The Forestry Forum

So in another thread, Jeff mentioned how things were in the beginning, and he said "I refuse to abandon the things we have done since our beginnings when there was just me and another guy called myself. That was day one and probably through day 101." 

I've often wondered when the beginnings of the forum were, and how long it took to get the ball rolling.  I'm wondering if guys like Tom and Chet found the place early on, and when Bibbyman, and FDH and the other top posters stumbled on the forum.  I've been to several forums that had only a few hundred members, and weren't active at all--I think this place was different from the beginning, cause of da Boss.  So Jeff, maybe you can tell us a bit about the beginnings of the forum, and for the rest of us, I'd be curious to know what brought you to the forum that first time, probably the result of a Google search or something.  Tell us how long you've been with the forum, and what brought ya here in the first place.  This could be kinda fun!

Oh...and here's another good idea...if you find your first post, put a link in here.    8)

For me, we had an ash tree on our land that was a leaner, and I wanted to cut her down and mill it into lumber so was looking for a sawmill in the U.P.  I did a google search on forestry, since I don't have experience from leaners.  I found a lot of help on here, and guys who were concerned that I was gonna kill myself!  Thankfully, all went well, and over time, I just got sucked into the forum.   8)

I've been a member since January 8, 2002, and here's my first post:  https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=622.msg6616#msg6616

Date Registered:  June 22, 2001, 01:27:31 PM

My brother Tom invited me to take a look at the forum. I browsed around for a few days before joining.  My memory isn't the best in the world but it seems like there were a little over 200 members back then.  It was easy to keep up with all the posts on all the different boards back then.  I honestly feel like I'm in one big family. :)

  I stumbled onto this Forum, from the other side of the fence. ::)
Checked around and decided it was a good place to hang out.

  Started building our Bandmill and needed some input. The folks here were extremely helpful to us. Made some very good friends along the way. Lots of 'em, I haven't met yet.  8) ;D ;D

  Registered on September 02, 2002, 06:36:37 PM

  Finally found the 1st posting. Re: No Swingers Around
« Reply #25 on: September 02, 2002, 06:56:00 PM » (//http://Re:%20No%20Swingers%20Around%3Cbr%20/%3E%C2%AB%20Reply%20#25%20on:%20September%2002,%202002,%2006:56:00%20PM%20%C2%BB)

April 24, 2001, 06:17:11 AM.  We'd just finished cutting some maple timber and was looking for some different markets than the local ones.  I came across this place and have been here ever since.

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=42.msg1309;topicseen#msg1309
This is my first post I think ???  It's got the earliest date anyway ;D

March 4, 2003.  DanG, seems like yesterday.

Sprucebunny,

You must be seeing ghosts :D :D

Early this year, after Alf and I managed to convince Jan that we REALLY NEEDED a mill, We thought that we also needed a bit of knowlege about what we were about to do. Did a Google and found you guys.

The forum has been a lot of fun and very informative.  The only problem I have is my other farm work suffers because of the addiction I have developed.

As an example,  yesterday, we dehorned, castrated, eartagged and drenched the cattle.  This should have been completed by the end of January :( :( :(

Really I'm only using the forum as an excuse,  I hate dehorning.  My mother used to say that I could just look at an engine and be covered in grease, the same goes for cattle though it's not grease.

Ernie

 

I was over at WW when there was a note about a new website, who's purpose was to get loggers, Foresters and Landowners together, with the idea of solving the age old problem of "people being taken advantage of".  It was Timberbuyers.net.

I joined, and looking around found its forum.  Ron Wenrich was about the only active member, though Raviolikid, Texas Ranger, Ron Scott, Phorester, L. Wakefield (LW) and a few others had been around since Oct. or November of the 2000.  Ron Scott had volunteered for the duty of "Ask the Forester".  Other members, including me, began to trickle in through the early part of 2001.

I was discouraged at first because of the sign on.  Most of it had to do with my ignorance of Internet sites, and some of it was Jeff's efforts to attract Logging business's rather than individuals.  I kept getting hung up with the terms of joining when they sounded to me to require a lot of money.  Finding the forum was disappointing because I remember a screen of black background and green, blue and red lettering that I couldn't read.  That was probably either Jeff messing with the site or a compatibility problem with my software.  I left and then couldn't get logged back on   I think it was because of my misunderstanding about "case sensitivity" in passwords etc.

ln Jan. of 2001 I returned.  I was a quasi bystander in an argument over figuring Board Footage at "that other site".  In frustration I began to look around and found Timberbuyers again.   Not being able to sign on, I was really ignorant, I joined again.  It was a real thrill to me to be me.  I used my name "Tom".  You don't usually get in on the ground floor of a forum early enough to use your own name.  Man!  That was exciting.

