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A peek at my sawbooth

Started by jeff, July 24, 2001, 04:52:55 PM

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Jeff

Here are a 3 photos showing the controls and control panel in a fairly modern sawmill.

You not only have to be a sawyer, you have to be an electrical engineer.





In the last photo above, you might pick out the 3 foot controls that I use too.
Just call me the midget doctor.
Forestry Forum Founder and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
Ezekiel 22:30

Tom

mine is not that complicated. I don't think Iwould like to saw like that, you have to be too smart.

Bibbyman

I've passed by the kids playing at the arcade all those times thinking; "What in the world will these kids aver be good for?"  :(

Now I see what they have been training for....:P:P:P:P

 8)
Wood-Mizer LT40HDE25 Super 25hp 3ph with Command Control and Accuset.
Sawing since '94

Jeff

Thats what my kids tell friends, They say my job is like playing a very boring video game, except you can really get killed.
Just call me the midget doctor.
Forestry Forum Founder and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
Ezekiel 22:30

Gordon

Jeff, your job is starting to sound alittle like mine now. :D

I believe there is no way I could do that for 8/40--I'd go crazy. You earn every penny of your money.

Gordon

Tom

Why don't you describe what all those handles and buttons do?  I'de like to know.  Is there any computerization, like something to level the log?  Where do you sit in relation to the sawblade?
Is the booth soundproofed at all or is it for climate control and cleanliness.  (Maybe they lock you in there to keep you at work)

I have to eat most of my sawdust.  It saves on lunch money but all that fiber will stop you every now and again while you visit the woods. :)

marc

I myself would also like to know what all those handles and buttons do because when I go to get my wood milled I often wonder what he is doing when he is milling my wood.
 :o :o :o

Ron Wenrich

Geez, my ain't quite that complicated.  I don't have the double sets of buttons.  Sorry, no pictures at this time.

On my controls I have on the left joystick:  downturns, forward, set, and reverse.  These control the headblock directions.  The left joystick also controls carriage direction.

My right joystick controls are:  taper return, dogs in/out, dog up/down, and cant flipper.  Right joystick controls bar turner forward and back, and log slapper left and right.

Center control panel includes set selector (4/4,5/4,6/4,8/4,12/4,& 2").  Also includes taper sets for 4 headblocks.  Toggle switches include saw sets for the vertical edger, offbearer on/off, end gate up/down, slab dump, and 4 taper sets.  I can also shut my end dogs off, which speeds up the time it takes to dog shorter logs.

Foot pedals are only 2.  Log deck and stop and loader.

I'm sawing grade logs from 8' to 23'.  Longer stuff is primarily switch tie material.  I don't use a computerized setworks, so, starts have to be eyeballed.  I have only recently gotten laser lights for the vertical edger.  They actually slowed me down a little, but a better yield on wider boards.

Sawing is pretty much getting into a rhythm.  As long as the logs are bucked right, you can go to town.  A crooked log will mess up your rhythm, then you have to build it back up again.  Same goes for nails.

Pretty much you can go on auto pilot.  The only challenges are when you are sawing mixed thicknesses in various grades.  

Tulip poplar may be sawn 12/4 F1F and better, 4/4 F1F and better, 5/4 1 and 2a Common, 4/4 casket cuts, and 4/4 pallet, or some combination like that.  Sometimes get 8/4 F1F and better red oak order, which is fun to cut.  I have a standing order for 16/4 white oak (hard to get), in any quantity.

Blocking can range from 3 1/2 x 6, 6 x 8 ties, 7 x 9 ties, & bridge timbers from 8 x  8 to 10 x 17.

When a log rolls onto the carriage, you pretty much can tell what you're going to cut, and how you're going to cut it.  

Never under estimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

Gordon

Ron, it sounds like that you were starting to get a rhythm just posting about sawing.  ;D

Jeff, so what are some of those buttons levers and foot pedals for anyway? That picture of the plywood reminds me of an old general store that at the entrance has had a whole bunch of foot traffic.

