Whatcha Sawin' 2021 ??

WV Sawmiller · March 25, 2021, 09:56:39 AM

Patrick,

Yeah it surprised me and I had to go back and check my numbers to verify them. As soon as we finished a log I'd shut the mill off and load the next one so no engine hours during the log handling phase. Being 8' long logs it did not take long to set them up for sawing and did not take much log turning to hit my marks and return finished boards. Also my customer is an old farmer and I'd throw a flitch on the loading arms to trim an inch of bark off one side and he'd pick it up and go put it on his stack saying it was fine for the barn lumber he wanted. Tally was pretty quick as we just counted the 2X4's then treated each row as a very wide 1"X8' board and the son measured as I recorded on a spreadsheet on my laptop which automatically tallied and priced the work. I used 2 bands all day and one had been used to saw the last RO at the previous customer site the day before.

donbj · March 25, 2021, 12:35:36 PM

Nice work. Not to be nit picky but stickers should be in a vertical line directly in line with each other. Boards can be warped if stickers aren't placed properly. Just a suggestion.

WV Sawmiller · March 25, 2021, 02:52:47 PM

Yep they should. I was sawing. I cut up and placed the first row and explained how to put the next and went back to my mill. After that it is up to the customer and his helper. In all honesty these are not far enough out of line to cause problems and he will be using the wood in the next few weeks. The main purpose of even stickering it for such a short duration is to help keep it from mildewing - something yellow poplar is bad about doing.

BTW - we were using green stickers too since the customer had burned the dry ones he had from the last time I sawed for him.

Magicman · March 25, 2021, 08:16:17 PM

Quote from: WV Sawmiller on March 25, 2021, 02:52:47 PMYep they should. I was sawing. I cut up and placed the first row and explained how to put the next and went back to my mill. After that it is up to the customer and his helper.

I encounter the same situation quite frequently. I show the customer what to do and may watch and make a reminder if they are getting crooked. After that my job is to saw and his job is to sticker/stack.

Dave Shepard · March 25, 2021, 09:32:58 PM

I've had a clamp lever get rotated and hit the lid limiting the stroke. Easy fix.

donbj · March 26, 2021, 12:15:54 AM

Quote from: WV Sawmiller on March 25, 2021, 02:52:47 PM
Yep they should. I was sawing. I cut up and placed the first row and explained how to put the next and went back to my mill. After that it is up to the customer and his helper. In all honesty these are not far enough out of line to cause problems and he will be using the wood in the next few weeks. The main purpose of even stickering it for such a short duration is to help keep it from mildewing - something yellow poplar is bad about doing.

BTW - we were using green stickers too since the customer had burned the dry ones he had from the last time I sawed for him.

Right on. A mill I worked at in the past the owner would be all over that when he walked by the green chain. Would be more problematic there as they were stacked 4-5 bundles high. Went all automatic stickering and piling eventually, eliminating that problem. Cool machine to watch.

Sixacresand · March 26, 2021, 08:47:24 AM

I sticker everything coming off the mill unless a customer is present loading lumber on his own truck. The Customer expected to pickup lumber that afternoon or the next day just don't seem to show up. Thus I have to restack/sticker so it don't ruin.

Magicman · March 26, 2021, 09:33:29 AM

Thankfully everything that I saw is at a customer's location, so the proper lumber care onus is always on him. I have gone to a repeat customer's location and found lumber abandoned from years before. It doesn't all get used regardless of how it was stacked.

Yes, I have an inherent responsibility to show and advise an inexperienced customer but beyond that I saws um and leaves um.

WV Sawmiller · March 26, 2021, 09:37:19 AM

When I cut a custom order here at home, unless it appears the customer will pick it up almost immediately I will do an abbreviated stickering job - usually 3 stickers per row. The last job I cut here at home was 1X4's and I just flat stacked them on sawhorses as the customer was chomping at the bits to get them. He sent his son to get them within 24 hours of me calling them.

On rare occasions when I saw a customer's logs with no helper and I have to stack and sticker the lumber I properly sticker it but charge more for doing so. I prefer to just saw and let the customer sticker. I provide advice but the responsibility rests with the customer.

richhiway · March 27, 2021, 12:12:42 PM

Back at it. Order for 3/4and 1" 1x10 and 12's

richhiway · March 27, 2021, 12:14:17 PM

and a order for 150 live edge one inch boards for fencing.

WV Sawmiller · March 27, 2021, 03:17:13 PM

I loaded up last night and left to arrive at the customer site 16 miles away at 7:00 am to this stack of logs. Some pretty cherry and walnut and a decent oak or two (I did see the pith was 1/4 the way over from the side on one. We sawed for thin fence boards but that would have made it a good candidate for quarter sawing.) Had a scruffy maple, a couple of ash and several little locusts for 4X4 & 6X6 fence posts. The cherry & walnut were 5/4, the oak and ash 7/8".

3.7 engine hours on the mill 3.13 gallons of gas used and 677 bf of lumber produced. We had just finished our tally when it started to sprinkle and I got home just in time to put up the mill and tools before a steady rain set it. Not a big job but one of my oldest customers. He is my lawyer and when I was setting up my business I gave him my contract to review, he said it was okay, did not charge me but did tell me when I got my mill he wanted me to come saw for him. I think this is the 4th time I've sawed for him.

tule peak timber · March 27, 2021, 09:36:52 PM

Doug fir this morning using two forklifts

Magicman · March 27, 2021, 09:48:16 PM

Oh wow Rob, that should qualify as a fatty. And welcome back, missed you. ;D

doc henderson · March 27, 2021, 09:50:26 PM

We all missed you WOC! love your posts and advice/information!

Nebraska · March 27, 2021, 10:11:06 PM

Good to see the wizard in the village.

TimW · March 27, 2021, 10:53:46 PM

WOC,
About how much does that "fatty" weigh?
hugs, Brandi

terrifictimbersllc · March 28, 2021, 01:04:35 AM

Yes welcome back!!

Patrick NC · March 28, 2021, 08:12:05 AM

Some cedar I'm working on this weekend. These are some of the biggest cedars that I've ever seen. And solid straight through. No heart rot.

Its not often that you get one cedar tree that scales 250 bf.

samandothers · March 28, 2021, 09:05:35 AM

Nice looking cedar! You find a bunch of nice looking cedar. Casar must be the cedar capital of NC. ;D

terrifictimbersllc · March 28, 2021, 10:30:43 AM

Remarkable Logs! I don't often see more than about 12 inch diameter ERC up here.

doc henderson · March 28, 2021, 10:56:34 AM

very nice. yes you get a bigger one only to find a thousand ants inside.

Bandmill Bandit · March 28, 2021, 11:30:38 AM

That is some nice cedar. It looks to me like the ERC trees do not get to the huge stuff we see in WRC trees. There are some monsters in BC. A few standing in a park in Sicamous probably have about a 12 foot trunk maybe biggar. 24"+ is not uncommon.

Resonator · March 28, 2021, 11:33:40 AM

QuoteDoug fir this morning using two forklifts

Nice logs! I never hauled logs like that, but more than once when I drove semi I would have loads that would max out the lifting capacity of the machines the customer had to unload. They would line up on each side of the trailer, and lift with full power. As long as they could get the load 3 or 4 inches off the deck, I could then drive out from underneath and it would be safely off the trailer. If it was to be unloaded with a crane, I would park up close to the crane base, as that's where the lifting power would be strongest.