I signed on and was looking around when I noticed that I  had a private message.  It was Jeff saying "howdy".  Well, I've seen those popups and advertisements on other sites that say "catch the roach and win a lap top".  I thought real hard about clicking on it and answering... but I did.   We started a conversation about what had brought me there and I began to expound about my experience at the "other place".  I was pretty exuberant  and angry too.  Jeff and I were pretty much on the same page, argumentively, and he suggested that this really needed to be on the forum.  I said OK!   I'll make a post and then you answer with the first of the conversation, then I'll copy my response and we'll eventually get it all on there.  We did and continued the conversation on the forum.  Partly due to my tenacity and "desk-pounding" ways, Jeff finally posted "Help, Ron, where are you? !".   Ha!  I didn't mean to be so animated but I guess that Jeff felt that he had a live problem on his hands.  Ron Wenrich joined in and we had a good conversation on Board Foot figuring as we "preached to the choir".

The forum was pretty slow back then.  I used to get excited about seeing someone else on.  I understand that the others felt that way too.  There began to be  a lot of private message swapping just because we felt the urge of camaraderie.

Gordon used to take care of the knowledge base.  You know Gordon.  He's the one that delivered his child in the parking lot of a McDonald's hamburger joint.  That was a cool thread.  Gordon still comes back and visits now and again.

Things were so slow that we would invent threads just so we could visit.  I like to entertain and that's what brought about the "Funny Story" thread.  Because I like old folks, I started the Older Folks thread just to tell my new-found-friends about my fun acquaintances.  It has always bugged me that Younger folks ignore Older folks and the Older Folks are a lost treasure.  Not only were we missing the knowledge of those generations, but, those guys were losing their friends and finding themselves all alone.  I found that my new friends felt the same way.  It's amazing to me that I fell into a society of such like-minded people.

Bibbyman and I had been swapping stories by email and I tried to get him to visit.  Finally he did and has been here ever since.  My little brother, Charlie, was pestered until he joined too.  It has been an opportunity afforded us to be able to visit with one another as brothers that we had  missed for a lot of years.  I have really enjoyed having him around.  I know that some folks may think that we are a little hard on one another and there are a lot, now, who may not know that we are kin.  I love him though, ..well ...like a brother, and this forum allows me to say things to him as if we are face to face and not have to worry about the social etiquette of being two professionals discussing work.  There are DanG few forums in this world where you can type "I Love You" to your brother and not start a tirade of messages from other forum members.  This place is really a home. 

Yes, it's so much a home that you can tell the difference in the real members and those that are just passing through or post to expound their own agenda.  It's not a place where someone can wear their feelings on their sleeve very long without either being taken in and made to feel comfortable, or realizing that they might be acting selfishly. 

It's not a place for someone with a chip on his shoulder either.  When you join this forum, you are becoming a part of a society of people who think alike.  If you begin shoving your way in and making demands and telling people off, not just the administrators get on to you, but so does the rest of the membership.  This membership will Politely tell you to go sit in the corner.  It makes it a lot more open place to be to know that you won't be personally slammed just for showing an  opinion.  This place is not fraught with personal, flaming, arguments and name calling that exists elsewhere.

I've found it to be a great place to call home.  We, all of us, have created an atmosphere of family. Jeff created the site, guided the growth, monitors the paths, pays the way, but it has been the members who have made the site what it is.

Ain't it grand?

Tom, that's great.   8)  I think that post should be required reading for new members.   :)  It's fun reading about the early days of the forum, and when everybody showed up.  :-)  I was driving around today, thinking about this thread, and realize I'll probably still be on the forum ten years from now, checking in on a nearly daily basis, and just imagine where we'll be by then.  Thanks Jeff for making this great place on the web!   8)

I was on the other side and someone from here mentioned this forum. I followed the sawdust trail on Dec. 11, 2001.

I think it was Bibbyman or Bro. Noble that should get the recruiting check.

;)

Do you remember this, Haytrader?

QuoteFirst time to post...rookie here.
Got new saw Monday and have already leared several things not to do.......
My real job is hauling hay.........

My first post:

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=4312.msg57524#msg57524

Joined on October 17, 2003.

I had just bought my Woodmizer and was trying to sell (or had just sold - I don't remember) a Logosol mill I had bought from Captain.  I think he invited me here, or maybe I was lurking and saw a post of his, but anyway, I came chargin' in and here I is.

