Chasing the Sawdust Dream

[Resonator]

Wowzers!

[Darrel]

Box Elder has never been seen or sawn by me.  Looks to be purdy stuff from the pictures!

[Resonator]

Still chasing the dream...



Went to a meeting by a old family friend's cabin recently, and of course I spotted a pile of fresh cut logs. ;D
He had an interesting story behind them...
Back in the early 1900's a logging company came in an cleared all the timber off of this piece of land, and left it abandoned. It fell it to tax delinquency, and a bank took ownership of it from the county. My friend's grandfather offered half what the asking price was for the land, and the banker scoffed and refused to sell. Not long after the stock market crashed, and one evening at suppertime the banker knocked on the door. He asked if the offer was still good, and signed over the deed. The next day the bank closed it's doors for good. The grandfather raised his family, and that has been their farmland for generations. In the early 1960's as a young man, my friend planted Red Pine on some of it. And now well into his 70's, he's selectively cutting mature tree's that he planted long ago.
I may be buying some of the saw logs, we'll see how things go.



Did a couple of small sawing jobs, both came in as logs on trailers, and went out as lumber on the same wheels. This one the guy claimed he had Hemlock logs, but amazingly turned into Spruce when it arrived at my mill. ;D
The biggest logs were 14' with obvious rot on the butt end, but he didn't want them cut any shorter until after they were sawn into beams.


Another job was some Basswood logs that came in on a old rebuilt fertilizer trailer. Kind of liked the walking beam setup, think that would work good for forwarding in the woods.



Sawn into 1x6 and 1x8 lumber.




One other small job, had a repeat customer bring in some firewood size pieces he wanted cut into natural edge slabs. I had to do a lot of adjusting and clamping to hold them down, and of course he wanted them as wide as possible. He has a small furniture business, and plans to make end tables with them.

[Resonator]

New clearing project. A neighbor of mine approached me and said he was putting in a food plot, asked if I would be interested in the logs. After walking the site, we agreed that I would do all the chainsaw work in exchange for all the logs. This way I could make sure I was cutting saw logs for lumber, not just firewood. The site is mostly white pine, along with some maple and black cherry that will be for firewood.



The site to be cleared is adjacent to land I do my winter logging on, so I had access to it, only the ground ain't frozen now. ;D
A load of sand packed down nicely and filled in the first muddy area.



My own trail crossing, made from beams I had sawn and old utility poles. This may become a permanent driveway with a culvert in the future, but now for minimum access it works.



Did I mention the ground is not frozen? ;D
I cut a few poplar trees to extend the trail to the clearing, and as soon as I had them cut into logs, I hauled them back to the mill and slabbed them into thick planks. These came back into the woods, and were thrown down into the mud. Not exactly a swamp mat, but it kept the tractor up. ("Poor boy has poor ways", old saying.) ;)



Some of the many saw logs back in my yard. Gotta love that pitchy pitchy pine. :D
Just another day, chasing the sawdust dream.

[mike_belben]

Nice work bub.  8)

[Magicman]

Outstanding!!  8)

[WDH]

Very nice logs.

[Resonator]

Thanks guys.
Makin' lumber. First lumber off the clearing project, a stack of 2x4's for the landowner at reduced cost, as part of the agreement.



And a stack of 2x6's for my own inventory. If I don't sell them, I'll use them on my garage/workshop build.



Been experimenting with building a log deck in front of the mill. Made a temporary one out of poplar cants and concrete block, may build a more permanent one down the line. Had quite a few smaller logs, and this definitely helps speed up production not having to load them with the tractor. Also nice about sawing this time of year, it's easy to debark the logs before sawing. Brings back memories of cutting poplar with my dad 30+ years ago. Back when the local paper mills were going full bore, and would pay extra if the logs were peeled. So that was my job to peel them, paid so many cents per stick. (Though poplar wasn't pitchy like this pine. ;D)



One log had kind of a neat look inside, kind of leopard spot pattern. I set those boards aside, will see if someone likes that "look" and buys them.



