Now it's my turn, teak sawmillshed, lol

teakwood · November 05, 2020, 07:50:58 AM

@kanoak , i can choose between 2 different typs of hoses, on is the fabric one you have and then some other special plastic/gum typ of material which is supposedly made for saw dust.

I'm concerned that the fabric one can not withstand the humidity of the fresh sawdust? teak is pretty much soaking wet when fresh sawn. any insights?

kanoak · November 05, 2020, 01:22:22 PM

Aloha @teakwood,
My flexible tube is made of PVC with spiral wire reinforcement. I would look for the slickest, most inert material available. I would also try to design the flexible run as short as possible.

teakwood · November 06, 2020, 07:39:19 AM

Ok, after calling around i just found 2 places who sell dust collection hoses. One has PVC hose 5" for 45$/m and i need 4m, so that's 180$ for 13'

, that's the best option there is, will have to bite the bullet on this one.

That's the shortest i can do but still have 2' extra if the hose needs to be recut at an end because of fatigue.
the motor i buy from a guy who has 6 dust collection systems laying around for 350$, 2hp. like new condition

The rest i have laying around, cable, pipes, ....

mike_belben · November 06, 2020, 09:39:26 AM

If your mill is never gonna move again, you could put a double jointed crane jib made from rebar, angle iron or whatver scrap ya got.. Maybe even lumber.. To connect the shed to the carriage and use pvc straights with shorter flex joints along the jib for vacuum collection. Jib could also be the cable guide for future electro-hydraulicky automation tricks.

teakwood · November 08, 2020, 03:44:25 PM

Mike, always the inventor! A little labor intensive but a good idea, i know exactly what you mean. like a concrete pump truck. the elbows would probably suffer much abuse with the constant opening and closing of the arms.

Tomorrow i drive to the capital (160miles) to buy the engine and hoses

teakwood · November 11, 2020, 03:47:50 PM

@kanoak , @mike_belben

My trip went great, first i could lower the price on the motor, i payed 250$ and then at the hose salesman the pvc type 5" hose had a lower prize as they tolled me over the phone. I bought 5m (16') for 150$
On the whole installation i spent 500$
Still need to test it sawing, the detail where the pipe meets the mill will need refinement for sure.
I wasn't able to get any logs down form the plantations, we were hit by storm ETA and it rained for like the last 8 days, was nasty

finished installation and i'm very happy with the results

before, it really sucked

nativewolf · November 11, 2020, 04:04:01 PM

Hey hey..very nice.

mike_belben · November 11, 2020, 04:27:30 PM

Perfect! Now if you just dump your grass clippings on that pile every week you can sell compost too!

kanoak · November 12, 2020, 12:17:11 PM

Looks great. You may want to make sure that the flexible tube can swivel at one end; it keeps the tube from wearing out prematurely due to flexing. Mine twists almost 1/4 turn from one end of the saw to the other. Heart wood Teak saw dust is very slow to break down. I might look at using it as a weed-suppresent mulch. Depending on site, calcium for pH buffering may be important.

teakwood · November 13, 2020, 07:16:08 AM

As you can see i installed a middle section in the hose. its a 90 degree 4" pvc elbow which rides on the cable. thats my swivel point. i think is more than 90 degrees, i think more like 120.

the sawdust is a problem, not useable for anything. at least i can't come up with something. i just burn the
pile in dry season

I bought a thick rubber for underneath the motor, it reduced vibration big times. pretty quiet now

mike_belben · November 13, 2020, 07:24:31 AM

I bet it'll compost with the right C:N ratio.

kanoak · November 13, 2020, 01:17:27 PM

I like the swivel assembly attaching to the cable. I cant tell from the photos, but I was speaking of a twisting force on the flexible hose. If that 45 at the top of the pipe attached to the mill rotates easily that world take care of it.
Ill bet it would make really nice compost. I like mulching with saw dust for a couple reasons. Our soils here in kona are different than most, containing a very high component of organic material which basically vaporizes if the soil is bare. Thickly covering (6" or so) a new garden or mulching around fruit trees eliminates weeds for about 6 months or so before the sawdust has been consolidated into the soil, effectively composting in place. The first application needs some type of barrier, I use cardboard, between it and the soil to keep it from initially locking up nitrogen.
I also use it as a base for my best black gold. Dump it into the top of the chicken coop with the other ingredients, let the chickens mix and fertilize, and screen the product that comes out of the bottom.

mike_belben · November 13, 2020, 01:42:43 PM

Kanoa do you run your chickens on straight kitchen compost or do you add feed?

kanoak · November 14, 2020, 12:30:37 PM

I split them a coconut a day; keeps my small flock healthy. Their main job right now is making compost, but if I want egg production I need to supplement feed.

UncleMoustache · November 14, 2020, 04:26:25 PM

Good golly! That's some impressive workmanship. Nice job!

Cruiser_79 · November 20, 2020, 02:32:12 AM

Looks awesome your shed! Like the feeding deck and the roller tables. Is it rolling okay with the small radius in your line?

teakwood · November 20, 2020, 08:21:49 AM

Yes, they roll pretty good, when they have a knot then it's kinda hard. the rolling is still phisical labor and needs some elbow grease but it's alot better than before when i had to pack some logs by hand and them load them with a chain and the big excavator onto the sawmill, was hard, slow and inefficient, and had to get into the machine to often and start her just for a 2min lift.