Here we go! Took delivery today and will be documenting all the fun going forward.
To see how we got here, check out
https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=115081.0
To recap, ordered a Woodland Mills HM126 sawmill on May 6, 2021 and received the mill at my house on July 26, 2021.
I ordered the following in addition to the HM126
- 1 track extension
- 1 sawmill cover
- 1 spare parts kit
Flat rate shipping and delivery by R&L Carriers with a lift gate and a pallet jack.
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More to come when I start breaking down the pallet and assembling the mill.
Woo hoo! 8) congratulations. Keep taking pictures.
Did they simply drop it at the curb or were they able to drop it where you needed it? Also, how big was the truck they came in? I'm hoping they can do me a favor and drop it in my backyard, but I got the 130Max with the XL trailer.
Quote from: Nebraska on July 26, 2021, 04:44:05 PM
Woo hoo! 8) congratulations. Keep taking pictures.
Thanks Nebraska. I sure will
Quote from: Daburner87 on July 26, 2021, 06:14:05 PM
Did they simply drop it at the curb or were they able to drop it where you needed it? Also, how big was the truck they came in? I'm hoping they can do me a favor and drop it in my backyard, but I got the 130Max with the XL trailer.
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The driver was concerned about the transition at the end of my driveway and if his pallet jack would be able to negotiate the bump. I asked him why he couldn't back into the driveway and he stated company policy will not allow him to put any part of the truck in the driveway. He was able to get the pallet jack over the transition and placed the pallet where I wanted it.
The HM130MAX with the trailer package comes in at 1640lbs. I would say the only way you're getting it to the backyard is if you have paved access that's at least 84 inches wide and a very cooperative/understanding driver.
The good news is, the cartons within the crate are manageable with a friend or two, a hand truck and/or a dolly. The mill head is the heaviest part, but myself and one other person got it on a dolly and rolled it into the garage. I can't imagine the HM130 mill head is too much heavier than the HM126....the engine is the same size as the one I got (14hp).
Was able to stay ahead of the rain and get the entire pallet broken down and into the garage. I had my neighbor and his skid steer lined up for tomorrow, but I'm impatient and much happier that its out of the driveway and will be dry and secure.
Very well packaged in this steel exoskelton. The REV C 23 FEB 2021 instructions are very clear on how to uncrate the mill. Easy to follow and logical. There is some paint rubbed off of the mill head and the majority of the boxes were broken open, but it had a very long journey. I found some nuts and washers down towards the bottom of the crate. I'll be taking inventory as soon as time permits.
Have a busy week and travel this weekend, I won't be back on it until next week. Let the excitement continue to build LOL
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Piece by piece after he drops it out front. Most domestic driveways aren't built for the weight of that truck. It'll be easy, and you'll be well acquainted with the contents by the time you're done.
Adrenaline will kick in and it'll be moved and assembled before you know it! :) But . . . Take your time. smiley_horserider
Congratulations! Now the fun begins!
My condolences on the beginning of another terminal case of sawdust fever :)
Once you are bit by the sawdust bug, the infection only grows over time!
Really though, enjoy your new toy and have a blast getting if fired up!
I was finally able to start assembly on the mill. I know, I know. It's been almost 2 weeks since delivery. Best laid plans never seem to go the way we want.
Low and behold, I'm missing what's probably an entire box of hardware as it's way more than just a couple nuts or washers. I suspect a bag of hardware was forgotten at the factory. All I got assembled was the track.
Need to contact Woodland Mills tomorrow morning and see what's what.
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Bummer
As is most people's experience, the fine people at Woodland Mills were eager to help and are in possession of my parts list. Customer service rep agreed it was odd to be missing so many parts.
She did have a good tip. Double check the hollow bunks for parts and pieces stashed away. Unfortunately, that wasn't my case. I also made sure they didn't ship anything inside the mill head. Rep confirmed they don't ship anything inside the mill head. Also, double check all the packaging before disposal. I had pre-assembled bolts that came undone during shipping and washers and nuts were in the bottom of the crate.
I think I'm going to make a suggestion that Woodland Mills make an effort to annotate the parts list with what's been pre-assembled. It was quite the effort to figure out what I was missing from just the parts list. I had to cross reference parts with the particular step I was on and use the parts list for the total count that should of been included, if that makes sense.
Also, small point of contention with the operator's manual being that I'm pedantic, the manual makes it seem like the feet come pre-assembled. If you're assembling your own mill, obviously you're going to figure out you need to assemble. However, the manual makes such a point of dumbing some real obvious stuff down, but then glosses over the disassembled feet.
Finally, for whatever reason, my blade came fully tensioned. New owners, check your mill head when you unpack the crate, quickly familiarize yourself with tensioning in the manual and make sure the tension is backed off. Hopefully, there was no damage. I only noticed yesterday.
I'll stop droning on and post some danG pics!
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At a standstill for now. Track is assembled and squared/level. I'm missing most of the hardware associated with assembling the mill head to the carriage, so that's where I had to stop.
In the downtime, I'll further ponder my winch post design and start thinking about how to attach the track to the trailer frame.
Trailer fabrication is basically finished. I'll leave it unprimed/unpainted for now until I'm relatively sure I won't need to weld on it. Plan is to POR15 the trailer and topcoat with satin black.
More to come when I get my hardware.
Hey at least your saw pallet didn't get completely knocked over during shipping like mine. Woodland Mills is good though they are gonna send me the missing parts, an entire jack stand is gone and one of the log dog posts is bent out of shape. Overall happy, have to build a crane to drop the saw head on the trailer though but I will check the tension on the blade when I get home.
Quote from: Daburner87 on August 10, 2021, 01:09:45 PM
Hey at least your saw pallet didn't get completely knocked over during shipping like mine.
It might have been! Who knows at this point. ???
Well, first I had to look up "Pedantic" to see if that was something you had to register on some offenders list but you seem to be in the clear there. :D
Sorry about the hassle. I am glad there are people who have the skills and inclination to do this kind of detailed assembly. It is not my cup of tea. I'm of the opinion major equipment should come assembled and function tested at the factory but that is just me.
I'm looking forward to more pictures and progress reports and pictures of smiling happy faces in front of round logs that become slab piles, sawdust and stacked and stickered lumber. Good luck.
Might as well show some trailer updates.
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Bearing buddies are cleaned up and ready to be reinstalled.
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Round bar stock welded to the angle iron and the bottom of the fender
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Matching steel pipe section welded to the spring perch bracket
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Drill a hole through both the pipe and the bar, secure with a cotter pin
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Fenders have been finished welded since these pictures
Both fenders are now removeable. Just pull the cotter pin on each side of the fender.
Looks like I'll lose another weekend as I haven't gotten shipment notification for my replacement hardware.
Really kicking myself for not taking inventory ASAP. I'm sure I would have had my missing hardware by now if I had notified Woodland Mills within a couple days of taking delivery a couple weeks ago. :(
my woodland hm122 came preset at 25 lbs also, have 15 hrs on it and no trouble.
Good to know! Thanks for the feedback
Update for anyone following along. I talked to Woodland Mills today and the 14 - M12x80 bolts I'm missing have been on backorder. Rather than sending out an incomplete order, they waited. Supposed to be in today or tomorrow to the warehouse so hopefully the whole missing hardware order will ship out today or tomorrow.
Maybe making sawdust by Sept. Considering the initial ship date for the entire mill was 31 Aug, I guess I can live with it.
I could really use the space back in my garage though....mill trailer takes up a lot of space and the tongue sticks out the door by about 5 feet. Need the space to get back on my tablesaw rebuild. Never a dull moment.
Still waiting on the hardware, no shipping update unfortunately.
In the meantime, I had the opportunity to get some yard trees (cedar and cherry). Tree company had a nice loader onsite so I couldn't pass it up. Cedar is for my growing collection of logs for my pergola build. Cherry was a bonus. Straight as an arrow through about 9ft and then a slight bow. Around 15ft overall. Cedar is about the same except for the 6 footer on top.
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Got some great logs and made another local tree service contact, which is always good.
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Offloaded and waiting on a fresh cut end and sealing. I think I'm going to mill them right in the driveway. Give the neighbors some entertainment....
Small, but wonderful update.
My missing hardware has shipped. Exactly one month after taking delivery of my mill. This weekend is out of the question, but perhaps I'll have it by next weekend.
Check your inventory immediately upon delivery! Cannot stress it enough. I was missing 72 pieces in total.
Glad you got your parts. Hopefully the extra time has given you an opportunity to collect some logs, study the operator's manual, read up on how to saw etc.
I paid for my mill and promptly had to have surgery on my foot (a pre sawmill existing condition). I was supposed to be on crutches for 6 weeks, ended up being 8 weeks. So I did a ton of reading on sawmilling, read the owner's manual half a dozen times and was able to pick some logs out of my firewood logs to practice on. In the end the delay was healthy for a lot of reasons.
Looking forward to seeing those cedars opened up!
Oh boy! In time for the long weekend.
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Good for you! Now it can really start. :)
It's all here! Let's get to work! Jeep project put on hold for now.
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Good deal. The jeep can wait when there's sawdust to be made. Glad you finally got all your hardware. Good luck with the assembly. You'll be sawing in short order. 8)
Spent part of the morning getting the intake back on the Jeep so I can let the gasket maker set up for a day or two.
Spent the rest of the day on the sawmill!
After all the inventorying and waiting, I was still short a 12mm spacer. Luckily I have the means and materials to make one. Everything else went pretty well. There is a missing hinge latch block that was supposed to be riveted and threaded at the factory to accept the hinge latch. I'll figure that out at a later time.
As noted time and again, taking the time to dial everything in now is the name of the game. Tracks are perfect, carriage rolls with a light finger push. Blade is withing 1/32" of parallel to the bunks over the entire travel length. I need to address tracking and blade guide alignment tomorrow.
Moved it out of the garage finally and into the side yard. My wife helped me put on the new cover.
Oil and fuel and I'll making sawdust!
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Congratulations !!! Looking mighty mighty fine. 8)
Be sure to save your first board :)
And we're off!
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Cut up some elm (I think) and maple to start. Short pieces to get the hang of things!
Started the day with oil and fuel. Verified the engine would run. Also took the time to switch the recoil to the operators side of the mill head. Went the extra mile and rotated the decal as well. Got the 6 levelers down and adjusted. Trailer is nice and stable and well balanced. Lucked out there.
Then getting the guides dialed in as well as checking blade tracking. I rechecked blade to bunk distance across the length and adjusted a little bit. Also adjusted the guide arm to be parallel to the blade.
Needed to tinker with the access door latches. Found some hardware that would work. Also had to tweak the sheet metal a little. Probably banged around in shipping.
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Got some observations to add to the thread, but Labor day picnic time is calling me to my in-laws.
Some observations...
Glad I got the extension track. I'm going to install it at the front end of the trailer to make it a parking area for the mill head for easy access for maintenance and blade changing.
Reversing the recoil is genius. I can't remember who had the original idea to give them credit. Should come from the factory like that.
Mill trailer height is really good. Happy with the trailer overall. Need to figure out how to attach the rail system to the trailer. Currently it's just clamped.
After I set the mill head height with the crank, as soon as I throttle up, the mill head drops a little bit. Will have to investigate.
Glad you're up and running. You made quick work of that after you finally got your hardware.
They've made a lot of improvements to that mill since i got mine. Looks good.
There should be a cam clamp on each side to clamp the head to the post after setting the height. Can't see that side in your pictures, but they have to be there otherwise the heads just hanging on the cables.
Congrats on getting up and running! The fun begins!
Looking good, VB. Glad you're up and running. The fun and learning won't stop, so keep on letting the sawdust fly.
Quote from: btulloh on September 06, 2021, 07:44:32 PMThere should be a cam clamp on each side to clamp the head to the post after setting the height. Can't see that side in your pictures, but they have to be there otherwise the heads just hanging on the cables.
I haven't seen anything and haven't seen anything in the manual. I'll take a look tomorrow and see what I see.
Feels good to be up and running, thank you
Quote from: Nebraska on September 05, 2021, 09:43:35 PM
Be sure to save your first board :)
It's already set aside in a safe place!
Quote from: DesertHobo on September 06, 2021, 09:02:15 PM
Looking good, VB. Glad you're up and running. The fun and learning won't stop, so keep on letting the sawdust fly.
It feels really good to finally have logs on the mill and making sawdust. Lots of learning just today. Looking forward to much more sawdust and much more learning.
Looks like you are doing very well. As far as the head locking thing goes: My manual mill is a cable lift and has no locks of any kind. When you set for a board size you want to drop below the target point and crank the head up to the mark you want. Lowering the head only to the next mark will always give you problems. Even the higher end hydraulic mills with computer setworks will do this same thing. Everything has some slop or backlash so you always set against the load of gravity.
I notice you are real close to that wall and I get that you are tight for space and this is what you need to do, but pretty soon you are going to have to think about sawdust management to get that stuff out. Perhaps hanging a tarp on the garage wall and running it under the mill will allow you to drag out the tarp with most of the sawdust on it at the end of the day. Also, you don't want that sawdust getting beat into that wall, certain species will attract ants or other insects and having a pile that close to your sills may not be such a good thing. I only say this to save you some trouble down the road because I hope it is a long road for you with a lot of fun in there. ;D
Well my curiosity got the best of me and went through the whole manual for your mill. It's really a completely different piece of machinery from my 2015 hm126. Really improved design. (Kinda sorry I looked!).
No locks on the posts now (and that's a nice convenience), it says self locking via the crank arm. Could be a matter of tweaking the cable assy and the guides on the posts. OGH made a good point about raising to the final mark. That's pretty standard in machinery and certainly a good practice. Even my powermatic 66 has that in the manual for setting critical height adjustment.
No doubt you'll get it ironed out. May just be a matter of getting the fresh cables to get settled in witha little stretch. New machinery always has a break in period, as I'm sure you've experienced many times.
Carry on with the sawdust adventure on the new and improved hm126.
