Whatcha Sawin' 2023 ??

[porti]

Thank Tom k   You arte right the guy I got the beams from told me W8-31

[Don P]

This is one layer of 2 of the heart of the second log cant... maybe a batten on each edge or its just pallet.


 

Here was the layout on the butt log cant. I decided to swing vertical and take 1x6's at the heart. As it turned out I think it was probably a wash but I did recover 2 FAS 1x6's this way.


 

Then the slabs we had CSM'sd to make the cants. I recovered another 6 or 7 1x12's and left 2 slabs for something. That butt log was pretty sweet, 20 FAS totally clear 1x12's, a handful of clear 1x6 and a pair of slabs over 2' wide. You're looking at the mill through the swingset that we use to spin the sawhead. We track up the rails making a 6" cut in one direction, pick up and spin the carriage and then take the other 6" from that direction. It doubles the cut width fairly fast.


 

[richhiway]

I'm back sawing.  Wow, what a great feeling.  After 3 weeks of the mill being in the barn................WOW...........I'm sawing!!!

 
4x10s Sixteen feet for a very good repeat customer.  Bless his heart, He has been waiting patiently.
hugs,  Brandi

I just noticed "my hero is Johnny Jett"   He does seem like the nicest man. Love his art work.

[caveman]

John and I did not get much done today.  This morning I drove the telehandler down to the pond on a steeper incline than is optimal due to some ducks making a nest under a canoe on the logical approach.  I snagged the hickory log pretty easily but when trying to back out, the tires started spinning.  I dumped the log and went to get the tractor to try to pull out the much larger machine before it was badly stuck.  No dice.  I did not want to use the boom to try to help push out due to the horror stories I've heard of on bending the boom.  

Anyway, after a few minutes of filling in ruts, back and forth and readjusting the weight using the chassis tilt, I was able to get it out and use the tractor and the grapple to retrieve the log.

We sawed exactly one log today.  The hickory, which had been soaking in the pond for a year, sawed flat and easy.  Not as easy as cypress but about like fresh cut red oak.  We took a few minutes to remove the the bark, almost 150 pounds of it, since it was packed with sand, and we were on the verge of being to wide to saw through and through.  

John was in the water trying to lasso the log with a rope.  If you look closely, you may see the 6' gator to the far right.  A thunderstorm came up as we were beginning to saw so we went inside, and I made a pot of grits and reheated some fried pork chops.  A fine meal for 9 a.m.  We eventually got the log sawed.  

Putting them in the pond will save them but DanG, it can be a hassle to retrieve them sometimes.

 

 

[Don P]

Would it be worth geotextile and gravel to make a ramp in?
I was gonna say something about using the boom for self rescue... but being the guy that just repacked the boom cylinder I'll just sit on my hands  :D.

[Southside]

Wait a second. A thunderstorm scared you off but a 6' gator didn't? If it were me that gator would have been breakfast.  :D

[caveman]

Normally, it is a non-event getting in and out with logs, but the approach I took was too steep.  We used to get chased up on docks by bigger gators when we were kids wade fishing in area lakes.  This one's days are likely numbered.  It is still a felony to kill them without a permit here still.  I saw one dead on the road last week.  There is no shortage of them.  I caught a 5' one in my garage several years ago.  He was hanging out under a Bronco.  

I was curious if the telehandler had limited slip axles or not.  I don't wonder anymore.  A diff-lock would be advantageous.  If we ever get all of the little things sorted out on this machine, it will be an amazing addition.  As it is, it has been a game changer.  

[Southside]

As many times you read about someone walking along a pond and being attacked and killed by these things it's insane to protect them like that.  Our ancestors removed apex predators for a reason.  They have their place, not saying to remove them from the map, but remove them from areas around people. From some of your posts I don't imagine you are in the middle of no where. 

[caveman]

45 years ago, where we live was considered "the sticks".  Things have grown up around us.  We still see hogs, deer, turkeys and sometimes other critters even though it is much more urban than it was previously.  Most of the neighbors have 10 acres.  Years ago, my neighbor to the north had 7000 acres and the one across the road had 3500.  Folks left the glaciated north and came here.  It would be easy to get someone to come get this little gator, but I'd have to get with the fish and wildlife commission and a nuisance gator catcher would come get him.  

When my oldest daughter was about three years old, one about 8' long sprang up out of the water after her when we were down by the bank of the pond.  That was a bad choice.

[TimW]

Caveman,
       What make and model telehandler do you have?

I think I finally got all the bugs out of mine, a Lull 644D-34.


 
hugs,  Brandi

[caveman]

It's a JBC 506C.  The two biggest things we've been putting off is the alternator and repacking the steering cylinders.  Hopefully the cylinders are the reason for the steering to get out of sync.  It is operational as it is but it is aggravating to have to jockey the steering every minute or so. 

This machine has enabled us to make bigger lumber packs and stack higher, move bigger logs, reach over logs to get logs.  A week or so ago, we were sawing a log that we found quite a bit of metal in.  We were able to reach over 10 or so other logs, grab the one off of the mill and get right back to sawing.  It gets into about the same spots as my 70 hp Kubota tractor but lifts 3x more.


We found some Sky Traks and a Ghel that were probably better than this one, but we did not pull the trigger on them.  By the time this one came along the others that were comparable were $10K more.

A Lull like yours would have been high on our list as well.

[Magicman]

I love it when I get a customer that has a "squirt boom" loader.  They are game changers.   8)

[Resonator]

I've heard gators work good for making fancy cowboy boots... ;D

[TimW]

It's a JBC 506C.  The two biggest things we've been putting off is the alternator and repacking the steering cylinders.  Hopefully the cylinders are the reason for the steering to get out of sync.  It is operational as it is but it is aggravating to have to jockey the steering every minute or so.

