Finally placed the order for a mill now for some questions

[kkcomp]

Looked for a long time and looked at so many mills they were all running together. I contacted Cooks and was told a 50 week wait. Contacted Wood Mizer and was told 60 weeks. Both times I asked if that was all models and got no response. Then I called Norwood and the staff was so helpful and the mill I wanted was in stock 4 to 6 weeks delivery so I placed an order (I have always heard the opposite about Norwood, poor service etc.) I ordered the HD 38 with all the bells and whistles full hydraulics cause I am old and don't need to hurt myself moving logs around  :D :D.

I have 115 virgin (or at least very mature) acres I am going to build a full size log home on. I have built a few log sheds and a few houses in the past now its time to up the game and put the two together. I have 8 acres of trees here in Florida that are in their mid 30's I am going harvest some trees from to practice on.

Questions
- When setting up and milling logs should I work right to left or left to right
- Is there a way to get a good idea of cant size from a tree other than experience? For example what is minimum log diameter to get an 8x8?
- What do you seal the ends of a log with for drying?
Has anyone made their own log cart and would be willing to share the plans? If not are there any recommendations on which one to buy?

[WCFAK]

kkcomp, congratulations on the new mill. There are some very knowledgeable people on here that should be along shortly to answer your questions. Not sure on the left to right, right to left work direction. Most mills only cut in one direction and the operator station will determine what side you are on. For sealing ends the most often mentioned sealer is anchor seal but there are other options. You might want to use the search function on the Forum to see what is available. I think you will be happy with the Norwood, I have an ancient Norwood Mark 3 that is still putting out good lumber.

[WV Sawmiller]

   Congratulations.

  I am not sure about your first question. My mill has the loading arms on the driver's side of my truck when being towed and since I do mostly mobile/portable milling I drive beside or back up to the log pile depending on where they are staged. I tell the customers to stack them on level or slightly uphill from the sawing site.
 
  As to log size for a cant a pretty good rule of thumb is a good straight log will generally square up 2/3s the diameter of the small end inside the bark so to get an 8X8 beam I'd start with a good straight 12" SED log.

  As to sealing the logs I recommend Anchorseal, a wax coating I buy directly from UC coatings.

  I have a logging arch my wife had neighbors make for me to drag firewood behind my ATV. It lifts one end. I made a dolly to put under the other end. Do searches here for log arch and you should find several. Sponsor LogRite sells some that have very good reviews from everyone I have seen.


Here is a front view of my log arch.


Here is a rear view. With mine I raise one end with the arch, put the dolly under it and strap it down with a ratchet strap then go to the front, lift and tow. On our steep hills I often don't use the dolly as I need to drag for stability.

  Good luck.

[btulloh]

A good straight log will yeild a square cant roughly 2/3 of the small end diameter. So to get a an 8x8 can't you'd want a a log that's 12" diameter on the small end.  Of course any sweep in the log or defects would reduce the size of the cant you can get. The reciprocal is cant size times 1.5 to give you the log diameter needed for a given cant size.

(Just to get in the weeds a bit, a circle will contain the maximum square equal to 0.707 times the diameter.  2/3 (0.666) is just an easy number to use when you're out sawing.)

Enjoy your new mill and welcome to the Forestry Forum.

[kkcomp]

  Congratulations.

 I am not sure about your first question. My mill has the loading arms on the driver's side of my truck when being towed and since I do mostly mobile/portable milling I drive beside or back up to the log pile depending on where they are staged. I tell the customers to stack them on level or slightly uphill from the sawing site.

 As to log size for a cant a pretty good rule of thumb is a good straight log will generally square up 2/3s the diameter of the small end inside the bark so to get an 8X8 beam I'd start with a good straight 12" SED log.

 As to sealing the logs I recommend Anchorseal, a wax coating I buy directly from UC coatings.

 I have a logging arch my wife had neighbors make for me to drag firewood behind my ATV. It lifts one end. I made a dolly to put under the other end. Do searches here for log arch and you should find several. Sponsor LogRite sells some that have very good reviews from everyone I have seen.


Here is a front view of my log arch.


Here is a rear view. With mine I raise one end with the arch, put the dolly under it and strap it down with a ratchet strap then go to the front, lift and tow. On our steep hills I often don't use the dolly as I need to drag for stability.