Quote from: Old Greenhorn on September 06, 2021, 09:31:54 PM
Looks like you are doing very well. As far as the head locking thing goes: My manual mill is a cable lift and has no locks of any kind. When you set for a board size you want to drop below the target point and crank the head up to the mark you want. Lowering the head only to the next mark will always give you problems. Even the higher end hydraulic mills with computer setworks will do this same thing. Everything has some slop or backlash so you always set against the load of gravity.
I notice you are real close to that wall and I get that you are tight for space and this is what you need to do, but pretty soon you are going to have to think about sawdust management to get that stuff out. Perhaps hanging a tarp on the garage wall and running it under the mill will allow you to drag out the tarp with most of the sawdust on it at the end of the day. Also, you don't want that sawdust getting beat into that wall, certain species will attract ants or other insects and having a pile that close to your sills may not be such a good thing. I only say this to save you some trouble down the road because I hope it is a long road for you with a lot of fun in there. ;D
I had read about not letting gravity to the work and to go past and the crank back up. I had tried that yesterday and it didn't seem to work. The head still dropped a little. I'm wondering if I didn't adjust the post nylon bearings correctly or if I need more silicone spray on the posts.
As far as the wall goes, you're absolutely spot on. I need to get away from the wall. My plan is to work through the stockpile of logs I have currently so I can move the mill towards the center of the side yard and access both sides. At the very least, I would like maybe a 4ft walkway between the wall and the trailer. I don't like the idea of the sawdust hitting the siding either.
Quote from: btulloh on September 06, 2021, 10:02:50 PM
Well my curiosity got the best of me and went through the whole manual for your mill. It's really a completely different piece of machinery from my 2015 hm126. Really improved design. (Kinda sorry I looked!).
No locks on the posts now (and that's a nice convenience), it says self locking via the crank arm. Could be a matter of tweaking the cable assy and the guides on the posts. OGH made a good point about raising to the final mark. That's pretty standard in machinery and certainly a good practice. Even my powermatic 66 has that in the manual for setting critical height adjustment.
No doubt you'll get it ironed out. May just be a matter of getting the fresh cables to get settled in witha little stretch. New machinery always has a break in period, as I'm sure you've experienced many times.
Carry on with the sawdust adventure on the new and improved hm126.
Overall I'm happy with the improvements they've made in their various iterations. I'd love to get on the phone with a couple of their engineers and talk out a few items for their next version.
It's certainly a well designed and built mill for the price. No real complaints so far.
Quote from: VB-Milling on September 07, 2021, 12:59:18 PM
Quote from: Old Greenhorn on September 06, 2021, 09:31:54 PMI don't like the idea of the sawdust hitting the siding either.
It could be worse. You could have this;
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Thats a 30' high rock wall. It ain't fun cleaning that sawdust.
VB, did you spray your pulley cables with cable/chain lube? Not suggesting that's the final solution, but it should help them ride smoother and prevent binding. As noted previously, they need to break in a little too, you might find them riding different after a couple days of sawing.
Does the carriage/sawhead shake or jerk when you throttle up?
Quote from: Old Greenhorn on September 07, 2021, 01:14:48 PMThats a 30' high rock wall. It ain't fun cleaning that sawdust.
That's some serious space constraints! I bet the rock would hold up better than my vinyl siding LOL
Quote from: DesertHobo on September 07, 2021, 01:15:34 PM
VB, did you spray your pulley cables with cable/chain lube? Not suggesting that's the final solution, but it should help them ride smoother and prevent binding. As noted previously, they need to break in a little too, you might find them riding different after a couple days of sawing.
Does the carriage/sawhead shake or jerk when you throttle up?
I did, but I could spray more. I might have been too stingy.
I just rechecked my blade to bunk dimensions and I've gained a 1/16th of an inch so something is stretching or giving.
I wouldn't say the sawhead shakes anymore than expected. I've watched a ton of videos over the last year featuring Woodland Mills HM126 and HM130 mills and I don't see mine acting any differently regarding vibrations.
The afternoon started out promising. I added the extra section of track to the front of the trailer.
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Needed to trim down the plates a little bit to not interfere with the trailer cross braces.
Then I realized I never made certain the track was straight and true. Ran a tight string line to double check the full length including the new section.
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Double checked the bunk to blade height in several places and adjusted accordingly.
After all work, I figured it was time to actually run the mill and cut something. Apparently the mill had other plans.
I followed the required break in time to run the mill without lubricant (30 mins) Monday. Filled the lube reservoir for Tuesday's work, changed to a brand new Kasco blade, verified blade tension and that the autolube was working correctly when throttle depressed and I was ready to go.
Took a shallow pass to start squaring up a small maple log, everything seems normal. Rotated the log 90 degrees, clamped it down and throttled up for the second pass and disaster struck.
I didn't even actually cut the log, just made a couple teeth marks in the butt. Loud bang, throttle off, shut the engine down.
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The blade didn't break. I'm not sure what happened. I think the blade guard guide within the mill head worked loose in shipping and was pulled into the blade. There are lots of broken/damaged parts and I'm not a happy camper.
The blade guard guide is broken, the yellow blade guide is gouged, both belts are cut and shredded in places. The inside of the mill head is scored all over from the blade.
Somehow the drive side belt managed to rotate, while tensioned on the pulleys, so the cog side of the belt was facing out instead of in.
I took the tension off the drive side to fix the belt, cleaner out the head of all the rubber shavings, ran the engine with no blade and the drive side at least appears to run true.
Problem is something is very wrong with the rapid change system. Even with all the tension off the follower wheel, it feels frozen in place and won't move inward enough to get another blade on.
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I'll be calling Woodland Mills is a bit to get tech support on the phone and hopefully we can sort this out in a way that doesn't take another month.
Running the band for 1/2 hour would cause it to heat up and band tension would be reduced, especially with everything being new. When that happens, bands will jump off, which is what it looks like happened. Not saying you did anything wrong but if you showed me the photos and explanation of the noise my first guess would be that band tension was too low. Done it myself. Hope the fix goes smooth.
Edit:
OK so I just re-read what happened. Looking at the teeth marks on the end of the log it still seems like a loose band. Guess the question is why. If the drive belt rolled first that would have tossed the band. How is the tension on that?
Quote from: Southside on September 08, 2021, 08:14:28 AM
Running the band for 1/2 hour would cause it to heat up and band tension would be reduced, especially with everything being new. When that happens, bands will jump off, which is what it looks like happened. Not saying you did anything wrong but if you showed me the photos and explanation of the noise my first guess would be that band tension was too low. Done it myself. Hope the fix goes smooth.
Understandable, but I ran it for 30+ mins Monday. Tuesday (yesterday), I only made one short cut before it jumped off and checked blade tension before I started the first cut.
I've gotten some conflicting information from Woodland Mills. My mill was shipped with the blade fully tensioned. It was probably fully tensioned for weeks. The manual says to take the tension off when the mill isn't in use. Customer service says is probably not a big deal when I asked them about it a few weeks ago. Now I'm wondering if something was damaged.
Quote from: Southside on September 08, 2021, 08:14:28 AM
Edit:
OK so I just re-read what happened. Looking at the teeth marks on the end of the log it still seems like a loose band. Guess the question is why. If the drive belt rolled first that would have tossed the band. How is the tension on that?
Set the drive belt tension Monday according to the service manual. 1/4" deflection at the idler.
Edit: I couldn't rechecked the tension after the incident because the belt was spun around. I did make note that all the adjustment bracket bolts were still tight however.
It is generally accepted practice to slack the band at the end of the sawing day for a number of reasons. I don't know anyone that leaves it tight. In any event, band tension should be checked before you begin your milling day and then again after the first few cuts when it warms up. If you tensioned the blade on Monday morning and this happened Tuesday night, with no adjustments in between I would suspect the tension led to the incident or at least contributed. Blades stretch, then contract later, tension changes up and down. This is an important part of understanding the milling process. I am not saying this is what happened, not enough info for that yet, but it may have played a part. Take a deep breath and take your time figuring it out.
That broken blade guide: does it have any heavy gouges where the blade teeth may have grabbed it. I am not familiar with this mill or this part, but something happened. That kink in the band has me wondering, looks like it got caught on something.
Best of luck, keep smiling, this is part of the process. Not a good part, but certainly a necessary part.
A new drive belt can get sloppy in a hurry too. Seems they give up some stretch at first then settle in and become routine in their need for adjustment.
I don't see two weeks under tension causing a structural issue to the mill. However since your drive belt is also the band belt I could see a flat spot on the belt developing, which with some lube could toss a band.
Really appreciate you guys jumping head first in to help me troubleshoot.
Got all the data gathered and a tech ticket open with Woodland Mills. Received a call about an hour ago and got some marching orders to check on some things. Will update when I hear back.
VB my mill was shipped under tension as well, with no problems that I've noticed.
The one time a blade got like yours, but not that bad, I had forgotten to tension it.
The other time I threw a blade the guide was too far in and hit the log which pushed that yellow guard into blade causing a chain reaction.
Too much lube can cause a hydro planing of the blade according to WM tech.
Quote from: leeroyjd on September 08, 2021, 10:51:52 AM
VB my mill was shipped under tension as well, with no problems that I've noticed.
I appreciate the feedback. I have since gotten clarification from Woodland Mills technician. They are shipped fully tensioned to prevent anything from loosening during shipping.
It's understandable, but it seems like a "do as I say, not as I do" situation in my book. They ship them fully tensioned, but the tension is supposed to be backed off after daily use....
I have found strange metal filings in the tensioner assembly and I'm waiting for tech support to weigh in on whether I should take the entire rapid change system apart and look for more issues.
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Quote from: leeroyjd on September 08, 2021, 10:51:52 AM
Too much lube can cause a hydro planing of the blade according to WM tech.
Now this is interesting as well, thank you.
Agree on the shipping with tension on, seems like it could be lightly tensioned for shipping.
I forget what those washers are called, but were the greased up good, or was it dry? My manual said to grease them , but they already were.
Maybe that's why you had trouble removing blade.
I'm curious as to the 30 break in. Must be new as there is no such suggestion on mine.(Dec 2020).
Follower belt is different too. Mine has no slack, it's bright orange.
The Belleville washers were oiled up well.
The manual that shipped with my mill is the version currently available on their website for the HM126. It has a revision date of 23 February 2021.
There is also an addendum to their tensioning process that originated from their newsletter email address. It was in my spam folder and only found it after the tech today told me it was sent out in July.
It would apply to 2020 and after models that have an acme threaded rod with Belleville washers.
The email makes it seem like it's a tips and tricks newsletter. The WM tech I spoke to today made it sound more like a necessary technical service bulletin. I cannot find the PDF on their website unfortunately.
Do you need that PDF @VB-Milling (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=52288) ?
I noticed your blade stop is missing. Maybe you removed it on purpose.
Jogged my memory: Must have caught log and got pushed back into blade, causing it to fall off backwards and bending blade in multiple places.
I make sure it's tight now.
Quote from: leeroyjd on September 08, 2021, 12:17:45 PM
Do you need that PDF @VB-Milling (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=52288) ?
I noticed your blade stop is missing. Maybe you removed it on purpose.
No thank you, I have the PDF. It was in my spam folder.
What part are you calling the blade stop?
It's on the drive side blade guide. The blade stop hits the log support before the blade if you have the supports higher than cut height.
Maybe it's been changed to something different.
It's in my gallery but couldn't get to post.
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Quote from: leeroyjd on September 08, 2021, 12:46:55 PM
It's on the drive side blade guide. The blade stop hits the log support before the blade if you have the supports higher than cut height.
Maybe it's been changed to something different.
Ah yes. I was having a senior moment apparently. Yes, I have it and yes I removed it to be out of the way for this troubleshooting effort.
As we've heard time and again, the folks over at Woodland Mills are wonderful. The tech called me back just after noon time and we've got a way forward.
Can't really figure out where the metal filings came from, but with the washers, the bearing and the acme rod in good shape, I'm good to put the assembly back together. After some pushing and wiggling, I was able to free the follower side wheel and the rapid change system works as it should. Best we can tell, the sliding mechanism was hung up on some debris. I'll blow out the assembly with compressed air. With it freely moving, I can get a new blade on, so I'm not out of commission.
As to what caused the issue in the first place? Likely, whatever debris was inside the assembly was giving a false tensioning reading, so I had the tensioning appear to match factory spec, but it was either substantially more, or substantially less. Additionally, and likely a contributing factor, I wasn't using the new July 2021 tensioning method which modifies what I was following in the Feb 2021 service manual.
I guess I'll find out this afternoon how it'll all shake out. Hopefully, the only thing flying off the mill head will be lube-infused sawdust and not blades and pieces of plastic!
Have you got the length in that log to cut an inch or 4 off ?
I know you said it's maple, do you know what kind? Looks hard to me.
If that bark will pull off easy, it might be worth the time. For those of us without debarkers I believe it extends band life.
We're pulling for you!
Quote from: leeroyjd on September 08, 2021, 03:51:13 PM
Have you got the length in that log to cut an inch or 4 off ?
I know you said it's maple, do you know what kind? Looks hard to me.
If that bark will pull off easy, it might be worth the time. For those of us without debarkers I believe it extends band life.
We're pulling for you!
Thanks!
Don't have the length to cut any off unfortunately. I don't believe its sugar maple, but maybe someone else can weigh in. Its a yard tree that I got off Craigslist that was bucked up into 3-5ft lengths. I want it for cabinet faces.
Pulling the bark off is a good idea and in my long term milling plan. The logs I have collected to work through have sat long enough that most of the bark can be stripped off by hand or with a flat bar.
So good news...I was able to get everything back together and working properly. Here's what I did...
Reassembled the rapid change system with new grease and cleaned out all the metal filings. At the suggestion of the WM tech, I moved the 4 flat washers to the front of the Belleville washer pack, just behind the thrust bearing.
Followed the new process for setting the tension. The new process still allows for using a torque wrench even though WM was trying to get away from that (the tech today was saying owners were having problem getting accurate, repeatable readings with cheap torque wrenches at such low torque [<25ft-lbs]). I don't have a problem using a torque wrench to ensure accuracy and I own good ones. By using the torque wrench, I was able to determine that I was putting way too much tension on the blade following the owner's manual method. Bottom line, I'll use the July addendum and a torque wrench.