If you had told me five years ago I was gonna own a portable sawmill and be cutting timbers for a new house, I'd  have told you, you was NUTS!   :o

It all feels like one big happy family.  Lot more comfortable than almost any other online forum I belong two ('cept one, and there's only 20 of us).

Wish I could get to the piggy roast this year and meet y'all, but it'll have to wait until next year.   :(

Looks like I first registered and posted on September 05, 2003 . . .

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=3870.msg51050#msg51050

Whew, that was a long time ago--542 posts and 2 days, 7 hours and 2 minutes of time logged in.  :o

Shoot, I coulda earned more than $2000 while I was playing here instead  :-[

Oh well, it's cheaper than therapy  ;D 

I was a regular over at Doc's after attending a Kiln Dry class that he taught.

Bibbyman had sent me an email asking questions about our Electric Wood-Mizer.

Then invited me to come visit the "Forestry Forum".  I was a lurker until Bib made this post:


Allen of BTFSawmill and I have been exchanging e-mails almost daily for the past couple of weeks.  He has been running an LT40HDE15 mill for the past couple of years on a rotary phase converter.  As I am in the process of installing this equipment to support the LT40HDE25 with CommandCotrol that will arrive on or about January,23,  Allen has given me invaluable help and guidance.


(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/archives/mills/mills-band2/BTFUglyLog2.JPG)


Just the other day he sent me this picture of one of several bur oak logs he got in.  All looked just about as butt ugly as the next.  I'd just like to say I'm glad it was not me.

Signed up Jan 5, 2002 6:14 pm

Thanks Bibbyman for the invitation ;)


ElectricAl

Registered:  October 23, 2003
I'd posted a question over on the other hill about wanting plans for an arch and someone from the one and only FF told me to come and view their pictures here. I think this was about the same time that the other hill got a bug about only dealing only with professionals and I got yelled at by the Doc for using seven dust to discourage ppb's in maple lumber. Thought it was time for new territory. This has to be the friendliest spot on the net and I really appreciate all the good ideas and the comraderie. And again, thanks to Jeff and his underadministrators. Youse guys are the best! 8) 8) 8)

At the time I joined the forum,  I was recovering from a 'nasty' accident.  I couldn't work for a few months and was medicated part of that time ::)  I got booted off that other other place from making posts that are pretty typical here.  I was pretty bored and needed some enjoyment in life ;)  Anyway it was mostly Haytrader's fault :D :D

Anyway I came here and brought a few buddies with me ;)

I don't have as much time to post as I once had,  but still check in  two or three times a day and try to keep up with some of the livlier topics.

I consider some of you crazies to be my closest friends.

The other side -where is that?  I've been on bulletin boards for a long time.  I started over on the usernet stuff.  There are a few guys there that some of you might recognize.  Don Staples and I are probably the only 2 from back in those days.  Joe Zorzin and Karl Davies are 2 of the more radical foresters and pretty much controlled that board.

But, there was another forester there named Steve Nix.  He started a forestry site at the Mining Company.  That was eventually bought out by About.com.  I wrote several articles for Steve, and still do whenever he asks.

The About site is where Jeff came on.  After awhile, he started hawking his site.  Jeff and I had a lot in common.  We were both headsawyers.  After exchanging a few e-mails (if I recall correctly). Jeff ends up giving me a call.  How can he attract people to his site?

My idea was for calculators.  Jeff knew someone who could design them, and I knew the math behind them.  They took on a life of their own.

Our first one was to figure up the footage in a log.  We showed it to Steve Nix and asked to have a link over to Timberbuyers.  No way.  It didn't show the footage in a tree.  Jeff was a little put off, but I told him the log footage was the first step.  The next step was to do the trees.  

We did one for the tree footage, and About almost had to put a link or look really bad.  Jeff also bought advertising on that site.

In a few months our calculators were being used on other sites without our authorization.  You'll probably find some on other sites that can be tracked back to our original code.  I found Jeff to be a tough negotiator.  He's mellowed over the years.

As an administrator, I like to stand back and let the forum flow the way it wants to go.  I don't try to steer it.  Most times, the posters have enough respect for others that they don't rankle too many feathers.  

I know my style is pretty much down to business.  Sorry, but its my PA Dutch upbringing.  I ain't that way in person.   ;)

Been tiein up the team here since sept 12 2001. Saw a link in one of Toms posts over at WW and been here ever since. Used to get over involved in the swinger/bandmill wars over there back then ( really made some stupid posts,in hindsight :-[) But the atmosphere over here has always been so good, It just became the only place to hang out.I do a lot more readin then postin, but have seen alot of names come and go.Still has remained a nice homey front porch kinda place :)

Yep,  Like Tom said.   

