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Whatcha Sawin' 2021 ??

Started by Magicman, December 31, 2020, 10:05:41 AM

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WDH

Water oak gets a bad rap, but it can be stunningly beautiful.  Just like yourn.  
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

Southside

No pictures but got to saw some @YellowHammer veneer grade White Oak today for a special project.  I don't get the pleasure of sawing logs like that often, Dang yellow pine.  Even my crew was like "What is this sorcery and why don't we do more of it?"
Franklin buncher and skidder
JD Processor
Woodmizer LT Super 70 and LT35 sawmill, KD250 kiln, BMS 250 sharpener and setter
Riehl Edger
Woodmaster 725 and 4000 planner and moulder
Enough cows to ensure there is no spare time.
White Oak Meadows

Don P

My in laws lived at Orange Beach, well, its been years ago now. I still miss going out and picking breakfast off one of the trees in the yard on the way to the boat to go catch dinner. A body could get used to that  :D.

WV Sawmiller

 

 

I had these 4 small 7' long Norway spruce left to saw after my last "pooh house" project so I decided to just saw them into boards and any battens I could salvage for stock for future needs. I started yesterday afternoon late and sawed the log on the loading arms and was working on the one behind it. About halfway through the second log an inconsiderate thunderstorm came through and thoroughly soaked me so I went out this afternoon and finished them.


 
Total yield 32- 8" wide boards, 10-6" wide boards and 12 - 3" wide battens for about 205 bf. I got them all stacked and stickered under my shed just before dark. This, with what I had left over, will nearly cover 2 more composting toilets. I'll need more framing when the time comes. I may even salvage a few more 2X4s and such out of the top of the tree still left up in the pasture. I'll check that later this week and salvage all I can.

EDIT: I did check the spruce top today and cut 14' more off it and got a whopping 3 more 7' 2X4s and I cut 2 more 4' 2X4s off a short piece laying in the yard (You can see it in the background of the first picture). Not much but will that completely frame in one end or one side of my next composting toilet. I found a feed problem and repaired it by replacing the worn belt which is good it happened today instead of tomorrow morning when my customer brings me his cherry log from 70 miles away for me to saw.
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

WV Sawmiller

 

 A new customer called a few days ago and brought this beautiful 9' long cherry log by today. It had been cut 7 years and up on dunnage outside so there was some punky sapwood but the heartwood was beautiful!


 

He decided he wanted it cut 2" thick and 5.5" wide so I slabbed to solid wood then cut 2" flitches off both sides leaving a 5.5" cant in the middle, rotate it 90* and cut boards. I cut the cant down to 4-1/8" and before making that final cut I stood the flitches up and edged against it. Before I edged the first flitch I shut the mill off and took him over and showed him my live edge benches and told him that was an option and if he wanted some we needed to set a slab or two aside. He liked that option and selected one slab for a possible bench or two in the future. He said he appreciated me stopping and doing that rather than just rushing through the job. Final yield 150 bf with.6 engine hours and that was individually edging the flitches for maximum return rather than a fast gang edging of all at one time. Had a great visit, cut up a very pretty log, got some really nice lumber, made a new friend, got a very good tip and a promise he will be back with his son and wife. 
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

Magicman

It's been too wet for me and my customers but I did finally move to one this morning after asking the customer last night whether it would be dry enough.


 
Yup still wet so the truck and sawmill got a tow to the sawing location.  I am sure that we will tow the sawmill out with the tractor rather than the truck.  Wet....wet.  :-X



Sawmill set up without the operator's seat to saw the four 20' logs first.  Plenty of room for the slabs to the left and the lumber will be stickered off of the back.  I had sawn ~2Mbf of 2X6's when my power feed belt croaked and what I thought was a spare was too long.  I now have two new A-36's so I will be back to sawing tomorrow morning.  Hopefully I can finish this job tomorrow and then catch 2 piddling jobs before Saturday's job.
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

longtime lurker

I don't cut live edge slabs...



 

 

 

 

but I do occasionally forget to cut the last flitch into lumber. :D

Most days it's well over 100°F up there close to the roof, and every so often we have to turn it over because it will cup to the top, though it's pretty much stable now and not moving around much at all. By the end of the year imma call this one done, and put the next big thing in it's place. It'll end up darker than the original green sawn pictures, deep russet brown with yellow/red flashing in the fiddleback.

240" x 50-52" x 3".... make a nice little table for somebody's 22 closest friends. All of whom will be needed to help carry it into the house because dry the thing should weigh about 1100lb
The quickest way to make a million dollars with a sawmill is to start with two million.

Magicman

A couple of hours in the morning will finish this job. 