Re-adjusted the blade guides for clearance on both sides.
Re-adjusted the blade tracking on both sides. The drive side wheel has a warning not to adjust it as it is factory set. The tech told me today its ok to adjust it and I got the reveal of the blade as measured from the wheel identical on both sides so I feel better about that.
With the info I got from @leeroyjd (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=18320) I turned the lube down to about half the flow it was yesterday.
Milled up a short piece of that maple with no issues then it started to rain. Blew out the sawdust, put the cover on, cleaned up all my tools and called it a win.
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Great to hear you got your new mill working properly. It's always frustrating to get a new piece of equipment and it has issues right off the bat. Also glad to hear that woodland mills made it right so quickly.
Can't wait to see some sawdust fly.
Had a good weather weekend. Lots of milling, lots of sawdust, lots of organizing, lots of learning...let's get into it.
Started Friday morning with this mess. Cramped quarters. Small yard challenges.
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Some of the smaller logs (<40") got bucked up into firewood as well as what I had for filtches thus far. I've got plenty of firewood and the capacity to make much more with the amount of milling I have left to do, so I called up my neighbor buddy and he was happy to take a small trailer load home with him.
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Had a piece of white oak that I started CSM'ing months ago. Decided it would be good for some 8ft loading ramps to get me by for now.
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Milled them 5x6
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Cut a flat on the ground side
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Birdmouthed the top to fit snug on the trailer and made a flat on the top in line with the bunk
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Traced it out on the second one
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Good to go. Immediately tested them out with a 10ft lob pine that I started CSM'ing months ago (I see a pattern forming LOL )
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Based on the toolbox weight calculator, its around 1000lbs. My wife, the ramps, a logrite cant hook and 2 wedges got it up there pretty easily. Eventually, I'll use the electric winch I have. New steel is really expensive right now.
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That was where I left it Friday night and Saturday morning I finished up the lob pine and started on some cherry.
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With the lob pine and the white oak out of the way, the yard started to open up a little and gave me some room to continue organizing and to start putting into practice the work flow ideas I've been kicking around for months. I spent the rest of Saturday material handling and organizing and things started to look better.
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Sunday, I dug out the cherry and walnut that has been drying for 18 months; almost a year in that location near the fence.
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Found these nasties in the bark
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For not having a clue what I was doing, it dried relatively flat. Some end splitting. Quickly restacked it in the driveway to get it out of the way. Debating about treating it with Bora-care and then getting it kiln dried.
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Continued to clean up the side yard Sunday afternoon.
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Then I dragged (literally) the mill out to the driveway to tackle the logs in the front yard. One cherry and 4 cedar yard trees.
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Got the cherry up the same way as the lob pine.
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Ended up cutting off about 5ft to get rid of the crooked end. Still left with over 10ft.
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Got one of the cedar logs up there and took a leveling pass. Blade was dulling so I decided to call it a day.
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Cherry log gave up some nice boards. No cut list, just random widths and either 4/4 or 8/4.
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The cedar logs will become 6x6 posts. Other than the log ramps, those are the only logs that I have an immediate plan for. Thanks for following along. It was a long, tiring weekend and I had loads of fun and learned a few things.
@VB-Milling (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=52288) just be careful when rolling a log up the ramps without a secondary catch. They can come back down faster than they went up and break a leg like a twig. Nice looking ramps but don't put yourself in harms way, get a winch to roll them up and stay out of the way. Welcome to the sawdust club.
Got to real work after desk work ended... At this rate, I should be done with the driveway logs tomorrow and can get the mill back behind the fence, which I'll feel better about from a security perspective.
Got two 6x6s out of two logs and a handful of 2x6s and 1x6s, all for the backyard pergola build. One log staged on the mill for tomorrow, one shorter one left on the ground.
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And I'm officially part of the club!
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Welcome to the club :D As we say, there are sawyers who have hit them and then there are sawyers who will hit them again ;D
In an seriousness, very happy for you. That's one of the best feelings, making your lumber for your project for your home. Keep it up.
And kudos to Mrs VB for being supportive and lending a hand 👍
I do not have a sawmill, but becoming more interested every day, so this question may not make sense: Why wouldn't the blade stop prevent you hitting the log support?
Quote from: PoginyHill on September 14, 2021, 07:35:37 AM
I do not have a sawmill, but becoming more interested every day, so this question may not make sense: Why wouldn't the blade stop prevent you hitting the log support?
I'm sure it would have, if I had it in place LOL
I sort of forgot about it after I took it off. I should put it back.
Quote from: DesertHobo on September 13, 2021, 09:10:06 PM
And kudos to Mrs VB for being supportive and lending a hand 👍
Mrs VB makes it all possible. Get the wife/significant other onboard early and it'll be smooth sailing.
One thing I have been noticing is the trailer jacks that I've been using for trailer leveling are backing off and loosing on their own from the vibration of the mill. This is causing a noticeable effect at the track joints. A bump or dip where there used to not be one. Releveling with a taught string gets everything back in line, but it only lasts so long.
I think I caused this issue because I removed the bulky handles and welded on a 3/4" nut directly to the stem for quick adjustments with a battery drill. I think the reduced mass makes it easy for the threaded rod to vibrate.
Other than potentially putting the handles back on, I wanted to solicit some solutions to stopping the jacks from loosening.
Maybe just a short rubber bungee cord that wraps over the top of the welded nut?
I'm not familiar with trailer jacks so this may be an odd suggestion, but can a lock nut be employed?
Maybe a grub screw through the side of the tube. Drill a hole, weld on a nut, use a brass screw.
Not sure a bungy would do much, but there are simple ways to stop the problem. Could make flip latches to go over the nut after adjusting. Probably won't take much holding power to stop the movement.
Quote from: leeroyjd on September 14, 2021, 03:50:39 PM
I'm not familiar with trailer jacks so this may be an odd suggestion, but can a lock nut be employed?
Not in this case. The nut that I welded on is to an unthreaded shaft simply so I could put a socket on it. There would be no place to put the lock nut.
Quote from: btulloh on September 14, 2021, 03:58:32 PM
Maybe a grub screw through the side of the tube. Drill a hole, weld on a nut, use a brass screw.
Not sure a bungy would do much, but there are simple ways to stop the problem. Could make flip latches to go over the nut after adjusting. Probably won't take much holding power to stop the movement.
I like the flip latch idea Bob. I'll see what I have kicking around the shop.
Might also take one apart and investigate the grub screw idea. The good news is they are swing back style so they are removable.
Flip latch seems like the most convenient if there's something laying around to use as a starting point.
Grub screw not nearly as convenient and requires investigating the innards. Plus it would probably need a lock nut.
Members here love to come up with solutions for this kind of problem, so I bet there'll be a lot of ideas put forth this evening.
Had a bit of a difficult time this afternoon. Only managed to mill the 4th of 5 logs in the driveway. Had a blockage in the auto lube system that ended up requiring taking the whole unit apart, both at the blade guide and the brass tee that's part of the throttle assembly. Finally got it squared away and started the first cut on my 5th log, and I snapped the recoil rope somehow.
Took that as a sign to just give up for the day. Spent the rest of the evening cleaning up where the logs have been sitting for a month, organizing some offcuts and sweeping the driveway.
Didn't get a chance to mess with the leveling jacks and I'll fix the recoil rope tomorrow.
Hope it's a little more productive than today.
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Woodmizer has a simple, piece of flat steel, pressed into a "C" shape with the cutout of a nut in the middle of it that you drop over the FAO (Fast Adjust Outrigger) and it prevents the nut from turning as it's now locked against the frame of the FAO or jack. There is a hole drilled through the nut so a hair pin can be inserted to keep the retainer from jumping off.
I think you could fab up something that would accomplish the same thing.
Quote from: Southside on September 15, 2021, 12:01:28 AM
Woodmizer has a simple, piece of flat steel, pressed into a "C" shape with the cutout of a nut in the middle of it that you drop over the FAO (Fast Adjust Outrigger) and it prevents the nut from turning as it's now locked against the frame of the FAO or jack. There is a hole drilled through the nut so a hair pin can be inserted to keep the retainer from jumping off.
I think you could fab up something that would accomplish the same thing.
Thanks, that's a good idea as well. I found a thread on FF as a visual reference. Looks like this cat has been skinned before.
https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=54752.msg789857#msg789857
https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=71391.0
I chose to go the cheap route and my trailer jacks are round tube. I like the "C" idea with the cutout, but I'll have to weld a little stopper piece to the side of the round tube.
Got a bit of a simplified version of the flat stock captured nut idea mocked up over lunch time. 12p nail and a fence staple. If one revolution of adjustment isn't enough, I can weld another fence staple 90 degrees from the other, but I don't think I'll need that sort of refinement. I'll run with it later today on one jack and see if it works. If it works, I'll do all 6 jacks prettier and throw some paint where I ground off the factory finish.
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Also, my Boracare and Timbor came early. Time to start mixing, spraying, stickering and stacking!
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Simple is good.
A nail has solved many agricultural machinery problems going back a hundred years or so. No reason not to use a nail for sawmills. Fixed is fixed.
Actually that's a pretty complicated farm repair. Duct tape and bailing twine is considered standard duty. :D
:D A nail is an up town repair! I have a New Holland square baler I have to fix with a small stick. If it weren't for packing tape, the shelled corn would have run out of the holes in my father in law's truck bed. The rear cultivator arms on my 1962 Farmall tractor have 20d nails pins holding them on.
I didn't realize I was so high falutin! 8)
Quote from: SawyerTed on September 15, 2021, 01:55:57 PM
:D A nail is an up town repair! I have a New Holland square baler I have to fix with a small stick. If it weren't for packing tape, the shelled corn would have run out of the holes in my father in law's truck bed. The rear cultivator arms on my 1962 Farmall tractor have 20d nails pins holding them on.
I don't think I've ever seen a 140 or Cub without a nail or two in the cultivator bars or rear hitch.
Trailer jack mod seems to work well. I'll go ahead and do it to the other 5 jacks this weekend.
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I finished up the last of the driveway logs and did a huge cleanup. All the lumber produced, the mill, and all the cutoffs are now back in the sideyard, which makes me very happy. Didn't take any pictures unfortunately as I was trying to beat the rain and just get everything finished.
Lots of stacking and stickering this weekend. I can also get more lumber from the offcuts of the cedar and the cherry, but I can do that in the sideyard and out of view of the entire neighborhood at my leisure.
Current priority is to find another 6x6 in the remaining cedar I have in the sideyard log inventory. Then, I want to take the time to make some mill trailer improvements in the next few weeks.
Gorilla Tape is a step above duct tape, the nail, complete with getting the welder out, is really into a whole 'nother dimension. We are approaching dealer repair here.... :D
Quote from: VB-Milling on September 15, 2021, 09:52:59 PM
I finished up the last of the driveway logs and did a huge cleanup. All the lumber produced, the mill, and all the cutoffs are now back in the sideyard, which makes me very happy. Didn't take any pictures unfortunately as I was trying to beat the rain and just get everything finished.
Lots of stacking and stickering this weekend. I can also get more lumber from the offcuts of the cedar and the cherry, but I can do that in the sideyard and out of view of the entire neighborhood at my leisure.
Current priority is to find another 6x6 in the remaining cedar I have in the sideyard log inventory. Then, I want to take the time to make some mill trailer improvements in the next few weeks.
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Got a kick in the pants of inspiration this afternoon and started working on the winch system to parbuckle logs. Trying to use what I have instead of buying steel.
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Started by cutting a square-ish hole into the side of the trailer to weld in a hitch receiver for strength
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Cut down the winch post from a boat trailer
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Used the post to sleeve a 2inch chunk of steel. This becomes the sliding mechanism to clear the mill head carriage.
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Made some more design decisions, finished welded and added some bracing.
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Added some galv pipe I had on hand with a clevis pin and snatch block. Not sure the galv pipe is strong enough. I think I'll need actual square tube, but I guess I'll find out.
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Started to fabricate a winch plate out of 6 inch C channel and welded a D ring to the middle of the trailer before calling it a night.
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If I get the winch plate welded and the winch bolted down in the morning, I can give it a test.
Got a piece of angle you can weld to the back of the galvanized pipe to reinforce it?
Quote from: Southside on September 17, 2021, 10:33:18 PM
Got a piece of angle you can weld to the back of the galvanized pipe to reinforce it?
As a matter of fact, I do! Good idea
Sadly, I have not been able to get back on either the trailer jack mods or the winch plate fabrication.
However, while I'm set up for fabrication on the trailer, I've been thinking about how to make adjustment feet for the track. The trailer crossmembers aren't in plane with each other as perfect as I would like seeing how I welded two trailers together. This causes a slight valley or hill at the track joints. Woodland Mills provides leveling feet, bolts and nuts to accomplish this when installed on skids. I need to modify it for the trailer or decide not to use it.
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My first thought was to through bolt the track to the crossmembers and have a nut under the track that I can adjust and another nut on top of the track to lock it in. I don't really like the idea of the entire length of track sitting on 12 nuts, even though this is Woodland Mills design methodology.
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I like the full track bearing on the crossmembers, so that is my design quandary...
Shimming seems like a lot of labor on the front end, but with no fine adjustment. Its has gotten me by thus far, but its not very accurate.
I have many sections of 16-18inch one inch threaded rod and a nut for that seems like a much better bearing surface. Maybe I weld the threaded rod to the top of the crossmembers, and then use the same Woodland Mills method as above, but with a much bigger nut?
FWIW the factory feet work fine on a fixed base. I've handled quite a few max heavy logs and everything is well supported. Adjusting the feet to level the track works well even when a section needs to be pulled down. Not sure how the factory placement of the feet will line up with the trailer frame. Maybe add a couple pieces of square tube or c-chan? Shimming will certainly work but more of a pain when you need to tweak.
Quote from: btulloh on September 21, 2021, 10:25:51 AM
FWIW the factory feet work fine on a fixed base. I've handled quite a few max heavy logs and everything is well supported. Adjusting the feet to level the track works well even when a section needs to be pulled down. Not sure how the factory placement of the feet will line up with the trailer frame. Maybe add a couple pieces of square tube or c-chan? Shimming will certainly work but more of a pain when you need to tweak.
