New Member

EZ · February 09, 2003, 04:27:57 AM

Just wanted to say I'm a new member here, for those who dont know me . I have a modified Baker mill(portable) manual.
EZ

Minnesota_boy · February 09, 2003, 05:22:48 AM

Welcome to the Forestry Forum, EZ. I'm fairly new here myself. I run a Woodmizer portable mill and I've found a wealth of information on this forum. Take time to read the posts and ask questions. We have a good time here too.

ARKANSAWYER · February 09, 2003, 05:52:07 AM

EZ,
Do you really have much of that Baker left? ;D
Welcome!
ARKANSAWYER

Frank_Pender · February 09, 2003, 06:27:54 AM

Welcome, EZ. Pull up a log and set a while. We do a lot of sawing around here and sometimes even make some sawdust. :D ;D. The archives ar full of lots of sawdus piles and the digging through it is well worth the time. One'slearning curve can rise in a hurry with a bit of effort and time in the searching. :P

Norm · February 09, 2003, 06:31:11 AM

Welcome aboard EZ, recognized your handle from WW.

Anybody that likes walleye fishing and sawmilling is a good addition to the forum ;D

chet · February 09, 2003, 06:55:50 AM

Seen ya hanging round that WW site before, often wondered why ya didn't stroll over and look around. Good bunch of guys and galls over here, with lots of info and a little humor added once and a while for seasoning. :D :D welcome aboard

EZ · February 09, 2003, 09:52:15 AM

Norm
About 2 wks ago we had a warm spell for a couple days. Thats all I was thinking about was walleye, I finally got over it until now. Thanks for bringing the walleye word back to me. I guess I'll drive my wife nuts again for another few wks.
Can't do any sawing right now, truck is in the garage getting fix, has a crack head.
EZ

Norm · February 09, 2003, 10:24:34 AM

You know what's even worse EZ, it's all the spring fishing catalogs that I've been getting for the last few weeks.

Same thing happens to me again in the summer when they send out all the fall hunting catalogs.

Dugsaws · February 09, 2003, 12:56:44 PM

Welcome aboard EZ,
Glad to see someone from your neck of the woods. I did know a couple of guys from East Rodchester that had a Wood Mizer, but i dont know if they still have it or not. And a guy from some where around Minerva with a Timber Harvester. Any how welcome aboard.

Doug

EZ · February 09, 2003, 01:31:44 PM

Doug,
Them 2 guys with the WM are out of business, they had 3 WM's, 2 log skidders, Bob Cat loader, dozer. They were way over their head, I work with John down at the shop. They went bankroupt & john move to Michigan & is a logger.
I see the guy with the TH every so offen driven down the road, dont know him. Theirs a guy with a WM40H around here also, I dont know how he's making it, he charges $.08 BF.
EZ

Dugsaws · February 10, 2003, 09:23:54 PM

EZ I saw Chris a couple weeks ago at Lowes in Washington,Pa. Italked to him for a few minutes, said he sold his mill but still runs it for the guy part time. Before he sold it I ran the mill a couple days with him and his dad. The TH guy John has ran Chris's mill before he sold it, I met him at the Paul Bunyon show a couple yrs ago.Cant remember his last name though. And .08 cents o my gosh, i bet he never runs out of work, but just think of the wear on the mill no thanks.

Doug

EZ · February 11, 2003, 02:38:36 AM

I resawed 500 bf of full 2x6 for a guy that had the $.08 guy sawed for them. I sawed them down to 1 1/4. They were really wavy, I told him to take them to the lumber yard & have them planed but he wanted me to saw them. I have a small planer but it wood have taken me a wk to plane. I kinda felt bad for the guy so I only charge him 10 cents bf for resawing. He had me saw some logs for him a couple wks ago, he you to be a regular customer, & now I think he's back. He's not the only one thats complaning about the wavy lumber that Mr. $.08 has sawn. I guy came up to me & said, I here you have a bandmill, I said yes, he said they ain't wurth a s--t & walk away. I fugured he had Mr $.08 saw for him. Not only is he cutting me by $.12 but he's giving the bandmills a bad rep.
EZ

ARKANSAWYER · February 11, 2003, 04:39:36 AM

EZ,
If you look in the records for where the biggest walleyes come from you will be in my neck of the woods. Every March we go and see how many over 10 lbs we can land in a night. They eat OK but you have to remember not to lift them into the boat by the lips.

