Collin's Mill Build - V2.0 is long overdue

[JoshNZ]

They're not bellows Charles, more like this.

Source Telescopic spring cover spiral bellow cover on m.alibaba.com

[Hoopty5.0]

Hoopty, you and josh are making me wish i hadnt decided to have my surgery. Im 4-6 months behind on my build, ya'll started 6 months later and are already making product.
Could you sacrifice a piece of material, finish it out, coat it with some of the product on the market and use that as advertising?

Well, this is all stuff that I had sawn by others, so there's that.

[JoshNZ]

I wonder if you could approach local wood shops hoopty. Not factory production stuff but bespoke custom furniture type outfits?

Charles that'll teach ya for making a band mill the size of the titanic!

Crusarius I've greased my lead screws once with plain old grease when I installed them and never touched them again. They're caked in sawdust and grease, balled up masses at the ends of the nuts travel length, it doesn't seem to worry it. I wonder if you should run a cutter through your nuts on the lathe? Do a .075mm pass on them. Mine were quite sloppy by the time I got done. Might be worth doing before you dispose the whole concept, seems a shame!

[Crusarius]

Josh thats a good thought. I have never done internal threading on a lathe let alone acme thread. Bet it would make a difference.

As for the bellows or covers for the threaded rod I have always been opposed to them mostly because they don't stop everything from getting in. But once stuff is in it usually does not come out. Its the same thing as shock boots. I never run them because the crap that will get stuck in there is worse than what the shafts are exposed to.

as for the concept. Not a big deal. it wasn't mine  I will think of something out of the box and out of the ordinary cause I don't like to copy other ppl's ideas. This may be why stuff tends to take me so much longer.

[Crusarius]

Wish I knew about those spirals long time ago. that would have gone on right away.

[charles mann]

Charles that'll teach ya for making a band mill the size of the titanic!

i wouldnt say the titanic. Remember, it failed. It was a big sinker. A big portion of being behind has to with only 3.5 days out of 18 to work on it.
Hopefully in another wk or 2, ill be able to work on it for a month straight. 

[btulloh]

Maybe it should be called "The Enterprise ".  That seems more appropriate. 

[charles mann]

Maybe it should be called "The Enterprise ".  That seems more appropriate.

I was thinking the exact same thing but not wanting to sound cocky or over confident, in the off chance this build goes teets up. 
But i think if it runs like a well lubed machine, i'll name it the "texas"

[btulloh]

That'll work. 

If it goes down for reasons beyond your control you can call it The Arizona 

[charles mann]

That'll work.

If it goes down for reasons beyond your control you can call it The Arizona

My thoughts exactly. 
If it works, it should wage a good war on big timber. 
Iv got a line on a cedar, that if the guy knows how to actually measure properly, he says is 46" at dbh and if he and i can agree on a price, ill go get it this weekend. 

[Hoopty5.0]

@charles mann That's a big [Admin Edited] cedar!

[charles mann]

@charles mann That's a big [Admin Edited]  cedar!

It is located in buffalo, so im gonna go take a look tomorrow, measure it, if its a minimum of 34" ill take it, if it actually is 46", it'll get loaded.
Im gonna crutch around the property and see the ease of getting my equip in, if my tractor will do the job or if iv gotta use the log arch.

[Hoopty5.0]

@charles mann That's a big [Admin Edited] cedar!

It is located in buffalo, so im gonna go take a look tomorrow, measure it, if its a minimum of 34" ill take it, if it actually is 46", it'll get loaded.
Im gonna crutch around the property and see the ease of getting my equip in, if my tractor will do the job or if iv gotta use the log arch.

I drive through Buffalo almost weekly. There's what appears to be a firewood operation on the side of 45 just south of town I've always though about stopping at to see what kind of timber they have.
Then again, I have more logs than I can handle right now,


Also - nice admin edit.  *rolls eyes*

[charles mann]

Well, it wasnt 46", more like 34". But its very straight. Im gonna have to top it and take it down in sections. No climbing spurs, but iv got a climbing stand and iv climbed 50' in a tree to hunt, so i think i can top out of the stand too. Gonna have to find my safety harness and a short bar for my jonesred 2166. Its a bit of a big saw for topping, but its doable. 