Good to know you haven't had issues with putting big loads on the track supported this way.
To my surprise, 4 of the 6 pairs of holes line up with the trailer crossmembers. The remaining 2 are pretty close, so I would just need to drill 4 more holes in the tracks. Seriously, luck of the draw, I didn't plan it to line up as well as it did.
I think what I'll do is drill through the cross member, pass the bolt up from the bottom, weld the head of the bolt to the crossmember and then use the Woodland Mills method without the actual round feet. It'll be a pain to take everything apart, but I need to take the track apart to paint the trailer anyways when all the welding is finished.
I do have to add some structure to the front of the trailer to support the track extension. I really didn't think I would end up using it, but ordered it on your recommendation and the recommendation of others as its better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it. Of the first 10 logs I've cut, more than half of them have been over the 10'-5" stock capacity of the mill, so I'm really glad I have it and it will stay installed.
Sounds like a plan. Getting rid if the feet sounds like a good thing in your case.
How are you making the holes? I really dislike drilling large holes in steel. Really tough on my arthritis. I got some annular cutters with pilot that help a lot. I see people doing a good job with a cutting torch, but my torch skills are not up to that level.
Quote from: btulloh on September 21, 2021, 11:27:52 AM
Sounds like a plan. Getting rid if the feet sounds like a good thing in your case.
How are you making the holes? I really dislike drilling large holes in steel. Really tough on my arthritis. I got some annular cutters with pilot that help a lot. I see people doing a good job with a cutting torch, but my torch skills are not up to that level.
I also really dislike drilling large holes in steel. Won't be with a cutting torch as I don't have one. I'll probably lug each section of track into my shop and use a large machinist's vise on my drill press. Pilot hole and then step bit.
I'm not familiar with annular cutters, but I find that I typically drill 3/4" holes in steel. Is it worth getting just that size cutter from Jeff Bezos for $20?
From my experience with those cutters I'd say ABSOLUTELY. I got a set and it made a vast improvement. I can drill a 5/8 hole using one hand and there's no grabbing. Getting one for 20 bucks would be a good way to try them. I would recommend getting the cutting lube that comes in a stick. Cutting fluid is a must and it's a three handed job without the stick. I've used regular cutting fluid in a squeeze bottle and gotten by though.
Here's the set I bought. Doesn't go to 3/4 though and the smaller sizes are useful but not as necessary. These are also limited to 1/4" material, or 1/2" if you work from both sides. I'd look around for something that would do 1/2" from one side if I was doing it again.
One thing I do like about this set is the 1/16 increments. Makes it easy when you want clearance.
Edit: the cutter link: Hougen cutters (https://www.amazon.com/Hougen-11075-RotaCut-Fractional-Cutter/dp/B003LY4E0Y)
Thanks for the link Bob, I ordered the same set and a lube stick. It seems it does include 3/4". I wanted to get the larger set with more cutters, but that's not in the budget yet.
Continued with the winch post build yesterday. Got the winch plate drilled and welded up. The winch is mounted and I added some additional diagonal supports. Also as @Southside (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=24297) mentioned, I added some angle to the pipe. Want to add another and then finish weld, but it was far enough along last night to give it a try. I made a set of cables a few weeks ago with Anderson connectors, so I just pulled the Jeep around, plugged it in, plugged in the winch controller and I was off to the races.
Wish I had it when I loaded those 15ft cherry and cedar logs in the driveway. Worked real well with some small test logs. Going to build a battery tray mount for the trailer so I can take the Jeep out of the equation for stationary milling. I think ultimately, the winch is oversized and the post is too tall, but I'll iron that out down the road. The real test will be those 30in, 6ft white oak monsters I've got to load eventually. Those are the biggest logs I have on hand to test with....for now. :D
Waiting on my annular cutters before I tackle the track leveling system. Then I'll be a few steps closer to painting the trailer and hiding my terrible welding.
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Looks great. Will be even better when it is painted.
As for the "ugly welds"....Being a welding teacher I meet people all the time who are self conscious of their welds. They might say: "Don't look at the welds on this trailer my dad and I built 25 years ago. They're no good." To which I reply "have you had any welds fail over the last 25 years on the trailer?" "Well no, but...." "My point exactly."
Sometimes welds need to be made by a qualified welder using qualified procedures according to a welding code then inspected by a certified inspector. Sometimes the shake test is more than enough.
Quote from: Rybot on September 25, 2021, 10:53:59 AM
Looks great. Will be even better when it is painted.
As for the "ugly welds"....Being a welding teacher I meet people all the time who are self conscious of their welds. They might say: "Don't look at the welds on this trailer my dad and I built 25 years ago. They're no good." To which I reply "have you had any welds fail over the last 25 years on the trailer?" "Well no, but...." "My point exactly."
Sometimes welds need to be made by a qualified welder using qualified procedures according to a welding code then inspected by a certified inspector. Sometimes the shake test is more than enough.
Well I sure appreciate that Rybot. I'm very self conscious of my welding. Its one of the few things I do where I'm 100% self taught and relied solely on the internet to "learn".
Had a really busy weekend and got a lot done. The milling side yard is almost unrecognizable. Some of the logs I moved haven't been touched in almost 18 months, maybe 20.
Worked Fri through Sunday evening and didn't mill a single board. It was all about getting organized, workflow planning, mill yard cleanliness, staging, and to misquote @doc henderson (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=41041) , sweep, spray, stack, sticker, secure. I had a barrel of ripped stickers. Cut hundreds to length, stacked everything I've previously sawn. Brushed off every board. Sprayed everything with Timbor at 15% concentrate. Stripped the bark I could off the logs I have left.
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Got rid of a bunch of deadloss or stuff too short to mill to neighbor friends who wanted firewood. Also some maple that I milled as practice which I figured would be useless because of bug damage.
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Also, my buddy called and asked if I wanted a burn barrel. Saves me from burning all the nasty bark and sawdust in my nice patio firepit. I probably won't keep in long term, but its really helpful with all the junk I'm producing with my substantial inventory I'm working through.
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Before the safety police jump all over me...the barrel looks a lot closer to the milling table than it actually was. Also, there is a hose there, and I saturated the ground beforehand and didn't leave it unattended...am I'm a former firefighter and a fire protection engineer so everyone relax :D
It was a long weekend, and a lot of work just moving things around all day, but it really needed to be done. I've just been piling stuff up for almost 2 years with really no idea of how it was all going to work. Now that I have the mill and the trailer back there, I have a plan and am executing it. So far, I like where things are headed. I can move around easily, things are tidy, look neat, logs are oriented in the correct direction...life is good.
Looking good VB-M!! I wish I was half that organized. My Dad always said "sometimes you gotta stop and sharpen your blades". A little behind the scenes work goes a long way. Brian
Looking good :)
It looks like most of the steel you are welding on is galvanized. First order of business before welding should be grind off the zinc where you will be welding. It will make welding much more pleasant and welding through zinc produces large amounts of fumes which like all welding fumes are rather toxic. Keeping fumes to a minimum is always a good idea.
If you share what welding process, electrodes and settings you are using I (along with many other accomplished welders on this site) would love to give you some pointers.
Quote from: Rybot on September 27, 2021, 10:03:17 PM
Looking good :)
It looks like most of the steel you are welding on is galvanized. First order of business before welding should be grind off the zinc where you will be welding. It will make welding much more pleasant and welding through zinc produces large amounts of fumes which like all welding fumes are rather toxic. Keeping fumes to a minimum is always a good idea.
If you share what welding process, electrodes and settings you are using I (along with many other accomplished welders on this site) would love to give you some pointers.
You are correct. The trailer is galv. I'm pretty diligent about grinding off the coating and wear a respirator while grinding and welding on it.
All of my welding so far has been with a 90amp, 120v HF buzz box with an upgraded ground clamp, Hobart tips and Hobart 0.030 flux core wire. Max setting with a wire speed of 6-7. That's as fine adjustment as you can get on a $100 machine LOL I usually push the puddle real slow to make sure I get good heat and move in a lower case 'e' type pattern. The gas shield tip is removed so I can see what I'm doing.
I recently picked up a Lincoln AC-225 from the early 80s. Need to finish wiring my plug for it and buy some rods to get started.
One day, I'll buy a real welder, but for now, I'm getting by with what I have.
There has been a log of projects built with those old Lincoln AC-225 welders over the years. I still have the one I bought in 1975 and use it often. I have built things from truck bodies, wood splitters, home-made tractors, and sawmill modifications with my old unit. I do also have a Lincoln Weld-Pac 100 that I use to tack things together as well as welding patches onto old vehicles. I am sure I couldn't make a living with either of these units, but they are pretty reliable old units that have paid for themselves over and over. I would like to find a larger DC mig welder someday to have in the garage, but still able to function with the old units. Plasma cutter is also on my wish list. ::)
Got some actual milling done yesterday and added my "fancy" anti-turning system to the remaining 5 trailer jacks. Also had to take apart the lubrication system, drain the tank, and clean everything as there was debris in the valving preventing it from flowing properly and preventing the auto-start/stop feature from working reliably.
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Been sitting on this load of cedar since November 2020. Pulled it down from the milling table where its been stored. Feels good to have most of the milling table space back for future stacking/stickering.
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Was able to get my fourth 6x6 post for the pergola build out of the largest log. And found some 2x6s and 1x6s in some of the logs as well.
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Got a few small cedar logs left that I'll mill up into lumber for the planter boxes that I've been building. 1x4s and 1x6s.
That Lincoln will treat you well. As has already been said they are bulletproof and just don't quit. As far as the HF flux core.....(chicago electric brand I assume?) 90 amps just isn't enough horsepower for what you are asking it to do. I would recommend the titanium 200 from harbor freight. It can do stick, mig and tig and runs really well.
Hey be careful with that burn barrel, I had a pile of a few saw logs and firewood get ignited by embers blowing from my burn barrel by my mill. It was several days post burn and we had hot dry strong winds. It lit and my son found it before I had a huge mess. I had to call the fire department out to soak it down. That damp sawdust burns a long time. I now compost my saw dust out in the trees. Just saying because I don't want someone else to have a worse disaster in a populated area . I'M guessing a home owner liability insurance policy would leave you high and dry in some instances.
Quote from: Rybot on September 28, 2021, 10:01:34 AM
That Lincoln will treat you well. As has already been said they are bulletproof and just don't quit. As far as the HF flux core.....(chicago electric brand I assume?) 90 amps just isn't enough horsepower for what you are asking it to do. I would recommend the titanium 200 from harbor freight. It can do stick, mig and tig and runs really well.
For sure that Chicago Electric unit is far undersized. With the amount I've pushed that little 90amp unit, I truly surprised it hasn't let the smoke out of the internals yet. It keeps chugging along. Now, I jinxed it. I'm looking forward to trying my hand at stick welding.
I have looked at those Titanium 200 units; seems to be in my price range for an "upgrade". What are your thoughts on the Weldpro 200 Amp units from Jeff Bezos? Around that same $800ish price tag. Keep in mind, I want something that will see hobbyist use, the consumables aren't proprietary and cost a fortune, and easy to setup up and use for a beginner.
Quote from: Nebraska on September 28, 2021, 10:15:47 AM
Hey be careful with that burn barrel, I had a pile of a few saw logs and firewood get ignited by embers blowing from my burn barrel by my mill. It was several days post burn and we had hot dry strong winds. It lit and my son found it before I had a huge mess. I had to call the fire department out to soak it down. That damp sawdust burns a long time. I now compost my saw dust out in the trees. Just saying because I don't want someone else to have a worse disaster in a populated area . I'M guessing a home owner liability insurance policy would leave you high and dry in some instances.
I got rid of what I had in the barrel, and now I'm getting rid of the barrel. As you say, too populated and not worth it. I'll stick to the patio firepit on the other side of the property and utilize the municipality services like yard debris pickup and the landfill to get rid of stuff I don't want to burn in the firepit.
I'm not in a production environment, so if I can deal with the bark, sawdust and offcuts I have now, it will probably be the most I'll have to deal with because I've been collecting logs for almost 2 years.
Quote from: VB-Milling on September 28, 2021, 10:57:47 AMWhat are your thoughts on the Weldpro 200 Amp units from Jeff Bezos? Around that same $800ish price tag
I have never used one but it doesn't look any more chinese than the harbor freight model ;). Based on the reviews I would say go for it. The one advantage I see with any welder from HF is that if you live close to a store your consumables are only ever a few min. away vs. ordering them. Otherwise I think either one would treat you great.
Remember every machine is a smoke machine if you operate it wrong enough.;D
If you have a tree service friend who has a chipper, you might be able to add your slabs and trimmings to a load of chips.
Quote from: SawyerTed on September 28, 2021, 04:06:48 PM
If you have a tree service friend who has a chipper, you might be able to add your slabs and trimmings to a load of chips.
That's an idea. I do have a few tree service's I try to maintain relationships with for yard trees.
More mill yard organization/staging work with a little milling in between. Now that the mill yard is at a place where I can actually walk around and have some space, I'm putting further milling on hold until I finish all the trailer mods/fab work.
On the to-do list is finish weld the winch post, fabricate a battery tray, mill head tiedowns, logrite storage clips, mill rail leveling/fine adjustment system, prep and paint. Maybe a trailer light kit down the road just so I'm ready if I need to transport over the road.
I would also like to modify the dust exhaust port to be directional. I have some scrap aluminum I can play with.
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Been a long time since the mill table has been empty.
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I've got some other simple workflow improvements I'd like to make to the mill, but I need to refine those a bit still.
Quote from: VB-Milling on September 28, 2021, 07:31:59 AM
Quote from: Rybot on September 27, 2021, 10:03:17 PM
Looking good :)
It looks like most of the steel you are welding on is galvanized. First order of business before welding should be grind off the zinc where you will be welding. It will make welding much more pleasant and welding through zinc produces large amounts of fumes which like all welding fumes are rather toxic. Keeping fumes to a minimum is always a good idea.
