet building is highly mechanized. Small operations need to have a niche market that larger operations can't address. It may be portable milling, specialty timbers, slabs, etc.
The hardest part is to source logs. I worked with mills that had either logging crews or access to loggers. You might be able to get urban timber, but usually the species are off for building furniture, or they're loaded with trash metal.
I worked with a guy that had a decent business plan, but had poor follow through with his help. He sourced logs for free, but got swamped with logs when a hurricane came through. And, a lot of the logs were of lengths too short to use. It was where a lot of people had no idea what they were doing, including the owner.
There are other options in the industry that can prove to be profitable. I had one guy that started out cutting firewood, then moved to a small mill, built pallets, then went to building doors and windows. He had a really good local business and had a good local market. Another guy made specialty flooring. Another had a steamer and bent lumber for table skirts. He didn't have a mill, and bought green lumber.
You just have to figure out what you're good at, what you enjoy doing, find a market, and write a business plan.
#10
General Board / Re: Be ready for a LOUD summer...
Last post by beenthere - Today at 12:20:36 PMNow YH has a new rifle for better accuracy. 
