Hi all!
You may remember me from this post (http://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=100051.msg1550288#msg1550288). This weekend we made the trip to Indianapolis and picked up the mill. It was a very exciting time! However, things didn't go quite as smoothly as planned (as is typically the case when trying new things). Let's just say our mantra for the weekend was "This is a good learning experience." Rather than let you know mistakes that were made (that would wear my fingers out), I'd like to know if you could help me out with questions I hadn't really thought might be a problem before this weekend.
- Length of Logs: We are felling our own trees. How do you make sure that your boards are all exactly the same length, and what is an acceptable discrepancy? We felled a tree, and then cut logs at "close to 8 feet", depending on where big branches may have laid. After stickering (the depressingly few) boards we made, it seemed that our pretty close method was a bad choice.
- Difference in board height on stack on same row: I'm assuming some things were off due to something I missed in the setup process, but we had some boards that were up to 1/8" off from side to side (example, a 2x6 I cut was 2" on one side and 2.125" on the other). How precise should we try and be on these cuts? Can I stack a 1.25" board with a 1" board?
- Dealing with curved board / unique shapes: We cut a few boards that had significant curve in them. I hadn't thought about the fact that it would make stickering them with straight boards seemingly impossible. Do you have any tips / tricks to use when cutting curved boards, or should I just try and avoid them?
- What did I do to my blade? See image. One of our blades fell off the wheel. We were cutting very hard wood and went through a very knotty section. My assumption is that I tried to move too quickly through it. After we put the blade back on, the cut started looking really rough. I'm assuming the set on one or more of the teeth got messed up, but curious if it might be something else.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/48643/rough_cut.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1522263672)
I can provide any other details you all need!
1) use a tape measure. :D
2) You'll need to figure out why the boards are not the same thickness on one side vs the other. Congratulations that they look like boards. :) Worst case is you need to go through the mill alignment. If the outside of your band (idle side wheel) is higher than the inside this would only make the last board unequal like you describe. Ones cut one after another from a cant that is clamped tight should be of equal thickness even if the band is tilted relative to the bed. Spend some time looking at the variables here before adjusting anything you'll figure it out.
I would not stack boards 1/4" different in thickness in the same layer side by side. 1/8, maybe if the boards are not consistent in thickness, but it is best to have the same per layer.
3) If you want curved boards put up with them. You could mill them that way then cut them shorter to save width in stacking. Usually I would put curved boards on top when I'm almost done stacking but you have to decide what to do. It doesnt make sense to edge curved boards really. Or, what's the best strategy to edge a triangle? Depends what you want to end up with.
4) Your blade hit something maybe the metal in the blade housing or something else to knock a tooth out of set. That pattern looks like it might be just one tooth. If you can find it and bend it back that is best. I cut a lot of wood looks like that especially in the beginning.
+1 on the tape measure. Usually I allow 6" or more extra on the log for my own use. If some random lengths bother you, cut all logs to length just before milling. Just know the extra is for checking or splitting that invariably happens on some boards.
Check your clamping to make sure your cants stay flat. I have/had some issues sometimes from thinking I needed to apply heavy clamping pressure. It tends to lift the cant off the rails on the clamp side. This could account for board variation. An 1/8 difference in the same layer won't make much difference. More than that should be in separate layers if not separate stacks.
If you have a use for curved boards then just allow them their extra space or stack and sticker on their own. Otherwise, logs with sweep are either sawn straight or become firewood.
The blade looks like it got dull or some teeth got bent. I've made my share of boards like that in the last few weeks.
Be patient and keep trying, it does take time to start making nice straight lumber. Once you get there you will immediately see a difference. Some things only come with experience.
I always cut my logs a little longer than what I want the finished board to be, nearly all boards will need to be trimmed on both ends before final use, at least that has been my experience. Both due to checking and to square off the ends.
I seriously doubt that you ran a blade off without doing some damage at least to the set on a few teeth, if you did you are luckier than I have ever been.
This is not the proper way, I don't imagine, and sure wouldn't work for the production guys, which have setworks anyway, but I would sometimes use mill and just kiss the wood, then back off and measure it to make sure my deminsions were right.
I did this until I figured out my scale,, and sometimes still do if I am being particular. If you do this, Idle your mill down and stop the blade before walking by it to measure it, you will find out why the first time you break a band.
Buy a loggers tape and hook it to your belt. Better yet, next time you make 1 inch thick stickers, cut a few 8'3" long and leave one on your tractor when you go into the woods. Then put another where you buck your logs, then another at the sawmill. I've got them laying everywhere, and also chainsaw a little notch at the 4 foot midline. So a 12 foot log is measured by laying out the measuring stick, the flip it over on the end and where the notch lands is 12' 3". Just lay the gage stick in top of the log, move it back or forward until you are happy, and buck the log. No mistakes, it's much, much faster than individually measuring, and it's a great way to optimize quality on a log, especially if you have a helper who can eyeball a log, also. It's also great for whacking snakes. ;D
A quarter inch on thickness difference of boards is a lot, for stacking grade hardwood, I tolerate no more than an eighth, and generally try for less than a 1/16". There are lots of things that can cause this and it's generally something simple. Personally, I don't like to have more than a foot, and I prefer six inches, for a log end to stick out from a bunk on the mill. So raise the toeboards and shift the log. The more the ends of the cant is supported, the less thick and thin ends, due to log stress you will have. Surprisingly, at some point you will know just from the feel if the board is thick or thin, and you can eject it and sort it real time. If a board is real thick, slice it again.