 
That is a 26" butt log on the sawmill and two pecker poles and this one will be history.  I haven't done a tally yet but 14 hours of sawing and ~3Mbf+ of framing lumber for the customer's new home.

Those are my 3 tailgunners on the lumber whack and they have done a terrific job. 
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

Magicman

Another "saws um and leaves um" job has been finished and is in my tail lights.  ;D


 
Loaded up, hooked up, and ready to leave.  move_it


 
And just in time because the slab & sawdust pile had gotten to the sawmill.  :D


 
And leaving 3820bf of 2X4's, 2X6's & 2X12's.  Sixteen hours of sawing. 
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

caveman

Looking good MM.

We were sawing dimensional pine 2x6's and 1x6's for a friend and former co-worker this morning when John got his pointer finger smooshed.  He had to go get it stitched, came back and worked the rest of the day, evidently proclaiming he was number 1 or else he had a cartoon finger that felt better if it was held above his heart.  I finished up the pine job and actually bought my very first logs from a guy who dropped off some Monkey Puzzle for us to saw last week.  

It turned out nice and we ended up with 19, 2 1/2" slabs and five 1 5/8" slabs.  

Another customer dropped off some eucalyptus and cedar that we will saw on halves sometime soon.  The eucalyptus is something we've not sawn before, it is checking a lot, and may present a challenge.  I'll get the customer over here sometime soon and we'll figure out how to saw it.


 

 
John is standing by the eucalyptus for scale.  This was before he smooshed his finger, got it stitched and the metal thing wrapped with coflex.  
Caveman

longtime lurker

Which eucalyptus is it? There's about 600 species with a lot of variation in characteristics between them. But Ive been cutting eucalypts of one kind or another for a long time
The quickest way to make a million dollars with a sawmill is to start with two million.

caveman

The only one that I have eliminated is rainbow eucalyptus.  We've been sawing for a while on a part time basis and have never cut any of this.  If nothing else, it will be a learning experience.  The customer want live edged slabs and I intended to saw them at 2 1/2" thick to leave enough room for flattening them if they misbehave while giving up their moisture.
Caveman

Magicman

I put another one in my taillights today. 


 
I started with this 43" Willow Oak.


 
Does this butt make my butt look small?  It took over 2 hours to saw this one.  It had to be scooted over to clear the blade guide arm plus it took both the claw and log clamp working together to turn it.


 
My customers were pleased with these bookmatched one live edge slabs.  This was only a 744bf job so "minimum" of 1Mbf billed. 
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

Larry

Who wants to spend a hot summer day in an air conditioned house when they can be sawing walnut all day?  And tomorrow and the next day! :)


Larry, making useful and beautiful things out of the most environmental friendly material on the planet.

We need to insure our customers understand the importance of our craft.

WV Sawmiller

Larry,

 I know you had better luck than I did with walnut. I had a customer I met at the flea market last weekend call and wanted to bring me a couple of walnut logs. His timing was perfect, the sun was just getting behind the mountain so I told him come on over. He pulled up in a Suburban towing a utility trailer an hour later. I had everything waiting for him so he pulled in and he showed me a wire in one he said he could not get out. I looked and pointed out a second one 2 feet further down. I tried with drill, chisel and chainsaw but could not find an end so we cut 3' off. I should have cut off the other 7'. I sawed the first log them the butt log got a couple of 2" flitches then hit a nail, then another and when I turned it on edge and tried to edge it off I hit 2 more. One looked like a 4 gauge wire running completely through the log. I got about 95 bf finished 8/4 lumber and tore up 3 blades trying to cut the rest. The customer was a real nice guy and I felt guilt but I had warned him and he understood and readily paid even though 3/4 of his cost were blades. I wish we could have gotten more useable wood but you cut what the log will provide.


7' butt log on the mill. 3' already cut off at upper right of the picture. Boards from first log on the trailer and customer talking to my wife. Both are retired teachers so plenty in common to talk about. About 2/3 of this butt log was scrapped by the time we gave up on it.

  This tree came from along the banks of the Greenbrier River at his campground and evidently campers had been using it for clotheslines and hanging lanterns on and such for many years.

   While my wife and customer were standing there talking a doe and fawn walked out of the woods and across the pasture 40-50 yards above us. That is typical around here.
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

Magicman

I am loading and getting everything ready for my scheduled next week's 106 mile road trip to finish the Longleaf Pine job that I had to pull off of on June 7th.  LINK  There is a 30%-50% rain forecast for each day, but we are hoping for a break in the weather and we can finish this job.  The customer's "college help" tailgunners will soon have to go back to school so we gotta git-r-done.