If you share what welding process, electrodes and settings you are using I (along with many other accomplished welders on this site) would love to give you some pointers.
You are correct. The trailer is galv. I'm pretty diligent about grinding off the coating and wear a respirator while grinding and welding on it.
All of my welding so far has been with a 90amp, 120v HF buzz box with an upgraded ground clamp, Hobart tips and Hobart 0.030 flux core wire. Max setting with a wire speed of 6-7. That's as fine adjustment as you can get on a $100 machine LOL I usually push the puddle real slow to make sure I get good heat and move in a lower case 'e' type pattern. The gas shield tip is removed so I can see what I'm doing.
I recently picked up a Lincoln AC-225 from the early 80s. Need to finish wiring my plug for it and buy some rods to get started.
One day, I'll buy a real welder, but for now, I'm getting by with what I have.
I bought this one from kickstarter, does plasma cutting too, for $600:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/yeswelder/yeswelder-firstesstm-mp200-5-in-1-welder-and-cutter
I'm sure it will arrive as soon as I'm finished building my mill.
Haven't done much since last post. I put some walnut I CSM'ed 18 months ago on the mill to try my hand at edging. Worked well enough to get one side straight so I could rip the other on the table saw.
Got out the meter and the walnut is around 12%. Best I'm going to get air drying. Found some worms in the bark as well. I never sprayed it with anything when I CSM'ed it. Should I spray it now with solubor or just get it to a kiln for finish drying? My plan was to edge it all, get the other side ripped and store in the shop until the kiln.
I don't necessarily know what I'm going to build with it, but whatever it is will likely be indoors and 12% with insects is a bad combo.
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Quote from: ajsawyer on September 30, 2021, 11:44:38 AM
Quote from: VB-Milling on September 28, 2021, 07:31:59 AM
Quote from: Rybot on September 27, 2021, 10:03:17 PM
Looking good :)
It looks like most of the steel you are welding on is galvanized. First order of business before welding should be grind off the zinc where you will be welding. It will make welding much more pleasant and welding through zinc produces large amounts of fumes which like all welding fumes are rather toxic. Keeping fumes to a minimum is always a good idea.
If you share what welding process, electrodes and settings you are using I (along with many other accomplished welders on this site) would love to give you some pointers.
You are correct. The trailer is galv. I'm pretty diligent about grinding off the coating and wear a respirator while grinding and welding on it.
All of my welding so far has been with a 90amp, 120v HF buzz box with an upgraded ground clamp, Hobart tips and Hobart 0.030 flux core wire. Max setting with a wire speed of 6-7. That's as fine adjustment as you can get on a $100 machine LOL I usually push the puddle real slow to make sure I get good heat and move in a lower case 'e' type pattern. The gas shield tip is removed so I can see what I'm doing.
I recently picked up a Lincoln AC-225 from the early 80s. Need to finish wiring my plug for it and buy some rods to get started.
One day, I'll buy a real welder, but for now, I'm getting by with what I have.
I bought this one from kickstarter, does plasma cutting too, for $600:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/yeswelder/yeswelder-firstesstm-mp200-5-in-1-welder-and-cutter
I'm sure it will arrive as soon as I'm finished building my mill.
That welder ticks a lot of my boxes for what I'd want.
Really wish I had found out about it before the Kickstarter closed. Looking forward to hearing from you about it's performance.
Picked up some maple today from a tree service contact. Loaded my trailer with his bobcat so it was an easy pickup. 20 mins in and out.
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Sprayed it all down with timbor before I move it. Need to anchorseal the ends later today. Not sure when I'm going to get around to milling it. I see some bug holes in the bark and that worries me. Anything else I should be doing to prevent bugs?
Removing bark will discourage them. What else are you seeing? Bugs aren't always bad, take the ambrosia beetle for example; if you have those critters in your maple you'll be trying to track them down to thank them.
Quote from: DesertHobo on October 05, 2021, 02:04:40 PM
Removing bark will discourage them. What else are you seeing? Bugs aren't always bad, take the ambrosia beetle for example; if you have those critters in your maple you'll be trying to track them down to thank them.
No ambrosia beetles that I know of.
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I'll try my hand at removing the bark. I imagine that's difficult on a green tree. I only have experience with removing bark after the tree has been sitting a while and the bark practically falls off in sheets.
Got my maple off the trailer. Tried something new with unloading off the side verses off the back.
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Time of year will impact bark slip. Poplar in spring is a great example. The bark will basically "shloop" off the log in one piece, even when you don't want it to, like when it's in a loader grapple.
Just curious about the winch setup. I have an HM130 max, just fired her up for the first time a few days ago and still getting everything dialed in. My unit has a battery box, so its a turn key operation. Can't you run a set of cables from the battery to the winch to run it off of?
Thats what Im thinking of doing at the moment. Also how does that snatch block work for you in that location? It looks to be rerouting the winch cable more than giving you an actual mechanical advantage.
Great thread, read it all thoroughly and hope to see you continuing.
Thanks for the kind words. Glad you are getting some info from my updates.
Yes. I have a set of jumper cables that I modified with Anderson style quick connectors. I run the winch off a stand alone battery for the mill trailer (don't have an alternator). Or a run it off my Jeep battery when using my log trailer.
The snatch block at the top of the winch post has been working really well in the location I have it. Yes, it's primarily re-routing the cable. I'm getting enough mechanical advantage through parbuckling I think.
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Got some mill max capacity white oak today from a friend who had a pretty good size tree dropped. Got my pick of the litter. Maxed out the capacity of my log trailer too. (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/62288/PXL_20211008_220004823.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1633733017)
Those two should give your new mill a good workout! Looks like the trailer got a good workout too. That trailer must have more capacity than the average single axle trailer. Nice load!
Is that going to get sawed this weekend? Should be some nice lumber in those logs.
Definitely will give the mill and my winch setup a workout.
Nothing fancy about the trailer as far as capacity. I WAY overloaded it, but the friend basically lives at the end of my street. About 0.4miles. Calculated risk we'll call it, but I should have taken 2 trips.
No milling for a while. They'll sit in the log storage portion of my driveway with the maple from earlier in the week. I want to work on the track leveling before I mill anymore.
Going back in the next few days for some nice straight pine logs. Those should be a load much better suited for the trailer.
Hope to have the mill track dialed in before Nov and start milling again.
Is that the trailer they sell at Costco and Sams Club? Looks identical to me, seemed like a great deal for the price.
Quote from: Daburner87 on October 09, 2021, 11:39:15 AM
Is that the trailer they sell at Costco and Sams Club? Looks identical to me, seemed like a great deal for the price.
Good eye...one in the same. Bought it used from a guy who bought it new from Sam's Club and used it twice and decided it was too big.
Went back for the pine logs...pretty easy work compared to the white oak, but kind of an awkward spot to pick from.
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Started working on the track leveling system. Parked the mill head on some angle iron and pallets.
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Going to add more cross braces and continue with the leveling feet install tomorrow.
So VB - how does you wife feel about moving out into the country? I think you are going to need a bigger yard. :D
Quote from: Southside on October 10, 2021, 09:02:19 PM
So VB - how does you wife feel about moving out into the country? I think you are going to need a bigger yard. :D
We've discussed LoL
The compromise will be buying some property on the eastern shore in the future as we have no intentions of selling our current house.
Famous last words right???
Got the pine unloaded this morning. That's enough logs until the mill is back in action....unless someone has cedar.
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Continued working on the track leveling system today. Thought I could knock it all out, but too many interruptions.
I think a few more hours and I'll be finished. The sun going down before 7pm isn't helping LoL.
Added a cross brace at the front to catch the track extension as it seems to make sense to just leave it permanently mounted. It's not pretty by any means, but it functions.
I realized with the track sitting up off the trailer a good inch, I won't have to remove it to paint the trailer, so that'll save a step.
Should I paint the bottom and top of the track where all the sawdust sits even though it's galvanized??? I'd leave the vertical part of the "L" unpainted where the rollers ride.
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Looking good and nearly ready to saw that whack. Are you drilling your holes with your new annular cutters? Hope they work well for you. I kinda feel responsible for that expenditure. :)
Did you get some Metal-Ready pre-primer to get the Por-15 to stick to galvanized? What color are you going with? Match the green mill or going with two-tone and the white sidewall tires?
Quote from: btulloh on October 11, 2021, 08:15:28 PM
Looking good and nearly ready to saw that whack. Are you drilling your holes with your new annular cutters? Hope they work well for you. I kinda feel responsible for that expenditure. :)
Did you get some Metal-Ready pre-primer to get the Por-15 to stick to galvanized? What color are you going with? Match the green mill or going with two-tone and the white sidewall tires?
The annular cutters are amazing! It was money well spent. Its the only way I know of that allows a hole to be moved within the diameter of another hole without widening the original hole. Really glad I got them and really glad you suggested them.
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As far as the painting goes, yes, I'm going with POR-15's metal ready pre-primer product. I've heard many times that POR-15 will stick to seasoned galvanized metal, but I'm not going to chance it.
I'm going black. Maybe I'll paint some pinstripes LOL
EDIT: I did NOT drill that 2.5 inch hole with an annular cutter, that wasn't in the budget LOL. The 3/4inch holes were all drilled with annular cutters.
VB, I'm sure you covered this at some point so forgive me, what blades are you using? Same or different for hard vs soft wood?
Quote from: DesertHobo on October 12, 2021, 05:30:59 AM
VB, I'm sure you covered this at some point so forgive me, what blades are you using? Same or different for hard vs soft wood?
No worries. Kasco WoodMaxx Blade- 144", 1-1/4", .045", 7/8", 4 degree Same blade in both hard and softwood. They seem to cut really good although I have nothing to compare them too.
Give Richard at Cutting Edge Saw Service a call. He's a FF member and can help you make the best decision for your mill setup and logs.
Cutting Edge Saw Service
10708 Wadesville Rd
Rockport, WV 26169
United States
Phone: (304) 878-3343
Nearly finished with the track leveling system. Ran out of flux core wire in the home stretch of course.
Need to burn a few more welds on some cross braces and nuts. Then ready to put the mill head back on and give it a try.
I checked with a string line and dialed it all in. Really happy with the adjustment so far. I think the project was worth it.
I'll take a better picture in the daylight...
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I put my first mill on a boat trailer. One thing I wish I would have done is offset the mill to the operators side about a foot because of always having to walk around the tire. You could possibly extend the push handle a little if it becomes a problem.
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Quote from: Patrick NC on October 14, 2021, 08:17:08 AM
I put my first mill on a boat trailer. One thing I wish I would have done is offset the mill to the operators side about a foot because of always having to walk around the tire. You could possibly extend the push handle a little if it becomes a problem.
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I had the mill tracks clamped in place on the trailer for about 7hrs of run time to see what worked and what I wanted to change. The manner in which I narrowed the axle actually doesn't cause the tire to get in my way at all. Driving the mill head down the tracks is quite comfortable. What I didn't consider when I built the trailer at its current width is all the reaching to adjust the log stops. When I started the process of permanently mounting it, I thought long and hard about shifting it 6-12 inches towards the operator's side. I even went as far as entertaining narrowing the trailer more. Ultimately, I decided I'd rather have the weight centered over the trailer and the stability of a wider trailer footprint. If I have access to both sides of the trailer, its easy enough to walk around to the exhaust side and adjust the stops.
Ideally, in the future, I want to mechanically connect all the log stops as other's have done. The adjustment for them would be at the rear of the trailer and that would solve the leaning to adjust issue.
I appreciate you weighing in with your experiences. There's definitely more to consider with building a trailer than I initially thought.
Got some better daytime pics and some ideas are forming. I think I'm going to add a little more cross bracing and a home for my logrite cant hook.
In the daylight, I sighted down all 19+ feet of rail on both sides and they look straight as arrows up and down and side to side.
There are two out of the 18 adjustable feet that are almost out of adjustment thread, so that's not ideal, but I think it'll be ok. If I had to do it over, I would have purchased a few longer bolts to have on hand in case of this situation.
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I'm in a bit of a catch 22 situation....
If I don't know exactly what I want to do with lumber from logs, should I leave the lumber in log form? Seeing that air drying is my current method of drying, logic would dictate I need to saw logs asap to get them drying.
I currently only have plans for the maple logs in the driveway. I don't have plans for the pine and the white oak. I also can't move them. I also don't want them wasting away in the driveway. Aside from moving out the country as @Southside (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=24297) would have me do, any advice? :D
Saw 'em and sticker for air drying. Pine logs especially don't get better sitting around.
Quote from: btulloh on October 14, 2021, 11:23:33 AM
Saw 'em and sticker for air drying. Pine logs especially don't get better sitting around.
I'm guessing I just pick a target thickness and resaw down the road if needed or should I randomize the thicknesses?
I think more than likely, the pine will be for door/window casings, stools, aprons and baseboard, so probably target 4/4 for those. Really not sure on the white oak.
Maybe cut everything 10/4 and sticker them. You can always put them back on the mill later if you need thinner. It's easy to cut some off, not so easy to put it back!
When I saw up pine logs into lumber and don't have a specific plan, I will cut everything 4/4" as it can always be planed down to 3/4". I would square one side and leave the other random width with live edge. Once they are dry, you can put them back on the mill and accurately edge them to the width you want. If they are very wide, I would cut them down to 8-10" as they will likely bow when they dry. If there is a chance I might want some wide stuff in the future, I would cut them wide as possible and stack and sticker them at the bottom of the pile so there will be as much weight as possible keeping them flat. I might also put ratchet straps around the pile to bind them all together while drying. I found covering the stack with landscape fabric and then metal roofing will keep the light and moisture off the majority of the lumber. I cover the metal with 4' slabs to weigh the metal down. (I live in a windy area). I then just let nature do its thing.
This might be one option that might work for you if you have a place to store it. I have a semi-open area in a maple orchard that I stack my lumber in to get a little shade and breeze blowing through the lumber. Only issue I have is mice building nests in the stack of lumber. They wouldn't be so bad if they could be potty trained. :D
@btulloh (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=29962) @Patrick NC (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=49254) @Gere Flewelling (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=37292)
That's some good advice. I'll do the 4/4 for the pine and 10/4 or 12/4 for the white oak.