We'd met over on the 'other web'.  As I remember,  in an ugly bar brawl over TH vs. WM – with everyone's 2 cents thrown in.   Tom e-mailed me and told me I was right.  I knew right then and there he was a smart,  and wise man. ;)

We got to exchanging e-mails and he told me about Forestry Forum.  I joined June 3, 2001.  Almost 3,000 posts ago. 

My first post was about ...  FOOD!!!   8)

It's on Page 1 of Tom's Funny Story thread.

Best Meal I Ever Ate.

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=171.msg1808#msg1808

I bought a WM in 1998 and was visiting the other place to learn all I could about sawing when someone pointed me to this place. Registered Dec. , 09, 2002.  Didn't make my first post until Dec. ,31, 2002. Started typing on the post when I registered, but took me 22 days to type the ten word post. :o
I got the splinter out of my typing finger and I am a little faster now. ;)
After over two years of being a member and still having less than the necessary posts to be a full member, The Boss promoted me to a full member anyway. 8)  I think he was just feeling sorry for this hillbilly. ;)
If I had the writing ability of Tom, the story telling ability of Bibbyman, the sawing knowlege of Arkansawyer or the humor of others I would post more.

April 8, 2003
Found this place through google, and lurked for a month or two.

Not going to post a link to my first post, as that would be too easy. ;D
ALL the old post are still here for the reading, you can go back to the begining or any point between then and now and read for yourself. ;)

Quote from: UrbanLogger on April 16, 2005, 07:57:23 PM
Whew, that was a long time ago--542 posts and 2 days, 7 hours and 2 minutes of time logged in. :o

Hey Urban, I belive that's just since the forum upgrade, just think how much you could have made going all the way back.  ;D

I've only been here 6 months because I didn't have net access until then, but I watched from the sidelines for years when I visited family with acess. I still check in and contribute at "the other place" but hang out here. Very friendly and homey, even though I was mildly chastized for not fully appreciating Yooper night! :D :D

Brad, we're glad ya decided ta stick wit us, eh.   ;)

I wrote a nice long essay on how I got here and why I stayed.  Forgot to poke the "Post" button and it got away from me. :-\

Suffice it to say, I followed Tom over from WoodWeb and found a home in Oct of 2001. :) :)

Feb.21, 2003, sure seems longer!  Can't remember if google or WW steered me this way.  Still don't think I have my tree in the right spot :D
https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=2394.msg30829#msg30829

September 27, 2000, 11:04:43 PM

Jeff trolled us over from About.com.  Nix, Ron, Jeff and I were about it for a while, then the guys and girls started loosening up some, and began to talk.

Who was our first female poster?

Well, Aparrently I joined on the 11th of March, 2005.

So I'm just a baby timewise...

I've got 363 posts up, about 7 of them serious :D :D :D

If you want to know who to blame, you can blame Andrew. He kept talking about this 'fantastic forum' he'd found, and sending me links to read to learn and laugh...  So I Joined.

My first post was this one:  https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=10973.msg150569#msg150569.
(well, my first actual post was a question on how to post an avatar, that one was my first proper post)

Well, even though I'm not a sawyer, am not a carpenter, am not a logger, I'm not even a roofer!...  I still feel welcome.

Must say, Thanks to Paschale for starting this thread, it's great! And thanks to Tom for his post, it's fantastic...  Oh, and.. DanG, you're a DanG Dill for losing your post, please have another try at it, I'd love to read it!...

The best thing I really like is the Family Focus of the forum. I like the way everyone cares about everyone else. It shows, not only in the answers to questions, but also in the obvious care given when someone's in trouble. Now, I may not believe in God, but I sure understand that when someone who does says 'I'll pray for you' it's a good thing. It means they CARE enough to be thinking about you. And that never hurts!   :) :) :)

I guess it's all in the person, and their attitude as to whether they'll fit in or not...  ;D

Anyhow, guys, thanks heaps for making us feel so welcome.  :-*

asy :D

Hey Guys,
Ive been in and out over the years, but was on board fairly early on - June 2001.  Sure is a little different these days!
https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=242.msg2304#msg2304 was my first post.  Thats around 160,000 posts ago!
Dont make the mistake of equating the highest number of posts with the oldest members!!  :D ;)
Cheers
Charlie.

 ::)

Yes Tom, I do remember that post since you reminded me.
Seems like such a short time ago.