Curved and bowed green boards happen, and it's important to read the stress in the log to minimize it. However, we make it a point to sticker our boards with alternating bow per layer, or even if there is no discernable bow, alternating sapwood per layer. So one layer is stickered sapwood up, next layer, sapwood down, etc. It doesn't take any more time, and the alternating bow will fight each other and basically cancel out as the stack dries. Of you place the majority all bow up, or bow down, which is commonly done, it will result in a frustratingly aggravating phenomenon called "Stack Bow" where the entire stack will gradually be forced to bow in one direction, also bowing whatever straight boards in the back. 80% of the time, stack bow will result in a high center, lower ends, and the more layers in the stack, the more stack bow will occur. It's easy to see, a see it all the time at the sawmills I visit, big and small, and to detect it, simply sight closely down the edges of the the top third layers in a stack and it's generally there. You will see a very gradual curve up and down the length of the boards. It doesn't matter how flat the ground is, in hardwood, it happens, unless tremendous weights are placed on the stacks. Thats why the big mills stack to I believe OSHA maximum, 4 high. Of course it also saves space. So make a habit to put other stacks of wood on top to serve as weights. The higher the stacks are placed, the flatter they will be.
The band shouldn't come off the bandwheel. If you are pushing too hard, you should hear the motor grunt and eventually try to stall, which is not good. I can't answer why you threw a band when sawing hard, it's extremely rare for me. If you are sawing hard, typically the band will start to wander a little, then heat up due to friction, then start waving. Also the band pressure will drop rapidly. Watch the band tension like a hawk, it's one of the most important diagnostic tools you have for good sawing.
Certainly, the pattern you see on your board is from a band crying "Heeeelllp, I'm done Boss" and as a general rule, once a band comes off for any reason, hits metal, or even really heats up and drags on the roller keepers or bushings, it done and ready for resharpening and resetting.
One of the best parts of milling is learning, and although the product literature says it's easy, there's a lot to it, and it never ends, but it does get easier. Just like riding a horse or a bicycle, once it clicks, it's ball game, and you'll look back with fond memories at these learning experiences.
Have fun!
x2 Have fun, learn as you go!
1. For an 8' board cut an 8'-6" log. This allows 6" of trim for checking. When you fell a tree for lumber, each cut you make is manufacturing a saw log.
2. Try to determine why the board had an uneven thickness. The saw head should always cut parallel to the track frame. Check the track is level and secure. Use a framing square and check the backstops are square to the deck. Make a cant and check that it is cut square, and is consistent thickness beginning, middle, and end.
3. If the boards are bowed, you can try stacking them flat with a heavy weight on top and hope for the best.
4. When the blade starts pushing hard, leaving marks like in the picture, or cutting big waves, it is loose or dull. Change to a sharp blade. Remember, your lumber is rough sawn, and a table saw, jointer, and surface planer can fix a lot of defects later on. (https://forestryforum.com/board/Smileys/default/wink.gif)
If your goal is to have 8' or 10' lumber, cut your logs 6" longer. That way if you don't hold the chainsaw straight you still get at least 8'.
I would second or third all of the answers you were given here. Does your mill have a pressure gauge for the blade tension or do you have the hard red rubber thingy? Either way it sounds like your blade tension dropped which caused the blade to come off when in tough conditions.
As for the tape, pick up a Spencer Logger Tape - self reeling and they have a nice horse shoe nail at the end which will hold into the butt of a log while you measure. Like Yellow Hammer said, hook it to your belt loop and you will find you can measure logs very easily. Some of the tapes are in foot and inches, others are metric and others yet are foot and 1/10 inch, just know which one you are using so your measurements are accurate.
Overall pretty successful for first weekend - at least you did not try to saw through the backstops!!
I try to have a planned use for the bananas before I even fell the tree. I am currently using them in framing a house where they either won't be seen or where I can cut them into short pieces for blocking between joists. I'm using them green but if I were to dry them I'm sure they'd have to go on the top of the stack.
Around here the spencer tapes do not come with the nail, but the saw shop has 2 different styles in stock for pennies.
First time out...pretty good....maybe you hit a nail or a rock..... Your boards look better than my first ones. Mine were akin to the gulf of mexico during a hurricane ;D You will figure it out. Lots of good help here...
There is a learning curve sawing true lumber. It's something that one learns from their mistakes. ;D More so after a few backstop hits. :D
You had came to the right place to help learn. ;D
Would be best to fell some trash trees to get your teeth wet.