Quote from: Gere Flewelling on October 14, 2021, 04:34:00 PM
This might be one option that might work for you if you have a place to store it.
Somebody hasn't been paying attention :D :D ;D ;D
Quote from: Gere Flewelling on October 14, 2021, 04:34:00 PM
When I saw up pine logs into lumber and don't have a specific plan, I will cut everything 4/4" as it can always be planed down to 3/4". I would square one side and leave the other random width with live edge. Once they are dry, you can put them back on the mill and accurately edge them to the width you want. If they are very wide, I would cut them down to 8-10" as they will likely bow when they dry. If there is a chance I might want some wide stuff in the future, I would cut them wide as possible and stack and sticker them at the bottom of the pile so there will be as much weight as possible keeping them flat. I might also put ratchet straps around the pile to bind them all together while drying. I found covering the stack with landscape fabric and then metal roofing will keep the light and moisture off the majority of the lumber. I cover the metal with 4' slabs to weigh the metal down. (I live in a windy area). I then just let nature do its thing.
I've been keeping everything wide for maximum options. My thought was if they cup, I can rip, plane and glue it back together. I have been trying to keep the wide stuff at the bottom of the pile. I would like to procure some metal roofing and I haven't seen the landscape fabric trick. Do you cover the entire sides with the fabric?
Unfortunately, I'm very limited on space so most of my stacks are against a fence in a narrow backyard. The fence will block most of the breeze from one side. Out in the open away from the fence would be much better, but then I'd have no place for the mill :D
Got the mill trailer back in the side yard and the mill head back on. Went pretty smoothly. I'll have to see how she cuts, but I certainly notice a difference right off the bat just in rolling the carriage. No more dead spots where the wheels don't turn even though the carriage is moving. The transitions between track sections are undetectable.
I'll do the rest of the welding/fabricating in the side yard this weekend and next. I think I'm going to hold off on painting and use the mill again a bit more. I plan on at least painting the fenders, trailer jacks and the winch post assembly sooner than later though.
I have tried different types of landscape fabric I got from my Landscaper Son. I don't know the specific names of the different fabrics, but have found that if you use woven fabric it will unravel and create a big mess. You have to melt the ends with a torch to prevent this. It is a little heavier than others and will just hang down on the sides. There is another fabric that is not woven as near as I can tell. It is somewhat transparent though still black in color. This stuff seems to work better in that it doesn't unravel. It also tends to not hang as well on the sides of the board pile as it is very light weight. I have to put some weight on the ends. Stapling the ends to a sticking is usually enough weight to keep it vertical on the sides of the piles. If I have enough I run it down to within an 1" or 2 from the ground. Its main purpose is to keep the sunlight off. The metal over the top of the fabric helps keep the rain and snow off. The fabric seems to last a long time and can be reused on the next pile. It takes some time to put all this covering on the lumber, but it seems to keep the quality of the finished product much better in my experience.
Quote from: Gere Flewelling on October 15, 2021, 09:08:32 AM
Its main purpose is to keep the sunlight off.
This is something I definitely need to consider. There is no convenient place in my yard to keep as much sun off the stack as I would like and I can't build a roof or anything similar. Thanks for all the good info.
Sounds like you need an off site lumber drying and storage facility. Saw it. Stack and sticker in an off site location then bring back what you need for projects as it dries.
Even if it's a few minutes "out of town", it might be worth knocking on some doors to see if someone would like to rent a small barn or other outbuilding for your storage and drying. Someone might even lease a small parcel of land for you to build a drying and storage shed for your lumber.
You never know until you ask.
Give a shout to @Poquo (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=45962) He is just up the road from you.
@Southside (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=24297) @SawyerTed (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=38503)
I have certainly considered a version of this. @Poquo (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=45962) probably has the space, but he's an hour and a tunnel away.
When I've thought about an arrangement like this, I was thinking within 15 mins/10 miles for convenience sake.
Definitely something to keep in the back of my mind about who I already know and who I'll meet in the future. There are people with land/space close by for a few drying stacks. Certainly, if I pay closer attention about the combination of proximity to my house, land access, available space and my relationship with the owner, I'm sure I can work something out. Great idea guys.
EDIT:
An idea just popped into my head about the person I know locally with a Lucas mill, shop and kiln. I think I will reach out to him first. Will update if it bears fruit.
Putting the finishing touches on the trailer build.
Cant hook storage, mill head lock down, finished welding the track adjustment and the extra cross members. Build a battery tray tomorrow maybe.
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I started with my mill in the backyard with limited space , gets real small very quick .I have developed relationships with a lot clearing company and some tree services that allow me to cut at different locations . @VB-Milling (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=52288) if you get to this side of the bridge stop on by.
Quote from: Poquo on October 16, 2021, 09:58:55 PM
I started with my mill in the backyard with limited space , gets real small very quick .I have developed relationships with a lot clearing company and some tree services that allow me to cut at different locations . @VB-Milling (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=52288) if you get to this side of the bridge stop on by.
I sure will. Hope you are considering coming to the meet and greet I'm having at my place in November.
Battery tray fabrication is finished. I made it removable with junk steel I had on hand. Weird design, but it'll hold a battery. Got it prepped and painted with por15.
Also prepped and painted the trailer jacks and they already look a hundred times better.
Did the first oil change on the Kohler and lubed up the mill head posts.
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Next up is finish weld the winch post, prep and paint. Then prep and paint the fenders. Then get back to milling.
EDIT: Better pictures of the trailer jacks. Experimenting with painting the base plates so that's why some are painted and some aren't.
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I don't see a bugee cord, baler twine, or duct tape holding the battery in place, those get into the "weird but work" category. :D
Quote from: Southside on October 17, 2021, 08:41:29 PM
I don't see a bugee cord, baler twine, or duct tape holding the battery in place, those get into the "weird but work" category. :D
Lol. I do love a good bungee cord. I'm sure I'll figure a way to fit one into this build.
What is this "bungee cord" you speak of? :D A section of old inner tube will hold that battery just fine if binding twine, baling wire, a scrap of fence wire or duct tape aren't handy. :D
You find them in the road, will have a hook of sorts on one end and a frayed other end. Never understood why they just don't put hooks on both ends at the factory, works so much better that way. Anyway, when you find two just drill a hole an inch or so back from the frayed end of one and put in the hook from the second one. Works great and you have a spare. :D
We don't have them big fancy boats like y'all do there, so cuttin' an inner tube apart would be the end of fishin' for a while. :D
Keeping the momentum going....
Finish welded the winch post and trimmed the fenders a little bit (one was rubbing the tire). Prepped and painted the fenders, the winch post, the winch post base, and the mounting locations of the jacks and the fenders. I guess that means I started painting the trailer LOL.
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Amazing how much things improve aesthetically with some paint...
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It's called Sinhider for a reason.
Toying with the idea of adding some tongue storage. Ideally something 30x22x6 inches and weather resistant. I have a HF Apache case as a stand-in, but its way too small. It would be for straps, chains, winch controller, maybe some spare parts for the mill, frequently used tools.
I was thinking of building something, but I like the idea of less weight with plastic. Aluminum would be good, but I don't have anything at the moment that can do TIG. Any products anyone has seen that fit the bill? I looked at gun cases and storage totes, but nothing in the right sizes.
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EDIT:
Might have a winner after searching a while longer. Ordered and should be here Thursday to have a looksie.
Quote from: Southside on October 19, 2021, 02:58:59 PM
It's called Sinhider for a reason.
And easier than a flap disc :D
You've got to be careful dependent upon your state's trailer tag requirements. In NC a sawmill is a portable piece of equipment being moved from on off road location to another - it doesn't require a tag. If you put stuff on the sawmill to transport the stuff it becomes a trailer and requires a tag. Much would depend on if and how firmly your state enforces such requirements.
Quote from: SawyerTed on October 19, 2021, 04:29:46 PM
You've got to be careful dependent upon your state's trailer tag requirements. In NC a sawmill is a portable piece of equipment being moved from on off road location to another - it doesn't require a tag. If you put stuff on the sawmill to transport the stuff it becomes a trailer and requires a tag. Much would depend on if and how firmly your state enforces such requirements.
Good to point out. I have no immediate need/desire to trailer the mill anywhere other than out to the driveway. The trailer box would just be for mill yard convenience.
From the little bit of research I've done thus far, if I go the legal trailer route, I'll need lights, reg/plates and a safety inspection by the state police.
That'll be a nice trailer when it's done. What paint did you go with? I may have read it but don't remember. I'm hoping to have mine done within 2 weeks, then working on ramps and winch setup.
POR15 in satin black
Technically I think you already crossed that line since you started the build with an actual, purpose built, trailer frame, complete with a VIN #, and put the sawmill onto it. Likely nobody would look at it twice if it were just the sawmill, BUT, should you get into a serious accident or something like that, then the sharks ambulance chasing, radio advertising, attorneys, would be all over you.
Quote from: Southside on October 19, 2021, 10:09:01 PM
Technically I think you already crossed that line since you started the build with an actual, purpose built, trailer frame, complete with a VIN #, and put the sawmill onto it. Likely nobody would look at it twice if it were just the sawmill, BUT, should you get into a serious accident or something like that, then the sharks ambulance chasing, radio advertising, attorneys, would be all over you.
Well, one of the trailers has a VIN :D
I've been wondering how its all going to shake out eventually with the state police inspection seeing as how I've taken two trailers and made them one. One was titled and registered with a VIN at one point and the other one had already started to have been modified, and has no title or VIN. I have bills of sales for both.
Your second point about if something should happen is pretty much the reason I don't want to tow it anywhere....the law of diminishing returns and the "what if" factor.
Got back to sawing again today. Put all the mill trailer improvements to the test and so far everything is working well. Sawed some Paulownia and some white oak monsters. White oak pieces are less than 6ft long, but at max diameter for the mill so it's been a challenge. Hit some big nails in one of the white oak yard trees.
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Got the battery box installed and the winch and winch post back on. Also picked up this ammo crate that I think I'm going to use as my utility box for straps and tools and such.
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Liking those painted fenders!
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Making progress on the fab and making some sawdust too. Life is all about balance! Good to saw some lumber, after all you didn't just buy the mill so you could spend all your time making improvements. :) :)
What are you doing for toe boards? Did I miss that part?
For future reference if you see blue stain in the butt of a log, especially oak, she is hiding some metal in her. With that log being older it may not have been possible to see it at all but with fresh cut ones it's easy to spot.
Quote from: btulloh on October 21, 2021, 09:30:15 PM
Making progress on the fab and making some sawdust too. Life is all about balance! Good to saw some lumber, after all you didn't just buy the mill so you could spend all your time making improvements. :) :)
What are you doing for toe boards? Did I miss that part?
So true. I need to abide by the "work in progress" adage. I have a tendency to want everything finished as soon as possible.
You didn't miss the toe board. I haven't really decided yet. Part of me wants to just buy the one from Woodland Mills and be done, the other part of me sees mobile home jacks on OfferUp going for $30 with much potential. I know I want it moveable/relocatable and likely powered by an impact or maybe a treadmill motor.
Suggestions welcomed. Maybe a link to either your DIY version or your favorite from someone else's
It doesn't take a lot of jack to handle the toe board duty, so you'll have a lot of inexpensive choices. These little scissor jacks are just fine.
https://www.harborfreight.com/1-1-2-half-ton-scissor-jack-66907.html (https://www.harborfreight.com/1-1-2-half-ton-scissor-jack-66907.html)
And these little trolley jacks are excellent also.
https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/big-red-hydraulic-trolley-jack-2-ton (https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/big-red-hydraulic-trolley-jack-2-ton)
(The little trolley jack has turned out to be real useful around here for all sorts of small lifting chores.)
Either of these can be used as is while deciding on a more integrated scheme. (I'm still just using them as is while waiting for a window to integrate something.)
There are many many threads here on toe board design and a lot of good ideas. A search for existing threads would be very useful.
Quote from: Southside on October 21, 2021, 09:35:05 PM
For future reference if you see blue stain in the butt of a log, especially oak, she is hiding some metal in her. With that log being older it may not have been possible to see it at all but with fresh cut ones it's easy to spot.
That's a good reminder. After I hit the metal, I remembered that I took a picture of the butt of the log when I picked it up 18months ago to remind myself it had blue stain. A lot of good that did eh?
Just remembered - one of the more interesting solutions I've seen was by Yellowhammer. He salvaged the pump and cylinder from a boat steering and used it to power the toe boards or clamp or maybe both. The pump is driven by hand so not an elaborate deal. Pretty cool. No shortage of boats near you so finding a donor boat could be easy.
YH lt15 mods: https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=53476.0 (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=53476.0)
Quote from: btulloh on October 22, 2021, 12:03:39 PM
Just remembered - one of the more interesting solutions I've seen was by Yellowhammer. He salvaged the pump and cylinder from a boat steering and used it to power the toe boards or clamp or maybe both. The pump is driven by hand so not an elaborate deal. Pretty cool. No shortage of boats near you so finding a donor boat could be easy.
YH lt15 mods: https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=53476.0 (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=53476.0)
I'm liking all those mods! I'll have to add them to my list. I'm already looking through my junk bins to see if I have any wheels I can use for rollers on the backstops. Seems like such an obvious mod now that's I've seen it. Thanks for the link.
Some updates from this past weekend. Got a fair amount of work done. Still trying to dial in my work flow, but things are progressing.
Freed these roller tables from attic storage, put them together and put them in service. My wife and I moved a stack of cedar from the drying area to the garage in about 5 mins using the tables and minimal effort. It was great! I got them for free about a year ago. They've been waiting for their moment.
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Finished milling the two 26"+ diameter short white oak logs I had and stacked the lumber. In the process of stacking, I reorganized and found some efficiencies in what was already stacked. That allowed me to go higher and recoup some space for more stacks in the future.
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Got a piece of paulownia on the mill ready to go. Maybe get to it after work some time this week.
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My budget "log turner" in freeze frame form.
