Hydraulic Mills

[bannerd]

Hey all whats the max you're willing to cut?  I was into some 8" - 10" logs at the small end and MAN did it take awhile to cut those and bF output was almost not even there.  I had to pull out my conservation book and it looks like 18" is a good standard log for BF lumber, of course the higher the better.

Maybe a quick post?  How do you deal with such small logs or do you just move them to the side?

[Old Greenhorn]

Depends on species, availability, and what I plane to do with it. Common stuff, RO, SM, Hemlock, pine and that stuff I use for firewood if they are under 12". Hard to find (for me) species like cherry, cedar, walnut, I will mill out whatever I can get. The other stuff falls somewhere in between.
 For max size, it's whatever I can manage to fit up on the mill. If it's a hard to find species or has great character or shape, I will bibby it if I have to.

[KenMac]

I was given about 100 small pine logs last year. I really took them as a favor to a good friend. I finally sawed about 3 of them into 4x4's and moved the rest of them out of my way ( near the burn pile.) Smallest i want is 12" on small end. Biggest I want is about 30" but have sawn larger. They are a lot of trouble and work. I like 20" to 24" 12' long the best.

[btulloh]

Pretty much ditto the preceding replies. 18-24" is the sweet spot for me. My little mill tops out at 26" anyway, so that's my upper limit. I usually will saw an 8x8 out a 12" log, 6x6 from a 9", and maybe 4x4 out of a 6", but don't really like sawing a 6". If I'm desperate for a couple 2x8, or 2x6, I might saw them out a 12" or 9" log, but really try to avoid that.  The smaller logs usually are going to produce lower strength lumber anyway because of the amount of sapwood compared to the heartwood. 

[Ventryjr]

I prefer a nice 16ft 24"-26" on the small end.  They cut nice and produce a decent amount of bdft 

[DMcCoy]

I have cut as many as 3, 8' 6-9"small logs together at one time.  They were Western red cedar which is very soft.  It worked.  Otherwise it is a total time killer.  I wanted the lumber because it has high contrast and small knots.
I prefer 17-19" x 12'.

[SawyerTed]

On more than one occasion I cut a 36" diameter log on my LT35.  It isn't easy and takes a lot of time.  

I'm in line with the others on the sweet spot of 18-24".  I like to stick with 8'-12' but have cut a good bit of 16'-20' lengths. 

Sometimes customers would have 8" and 10" SED logs.  We usually have a discussion about them, what they will produce and the time it takes.  

[bigblockyeti]

^ I would think a 36" log would represent less of a chore when your LT50 does finally show up, not only for the engine but for the chain turner.

[YellowHammer]

Minimum logs are about 12" small end, and maximum is typically whatever the loader arms will lift to the bed of the mill.  

I had an LT40, and would cut 30" to 36" logs frequently, but it required specialty techniques, mostly doing the "scootch" to move it over within a hairs breadth of the drive side roller guides, as well as Bibbying, and several of the large log techniques @Magicman discusses and demonstrates.  With these techniques, even though though the saw head will only go so high, it allows taking the entire top off the log in one cut, and flopping that onto the loader arms.  With the really big logs, I'm not trying to take boards off on the initial cuts, but trying to bring the log down to bite sized pieces and take boards off the pieces later.  So for example, on the LT40 I remember I could usually manage to slice the top off a log and end up with a 7" to 9" tall, several hundred pound, above the band, arc section that I would take board off later.    

On the LT70 Super Wide, I have bent 2 sets of loader arms, even WM says those qualify as "too big" logs, and I did a video of me doing a 46"  and 4,700 pound log, for quartersawing......No problem.  I had to hack on this one with a chainsaw before hand because it was really off center, was originally even wider and I was constrained in some ways because I had to center the pith for quartersawing, which I would not have had to do if I was just flatsawing.

Quarter Sawing - Too Big for Our Wood-Mizer Super LT-70 Sawmill (BUT Sawing It Anyway!) - YouTube

Basically, to eat the bigger logs, the backstops are lowered a good deal to get clearance under the circumference of the log, and the log is "scootched" to the drive side until it just clears the drive side guide roller.  That way you can get several extra inches of throat capacity.

These are kind of advanced techniques and run the risk of damaging the mill if the log rolls over backward, but that's what it takes.    

[Larry]

Doing the "YellowHammer Skootch".






A little dance I do every week, especially when live edge sawing.  Vertical log stops make the best pardners, and are just plain sexy.

Do you Skootch? ;D

[WV Sawmiller]

   Since you asked about small logs ;) if they are a customer's I saw them. I tell customers on small logs I drop back to an hourly rate but if they only have a few in the mix I rarely bill them differently. Recently I had a customer that every time we came to them I'd either make a 6X6 post out of it, if WO, or stickers if RO. They don't produce a lot but posts are quick to cut and most customers need stickers.

   If they are mine and since I am not on a tight schedule I still saw them. I'll use or sell the lumber or posts.

[Dan_Shade]

I'd rather saw small logs than large diameter short logs...

If the clamp will hold it, I don't gripe about sawing it.  

[Rhodemont]

I will mill a 8 or 9 inch log if It is straight enough to get a 4x4 in 4 passes, one on each side.  Otherwise it is firewood.  If it has any camber it has to be larger diameter. I often under estimate how much larger to overcome the camber and end up with firewood.  A straight 10 or 12 inch will give me a 6x6.  I find my best output and yield (my comfort zone) are on  20 to 24 inch diameter.  Getting larger, 26 to 30, seems to  take me more time mostly because I end up spending a lot of time resizing the first couple side cuts.  The  pith on the big 32 to 36 inch oaks is usually a factor with cracks and rot which can be a game changer adding time. 

[barbender]

Depends for me how small of one I'll mill. Species and product determine that. I just bought some 16' pine logs down to 8" top. They are gun barrel straight and will be sawn into 2x4 pallet lumber. They saw quick and still make decent footage at 16'. Another one is white cedar, I will saw those down to a small diameter if they are sound. Cedar is a pain regardless, but you can have better rewards from a sound 7" with no taper than a 12" top with a 2" hoke in the middle of it.