End of the day, low angle sunset light after a storm blew through (didn't see a rainbow this time :D). 
Just another day, chasing the sawdust dream.

[WDH]

What model is your Kubota Tractor?

[caveman]

I think I saw in an earlier post that it is an M5800.  Good looking lumber, by the way.

[Resonator]

Yes, MX5800 to be exact. ;) 

[Resonator]

Been hot as a habanero lately.



Finished sawing up all the good white pine logs, saved a couple big knotty ones for slabs up to almost 24" wide.



Had a nice change of pace from pitchy pitchy pine, a new customer brought some highly valuable black walnut to saw. He brought in a 16' log "hot off the stump", so I cut it into 2 - 8' logs and sealed all the ends with anchorseal before they could check to badly in the heat. I also peeled off all the bark since it was so fresh, and sawed it immediately into boards. He requested 5/4, which if it was me I would have cut 4/4 instead to get better yield, but that's what he wanted, so that's what he got. I also edged as much sapwood off as possible.



Tried to catch a picture of the "green haze phase" as the color changed, I had never seen that, and it happened fast.
Love the smell of that very fresh walnut too.



Had a chuck of sugar maple I had tossed aside a couple years ago to "age", threw it on the mill to see how it looked.



Was pleased to see some spalting and staining.



The lumber inspector stopped by to check the sawdust supply, he seemed pleased. Just another day, chasing the sawdust dream.

[WDH]

Very fine. 

[mike_belben]

Good stuff dad. 

[Resonator]

No, me not dad. I'm the favorite uncle of the inspector. ;D 

[mike_belben]

Well ya gotta start somewhere  ;)

[Resonator]

Had to help cut down a hybrid maple tree that was in bad shape at my local church. After it was cut down and hauled off (just firewood, nothing big enough for lumber), a local stump grinder was called in to remove the stump. His remote controlled tracked machine made quick work of it, only had to stop once to replace a broken tooth when he hit a rock.



Had a new customer come by with a couple Black Cherry logs, first one sawed out into boards OK,






2nd one turned into Cherry covered ants. :D




Had a new customer bring me some odds and ends of spalted maple to saw, he liked what it looked like so much he brought back more logs another day.









Not a huge amount of lumber admittedly, but that's kind of my niche. I can do small jobs doing custom work by the hour, that other big sawmills wouldn't do.



Had a customer come by and ask to purchase multiple slabs, and throw in a dozen 6x6 posts too. 
But that's business, some days are slow, some days you do OK. Always keep the calculator handy. ;D



Good year for red raspberries along my driveway, perfect for a snack after work. Just another day, chasing the sawdust dream.

[Resonator]

Off on another crazy sawmilling adventure. ;D

About a month or so back I got a call to look at a sawmilling job about 5 miles from my house, I looked at what there were for logs and gave a rough estimate of what my total cost to mill them would be (I even bid a little high I thought). And then out of the blue, I get called back to come saw them. Typically I don't do portable jobs, but this was close enough I could pull my mill there with my tractor to use for log loading.



The customer had bought an old farmhouse to renovate, and had taken out a couple dozen spruce trees and had them all cut to 16'. We worked out a "package deal" where I would use my tractor to sort through the piles and find then best saw logs, and then cut them into 10' lumber, all by my hourly rate. He had an old flatbed lumber tarp handy, so we threw that down first to catch most of the sawdust and bark slabs. I also brought my sawhorses with me, I've gotten it the habit of using them as it makes it much easier to stack boards to be edged next to the mill.






Everything was cut to full dimension 2x4's for a future garage-shed, and the customer did all the stacking. He wasn't to concerned with staining, so he used the edgings and other thin boards for stickers. I had the customer help by hosing the dirt off the logs, and trimming the branch stubs flush, before they went on the mill. I sorted through the cut off 6' pieces when we were done, and picked the best ones to make short 2x4's.



