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Whatcha Sawin' 2021 ??

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

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Patrick NC

The last week of 2020 was my best yet. 3 days of sawing on 2 mobile jobs for a total of 3800 feet.All SYP.  Went back to the 2nd customer yesterday and sawed a little over 1200. Going back today to saw about 10 more logs that we didn't get to yesterday. At both places the customers had a Lull and 2 laborers for off bearing.
 Hopefully 2021 will bring my power feed and power head early in the year. Been waiting for it since October. I don't mind hard work, but as busy as I've been lately I could sure use it. 
Norwood HD36, Husky 372xp xtorq, 550xp mk2 , 460 rancher, Kubota l2501, Case 1845 skid steer,

WDH

Kyle, I saw the smiley_devil at 2 3/8" thick and can get almost every slab flat at 1.75" and some to 2" after kiln drying, so with pecan, you need 1/2" of green thickness over your target dried and planed thickness.
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

caveman

Thanks for the guidance (we normally saw slabs at 2 3/8 but went ahead and cut these at 2 1/2").  This tree has proven to be particularly obstreperous.  We sawed and stacked the butt log this morning.  If we can get this to dry it should be pretty nice.


On another note.  While attempting to load the pecan log we sawed yesterday afternoon I was inspired to disassemble one of my homemade canthooks and cobble up a Magic Hook.  It worked well when hooked to the log clamp to keep the log from rolling off of the loading arms.


 

 

 
Caveman

Magicman

Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

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

WV Sawmiller

   I feel like Tom Sawyer! I had a new customer come by yesterday who wanted 220 linear ft of 4/4 hemlock which I did not have. He looked through what I had and decided he'd use Red Oak instead and it looked like I had just about enough to fill his order. He called this afternoon that he was on his way and about an hour out so I hooked the 5X8 trailer to the 4 wheeler and pulled out all the 1X10 & 1X12 RO 4/4 boards I had in stock. Turned out I had 210 linear ft. I had one 2 y/o RO log left on the lot. I tried to pick it up and move it but it but was way too heavy for my little FEL. About the time I decided to go get a cable and pull it out of the corner where it was staged the customer and his brother pulled up. I told them the situation and offered to substitute ash or hickory for the remaining 10' of 1X10 or I'd go cut my last 12' RO and get it out of that. He preferred that as he really wanted longer boards and said he would buy all the 1X10s I could get out of the log. He asked if I could have it next week and I told him I'd saw it right now if he had a few minutes and they did so they went and watched go me out in the pasture, set the mill to the travel position, hook it to the ATV and drive to the front lot where the log was. I set up the mill which took 5-6 minutes then hooked a 1/4" cable to the log and backed John up to it, the customer hooked it to the ball on the blade and I dragged it 30'or so to the mill. The 2 brothers grabbed the cant hooks and finally got it rolled over and I nudged it the rest of the way on the arms with my fork. I put a fresh 4* DH blade on the mill and started it then lifted the log on the arms and moved it against the side supports, clamped and raised the small end and made several deep cuts to cut the flare off the big end and get to the solid heart wood. We were all wondering a bit if I was going to get enough heart wood to make 1X10's but I guess the solid heart must have been about 12-13 inches square. I squared up a 10" thick cant and started sawing finished boards and the brothers off loaded on the forks of John. I handed them a 12" drywall knife and they scraped the fresh sawdust off. When the cant got down to about 5" I stopped and stood 5 flitches up and edged them off to 10". They had some runout on them so I told them I'd call them 10' long as they would easily trim to that so they were happy. At the end we got 10-12' 1X10's and 5 10' 1X10's for 170 running ft. That was just about all John could handle but I got them over to his trailer and we slid them off and I went and got him 5 more 1X10's off the trailer to finish his order. About 183 bf. The customer was happy and they thanked me profusely for letting them watch and be part of the sawing process and said "Every time I look at that wall I will remember helping saw the log into boards." I think they were happier getting to load lumber than actually getting the boards he needed. Maybe I need to just offer sawmill classes and charge people to come help like Eustace Conway (Mountain Man TV series) does with his apprentices and such.


 Fresh cut 12' 1X10s on left and 5-previously cut 10' 1X10's on the right. I did not have my camera when I started sawing the log but grabbed it for this "Happy Customer" picture. After the customer left I went out and edged the 3 remaining >10" flitches on the mill. Total run hours was .9 hours and I don't think I had but about a quart of gas in the tank and all my cans are empty by design and pending a Tuesday gas run to the next county where it is about $.25/gallon cheaper when I go see the tooth fairy.

The most surprising and rewarding part was the customer's thanking me for letting them help.
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

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

Nebraska

I think that just was a little  manafestation of the sawdust addiction showing itself. You did them a service by making massive amounts of man glitter and letting them play in it a little.  I bet they come back and they will surely tell their friends, who knows you may have to set up some bleachers for your classses. 