Finishing this job is my last planned road trip job.  My future plans are if a job is over ~50 miles it will have to be for a repeat customer.
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

Peter Drouin

Good luck with the local work. all the best to you
A&P saw Mill LLC.
45' of Wood Mizer, cutting since 1987.
License NH softwood grader.

Magicman

I am booked solid for the rest of the year so I am enjoying the thought of not having to schedule the overnight stuff. 

I very seriously considered a business buyout offer which would have included both the sawmill and the website, but for now I'll continue to pick and choose my sawing jobs plus take some time off. 
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

HemlockKing

Quote from: Magicman on July 29, 2021, 07:47:37 AM
I am booked solid for the rest of the year so I am enjoying the thought of not having to schedule the overnight stuff.  

I very seriously considered a business buyout offer which would have included both the sawmill and the website, but for now I'll continue to pick and choose my sawing jobs plus take some time off.
I remember not too long ago you said you were cutting back, you're in your 70s and still at er so I take it you aren't one to sit idle, keeping the business I think is great because if you set it down I believe you would be itching to do something and may be bored lol 
A1

Magicman

I turned down a 70 mile away job today.  Eighteen 50' SYP logs which would have produced probably 60+ framing lumber logs.  I did not build my business by turning down jobs so this is a sorta strange feeling for me.  I did treat myself to having this entire week off, but I have been steadily getting ready for next week.

Landowners are in a jam with SYP trees over 26" DBH because the sawmills will not take them.  They can't sell them so the alternative is to have them sawn into usable lumber. 
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

Larry

My working hours when its this hot are usually 9am, I'm a early riser :D, to 11:30 or so.




467 board foot of 5/4 and another 60 of 8/4 in behind.  

We had a recent thread about production so I took a picture.  My first and second face were rough.  On the first face I took a waste slab and a flitch. Turned to the second face and took a waste slab which I dragged back and dropped on the deck as pictured.  It might of had a 4" board in it with solid sapwood on on side.  Not worth chasing.  In the picture I now have a decision to make.  I can take a flitch which will need edging.  Remember this face is rough so at best it would be 1C.  I rotated to my third face which was clear and sawed FAS.


I'm turning with the two plane clamp, the log turner is way to slow on this size of log.

I love sawing grade as its a mind game.  
Larry, making useful and beautiful things out of the most environmental friendly material on the planet.

We need to insure our customers understand the importance of our craft.

Ljohnsaw

Loaded up this pig - 26 SE, 30 butt end, 33' long.  Took all the SkyTrak had to lift one end at a time.  Probably an hour to move it 50' from my "log yard" on to the mill, one end at a time.  Once I got it on, I noticed the back right side sunk about 2 inches.  Had to lift that end and jack up the bed.


 Opened the top to 16" and should yield a 10x16 beam FOH.  Flipped it and opened to 10" and sliced it down another 8" so it should yield a 8x10 that will be cut into two 15' posts.  That will happen on Saturday.
John Sawicky

Just North-East of Sacramento...

SkyTrak 9038, Ford 545D FEL, Davis Little Monster backhoe, Case 16+4 Trencher, Home Built 42" capacity/36" cut Bandmill up to 54' long - using it all to build a timber frame cabin.

TimW

Quote from: Magicman on July 29, 2021, 07:35:59 PM
I turned down a 70 mile away job today.  Eighteen 50' SYP logs which would have produced probably 60+ framing lumber logs.  I did not build my business by turning down jobs so this is a sorta strange feeling for me.  I did treat myself to having this entire week off, but I have been steadily getting ready for next week.

Landowners are in a jam with SYP trees over 26" DBH because the sawmills will not take them.  They can't sell them so the alternative is to have them sawn into usable lumber.
That is how I get my SYP.  But down here, the big local mills won't take anything over 20 inches.  So I go pick up the big trees cut to the length I want.  Closest big log mill is about 2 hour drive from here. When I had my eye retina hold fixed with a laser, they hauled the big logs to the burn pit with the tops.
hugs,   Brandi
Mahindra 6520 4WD with loader/backhoe and a Caterpiller E70 Excavator.  My mill is a Woodmizer LT40HD Wide 35hp Yanmar Diesel. An old Lull 644D-34 called Bull

Magicman

Quote from: ljohnsaw on July 30, 2021, 01:05:18 AMOpened the top to 16" and should yield a 10x16 beam
Good job John and without question that 'big stuff' earns it's keep. 
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

WDH

Quote from: Magicman on July 29, 2021, 07:35:59 PM
Landowners are in a jam with SYP trees over 26" DBH because the sawmills will not take them.  They can't sell them so the alternative is to have them sawn into usable lumber.
Call Jake.  He takes them  ;D.  
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

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