Noble,

Wish we had a copy of what we said over yonder that got us deleted. As I recall, I am pretty sure is was sumthin you said ashually.

;)

September 14 2004. I only entered the modern world and got net access last summer :D I was looking on Google for a  forum on chainsaws as I have been involved with them for over thirty years and found this one. I gradually started looking on the other forums and got involved. I have been moved to tears, laughed my butt off, bit my tongue, thought profound thoughts, and have learned a lot . Thanks to eveyone for making this fun.
I was also on another site but the moderator was so dictatorial and there was so much bickering, I lost interest. No names mentioned. :P
1.92 posts a day?? I really have to get a life :D

April 2, 2003........ah yes I remember it well! And Jeff has regretted it ever since!!  :D   I got hooked a while before that. Norm would be in his office laughing and having WAY too much fun reading the forum; so I would have to go in and calm him down and add all sorts of "helpful" hints to his posts.  ::)   It was about that time he INSISTED I sign in under my own name as to not embarrass him. I did sign in; but I keep forgetting the part about not embarrassing him.  ;D

Hey there!

Thanks for the welcome.

Jeff, you must be married...only a married guy would know to put the wife to the right of the hubby.  Wink

Linda, I've been reading this site for months while Norm did all the talking. But when Al posted the pic of your bicep, WELL, I just had to join. Sounds like you guys have alot of fun at the ol' sawmill. Norm & I really enjoy it also. Something about that fresh cut wood.... Smiley

Patty

I think this was close to my first post..

     January 28, 2005, 07:03:50 PM 
up until that day i had been lurking for about 3or4 months.

Untill then i have always worked to hard and to many long days so all i use the super highway for was research and to keep up with family. When i got sick i had nothing but time on my hands and was going crazy just sitting in the house. Well i found this web site that was i thaught was like that other site ya'll know witch one i mean. :D I started looking around and low and behold it wernt no where even close.
This one had the info but it also had stories, friendship, and it treated evryone and i mean everyone
like they were family.

well i just moved right in and joined this family called The Forestry Forum it is one of the best moves i have made since i married my lovley wife 32 years ago.

               February 21, 2005, 08:40:09
I had been at another site for a while.  Just watching mostly, didn't chime in very often, less it was a simple yes-no kind of thing.  Still got chastised sometimes. :(  I've never really chatted , always just surfed the web for info.  Well one day , in the archives, I saw a FF thread someone had left in their post, can't remember who left it.  I came over here and got to looking around and yall struck me as a bunch characters that enjoyed sharing your experiences with others. :)  I didn't lurk, but 3 or 4 days before I had to join.  While getting my wife to help me figure out how to post pics, she commented that I must really like this new forum I found.  Well that says it all.  ;D From my profile I see I've been posting 2.333 times a day,  I'd better be quite for a while. ;D

The forum's roots go back to one day that I still remember quite clearly. It was a week or so before Christmas in 1999.

We had a visitor to the sawmill that day. A landowners whose timber that was cut by a logger that we buy from.  He was Irate, he thought he was being taken to the cleaners and the guy was not paying for what he hauled. His information had come from another logger that said "you better watch that guy". The land owner was looking for gate receipts and information to prove that more wood had been taken then paid for.  I was not part of the conversation but stood silently listening.

The logger that he was questioning's credentials are impeccable. That year he had EARNED the logger of the year award from the Michigan Association of Timbermen. He was know by us and others as probably the number one recommendation to someone wishing to have their timber harvested.  The Landowner was calmed down and set straight. He was asked who it was that told him to "watch this guy".  He told us and we all laughed. The guy doing the warning was what we considered the number one timber pimp (thief) that we knew.

Anyways, I came home thinking that day, How does a landowner know? What is to keep him from being taken? Where could he find information?

I sat down at the computer with the premise that I had 40 acres of timber and I wanted to find someone on the internet to help me manage it. I typed in "timber buyer".  Guess what I found right a way, and the ONLY thing I found?  That same Timber Pimp from our area who had bad mouthed the logger that was out there doing a good job.

I thought then and there, that someone needed to find a way to put good information out there, and somehow I felt that I was the one to do it. At the time I knew no one. My world was that of a head sawyer in a commercial mill. About 4 foot by 4 foot square.  I did know of a few organizations and I started calling them, telling them what I aimed to do and how I aimed to do it and that I needed resources for GOOD SOLID information that I could represent to landowners looking for information. To find a way to help educate them on how to manage their timber resources and at the same time protect them. I knew that the internet was probably where the younger people who were beginning to take over the timberlands from their fathers and grandfathers would look first. I knew that someone other then the timber pimps had to be there first.