I didn't do a total board footage count, but I know he got hundreds of full dimension 2x4's from the days I worked. He also got an additional stack of lumber from 1" jacket boards and any pieces under 2". I also cut a couple cookies from one of the biggest log ends that was trimmed off, as he wanted to make a table.
Couple things I learned: check the mill is level, and on solid footing. After a days sawing it had shifted on the blocking, and was no longer level. Makes a huge difference especially with a manual mill if your pushing uphill, and also if all the supports are on solid footing it effects how well it cuts. I oversized my cants slightly, as the first opening face cuts in spruce seem to have the most waves. I retrimmed the 4" cants at saw through to make a flatter board. Though going forward, I plan too change blades more often. Talking with Magic Man at the Pig Roast, he told me to know the difference between a dull blade, and a blade that is no longer sharp. (He speak much wisdom). ;D
Jobs like this even more makes me want to get a hydraulic mill, but the factory is still a year behind on new ones, so I use what I've got.
When I got done with all the sawing, I restacked all the remaining logs (to small, knotty, or crooked to make lumber) and cut off pieces. I also moved all the bark slabs onto the burn pile. I kept track of all my hours and the customer was OK with paying above my original estimate for the additional work. (I even was asked to move a hot tub with my tractor, why not, I'm rented by the hour.) ;D
Amazingly I hit no nails, as these were all yard logs from around the farmhouse. Did have one screw eye we found and removed before sawing, and one bullet that didn't damage the blade.




I saws um, and then I leaves um. ;D
An orange triangle screwed to a sticker rode nicely in the back, and I fit right in driving back home out here in beautiful farm country.
Just another day, chasing the sawdust dream.

[WDH]

,that is a nice tractor. 

[Resonator]

Another new day for making sawdust. Recently pulled the mill out of hibernation after a tough winter, thought I'd get my thread goin' again.



Mill was down for a while last fall, after many thousands of cranks the saw head lift gear shaft broke. Luckily WoodMizer was able to fab up a new one and get me back in business. 8)



Had a small pallet order for a friend of mine, needed to be a custom size not like a standard pallet. Easy enough value added project to bang out with the air nailer and my lumber I had cut already.



One of my repeat customers brought some logs, a couple pines and one was a storm damaged red oak. Had a nasty split down it, had to work around it to get what board footage I could.






Got a few nice wide clear boards and an 9'+ long 8x8 mantle beam out of the center as he requested. Also cut some 12' 6" pine boards and square edge slabs on the pallet closer to the tractor.



Took a side trip to my buddy's sugar shack, maple syrup season is in session. He built the building himself using all sawmill lumber his family cut from their land. Everything else used in construction was repurposed for other buildings.



His wood fired boiler can do 30 gallons at a time at full boil. Note the floor is made from old concrete silo blocks (staves) salvaged from a nearby farm. 



Sign decorating the inside he saved from a local bar when it was torn down. Kind of fits as the wood fired syrup he makes has old time flavor, especially warm right out of the boiler. 
Just another day... chasing the sawdust dream.

 

[Walnut Beast]

Interesting and very cool pictures 👍

[Magicman]

Thank You for another glimpse into your world my friend.


 
Here was my sunrise yesterday morning.  Clouded over with one hole letting the morning in.

[doc henderson]

Glad you are doing well.  taking time to enjoy the world we live in.  



 

getting ready to make breakfast, last campout.  BSA

[DesertHobo]

Those pallets look great, what are the dimensions on them?
Great looking sugar shack too, your buddy should be proud.

[Resonator]

Thanks guys, enjoy each day we got.

I want to say those pallets were 40 5/8"x 45 1/2" or there abouts. My customer owns a commercial greenhouse, and grows hanging basket flowers for garden centers. The pallets had to be an exact size, as they become the bases for prefab steel shelving racks that fit over them and bolt into the 4 corners. They then carry the basket plants for shipment in his truck throughout the state.

Yeah my buddy is proud of it, we use it for get togethers like a clubhouse. We've done a lot of cookouts together over the years. He does a lot of things, the black trailer in the picture is some kind of meat smoker, he also brews his own beer, as well he has bee hives for honey, and chickens for eggs.