Cooks products modifications

[bushhog920]

I would like to start a post for all cooks owners to show modifications they have made to all cooks products. I have made several changes would love to see what everyone else has done.

[bushhog920]

Cooks sawmill sharpener tooth counter - YouTube

So here it is for about $70 I made a tooth counter with auto shutoff for my cooks. Works great good modification all you need is a micro switch, 110vac relay(omron L2Y ), digital counter(omron DH48J), push button sw. and toggle sw. no more marking the blade or watching the weld go around. Just adjust the grind and hit the reset and forget. wonder why the manufacturers don't make this as an option.



 

[nativewolf]

@bushhog920 Awesome hack.  I don't sharpen blades (yet) so i can't comment but it looks to be a time saver.

[bushhog920]

 
the lowest the blade would go before hitting the hard stops was 1" and I cut my boards 1" minus kerf so always had that one full 1" board and the rest .910". .090 shim under the bunk caps fixed this.
 
noticed I could vary the height of the pointer on the scale as much as 1/8" when i moved my head up and down so I put a level mark on the rear post and round magnet to use as a rear sight to keep the same sight picture everytime.
 

[bushhog920]

When trying to fine tune the debarker hydraulic advance and return speed I could tell something wasn't right I'd adjust one flow control and it would change the speed for the other direction. Slowed the return down then the advance would not advance. I found parker N600 needle valves on each end of the cylinder this will not work there needs to be a check valve to bypass the restrictor so adjustment can be made in both directions. I replaced them with Parker F600 ( 600 for 3/8npt ) flow control valves and now i have full control in both directions. These would also work great on a grapple the opens/closes too fast. Hope this helps someone out 

 

  

 

[bushhog920]

Problem- have to rezero the setworks everytime you shut the engine off and start it back up. I didn't like have to go through the rezero procure everytime I shut it down to change a blade, breaks, get logs, etc. Thought it would be easy as just put the power wire on a separate switch that would always be hot but when I start the engine battery voltage would drop to 9.5vdc and that was low enough to make the setworks power off and reboot.  

I used a second battery to power the setworks and a diode ( correction diode is backwards in the drawing cathode needs to be on the PLC side) to block voltage from going back into the system. Get your constant hot from the 3/8 spade terminal on the back of the key SW. Then run it to the diode then split it to the battery and power for the on/off SW. Ground the 2nd battery I used the back of the ammeter on the ground side. From the on/off SW I ran a wire to the junction box at the bottom left corner of the main battery. there is a bundle of spare wires in there that run to the junction box by the hitch. Use one to hook to the hot wire you just ran to the box ( I picked #24 ).

 
<bNow go to the hitch junction box and remove #6 ( this wire sends power to the setworks from the remote controller ) and cap it off. Put the spare wire #24 into that spot. The white wire on the bottom goes to the setworks  

Now I have a toggle sw by the key SW that will turn the setworks on/off and the key has no effect on it. Zero when you first start sawing and it's good till you turn the toggle sw off.Q

[kelLOGg]

I've had my MP32 for 17 years and over that time I have added labor saving mods to make handling easier and satisfy my desire to build things. 

I added a 2-sided sawhead drive powerd by a 24 VDC wheelchair motor with forward/reverse PWM speed controller to drive #40 chains.


 



The sawhead carriage engages the drive chains via 4-fingered clutches on both sides.



 


I wanted a log loader/turner that was integral to the mill that has power-in (for travel) and power-out (for sawing). It is heavy duty - it can lift the one side of the mill if a log gets stuck on the rollway. 







Sometimes when logs are rolled onto the mill they need to be slid laterally to center them for turning so I made these rollers onto which the log is rolled for easy sliding.



 




I motorized the sawhead up/(gravity down) with 12 VDC motor.





The mill is very rugged and has held up well. The only thing I wish I had done differently is to get a more powerful engine - not too late but I just haven't done it.