Anyways, I guess it was a calling. The Timber Buyers Network was born. An informational site aimed at people on the internet looking for a "timber Buyer" or a "Michigan Logger".  (try these search terms in any search engine, I am proud to say that I was able to find a way to "be there first".

My idea was to give the landowner the tools to educate themselves, then armed with that information, have a list of companies that had very good reputations to help them out.  I also wanted to have some tools for these member companies to communicate, and help each other out. I thought a forum, where they could exchange ideas would be a good thing. So, a forum was created. It was simply a link on the www.timberbuyer.net site. So make a long story short, the forum took a different direction then I originally envisioned, but it was still good. Eventually it was clear that the Forum was much bigger then just a little Michigan thing and deserved to have an identity of its own. So, the Forestry Forum came to be.

Since that day in December 1999, and that evening when I sat down to the computer my little head sawyer world has expanded to take me down many roads.

Congratulations Jeff, you have done an excellant job. One you can be very proud of, indeed.  8)

What Patty said.

How do you find the time and the expertise?

Ernie

Feb 24 2004.
I sent Jeff an email begging to become a sponsor ;D

Hello Jeff,

  My name is Kevin Bantle and I had an opportunity to visit the forum for
sawmilling for the first time last night.
I was very pleased to read posting from fellow sawyers sharing the stories.
I have a woodmizer LT40HD and operate as New England Saw and Lumber, LLC. I
have recently started to manufacture forestry tools under the name LogRite
Tools.
I manufacture aluminum handled canthooks, peaveys, and log carriers and was
interested in advertising on your sawmill page. Could you let me know the cost
or who I should talk to.
  You can visit my website at www.logrite.com, any feedback or comments would
be appreciated.
   I plan to become a member shortly, and look forward to sharing my sawing
experiences.
Thank You
Kevin Bantle

Jeff called that night and chewed my ear off for over an hour and before I  hung up the phone he had the logo on the side and an introduction post started.

Thanks Jeff.

That night Captain IMed me that he traveled in my neck of the woods often, and thought we should meet. Two weeks later I met my first FF member.
Kevin

I joined Dec 2002.Haven't been too active until the last few months.I think I came over from WW too.I'm only a small time guy,with a manual mill for my own use.Have been cutting firewood all my life.I really like this forum,that's why I'm still here. Have some great stories here and everyone helps out everyone.

I think I found this place using goooogle.and I think I joined last year.and I have learned a bunch by hanging out here also.Thanks Jeff for this great place to hang out.

Jeff, are you now retired so you can devote so much time an effort here? ;D You, and the other admins are doing a heckuva job. Even asy knows where Michigan is now :D :D

I joined up and it's been a great experience.... there was some downtime where I was not around much at all, but I am hooked now, especially since I know this is where all the GRIT eaters hang out


Date Registered:  January 08, 2004, 05:23:13 PM , and still consider myself a newbie here

Quote from: sawguy21 on April 18, 2005, 08:42:26 AM
Jeff, are you now retired so you can devote so much time an effort here? ;D You, and the other admins are doing a heckuva job. Even asy knows where Michigan is now :D :D

I DO!!!

And I know what a Yooper is!

I'm learning so much!

We went out and bought our very own Map of USA!!!  Now we can put little dots on it whereI find somewhere I want to visit. A sort of trip planner for ??? years time!

asy :D

This is fun!   8)

So was Logrite the first sponsor then?  I've seen some be added as I've been on the forum, but I wonder who the first corporate wiz figured out this was the place to be!!!   ;)

Wood-Mizer came to me in 2002 wondering how I was funding the forum and offered thier assistance, specifically, Jeff Brown and Kevin Corder. :)


Sponsors In order of becoming involved with the Forestry Forum:
Wood-Mizer
TimberKing
Antlergrower.com
Peterson
Rust Reaper
Baker
Menominee Saw
LogRite Tools
D&L Double Cut
Nyle
Timberline
MATSIF
Baileys/Lucas

 I was cruising, looking for timber stand improvement info. I came across Doug of Utah's site with the largest site of links, I'd ever seen.
June 16 2002, I joined the FF, I was so nieve of forum's that I didn't even know I was suposed to introduce myself. I guess everyone forgave me at some point  ;). I look at 2 other forums, Maple trader & Aborist. But I live for the Forestry Forum  8).