This machine has enabled us to make bigger lumber packs and stack higher, move bigger logs, reach over logs to get logs.  A week or so ago, we were sawing a log that we found quite a bit of metal in.  We were able to reach over 10 or so other logs, grab the one off of the mill and get right back to sawing.  It gets into about the same spots as my 70 hp Kubota tractor but lifts 3x more.


We found some Sky Traks and a Ghel that were probably better than this one, but we did not pull the trigger on them.  By the time this one came along the others that were comparable were $10K more.

A Lull like yours would have been high on our list as well.

I have read in the past my Lull can get out of sync.  But seems the JCB line has their own problems with steering sensors.  Read about the fix here...JCB 505-22 Loadall 4 wheel steering won't sync | Heavy Equipment Forums
There are a lot of threads out there about the problem on different websites.  But I like to go to HEF, as it is mostly heavy equipment mechanics and operators talking about problems and the fix.  Hope this helps!
What's the deal with the alternator?
          hugs,  Brandi

[Magicman]

I took some time off and have not sawn since June 5th, but I am back in the saddle again.


 

 Some of you may recognize this sawing site by the Prentice loader.  This is where I sawed the Cypress last year, but this time for the loader owner who is a logger.  I quit counting logs when I went over 200.  I saw Poplar, Ash, Walnut, Black Willow, & ERC and there are probably some other species hiding among those logs.


 We have a very nice setup with the Prentice handling the logs and the JD hauling the slabs & lumber off.


 Another view.  I have 4 tailgunners plus the JD operator.  They are all logging hands and very quickly adapted to doing what has to be done.

Rain shut us down this afternoon but we will be back at 6:30 tomorrow morning.  PatD and I have appointments Thursday and Friday but I am still hoping to be able to finish this by the end of next week.

[caveman]

Thank you for the tip, Bindian   

[Resonator]

I quit counting logs when I went over 200.

[GAB]

Lynn:
You wrote: "PatD and I have appointments Thursday and Friday but I am still hoping to be able to finish this by the end of next week."
Thursday, friday, saturday & sunday gives them time to add more to the pile.
GAB

[fluidpowerpro]

Last winter snow and ice took the tops off of quite a few Red Pines on my property so finally got around to sawing them up. Most were 8-12" diameter so nothing to get excited about. Sawed 1x and 2x sizes and a few 4x4 posts.

 

 

 

 A fair amount I just left the wane on as I will just use it for braces on firewood skids. Funny thing though was that because I was sawing pine this time of year, I fully expected it to immediately mold and stain. Maybe because I left it sit in direct sunlight all day??? The humidity has been lower than normal for this time of year so I'm sure that helped.

[Magicman]

Looking Good Tom.  8)

You are correct Gerald about the customer bringing more logs in.  My goal is the end of next week, but I have been sawing long enough to expect the unexpected.  

I am not really anxious to start the job after this one, but I ain't saying where it is or what it is sawing yet.  I will only say that if I saw it, Luke will be with me.

[Magicman]

More sawing today but again stopped by a heavy thunderstorm.

In addition to the normal, I sawed Magnolia, Sourwood, and Tupelo Gum today.  


 Sourwood.  Yes I hit a rock and dinged the blade which got replaced when I finished this log.


 While I was eating lunch this guy showed up but it got none of my sammich.

[Don P]

That is beautiful, I've never seen the inside of one. They are in full bloom here.
Yeah, it'd have to be a lot bigger to entice me to share.

We started the morning over here cleaning up and loading the by catch of the oak domino, there were 3 more oak logs. A couple of 12' x 12" red oak logs and a mis bucked short 8'er, it'll get used. It was small enough for me to spin the swingblade inside the rails and work both sides so we didn't have to fuss with the CSM, just load and go. On this mill 32" and up starts to eat time if I want wider than 6" lumber. This was in the 20's.

I started by taking several layers flatways from the top, opening with a 1x6 and at 3" above heart I got a 1x6, a 1x12 and a sticker. Then at about 3" above heart I signalled to drop 6" and began taking 1x6's vertically, a 3x6 at the heart that I flopped down for 2@3x3's then finished that layer taking vertical 1x6's, we're on a sharpening break here;


 

Then on the bottom side of heart I started taking boards flatways again, look at the right side, we have just edged and taken a flat 6" deep cut, spun the head, DB has marked up the far end and I'm getting ready to go in flat and take a 1x6 and 1x12.


 


I've got plenty of good timber here but we need to get over to our little boundary, we haven't been in this year. Our last trip we crushed the culvert. It's about time to get off our wallets and get back in.

[fluidpowerpro]

Ya ever gotten a job that you felt you had no business doing? I started one today where the client has about 60 R O logs. 18"- 24" diameter, 12-16' long. I told him before we started that my saw wasn't the fastest in the world, but he was ok with it. Today we sawed 16 logs in 8 1/2 hrs which for me was good. He had 2 grandsons to offload and he loaded logs with a skid steer. I've never had such good help. I expect to be there 2 more days this week as well as a few more next week. It w

 

 

 

 

 as a good day. I must  mention that the stacks that are stickered were already there and not what we sawed today.

[Magicman]

I much better favor those jobs that I can finish in a "few days" rather than those "few weeks" jobs.  That one looks good. 

[chep]

@Don P

Nice to see a lucas mill humming away. Can you post a pic or 2 of your sawshed
Cheers