[Hoopty5.0]

updates:

Sold a couple hundred in wood this week!

Also, framing should start on my shop this week as well.  Had to move the saw out of the way for a bit so no real work going on of note. But money in as opposed to money out is a good thing for once!

[Hoopty5.0]

More wood sold, more work on the shop.



 

Hopefully by this time next week, the mill is in it's forever home and the shop has a roof over it, in some form of progress.

[jbjbuild]

Thats going to be a nice shop! Where did you end up getting customers for for the wood you sold. I know you were going to try craigslist and facebook market place.

[Hoopty5.0]

Thats going to be a nice shop! Where did you end up getting customers for for the wood you sold. I know you were going to try craigslist and facebook market place.

Marketplace. I never got around to CL. I also really think marking each piece with dimensions has really helped trim down the questions. I quit responding to the "is this available" ads and I got a lot more specific questions about what I was selling. Definitely a much better experience this time around.
I've almost sold out of my current stock and am waiting on the next stock to dry in the barn. I have a third stack air drying now too, so if I can keep a steady rotation going, I should always have material to sell and build with.

[jbjbuild]

Thats going to be a nice shop! Where did you end up getting customers for for the wood you sold. I know you were going to try craigslist and facebook market place.

Marketplace. I never got around to CL. I also really think marking each piece with dimensions has really helped trim down the questions. I quit responding to the "is this available" ads and I got a lot more specific questions about what I was selling. Definitely a much better experience this time around.
I've almost sold out of my current stock and am waiting on the next stock to dry in the barn. I have a third stack air drying now too, so if I can keep a steady rotation going, I should always have material to sell and build with.

Very good! Did you sell any green or was it all dry.

[Hoopty5.0]

All dry wood. I mentioned to a few people I had more green wood and there was little to no interest.

[Hoopty5.0]

The biggest news from last weekend - I've sold all but 1 piece of my dried stock. 16 pieces of various species netted ~$400. Every single person who came said the same thing - "You've got great product at great prices and we don't have to go all the way to Houston to get it."
I had the walnut priced at $5.50/ bf and the pecan at $3/bf. They weren't large or nice pieces, and the lumber I have drying now should net better prices.

So, that $400 will go towards the $2,000 I "borrowed" to build the mill to pay it off.

Sounds like I may be on to something. Not crazy volume or income, but it was never intended to be anything other than a hobby to make a little side money. I need to remember not to lose sight of that!

Also, the shop is coming along:



 



 

They're putting the trusses up now. and should have cornice and sheathing on this week also. WOOOO!

[Hoopty5.0]

Got the shop all but finished up - A buddy and I decided to roof it ourselves and wow, what a workout that was. We hand loaded the shingles without a lift. I'm definitely not in my early 20s anymore but it was a good experience!



 



 


The mill is in it's new home. Got to mill up a couple of pines yesterday for a fence project.



 



 

The saw cuts really well, and I am very happy with everything - except the trailer winch. It binds and is sloppy. I'll be getting the $49 HF winch this week rated and 2,500lb. That will make like MUCH easier.

[Hoopty5.0]

Need some input. One of my employees has asked me for 2 - 6x6x9' cedar posts. I have the material, so basically I need to get an idea of what to charge with the friends/family discount since I like the guy.

I got the cedar for free, so there's no overhead to account for.

[Ljohnsaw]

That's 27bd-ft / pole.  What's the going rate for cedar by you, $1/bd-ft?  So that would be $54.  Family discount at $40?  Make sure you center the pith!

[Hoopty5.0]

That's 27bd-ft / pole.  What's the going rate for cedar by you, $1/bd-ft?  So that would be $54.  Family discount at $40?  Make sure you center the pith!

Yeah. I asked what he thought initially and he said $100. I thought that was a bit high, so I may tell him something between that and $50. Everyone wins then?