September 10, 2000, 01:45:43 PM
My first post  Outdoor topics / Outdoor activities / Re: Woods walking

I guess I just had to see what was making Jeff so excited.  ;),  he would come home from work and find people were reading and posting. This site has been a wonderful thing, we get to meet lots of nice people and it seem like we have known them forever. I don't post to much but I sure enjoy reading.  8)

I am looking forward to meeting many more friends  :)

I came aboard on October 9 th. 2004 I had been over at that other site for several months until I found a link to Timberbuyers and then found The Forrestry Forum. What a great place very helpful, caring and humorus folk. Thanks a lot Jeff and all the other Admins you do a GREAT job for all of us members.

QuoteSeptember 10, 2000, 01:45:43 PM
My first post  Outdoor topics / Outdoor activities / Re: Woods walking

Hey, I remember pointing that post out to my wife, time flies ;D...now if I could just remember where I put the lumber list for today.

      I just joined yesterday so i'm new.  But i have been lurking for a year or two  I build  cabinets and furniture out of western juniper.   I have been logging. milling, my own lumber for two years now and you folks have been great. Thank  you all.

I've been here since Sept. 19 2002.I think I got here when someone posted a link on another board. Looked interesting so I checked it out. Check in now most every day.  I don't think I have ever had to ask a question, just look thru the posts that are already here.
Many thanks to Jeff and the other guys that keep this forum going.

Well Welcome to the Forum whitey! :)

I joined on October 15, 2001, 04:58:25 PM Had bought my wood lot at the beginning of the year and seen band mills demonstrated at AG Progress Days.
I think I found the Timber Buyers Network site with a search, and came here from the link on it, and after about 6 months of reading I joined.
So I guess that puts me pretty near the beginning 8) 8)

I joined 08/05/04. I had had lurking around for several months after reading a comment on WW by Arky saying this was a good place to hang out with good people. I found his statment to be true. I visit hear alot more often than I post. I have alot more to learn before I would feel comfortable enough or knowledgeable enough to contribute. I can say that I have come along ways since I first logged on here. Thanks for the education. ;D

Joined Sept 2001, followed over hear from TOM'S posting on WWforum. This is the forum that I look at the most.

FIrst welcom Whitey you'll have a lot of fun here.

i started posting a couple of months ago.  I found out about this site from a customer.  He had been checking to see if I knew what I was talking about and if my prices where in line.

Well I'm sure I don't know what I'm talking about but my prices must have been ok cause he still keeps coming back. :D

Now I'm hooked on sawdust and the forum.  what a combination

 April 22 2004 I think i was a member before that but lost all of my information when the putter crash and was busy building a new barn and getting our rabbit herd built so i didn't pay much attention but got back to where i had some time and found i kept thinking about the forum and finally went hunting for it  then it took me 4 days to find it  spelling isn't my strong suite, form instead of forum just doesn't work  I'm another one of the older baby boomers
that putters just don't come easy to  I don't say much mostly read and laugh 
this group has felt comforble I run a chainsaw mill a little but was mainly a fire wood cutter  but gave that up about 10 years ago  just can't do 100 to 150 cords a year anymore about 5 for myself and i do sell 5 for chirstmas funds   Dave

This seems to be my first post here:

Quote601   General Forestry / Forestry and Logging / Re: Oxen logging  on: January 07, 2004, 09:13:07 PM 

In these days, with a horse in front of their wagons the farmers always are in a hurry and at home from the town before evening.
When they used oxen they could sleep at home the first 3 nights.........(^__^)

Before that I was at WW for a short time. Found a link to <  http://www.xmission.com/~sherwin/sawyer1.htm > went on to FF and moved in.

Sorry if my language and manor hasn´t been the best all time but I´m just a poor Swede...........  ;)

Swede.

Having started a plantation in Costa Rica, I figured I better work at learning more about how you eventually cut the things down!  :D

My first post was December 14, 2003, 02:25:32 PM because someone was talking about logging with oxen -  and oxen are much more common down here than up there.

When I started posting, I still lived in NJ - but since have relocated to the south - the DEEP south.  ;D

Except, I still am a Northern because I live in the Northern zone of Costa Rica.

It has been a great group and I appreciate all the hard work that goes into it.  I am a moderator of a group about Costa Rica (~2,000 members) who are not near as well behaved. Of course, look at the kind of people who move to a foriegn country....

It is an encouragement to me to know that this group didn't become huge over night - I have one on reforestation and we have some activity - hopefully it will grow.