State record was about 23 lbs but I think it is bigger now.
Them cheap guys cause me more problems then any thing. There are some new guys with a TK who are starting up now and I should be out of business by April. :D
ARKANSAWYER

Bibbyman · February 11, 2003, 05:18:52 AM

Not long after we got our first mill I got a call from a guy - typical conversation: "I hear you got one of those little band mills." "Yea." "Can you cut straight with it?" The conversation went on.. he had taken three gooseneck trailer loads of logs to a guy in town that had a band sawmill (not a WM). He went by to pick up some he'd had sawn and was very disappointed. Said the lumber was so thick and thin and cupped he couldn't even stick it.

In the conversation he asked what I was charging and I told him 20 cents. Long pause on the phone and I asked if that was a problem and he said the other guy charged 17 cents. We talked about that for awhile and we set up and appointment for him to come over the next afternoon to look at some of the lumber I was sawing to see if I could cut straight.

I went out to the mill and started sawing and in a half-hour, a PU pulled up. It was the guy on the phone. I guess I should have been mad because we did have an appointment for the next evening. Anyway we exchanged greetings and I offered to let him examine the stack of lumber I was adding to or to look at the other lumber I had in stock. He never made a move closer. He said, "I don't need to look any closer, I'll start bringing my logs to you tomorrow evening."

He had brought along a couple of boards the other sawyer had produced. They varied in width from 5'-7' and thickness from 5/8" to 1-1/4". The same board mind you - not board to board. They were cupped and crooked and you could see where the blade dove and waved.

I asked him if I could have one of those boards. Walnut they were. He said sure. I drilled a hole in one end and hung it in the sawshed for a couple of years. I was going to use it any time someone wanted to try to beat me down on price - I'd show them this board and tell them this guy saws for 17 cents. But I never had to. One day the board was gone. Mary had pitched it into the slab pile.

I sawed for this guy a couple more times before he moved but he also sent me other customers that in turn sent me more.

EZ · February 11, 2003, 03:15:25 PM

Ya them some big fish Arkansawyer, where me & muck fish at, I'd say the heavyest walleye ever caught was 16 lbs. I always go with the lengh of the fish, the longest was 30 1/4 inches long. when I tell people how long they are they're say wow that must have weighed 25 lbs. But they are kinda skinny, that 30 1/4 incher only weighed 8 lbs, but it sure tasted good. I like fishin for them in the spring when their in the willows, put a small minnow on with 30lb test and yank them out.
Two yrs ago my IO motor seize up(OMC), so I bought a Mercriuser motor & out drive for $1200. Worked like the dickens to get it all mounted in the boat, took a wk off work to get it done. Took it to the lake & wood bearly run. Bought a carb kit & rebuilt the carb, still no good. Bought a new $550.00 carb & it was better but distuberator was bad. Bought a new distuberator $500.00 & was good to go. It's funny a man will spend $100,000.00 just to go fishing.
This $.08 guy drives me nuts at times, I kinda wish I wood meet him some time to talk or SOME THING.
EZ

Bibbyman · February 11, 2003, 03:47:03 PM

I had a couple of guy around me running mills part time. I'd drop in and visit from time to time and they'd drop by too. We formed a loose confederation. We all had enough business and knew what we each charged, etc.

We also agreed not to saw for someone if they owed another one something. As we almost always got payment before the goods were taken we didn't have to use that agreement. I did have one guy that normally had someone else saw for him bring me logs. I called the other guy to see if he owed him money and he was clean.

Tom · February 11, 2003, 03:47:12 PM

Don't pay any attention to him other than to make sure you saw better'n him and he'll be the best advertising you can buy.

Guys like that don't usually last long. If they do it's because they've had no competition and don't it's because they didn't care enough to learn to take care of a customer properly.

Keep making good boards and you'll have all of the business before long. :D

Larry · February 11, 2003, 04:01:18 PM

EZ,
Mr 8 cents will disappear in a few years as the 15 centers have disappeared in my neck of the woods. Stress quality.

To get back to the important things you might want to check out this link for the world record walleye. Brother in laws have been taking me up to Canada but why bother when the big fish are a lot closer. http://www.agfc.com/fishing/fishrecords_details.html#Walleye

I'am after a 70 pound striper but I sure wouldn't mind if a 25 pound walleye jumped on my bait.

EZ · February 11, 2003, 06:35:00 PM

Larry, wow you guys got the big ones down their.
Last summer I was trolling with a night crawler harness with a bottom bouncer & a planer board & caught a 48 inch Blue Cat. What a fight, took 45 minutes to land him. When I threw him in the boat, my wife ran to the front.
EZ