 Good luck.

Is that an electric winch on the front? I like the idea

[Southside]

If it's pine you are sawing there is no need or benefit to sealing the ends.  

[WV Sawmiller]

   Yes, I started with an ATV winch (2500 lb?) and upgraded to a UTV winch (4500 lb?). A good hand winch would work if you can locate one with enough lift capacity. There should be less maintenance and recurring costs with such.

[Magicman]

When setting up and milling logs should I work right to left or left to right

Take a good look at the pictures on the Norwood website.  From the hitch end the pictures show the side supports on the left side and the log clamp on the right side, so the logs would load on the right side.

Regarding the size of cant from a log, a handy/easy thing to remember is "half again bigger".  That means that the top end of the log should be half again bigger than the cant that you can make, so a 8" cant needs a log top end of 12".  Of course log defects such as sweep will affect this but it is a good general rule to go by.

[DesertHobo]

You'll enjoy your 38, it's a great mill. Not sure if Norwood is still struggling to get hydraulic components, if so it will take a little longer to get all of that after the mill arrives. You'll need the mill fully assembled anyway before hydraulics can be assembled.
When you say "all the bells and whistles" does that include the power feed? If so, I highly recommend that you put your log loader on the operator side of the mill. Norwood suggests installing it on the non operator side so you're not walking over it, however that's the side with the log rests. Logs lay better and require less repositioning when they rest against the log stops vs the clamp (as Norwood suggests). You don't need the power feed in order to make this adjustment (I don't have it), you'll just have to mind your feet.
As you assemble the frame, take your time to snug each piece tight while keeping it square. I didn't realize how important that would be and figured a few small (appx 1/32") gaps wouldn't matter. Adjusting it all tight once it's fully assembled is even less fun than it sounds. I presume you got the trailer package, so you'll be able to use the support jacks to help get the frame sections lined up. Otherwise you could just use a half dozen automotive or bottle jacks.
I'm no expert, more than happy to share what building/running it has learned me though. Looking forward to your progress.

[kkcomp]

You'll enjoy your 38, it's a great mill. Not sure if Norwood is still struggling to get hydraulic components, if so it will take a little longer to get all of that after the mill arrives. You'll need the mill fully assembled anyway before hydraulics can be assembled.
When you say "all the bells and whistles" does that include the power feed? If so, I highly recommend that you put your log loader on the operator side of the mill. Norwood suggests installing it on the non operator side so you're not walking over it, however that's the side with the log rests. Logs lay better and require less repositioning when they rest against the log stops vs the clamp (as Norwood suggests). You don't need the power feed in order to make this adjustment (I don't have it), you'll just have to mind your feet.
As you assemble the frame, take your time to snug each piece tight while keeping it square. I didn't realize how important that would be and figured a few small (appx 1/32") gaps wouldn't matter. Adjusting it all tight once it's fully assembled is even less fun than it sounds. I presume you got the trailer package, so you'll be able to use the support jacks to help get the frame sections lined up. Otherwise you could just use a half dozen automotive or bottle jacks.
I'm no expert, more than happy to share what building/running it has learned me though. Looking forward to your progress.

Yes I got the power feed, remote, scale, board off loader wheels, siding jig and all hydraulics and 3 bed extensions hoping that some day it will be fixed mounted. Good hint about the loader I will watch for that. I am going to have a few friends from work help build it and they are all as picky about plumb, square, tight and level as I am. There will also be lots of power tools on hand and one or two young learners (guess who gets to start the 10,000 bolts) so I was thinking snug up on the first round then blocking and strapping to get it square and tight then tighten things down. For going on site I was thinking of a mod of adding some torpedo levels to the frame to help with set up. 

[Patrick NC]

Congratulations on your new mill. The remote control can be a little troublesome.  Take it apart and put some dielectric grease on the battery contacts. I also had to bend the contacts a little to keep a good connection to the battery.  After about 35,000 board feet the speed control went out on mine. Norwood wanted me to send them the old remote before they would replace it under warranty. I opted to buy a new pennonometer from Amazon for $6 and fixed it myself.  At some point I'll probably build a backup control panel and mount it on the mill similar to woodmizer controls because I don't see the remote lasting long term.