Gordon

L. Wakefield

   I'm trying to make out the panel in the third shot..is that like an electrical panel with the guts kinda hanging out and sawdust all over? Looks a little like my cellar, which I keep meaning to tidy up and tuck the wires back where they belong.. :D :D :D   lw
L. Wakefield, owner and operator of the beastly truck Heretik, that refuses to stay between the lines when parking

Jeff

The third shot is the electrical juction box. Just open no guts hanging out! :D

This is where all the wires from the control switches, micro switches, delay timers and etc. come together to be routed on to the carriage, or sensors or other places they need to go.
A real freaken maze when you get a short.
Just call me the midget doctor.
Forestry Forum Founder and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
Ezekiel 22:30

marc

Thanks for sharing your saw both with us, I know I leant a lot. :) :) :)

Gordon

Jeff what do all the buttons do on the board? Please tell us more.

Also all the little buttons on the hand controls

Gordon

Jeff

O.k., I'll try, but I aint sure about all off em. :D

Orange control stand

Top row are lights. Left to right:

Forward Limit ( so you don't cut off your doggies)
Low Hyd. Oil
Cooling Fan on
Tapers engaged
Setworks power supply indicator.

Next row down just a skosh and to the right, from left to right:
Oil cooling fan on/off
Setworks power on/off

Next Row:  Stick on Calandar

Next Row slightly below middle, white: Setworks settings buttons. Currently set at 1&1/16   5/4  6/4  8/4  1&1/8


Next row, big black buttons at bottom. Taper controls for the three head blocks.  (Three silver to the right are blanks)

Left hand Control:  Away from me is feed, toward me is gig back.

Top row of switches. Fast forward for setworks,blank switch,blank switch, Switch to activate or deactivate dog assembly on 3rd head block.

Bottom row left hand control.
slow forward, set button, fast reverse.


Right controler is on a wobble. 4 way valve that makes log turner go up and down, and side to side movement makes log turner chain rotate one way or the other.

Right controler, top row.

Blank switch, blank switch, toggle for moving verticle edger blades together or apart, toggle for moving edger bladse up and down together.

Bottom row.

Return to normal button for taper,
bottom dog logturner,
dogs up and down
dogs in and out


Left foot pedal drops end gate on rollers for lumber to go straight or closes it for lumber to go another way.

First right pedal, stop unloader, Rolls logs onto carriage
second right pedal, log deck chain, moves logs up deck to the carriage.



Just call me the midget doctor.
Forestry Forum Founder and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
Ezekiel 22:30

Ron Wenrich

Your feed controls are backwards from mine.  I pull to feed, and push back to retrurn.

I have them set that way, since that is how I learned on a handmill.  Never broke the habit.

They were set that way on the old mills, in case something hit you from behind (like a limb or branch stub) as you pulled the carriage towards the saw.  If that happened, it would return the carriage instead of dragging you through the saw.

I wonder how many sawyers they went through 'til they figured that one out.
Never under estimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

CHARLIE

Well, me being rather simple minded, I think that it's enough that Jeff and Ron know which buttons do what. What I want to know is.......how long do y'all sit in that cab moving levers and pushing buttons before you get to stand up and walk around a bit? ::)   I'm sure the day flies by 'cause you are having to concentrate on every log that comes through, and probably get rather tense, but I'm not sure I could sit in one spot like that all day. How do y'all do that? Is there someone that relieves you for awhile? Do you trade off jobs with someone else? Do you have to keep a jumbo tube of Preparation H?  :-/
Charlie
"Everybody was gone when I arrived but I decided to stick around until I could figure out why I was there !"

Ron Wenrich

Concentrate on logs?  No way.  I only have to pay close attention to big logs, crooked logs, or logs that have blue on the ends (shows metal).  The rest of the time I listen to the radio - ear buds under my head phones.  Or you sit there and figure things out - like those calculators.

Now that doesn't mean you don't pay attention to what you're doing.  You still have to make decisions on when to turn logs, how to set tapers, etc.; but, a lot of that is now second nature.

I also pay attention to noises and the way things feel.  It lets me know when a bearing is going out, or some other problem is developing.  Getting it fixed is another problem.

