My sawing process when I have a customer or helper

[WV Sawmiller]

   Over the years I have tried different techniques when sawing with customer provided help and this is what I am currently finding works best for me.

1.  I tell the helper I do not want anyone behind me and to keep clear of the danger area on the drive side of the mill head should a broken blade come  flying out. They get in my way and slow me down and are a distraction if they get behind me.

2. I tell the helper that anything I toss on the bed of the mill they are to remove and stack it - this is generally the outer/waste slabs at first then finished boards as I produce them.

3. I toss flitches to be edged on the hydraulic loading arms and they stay there till I am ready to edge them.

4. When I am ready to edge the flitches the helper is to come help me stand them up, flip them as needed and remove the boards once edged. Once they understand the process they can generally handle the flitches alone.

5. When the loading arms are down it is a sign they are to load another log on the arms and as soon as I finish sawing  the cant I'm sawing, I'll raise/load it. This way I am not waiting for the next log.

6. When I am sawing a cant and plan on using the finished boards to edge against I will leave them stacked on the cant.

   Once anything hits the rails on my mill it is the helpers job to move it.  It is a quick and easy motion to just slide it off the cant and the helper can stack it as I am returning the head for the next cut. If I don't move a board off the cant he is to leave it alone as I have plans for it. A good helper keeps the slabs removed to the waste stack and the finished boards stacked and a ready log on the arms once they hit the deck and I stay busy sawing.

[RAYAR]

Howard, you seem to have a very smooth working plan there.

[Crossroads]

Very similar to how I operate, accept for pushing slabs and boards off to the rails. I prefer they pull them off the cant. If they get behind, I just have to lift up and over, then start cutting the next board. If it's on the rail and they get behind, I have to wait for them to clear the rail, so I can make the last cut or 2. 

[WV Sawmiller]

Crossy,

  I used to do that till I modified my "edging against a stack of boards instead of a cant" and it was easier to train them to just take the ones on the bed instead of having them take boards I needed to edge against. It takes very little effort to slide a finished board off a cant. Flitches I push harder on to the loading arms but boards just barely falling off the the cant is fine. It is easier to train the customer/helper than keep re-doing the work or have to stop and tell them to move something.

Edging against a cant - modified the process in Sawmills and Milling

[Crossroads]

Gotcha, there is definitely a learning curve for the rotation of new helpers we get. I always warn them that the first hour will be a little clumsy, but it will smooth out after a couple of logs. I like the way your sharing your techniques for different operations. Early in my sawing career, I wish I had had conversations like this to draw from. I started with a manual mill, a whack of logs and made some designer firewood and a couple of boards 😁. Starting with a manual mill, definitely taught me ways to "take steps, to save steps". 

[WV Sawmiller]

   That is why I always tell every sawyer to go visit other sawyers when they can. I think at every such event I went to I learned something even if it was not actual sawing but just a time or labor saving or safety tip which made me more efficient and ultimately saves me time, effort or money.

   What I am finding the longer I do this is the more tricks you learn and the easier many things become. Since we all know every log is different it is real helpful to have more options to make mid-stream changes during the process if needed.

   Don't neglect to train the helper or watch for things he/she is doing that are more efficient than what you did before. Almost everyone who worked for me "trained" me on some aspect of the job they had learned to do better than I did. If you can show a helper how to center the log on the loading arms before loading it you save yourself time in moving it once it actually on the mill.

[GAB]

If you can show a helper how to center the log on the loading arms before loading it you save yourself time in moving it once it actually on the mill.

Mr. Green Sir:
I ask helpers to make sure that the log will be on the farthest stationary bed rail and within the mark on the mill for the closest the log can be to the front of the mill and still be able to saw it.  I also ask that they load the logs so we can saw top down as I am less apt to make a loooonnnnnnggggggg door wedgie.
When sawing 10' or 12' logs for example if they are close to the front of the mill then my walking is less and there fore the efficiency if greater.  Yes I am lazy and try to conserve energy, especially my own.  Also when you saw by the hour it is in the customer's best interest.  Another thing; the wheel gets in the way of travel less often.
GAB

[WV Sawmiller]

   I try to get them to center the logs because my turner works best that way. If the log is off center my claw sometimes just wants to raise one end instead of turning it properly and it takes me extra time to maneuver it over using the clamp and the claw and such.

  If the log is too much off-center the loading arms may also just lift one end causing extra work and more time used.

[WV Sawmiller]

Crossroads,

   Another point I neglected to mention is by pushing the first slab cut off on to the rails I can return quicker as that slab may have stubs or such sticking up so I have to raise the head higher and if I neglect to raise it high enough and hit the stub I may pull the band off the wheels requiring me to shut down and reinstall or replace it, or worse I actually break or damage it beyond repair. With the slab or even a finished board on the rails instead of the cant, I just have to raise the head the smallest amount to start my return trip to the front of the mill. This saves me more time than raising the head higher and letting the helper actually pull them off the cant.

[LeeB]

Do you find that the loading forks or the next log causes problems for the tailer?

[WV Sawmiller]

Lee,

  Not normally. I guess if it was a long log and he was unloading short boards it could but if they are similar sizes he can still reach the end of the board without having to reach across very far. If this is a problem I often slide the finished board forward a foot or so at the same time I move it off the cant to make it easier to reach. I can even push the board forward as I am making my next cut without losing time. Also, often the helper is off loading off the operators side anyway and the log is on the other side. The flitches staged on the loading arms (I Assume that's what you are calling the forks) basically present the same problem. Depending on the height of the cant the helper may let several boards lay on the mill without interfering with my sawing if he needs a little more time especially if they are smaller boards that he can move 2-3 at a time. This can give him the time to load the next log if he needs it.

    The amount of time it takes me to return to the front and start the next cut is generally plenty for him to stack the boards. While I am letting the boards stack up for edging is the time the helper can load the next log on the arms. At the end of sawing when he has to move several boards I used for edging he has a little extra time as I raise the next log and if pushed for time he can just slide them forward out of the path of the next log and stack them while I's leveling, adjusting and clamping the next log for sawing. I often raise the  rear toeboard/roller so he can slide/roll the stack of boards forward while I raise the log.

  The whole process is predicated on each of us keeping the logs, slabs, flitches and boards moving while the other is doing something productive at the same time. I guess if I had a super hydraulic and was moving things up and down a lot faster I'd need an extra helper to keep up or one would be working at a dead run lots of the time.