WV Sawmiller

   Well, I think part of the surprise to them was how fast and easy it was to completely pack up the mill and move it to a totally new location and set up and be sawing in such a short amount of time and with no more effort than they saw. They were also impressed that a mill that size could be moved with an ATV. We probably used less than an hour from the time they gave me the go-ahead till the time the log was sawed and we slid the lumber off the forks on to their trailer. And for the most part the log did return some really pretty boards. I pointed out the quarter sawed portions of the boards with the nice fleck.
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

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

Magicman

Sawing is all about selling yourself and showing/letting the customer know that you are the best sawyer available. 

Just tell um that if you had to call the best sawyer in the state....you would dial your own number.
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

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

WDH

Going to take a good long time for those fresh sawn red oak boards to dry....
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

WV Sawmiller

   We discussed that a little and I hope he lets them dry enough. I suggested he might put a fan on them but not too much heat at first. He is laying them parallel with "chinking" made by a different color board behind them so that gives him some room for shrinkage. I told him we cut some WO 1/2"X6" and my son nailed them up on his basement wall and they each shrunk what looked like 1/2" on each side. 

Danny,

   Does the fact this log has been down 2 years have much effect on how much more they will dry compared to a fresh cut Red Oak cut to the same size boards. The sap wood was total punk on this log and only the heart wood was left solid.
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

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

WDH

The log might have dried some but the heartwood will still be quite wet. As you know, you can get 10% shrinkage on flatsawn oak and with 10" boards that could amount to 3/4 of an inch. If used inside, it would be best to factor in that shrinkage when installing so the gap formed from shrinkage will match the air dried boards which are also going to shrink some too, but a good bit less than the fresh sawn boards. 

He might be best served to employ a shrinkage calculator to gauge how to install the boards with some boards wetter and some boards drier.  Kinda like installing a deck with treated SYP.  If you want a gap between the boards, butt the wet treated boards up to each other and you will get your gap when the boards dry to equilibrium. 
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

WV Sawmiller

Danny,

   Thanks. I think he is expecting that. I had some 1X10's in stock that had been stacked and sir drying a year or so and they had dried to about 9.5" or so, give or take a fudge so that helps give him an idea.
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

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

WV Sawmiller

   The customer called me back to ask me to save the other 4 -10' 1X10's I had originally pulled from stock and he said he'd be over this weekend unless he could squeeze in a trip during the week. I told him I was going to my dentist tomorrow who is only a couple miles from his home so he jumped all over that. They are loaded on my P/U and he will meet me at my 9:00 am appointment. Sometimes a plan actually comes together.
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

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

Bruno of NH

Red pine 4x6x12, 4x4x12, 6x6x8, 2x10x12 was today's sawing. Yesterday was sunny and around 37° beautiful winter day. Today cloudy but still warm at 37°. If it stays like this all winter I will be happy.

 
Lt 40 wide with 38hp gas and command controls , F350 4x4 dump and lot of contracting tools

richhiway

Looks good Bruno. We are enjoying a fairly moderate winter so far here in the NY Catskills also. 
Woodmizer LT 40
New Holland 35 hp tractor
Stihl Chainsaws
Ford 340 Backhoe

richhiway

 

 
I will be sawing some decent Hemlock and Pine but I have to get them out first.
So far I knocked a front tire off the rim and if you look close there is only one fork on the tractor. Caught it under a root and ripped it off. Needed a new tire anyway the one that was on there was dry checked bad, I had slime in it but it probably was low on air when the bead broke. Spent Saturday morning welding the fork back on. No one said logging was easy. Ha!
I have 17 acres to log near the house,it was one of the reasons I started sawing. A lot of the trees are beyond mature and started to be blown over. The woodlot definitely needs some cleaning up. The area in the photo is going to be a new 100 yard + rifle range so I am killing to birds with one stone.
Woodmizer LT 40
New Holland 35 hp tractor
Stihl Chainsaws
Ford 340 Backhoe

grweldon

Just today I finished sawing up this Red Maple that was a blow-over from hurricane Sally.  It was the first ever Maple I have sawn.



 

 

 

The yield wasn't as much as I was expecting, lots of irregularity in the shape of the log.  I got about (7)1x9s, (3)1x6s and a handful of 1x4s.  There was ambrosia spotting throughout the log and it had a rotten spot on the trunk end.  I still have a few 1x3s to cut from the piece still on the mill after I cut off the rotten end.  It will be interesting to see what it looks like after drying!
My three favorite documents: The Holy Bible, The Declaration of Independence and The Constitution of the United States.

Magicman

Well it's good to see your smiling face my friend.  Looks like that Maple is also smiling.  :)

I started a ~200 log 74 mile road trip today. The SYP logs are staged at two different locations about 5 miles apart.  I stopped and looked at this site before proceeding to the second.  After I finish it I will move the sawmill here and the customer will bring the backhoe to handle the logs.