I start sawing at 6:30 and saw until noon.  Then sharpen up after lunch and saw until 4:00.  Only half day on Friday.  I take no breaks except when nature calls.  I also sub-contract and get paid for production, not time spent.  So, I have an incentive to keep the carriage moving.

I have no one else that can saw, so when I take a vacation, the mill shuts down.  Same goes for when I'm sick.  I usually don't take any sick days, and only 1 week of vacation.

Sawing is like driving 100 mph in rush hour traffic.  But, if you're Mario Andretti, it's a walk in the park.
Never under estimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

Jeff

Ron just said what I would say!

 I spend much of my day figuring out computer related problems.  Now, it seems like we are making lite of our jobs, and that anybody could do them.  

Not so. We just have a gazillion hours in the *DanG booth, so its kinda like breathing, you just do it without notice till you get a runny nose.

I would say I was proficient at sawing after my first year, dangerous till my 5th year, and unmatched after 10. I now believe I am nearing sawyer senility.

Charlie, I do have trouble staying in the booth these days. My mind out grew the sawing  long ago and I have trouble getting myself going each and every morning now.
Just call me the midget doctor.
Forestry Forum Founder and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
Ezekiel 22:30

CHARLIE

I know the skill is there and you have to keep alert, but I just don't know if I could sit in one of those cabs all day 'cept for a lunch break. :o :o  I watched a crane operator last month as he literally disassembled some temporary buildings put up in 1976 ( ;D). He was very skillful but had to sit in that cab all dang day working those levers. Same thing when I worked for the railroad, no way could I be an engineer. Handling a lot of cars take skill but they are locked into their seats and looking through a mirror all day.  I reckon that's why y'all get paid those big bucks.....huh?::)
Charlie
"Everybody was gone when I arrived but I decided to stick around until I could figure out why I was there !"

CHARLIE

OK, I'll fess up. Even though y'all are captured in that complicated cab, at least you can see the out of doors. I work (I'll use that term loosely) in the core of a huge building sitting behind a danged terminal all day. If I want to know what is going on outside, I have to take a long walk to a window. Sometimes, if it's raining hard enough, I can tell that it's raining, 'cause I can hear it on the roof. When winter comes and the days get short, I miss daytime a lot of the time. It's dark when I drive to work and then it's dark when it's time to go home.:(  So, I reckon all jobs have their pluses and their minuses. ::)  
Charlie
"Everybody was gone when I arrived but I decided to stick around until I could figure out why I was there !"

Jeff

I only see the out of doors every 3 hours at break. I know everybody's job has it's downfalls.

Here is what you can do to get a good idea of a sawyers day.

Go in your smallest bathroom (Without windows), put the lid down on the stool, sit down. Now start swinging your arms back and forth steadily,  and tap your feet alternately on occasion. Now do this for 9 hours, stopping once at midday to flush.
Just call me the midget doctor.
Forestry Forum Founder and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
Ezekiel 22:30

CHARLIE

OK, I'm off to the bathroom to swing my arms and tap my feet. I just hope I can remember to come out of there after nine hours. This is gonna be fun! 8) 8) 8)
Charlie
"Everybody was gone when I arrived but I decided to stick around until I could figure out why I was there !"

Jeff

Private message from Charlie:

QuoteJeff, can I come out of the bathroom yet? I've lost track of time and don't know if my 9 hours is up yet, but my arms and feet are getting mighty tired. It's been fun though, but I think my wife things I'm a bit strange and is tired of me hogging the bathroom. ;D

Yes Charlie, you may come out.
Just call me the midget doctor.
Forestry Forum Founder and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
Ezekiel 22:30

CHARLIE

Whew! Thanks Jeff!  And my wife thanks you too just like all good children do. ;D
Charlie
"Everybody was gone when I arrived but I decided to stick around until I could figure out why I was there !"

Gordon

Charlie you make me laugh. That was a hoot.  ;D ;D ;D

I know for a fact I couldn't stay in the booth all day every day. Not an easy job.

Gordon

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