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Mods to add to the list and get done quickly...rollers on the backstops, daisy chaining all the backstops together, fabricating lighter log ramps, moveable toe board and dust chute/dust collection of some kind.
Got a few listings for land in the Stoney Creek area today. Want me to forward them to you? :D
Quote from: Southside on October 25, 2021, 12:02:23 PM
Got a few listings for land in the Stoney Creek area today. Want me to forward them to you? :D
I've got about 40 properties saved in Zillow around the Buffalo Junction/Clarksville area. Already talked to my realtor and the bank...stay tuned. Not a fast moving train, but something will happen :D
Quote from: VB-Milling on October 25, 2021, 12:56:10 PM
Quote from: Southside on October 25, 2021, 12:02:23 PM
Got a few listings for land in the Stoney Creek area today. Want me to forward them to you? :D
I've got about 40 properties saved in Zillow around the Buffalo Junction/Clarksville area. Already talked to my realtor and the bank...stay tuned. Not a fast moving train, but something will happen :D
Get to that neighborhood and all time will turn to fishing. I bought a spot on Bluestone Creek about 15 years ago. It delayed the house building by ten years.......Sold it and built the house as friends were dropping dead from too much partying. It was a good ten years, but had to move on. ::)
Wud
Good to know about that area @Wudman (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=624)
It was only a starting point. All we have at this point for criteria is minimum acreage and within 200 miles of VA Beach, and even those can be dynamic as time goes on.
I suspect not much will happen in the next 18 months. We have an MLS alert set up with our realtor to give us an idea of how the market is changing and what's available. Not in a rush.
Any recommendations for areas within VA/NC, shout 'em out!
Did some sawing last night and rearranging of the drying stack again for more efficiencies.
Mill yard is starting to get really "spacious" :D
I've got 2 halves of some really rotten looking white oak to saw, the mill table is full of cedar and cherry offcuts that I'm going to try and get some boards from, 3 or 4 skinny cedars logs and a short piece of hickory. I've decided the rest isn't worth messing with especially when I have 8 large logs in the driveway ready to go.
Will continue to work through what's in the mill yard this week so I have space to drag the mill out to the front to mill the driveway logs.
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"Sonny move out to the country" lyrics just popped into my brain. Wonder how long Billy Joel will be stuck in my head......"working too hard will give you a heart attack ack ack".... ;) Sorry good progress, back to your thread.
Got through the skinny cedar logs I had. Not much yield, but good practice. Started sawing the short log on the mill late yesterday afternoon. First cut and hit metal. At least the blade was near the end of life. Not sure I even want to mill this log at this point given what I still have left to saw and no real plan for the wood. Think I'm going to cut my losses and make it firewood. Sure has some nice colors colors though. I'm not even really sure what it is.
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Definitely running out of space in the shop. I have green cedar and paulownia stacked in there to use over the winter. The rest is walnut and cherry that's been air drying for 12-18 months. Need to further process it on my 20" Delta Milwaukee vertical bandsaw and stack it to dry further.
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Really loving this $20 ammo crate box from AMZ! Had a downpour or two over the last week and everything stays dry and accessible.
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Got the milling table mostly empty of the cedar offcuts. These were what was left after I got all the 6x6s for the pergola build. I'll run them through again and get 4/4 lumber for planter boxes and maybe even some 2x6s for the pergola.
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The lonely stack left on the table is cherry offcuts. I'll take a closer look this weekend, but I'm not sure they will yield any useable lumber. Might be firewood. I love burning cherry in the firepit.
Once the mill table is totally empty, and I've processed everything that's currently staged on the roller tables, I'll be ready to tackle the driveway logs. The mill table will be a really nice flat area to stack the lumber that comes off the driveway logs and I'll position the roller tables to make an easy route from the driveway to the table. Looking forward to that driveway stack. Will need a toeboard solution before then me thinks.
Google Photos autogenerated this for me and I had a good laugh.
A lot can change in 2 years!
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Lots accomplished over the last few days...
Got through all the cedar offcuts. Really glad I took the time, there was plenty of lumber to find from it.
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Moved the operation to the front yard and tackled 5 of the 8 driveway logs. 2 pines, 2 maples and 1 white oak. 1 white oak and 2 maples remain and will for a while. Maybe early December.
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Got some nice lumber from the pines and practiced edging against the cant.
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Processed a bunch of scrap into firewood
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Gave away a bunch of scrap to my neighbor for firewood
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Got a mess more of scrap to process into firewood
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Good thing I made some room on the firewood rack
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Long pull to get the big white oaks on the mill
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Made some monster 10/4 boards and leapfrogged the roller tables to get them to the backyard. I wouldn't be surprised if they each weigh 300lbs.
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Stacked the pine on the mill table which I guess is now a drying table LOL
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Got some cool maple crotch boards. Nice figure and grain throughout. Maybe try to sell these guys some day.
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Made stickers with my 20" bandsaw. That's the last of the kiln dried scrap commercial lumber I have so I'll have to pick one of the remaining logs and make stickers to be able to finish processing what I have left. I'm thinking the white oak halves I still have in the backyard would be a good candidate. I'll have to use some green stickers, but I plan on milling a bunch and stacking them on a pallet to air dry for my future needs.
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Today and tomorrow afternoon will be spent cleaning up the driveway and front yard and hopefully processing the pile of scrap so I can put the mill back in the side yard. Also need to make or find a couple dozen stickers so I can finish stacking out what's leaning against the house.
Did you get those roller tables from a guy there in Virginia Beach?
Unfortunately no. Had to drive a bit. They came out of a defunct cabinet shop just outside Richmond. Shop has been closed for years and years. My friend in Newport News purchased the shop contents a couple years ago.
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Last November, we bartered my labor loading cabinet shop tools for the day for anything I wanted in the building that wasn't bolted down. I got the roller table assembly and a few other things and got to spend the day loading old 'arn with a good friend. I took the whole assembly, so those green angle outrigger things became a mobile base for my 12" jointer. Also have a total of 4 of those pneumatic cylinders and a bunch of valving that I harvested. I'll do something with them some day.
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Got the mill yard really cleaned up and ready to receive the mill trailer from the front yard. Processed all the offcuts into firewood and stacked in my rack. Also, stacked out all that I sawed over the weekend on the mill table. Can sort of see it all in the distance. Don't have many good pics....tried to beat the rain.
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Started making white oak stickers 6 at a time, then the rain came and I called it quits.
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Mill trailer will be moved back to the side yard tomorrow, leaving 3 logs in the driveway and those 2 half logs in the side yard for the future. I really wish I could finish out the driveway logs, but its a busy November.
Well if you need more rollers, racks, etc there is a guy there in or right near (think hand grenade distance from Hickville) VB that runs a "racking business" out of a warehouse. Really nice guy, very fair prices, bought a number of skate rollers from him a few years back.
Quote from: Southside on November 02, 2021, 08:18:52 PM
Well if you need more rollers, racks, etc there is a guy there in or right near (think hand grenade distance from Hickville) VB that runs a "racking business" out of a warehouse. Really nice guy, very fair prices, bought a number of skate rollers from him a few years back.
I'd like his contact info...20ft of rollers is great....40ft would be even better for when I'm sawing in the driveway and would eliminate the need for leapfrogging the 2 tables I have.
I'm also considering putting wheels on the 2 tables I have
Took a few more pictures this morning of the progression of the stickers and the drying stacks
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Firewood rack is looking pretty much full
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Driveway logs
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Need to get on the phone with Woodland Mills; my 14hp Kohler keeps stalling for seemingly no reason. Its really caused this process to drag on longer than needed. I drained the tank and carb bowl looking for obstructions/sediment. Didn't find anything. I don't think its a fuel delivery issue. I know these motors have a low oil shutdown feature, so I checked the oil. All topped up. Quite frustrating as I really don't want to have issues with a motor that has less than 15 hours on it.
Change the fuel filter. If that doesen't fix it change the fuel lines, can't be but a few dollars worth of hose there. Could be internally collapsing.
Quote from: Southside on November 03, 2021, 09:06:12 AM
Change the fuel filter. If that doesen't fix it change the fuel lines, can't be but a few dollars worth of hose there. Could be internally collapsing.
Fuel line is good. I took it off yesterday with the tank and checked. Internal diameter intact and good flex. Good flow out of the tank outlet.
There's a fuel screen at the inlet of the carb. That's the only thing I haven't checked yet. Either its a piece of debris that dances around with engine vibration and only occasionally chokes off the fuel causing the stall or its something electrical. Hoping its debris, but I'll have to check this afternoon.
Checked the filter screen on the carb and it looks brand new....because it pretty much is with only 15hrs on it.
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Had the carb assembly apart and didn't notice anything causing blockage. Put it all back together and she ran just fine for a few cuts.
Talked to Woodland Mills earlier in the day and tech support said maybe vapor lock from a faulty fuel cap and to run with it loose or disconnect the control wire from the oil sentry system. If it happens again, I'll try the control wire. There's no way to run full throttle with the fuel cap loose and not get fuel everywhere, even with a relatively empty tank.
Problems for another day if it happens when I mill more in a week or two. I had to shut down my front yard operation before I head out of town.
Mill is tucked back into the side yard with all my support equipment. Just a pile of sawdust left to clean up.
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I've been reading a lot lately about blade sharpening, DIY vs sharpening service. There is a ton of information available so I'm not going to start yet another thread on it.
I have concluded that, above all, I do not have the space to dedicate to my own sharpening equipment. A close second is I do not have the desire to learn, the funds to commit nor do I currently saw enough to make it worth it. I sharpen plenty of things already and I'd rather be doing something else.
With all that being said, my options are:
1) Always purchase new blades and scrap/sell the others
2) Send my dull blades out for sharpening (either ship or local)
I've got about 13 dull blades, 2 bent and basically ruined blades (my fault), a new box of 15 blades and a dull-ish blade on the mill currently.
I suppose I could ask some of the guys who show up for my Meet and Greet in a week. Maybe I'll get in touch with somebody who resharpens somewhat local to me.
Open to suggestions as long as they aren't how I should resharpen my own blades. Unless another half acre, a 20x10ft shed stocked with brand new sharpening equipment falls from the sky, I can't entertain that idea.
That sums it up pretty well. Best case would be to find a local service. I'm sure there are some in your area. Not all are good at what we need. Generally it's going to be a commercial operation that you're looking for. Most of the cottage industry sharpening services are not going to be good for our needs.
Down in your area there should be a ton of grinding services. Never too early to get that sorted out. Our mills run lower blade speeds and tend to dull the bands quicker. I'm lucky to get 200 bd ft out of a blade. Sawing bark cuts the life dramatically so anything you do to remove a strip of bark on the entrance side will pay dividends.
I'm on the same page as you about doing my own sharpening. All things considered it's just not a practical solution at this stage. I'd like to arrange for the sharpening fairy to come in at night and make all my tools and blades sharp, but so far that hasn't happened.
Quote from: btulloh on November 04, 2021, 12:25:54 PM
That sums it up pretty well. Best case would be to find a local service. I'm sure there are some in your area. Not all are good at what we need. Generally it's going to be a commercial operation that you're looking for. Most of the cottage industry sharpening services are not going to be good for our needs.
Down in your area there should be a ton of grinding services. Never too early to get that sorted out. Our mills run lower blade speeds and tend to dull the bands quicker. I'm lucky to get 200 bd ft out of a blade. Sawing bark cuts the life dramatically so anything you do to remove a strip of bark on the entrance side will pay dividends.
I'm on the same page as you about doing my own sharpening. All things considered it's just not a practical solution at this stage. I'd like to arrange for the sharpening fairy to come in at night and make all my tools and blades sharp, but so far that hasn't happened.
I know you've been sawing a while Bob. Are you just stockpiling your dull blades?
I'll do some searching. I called Sure Set Saw in Chesapeake many months ago and they sharpen pretty much everything except band mill blades. Got a friend through the tunnel with an LT15, but I think he uses WM Resharp services.
@Poquo (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=45962) @Solomon (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=20162) Do you have anyone local, sharpen yourselves or ship out?
The math definitely has to be in favor of buying sharpening equipment and dedicating the space. For a hobby, getting blades sharpened makes sense. I'd rather saw than sharpen but sharpening my own blades is a necessary evil.
I sharpen for a handful of hobbyist guys. They have maybe half a dozen blades every month or so. I'm happy to make a little folding money and they are happy to get blades sharpened close to home. I did have to buy a 10° wheel but we worked out a way to cover that cost over a number of blades. It normally takes about 10 minutes a blade to sharpen and set for them.
Quote from: SawyerTed on November 04, 2021, 03:12:06 PM
The math definitely has to be in favor of buying sharpening equipment and dedicating the space. For a hobby, getting blades sharpened makes sense. I'd rather saw than sharpen but sharpening my own blades is a necessary evil.
I sharpen for a handful of hobbyist guys. They have maybe half a dozen blades every month or so. I'm happy to make a little folding money and they are happy to get blades sharpened close to home. I did have to buy a 10° wheel but we worked out a way to cover that cost over a number of blades. It normally takes about 10 minutes a blade to sharpen and set for them.
Maybe I'll meet someone locally next weekend and we can work out a similar deal. This would be the ideal arrangement for me I think. My blade volume after this initial sawing surge isn't going to be much. With 30 blades on hand and my willingness to purchase another 15-30 blades to have in "inventory", it would be great to be able to wait until I had 10 blades or so, drop them off locally to someone and they could take a week or two to sharpen them at their leisure.
Shipping costs really skew the cost when you send stuff away. If I made a little monney sawing I'd feel better about it but all this sawing stuff is pure hobby with no income for me. I do have a local place here but I haven't quite figured out if they are exactly right for me.
Richard at cutting edge is the best source for sharpening kasco blades if you ship. I think he can sharpen any brand as well.
I would like to send them back to Richard, but you're dead on about the shipping costs. I'll sure support Cutting Edge where I can, but if I can find someone locally who can do a decent job, I would really like to save the cost and hassle of shipping.
Which maybe leads back to my other option. Just scrap the dull bands and only buy new....
Maybe these guys in chesapeake: https://sure-set-saw.business.site/ (https://sure-set-saw.business.site/)
Website is not very helpful except for phone number and address.