 


 
Not bad at all so now on to the second location where I will begin.


  
What??


 
Oh no!!  And it gets worse....


 
Nothing but a mud hole and the logs are in the background toward the yellow backhoe on the left.  No place to set the sawmill up.


 
So backhoe to the rescue.


 
Ready for the sawmill.


 
Bringing the first log to the sawmill.


 
Yup, the first log makes 2X10's and we are doing fine.


 
My customer bringing another log.  I did not begin sawing until ~10am and sawed 1236bf of framing lumber (2X12's, 2X10's & 2X8's) before stopping at 4:30.

My customer plans to market and sell the lumber and should do quite well.  All of the logs are bucked 16' and were no cost to him. 

I should do quite well too.  ;)
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

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

WV Sawmiller

Lynn,

  How old are those logs? (How long cut?) If I had a stack of pine like that up here I would not need any lube because I'd be cutting a big pine borer every foot or so. Might be okay for sheeting but not for framing which I assume is what you are cutting. I'm about decided SYP is less subject to borer damage than our EWP. Am I right?
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

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

Magicman

They were felled/bucked in the Spring but there are very few borer holes.  Probably because this is in a swampy location?  I will have to be dodging borer holes at the other much higher and drier location.  Also I guess because of the haphazard way the logs are, there is not any signs of rot, etc.  Also the haphazardness is not a problem because the customer is having no problem fetching and bringing logs to the sawmill.  No down/lost time for me.  I don't know if I mentioned it, but this is a repeat customer.

Grandson, Ben will accompany me today so we should be very productive.  The customer will pay him.  All sawing at this location will be framing lumber and we will probably saw some 1" stuff at the other location but I have no idea how much.  I justa sawin'.  ;D
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

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

WV Sawmiller

Lynn,

   So are you saying tightly stacked logs on a hilltop are more likely to have borer damage than loose pine logs laying around a swamp?

    The worst borer damage I ever saw was a tightly stacked pile of EWP on the edge of a hay field and the logs had been cut over 18 months. I sawed one log from the ground level and had a 3/8" hole every 18-24 inches so we tried one off the top and it was just as bad. We called the job at that point. You could stand there and listen to the chewing as they ate those logs. I was thinking/hoping SYP was less appetizing to the borers. These logs would have made some great holey siding if someone was in to that but the customer wanted 2X framing and this would never have had the strength he needed because of the borer damage.
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

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

richhiway

I find the borers are random. I have cut logs here in Monticello and 200 miles north at camp. Some get the borers, some do not from the same woodlot. Of course they only go to work in warmer weather. Here it is best to cut pine in the winter and saw it before it gets to warm in the spring.
Woodmizer LT 40
New Holland 35 hp tractor
Stihl Chainsaws
Ford 340 Backhoe

WV Sawmiller

   Thx Rich. Looking at those MM logs looks like they may have been beat up enough the bark is gone and if I remember correctly debarking the logs prevents the borers from damaging them.
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

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

Magicman

Quote from: WV Sawmiller on January 06, 2021, 10:34:10 AMSo are you saying tightly stacked logs on a hilltop are more likely to have borer damage than loose pine logs laying around a swamp?
Nope, I'm not saying anything.  The customer told me that the logs at the other location had much more borer damage and that he had sprayed them trying to kill them.  They were all felled at the same time.  I have been to the other location and I did not examine the logs but the bark slipping/gone appeared to be about the same.  They are certainly much more exposed to an open air environment in the woods compared to the swampy area.

What I do know is that I am seeing a very minimum amount of borer damage in these logs.  I did not tally today's sawing (probably between 2-3Mbf) but I have not discarded/rejected the first board due to borer holes which is very unusual since the logs are ~ 10 months old.

It looks like rain/wet tomorrow so I may not go back until Friday.
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

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

WV Sawmiller

MM,

   BTW - how did the customer happen to come up with the logs which were already bucked to 16 at no cost to him? Was it a pipeline or powerline or something coming through his property or something along those lines? 

   I had a customer call today wanting about 6 mbf of poplar to build a 30X50 building. I called another previous customer who agreed to cut and stage the logs then he and his helper will off-bear while I saw. I called another neighbor who gave me a price on hauling/delivering the cut lumber to the customer. The customer agreed to the price and will bring me a deposit and we will all start the work. The landowner gets the lumber price for his wood, I get a sawing fee, my neighbor gets a hauling fee and the customer gets his lumber at a price he is happy with. This looks to be a very promising relationship as we all contribute something we already had to the mix and utilize equipment we each had on hand without exceeding or straining our capabilities. Its not a partnership per se in the legal terminology - we are each just selling a material or service we had available.
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

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

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