 

[farmfromkansas]

Kellogg, you have done a lot to  your MP32.  I have the power up-down motor that Cooks puts on their package, and it is nice.  Usually just lower it by hand because I can't seem to get it right using power, but going up it is great!  I use a winch to turn big logs, mine came with a tiny winch, and I put a huge HF winch on mine, and bent the bottom tubing on the winch add-on.  Found the way to use it is, park my truck in line with the winch, and put a chain between the bumper and the back side of the assembly.  mine has a place where you can go around it where it won't slide down.  Then when you put too big a load on the turner, it does not bend it, the chain transfers part of the load to the truck.

[Gere Flewelling]

I have made a few modifications to my MP-32 mill since I purchased it two years ago.  They were mostly to address issues I was having with cut consistency and efficiency.  None of these changes are engineering marvels, but have helped me be a much more efficient operator.  I am posting pictures of some of these modifications hopefully to help other to be more efficient as well.
1- I was having trouble keeping track of where the squaring arms were while working down logs as they are on the opposite side of the mill from where I was working.  After running the blade into the bolt on the top of the first squaring arm a couple of times, I added a west coast style truck mirror to the left rear post (nearest the fuel tank) to allow me to look down the left side of the frame while standing on the right side.  This eliminated the sawmill push-ups I was doing constantly while sawing.



 


2- I could not make consistent cuts as the lumber scale and wire indicator were installed in a position suited to an operator that is 5’-2”.  I am 6’-3” tall and had to bend down to align the indicator on the scale in a level plane.  I added two pieces of 2” angle iron to the top of the frame that holds the magnetic scales.  This allowed me to raise the lumber scales and the re-drill the hole to move the wire indicator up to my eye level.  Consistent measurements achieved.



 

3- Cooks lumber scales are easy to read but for some reason if you are using the 4/4 scale to cut boards out of a log you always have to cut a shim to get the last board right.  I cut the magnetic scale that has the inch scale and 4/4 scale in two lengthwise.  I then stuck them back onto their mount so that the #1’s aligned at the bottom of the scales.  This eliminates cutting a shim off the last board.



 

 

4- My mill is capable of cutting a 21’ log.  I found it was almost impossible to roll a 16-21’ log onto the mill with the loading winch on the ramps.  I added a second mount and a hand winch to the further end of the mill to help control the roll of the log up onto the mill.  I can operate the electric winch with one hand and the hand winch with the other.   I also added a second log taper in the frame of the second winch.  This allows leveling control of the log no matter which end the base of the log ends up on. 



 

 

5- The Cooks log loading ramps work well except you have to take them off every time you load a log to allow the carriage to roll by and also to walk along the mill when sawing.  They are too heavy to do this with all day long.  I built a couple of inverted “V” legs out of some square tubing and made the ramps attach into them instead of connecting to the mill.  I added a couple of 4’ square tubes to the ends of the ramps that hinge.  They allow the ramps to stay in place and the tubes swing up out of the way when sawing.  I notched the ends of the tubes to set down over the edge of the mills right rails and allow the log to roll smoothly onto the mill.



 

 

6- The way my mill is set up, it works best to remove long lumber off the end of the mill.  The trouble is that Cooks installed taillights that stick up on the end of the mill and catch everything you try to run past them.  I built a full width roller and to set above the lights that allow me to roll lumber off over the end onto saw horses or a trailer and not damage the lights.
 

 

7- I added a trailer hitch receiver tube to the end of the mill to allow me to install the tow hitch onto that end and tow the mill around from the back end if needed.  The mill is very long and it is challenging to turn it around sometimes in tight yards.



 

8- Last of all, I fabricated a claw type log turner to fit onto this mill.  It uses an electric winch to do the lifting.  It has a remote control so I can operate it from anywhere along the mill.  This allows features that hydraulic mills utilize, but with not hydraulics.  I added a second deep cycle battery to power this winch.  It will operate all day without charging.  This way I can do most of the log turning from the right side of the mill and don’t have to go to the other side of the mill to use the cable/winch log turner.  The cable winch works well, but requires circling the mill all day if you have big logs.  This is a copy of a claw turner YellowHammer built on a Woodmizer mill many years ago.



 

 

 

I was concerned about welding on the mill, so most of the modifications were drilled and tapped into the frame so if needed they could be removed.  I hope this helps others with some ideas to make their mill suit them better.

[thecfarm]

Good ideas!!

[YellowHammer]

Wow, lots of excellent upgrades.  Good job!