Industrial grinding is a decent search term. Searching for sharpening seems to turn up knife and scissor guys.
The place i use here is called Automatic Saw Filing. Been there for years. And looks like it. Good place though. Excellent Stihl dealer. Not exactly in your neck o' the woods however. You should have a lot more places down there but they usually don't have a high profile and can be hard to locate.
Tried sure set. Post 216
Oh. Oops. When we get to a new page I lose track! I'd feel bad about it, but it seems to be the norm on the FF. ;D I guess food references will be showing up soon. :D
Had a local guy to sharpen blades but he retired.Have sent some to Woodmizer resharp . I don't have enough room to set up for sharpening.
Thanks @Poquo (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=45962)
Nothing done at my house this past weekend. I headed to my buddy's place at Lake Anna to install a whole house dehumidifier and have a bit of R&R.
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Quote from: SawyerTed on November 04, 2021, 03:12:06 PM
The math definitely has to be in favor of buying sharpening equipment and dedicating the space. For a hobby, getting blades sharpened makes sense. I'd rather saw than sharpen but sharpening my own blades is a necessary evil.
I sharpen for a handful of hobbyist guys. They have maybe half a dozen blades every month or so. I'm happy to make a little folding money and they are happy to get blades sharpened close to home. I did have to buy a 10° wheel but we worked out a way to cover that cost over a number of blades. It normally takes about 10 minutes a blade to sharpen and set for them.
kenne-saw.com , The blades for my Logmaster LM4 are 1 1/2 x 7/8 .049 229 inches (19 ft 1 inch)
The last time I bought new blades from them, they were $27.00 a piece for 60 blades delivered to my door.
That was about three years ago but they still have the best deals going on new blades. Munkfor Blades
You can PM me for the phone number
Quote from: Solomon on November 12, 2021, 05:13:11 PM
kenne-saw.com , The blades for my Logmaster LM4 are 1 1/2 x 7/8 .049 229 inches (19 ft 1 inch)
The last time I bought new blades from them, they were $27.00 a piece for 60 blades delivered to my door.
That was about three years ago but they still have the best deals going on new blades. Munkfor Blades
You can PM me for the phone number
@Solomon (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=20162)
So how do you handle resharpening services? DIY, ship out or local person?
Kenne-saw's pricing for my blades seems promising so far...
Kenne-Saw are good folks. I have an older Wood-Mizer Sharpener, it works well enough for my 150 inch blades that my 20inch resaw uses
but it really lacks the power to sharpen my mill blades. It WILL sharpen them, but it takes about 5 or 6 passes to get them right.
If I hit the face of the tooth to aggressively, it bogs the grind motor down and will stop it.
I have about 100 blades that I've run only one time and need sharpening. My blades are Inch and a Half X 7/8 X .049 229 inches long.
I'm thinking hard about throwing the plastic down and pulling the trigger on a Cooks Cat Claw Sharpener and Dual Tooth Setter.
They come as a package with two free cams for $3290.00 and I suppose it's a Ben Franklin to ship it to me, so with a couple of shaping stones
and a few new grind rocks I'm looking at $3500.00 or more.
As far as Sharpening services go , I have never used them. There is a guy in Mississippi called Mr. Robert that does band blades on a Cooks set up as I described above. He's on youtube and seems to know what he's doing. I may send him a dozen to see how they run when he is done with them.
I'm going to PM you my Cell Number.
Been a while since I posted actually sawing on this thread. Had some time off and was able to knock out the rest of my log inventory, so I guess that makes me caught up LOL
Getting the logs out of the driveway feels pretty good. There were three remaining. Two oaks and a maple. Oak was cut into 10/4 and 8/4 boards, maple was cut into 6/4 boards. Practiced edging against a cant again. Like it a lot.
The two halves of the short white oak in the side yard got turned into stickers and added to the stickers from another driveway oak.
I did the tedious work that just needed to be done. I cut down all my stickers to 4ft and 2ft sections and pallet stacked them to dry. Also, took all the blades I foolishly stored outside, put them back on the mill for a few passes to knock off all the rust, and now store them in the shed. Thanks to all the guys at the meet and greet who made that suggestion.
Still have a bunch more firewood to process. Have a couple neighbors coming this week for offcuts to process into their own firewood so I don't have to. Also, I'm almost out of space to store green firewood.
Worked pretty steady for 4 days and, while I only milled 4 logs, I feel like I got a lot accomplished. After the crazy weather is done midweek, I'll get rid of the offcuts, finish what firewood I can store for myself and clean up the side yard.
The friend down the road who gave me the white oak has more at his house. We discussed that recently and I told him I'd be willing to give mobile sawing a try at his house at his expense for consumables and labor. He's excited. Sounds like he just wants everything flat sawn to build rustic benches for his mountain property. It'll be interesting to see how that goes. That's all the anticipated milling I've got in the immediate future.
Keeping an eye out for cedar to saw, but I'm thinking I'll turn down anything else that gets offered to me until spring.
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Thanks for posting I learned enough to make the 12 pages well worthwhile!
Quote from: biggkidd on January 03, 2022, 09:22:03 PM
Thanks for posting I learned enough to make the 12 pages well worthwhile!
You are very welcome. Glad to know someone is reading about my shenanigans.
Got things cleaned up. Trailer is loaded with a bunch of offcuts to go to a neighbor for fire pit wood. Supposed to come by this afternoon and pick it up. Mill yard is raked and organized. The firewood pile I'm processing and keeping is almost finished. Probably will borrow a hydraulic splitter for the rest. There's some gnarly pieces left that won't axe split.
Another neighbor gave me a 12x20ft carport. Ideally it takes 4ppl to setup. Still not sure I'm going to use it, but he really wanted me to have it and it was free.
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Also, a bit of a funny story....
Last weekend, while milling my last log in the front yard, my across the street neighbor stopped by for a chat. He's a great guy. Runs all the maintenance operations for a local dine-in movie theater chain. Always working in his shop or yard.
We were talking about how I got through all the logs in the driveway, all the milling I've been doing, what's been going on at his job, etc etc. He noted that I must have a ton of lumber stacked by now. I said that I certainly did and to take a peak behind the fence in the side yard. He walks over, and yells "Where's the rest of it...on the other side of the house???"
I said that its all here on this side and he must have read the confused look on my face. "I thought with all the sawing you've been doing, there would be way more than this...this doesn't seem like a lot at all....are you sure you're doing it right?"
I told him I think my yield was pretty good, I needed to get back to sawing and to have a :new_year: ::)
You certainly make good use of limited space. Neighbors don't complain about noise when you are sawing?
Quote from: PoginyHill on January 07, 2022, 08:30:49 AM
You certainly make good use of limited space. Neighbors don't complain about noise when you are sawing?
I try to optimize as best I can...
I have good relationships with our surrounding immediate 6 neighbors (next door, across the street and backyard neighbors). 3 of those neighbors have garage shops and are always doing some project or home improvement. Most other neighbors know me and my level of shenanigans...if they have any issues, they haven't expressed them to me. They all think its pretty cool.
I try to be mindful when I run the mill an/or chainsaw. I try and mill behind the fence in the side yard rather than the driveway/front yard. Seems like the less people who know I have a sawmill in a suburban environment, the better IMO.
Quote from: VB-Milling on January 03, 2022, 10:21:43 AMThe friend down the road who gave me the white oak has more at his house. We discussed that recently and I told him I'd be willing to give mobile sawing a try at his house at his expense for consumables and labor. He's excited. Sounds like he just wants everything flat sawn to build rustic benches for his mountain property. It'll be interesting to see how that goes. That's all the anticipated milling I've got in the immediate future.
So I gave mobile sawing a whirl this past Friday and Saturday. We certainly didn't break any production records. We just got a few guys together and had a good time with some sawing and stacking in between.
Nothing was staged or easy to get to. We spent a fair bit of time getting the logs to the mill without any equipment other than cant hooks, 6ft pipes and the mill trailer winch. Most of the logs were too large in diameter for the mill so there was a lot of cheating over the log stops and cutting, rotating evolutions. 6 logs total with one getting cut for stickers.
Everyone had fun, got a taste of the experience and time commitment of operating a manual mill, no one got hurt and nothing broke.
We'll see what happens to the lumber. There was no cut list, and I wasn't sawing for max board footage. I explained
multiple times how the stack should look, what an ideal base should look like, sticker spacing etc etc. No one listened to any of that and the stack looks like a total disaster. However, I got a little spoiled knowing that the mess I left behind and the status of the drying stack aren't my problem! I put the mill back on the truck, picked up my tools and I was outta there! I really like that part of mobile sawing. 8)
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Quote from: VB-Milling on January 18, 2022, 11:26:46 AM
Quote from: VB-Milling on January 03, 2022, 10:21:43 AMThe friend down the road who gave me the white oak has more at his house. We discussed that recently and I told him I'd be willing to give mobile sawing a try at his house at his expense for consumables and labor. He's excited. Sounds like he just wants everything flat sawn to build rustic benches for his mountain property. It'll be interesting to see how that goes. That's all the anticipated milling I've got in the immediate future.
... I explained multiple times how the stack should look, what an ideal base should look like, sticker spacing etc etc. No one listened to any of that and the stack looks like a total disaster...
:D :D :D :D :D
I love your thread man, probably my favorite thread on the entire site as I'm just starting out too, and although I haven't started sawing just yet this thread has helped me learn from watching you do it. Nice stacking! Love the stickers you made, and the pallets for stacking on. Gonna look into getting a few of those myself.
Quote from: Daburner87 on January 21, 2022, 04:45:11 PM
I love your thread man, probably my favorite thread on the entire site as I'm just starting out too, and although I haven't started sawing just yet this thread has helped me learn from watching you do it. Nice stacking! Love the stickers you made, and the pallets for stacking on. Gonna look into getting a few of those myself.
Thank you...its nice to know people are reading and getting some benefit from my ramblings.
A rare occasion....snow in Virginia Beach. We got about 5-6 inches. No milling anytime soon, but the family took the opportunity to get out a make a snow man. Turnip loves the snow, which we just think is hilarious.
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Oh man it has been so long since I posted anything! I wish I had more to say other than interior renovations have taken over everything since mid-February.
I'm also out of logs. No cedar puts my pergola on hold indefinitely. I've gotten a few leads but they haven't panned out. My wife wants me to build walnut bedroom furniture so I'll need more walnut. There are definitely some challenges with living in the suburbs.
I finally got out to meet with @btulloh (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=29962) and we had a great time talking and roaming around his property. Thanks again Bob for having me.
It's already September and I forgot to put out a post about another meet and greet at my place like I did last November. I'll have to come up with some dates and make less food this time!
Gearing up to run miles of pine through jointer/planer/tablesaw/shaper for millwork throughout my house. It's awesome that I'm so close to really reaping the reward of all the rough sawing work on the BSM.
Really enjoyed meeting you Eric and very pleased you could stop in and spend some time. You had quite a full day with an early start and and a late finish. I'm still amazed that you did all that traveling, spent a few hours here and THEN painted when you got home. You win the iron man competition.
It was good seeing you and you're welcome any time. Hopefully I'll make it down your way and see how you've put your new shaper to work.
Cedar is back on the menu finally!
It was a little challenging getting them on the trailer, but I made it work.
The top log is every bit of 17ft.
Not sure I'll be able to mill the rest of the pergola substructure from these, but it's more than I've found in the last 6 months.
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I just need to move out to where @btulloh (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=29962) lives!
I also made it a point to cycle through my drying stacks and reorganize/consolidate
I pulled some maple, cherry and white oak into the garage to get it under cover. The cherry has about 22 months of outdoor drying time, the maple and WO, about 14 I think. I need to get better about documentation and tagging.
WO dried dead flat!
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And of course all of it is to support woodworking and renovation projects.
Pine milled on 31 Oct 2021. Making great S4S millwork.
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Fired up the mill to actually mill today.
Always fun to mill some cedar. Not fun when I hit yard tree metal. Giant, eye hook yard tree metal.
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At least it was last season's blade!
Might get this pergola built after all!
Ouch! I bet that brought things to a halt right quick. I suspect there is no saving that blade. Good to see you posting again.
Quote from: Gere Flewelling on October 03, 2022, 05:36:21 AM
Ouch! I bet that brought things to a halt right quick. I suspect there is no saving that blade. Good to see you posting again.
Definitely no saving the blade. Into the shed with the others!
Good to be sawing and posting again!
More cedar sawing last night. I still have one 11ft x 20inch-ish cedar log on the trailer ready for the mill.
I believe I have enough to finish off my pergola cut list.
Maybe I'll start a new thread in timber framing, general or woodworking for the pergola build.
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I have just come to accept that the butt log of a yard tree will have metal in it.
And your yard looks about like mine does. ;D
Quote from: VB-Milling on July 26, 2021, 06:49:46 PM
Was able to stay ahead of the rain and get the entire pallet broken down and into the garage. I had my neighbor and his skid steer lined up for tomorrow, but I'm impatient and much happier that its out of the driveway and will be dry and secure.
Very well packaged in this steel exoskelton. The REV C 23 FEB 2021 instructions are very clear on how to uncrate the mill. Easy to follow and logical. There is some paint rubbed off of the mill head and the majority of the boxes were broken open, but it had a very long journey. I found some nuts and washers down towards the bottom of the crate. I'll be taking inventory as soon as time permits.
Have a busy week and travel this weekend, I won't be back on it until next week. Let the excitement continue to build LOL
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Congratulations on receiving your Woodland Mills HM126 sawmill! It's great to see that you'll be documenting your journey going forward. For those interested in your story, you've provided a link to the forum thread where they can catch up on the details leading up to this exciting moment. You also mentioned the additional items you ordered, including a track extension, a sawmill cover, and a spare parts kit. It's helpful to know that you opted for flat rate shipping and that R&L Carriers facilitated the delivery with a lift gate and pallet jack. We're looking forward to hearing more about your experience as you start breaking down the pallet and assembling the mill. Keep us updated on your progress, and don't hesitate to share any challenges or triumphs along the way!