[farmfromkansas]

Gene, could you post a couple more pics of that log leveler?  Would like to add those to my MP32.

[Banjo picker]

Gene, that splitting of the scale is going to throw off your one inch mark if you have the 4/4 set to give you a board on the bottom.  Now you are going to have to cut a shim to get a one inch board.  Banjo

[Gere Flewelling]

To Farmfromkansas, Please give me an idea of what view you would like me to post of the log turner and I will try to get one.  The three in the post show most of it, but I will try to get you answers to what ever question you might have.

[Gere Flewelling]

Thank you for sharing you thoughts on my cutting of the 4/4 scale.  Cutting a shim at the bottom was the problem I was having at the start.  I was ending up with a board at the bottom that was too thick compared to the rest and had to cut a shim off it to make the bottom board consistent with all the others.  Now they always come out the same.  Not sure if there was an adjustment I could have made somewhere that would have eliminated the need to cut the magnetic scale in half.  Before I did that, I purchased a new scale just in case it didn't work.  

[sgschwend]

A few ways to implement providing power to the PLC to reduce the re-zero step and also overcome the the issue of a weak engine battery that resets the PLC by mill loads dropping the PLC supply below 10 VDC, which will reset the PLC resulting in the zero data point being lost.  Note it was found that there was greater than a 2VDC drop measured at the PLC (due to the long wires).  A weak battery will drop easily when multiple hydraulic loads are switched.  The machine tested already had a pair of wires running to the PLC but the drop was still significant; by adding an isolated small battery near the PLC the power supply will be a more consistent higher voltage, with less electrical noise, and allow the sawhead to be powered off while the PLC (setworks computer) can still be powered on keeping the programmed zero active.

1)  Purchase a trailer safety switch brake controller kit with built in charger.  Use it to power the PLC.  Connect the charge wire to Pin 1 on the trailer junction box,  activate spare wire number 22 and connect it to the 12VDC from the safety switch module,  remove and tape off the existing computer power switch center post connections then connect the other end of wire 22 to the computer power switch center posts.  Connect the safety switch ground to ground. This solution will power the PLC with the internal battery in the trailer safety switch power module and the engine battery will provide the charge current to the newly added battery module.  Example of this product (there are others out there too) https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/carry-on-trailer-trailer-brake-away-kit

2)  Use the same method posted but use a 5 amp diode, and do the wiring from the trailer junction box and use a small 5 AH 12VDC battery.  Pin 1 &20 are to be power from the sawhead battery/alternator.  A diode is added from this node to the new 5 AH battery +12VDC lead (unused pins 22-24 for connections can be used).  Use spare wire 22 or other to run the new supply to the center of the computer switch (removed the two connections to the center pins, tape them off).

3)  Since all data is stored in the PLC have the Accu-set software changed to keep the zero value.

4)  Convince Cook's to modify there design to use design concept in number 1 or 2.  

5) Any stationary mill users could retrofit their trailer for this purpose using suggestion number 1 or 2.  If you are portable then option 2 would suit the best.



 

 

[Magicman]

Steve, this is nothing about the mods, but it surely was good to see your name pop up when you made a reply.  

[redbeard]

Thank you sgschwend@ Steve for helping solve a ongoing issue with the set works on the AC 36. Hopefully the description posted can help others modify there set works.
Mill is working fantastic now! no more power entruprtion, Which caused memory loss of where the 1" mark from mill deck is. Now I only need too make the 1" entry at beginning of day and leave computer on all day and shutting mill off doesn't interfere.

Steve also came through on a Timber king B-20 modification back in 2008. A ongoing  issue with the cord reel, and replaced with a remote controlled switch making milling more efficient with no cord reel.
Thank you Steve

 

[woodman52]

 I got tied of cleaning up 15' of a thin layer of sawdust. This is a 6x10 hvac vent adaptor and some vent pipe. It is attached with a carriage bolt that sticks out a little do to a nut on the bolt (one inside one outside). I put a key hole in the vent set up so it just slips over the carriage bolt. I stabilized it with 2 strong magnets, one on each side. This works well to keep the sawdust concentrated, making cleanup much easier. It comes off in less than a minute for blade changes.






  







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