Thank you, Swede!  8)

-Doug Sherwin

Joined on July 13, 2003, 02:27:09 PM

but didn't make a post (to shy) till August 04, 2003 when MarkM asked to "Do Sumptin For a Soldier"  That's when I knew this was the place to be.
https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=3566.msg47796#msg47796

Found the FF looking for some tips on how to use a band mill, I hung out over at WW for awhile but never registered there... guess I felt I wasn't "professional" enough  ::) Lurked here for a couple months then decided yup I'm gonna join... one of the best things I ever did!!! super people...

Thanks everyone,
Tim

I can't remember when I joined  . I can't find my first post because I don't know what it was. 
I heard about the Forestry forum on the Fine Homebuilding 's Breaktime forum . I don't remember who mentioned it either.  Any way I had just purchased an old Frick sawmill .It still need some work but most of my old stuff does .

To find your first post..........
Go to your profile and click the line: Show the last posts of this person.
Then go to the end of the list. ;)

April 11, 2004, 06:35:18 AM

I think I lurked a little from memory.

I was getting close to buying my sawmill, if I recall correctly, My first jump into our terrific family (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=6514.msg90191#msg90191") and had only just recently heard about Petersons, so was trying to reasearch up a storm! ;D I originally found the Forum by accident as I was over at the other placefor a very short time, which most seemed to have mentioned, and one day I couldn't remember where it was (not being technological an all - I hadn't bookmarked it) well I was a bit off put by the other one being so professional and all, anyways I digress. I went looking for it and ended up finding this one, I thought this wasn't the one I was looking for but I lurked a little and learned a lot.
It didn't take me long to join and I started gaining a heck of a lot and not giving so much back, being so new to sawing I was worried about posting pics of the first boards I cut, even just slipped in a quick, humble quiet, almost missed  by most folkes -  Just bought my mill  (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=7530.msg103455#msg103455I") post.
Well unlike my fellow Ozzie - Asy, it took me a while to warm up and get the courage to start posting properly.

I still do a heck of a lot more reading than posting - I guess once I've been around as many days as some of our esteemed company, then I may post more than I read? Probably not.

I've found it to be one of the best places to get away from anything getting me down, there is always a laugh to find round here and always a few pics to drool over!!!

Oh and a big hearty welcome to Whitey, what a post to begin with, good on ya mate and hope you stick around long enough to find how crazy we all are ;) :D

Iv'e been in this here chair reading and typing for 3 days, 19 hours and 42 minutes Dont let Wifey know, she will expect those days caught up and paid for in advance ;D :D

I found the FF by referal of a member of Maple Trader.com on 2/18/05 and joined, on 2/23/05 I made my first post. What a great ride it has been. My first post tried to teach a group of experts how to use a biltmore stick, boy what was I thinking. This site is great and addictive, I often check it out several times a day. Met 45 other members at sawlex and had a fantastic time, what a truly great group, I feel like I've known you for years and you all think and do the same things I enjoy, truly a FAMILY. I have learned more in these last few months about logging, sawmilling, chainsaws and everything else covered here than I knew from several years of doing some of this stuff previously. THANKS FORESTRY FORUM members. No one puts anyone down or makes any other member feel unwanted and they all show respect for everyone else, is this utopia or what?

April 24 2004. Was reading without joining for a while. Found the FF referenced in a post on tractorbynet.
Glad I joined, great people, greater information!
moosehunter

My first post was in november of 04 . Was about swampy wood from Fla.Deadheader

Well I had been searching for a New Brunswick, even a Canadian forestry forum or logger's forum. I found a couple, went exploring them and found that they were pretty much dormant and those that were posting pretty much hated the world. So I kept on searching and found this wonderful forum and I beleive my first thread was about plant ID and a few months later I became a co-moderator with Tom in the Plant-ID section. Then I became a moderator in Ask the Forester a few weeks later. As I try to keep abreast with what's being posted and presented in the forum I discover alot of things I have little knowledge about and am glad there are other members on here that can answer about every question immaginable. I learn from the forum every day and enjoy every opportunity I visit this place. :)

Cheers all. :)  8)

Look what link I found (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=237.0)  ;D

Sept 14 2004. I had just got hooked up on the internet at home for the first time and was looking for chainsaw forums. Found a friendly bunch here and decided to stick around. I really enjoy the general and membership discussions. The chainsaw forum gets entertaining too.

Quote from: Tom on September 19, 2005, 10:34:15 PM
Look what link I found (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=237.0)  ;D

;D

Welcome to the camp Charlie. ;D

I thought this deserved to be brought back to the top.

I came here shortly after Hurricane Katrina came through. I had some trees down on my property and wanted to get my own mill to saw them up. I found this place through an internet search and took up residence. I've learned a lot here and continue to learn each day.

Stew

I joined July 23, 2001 10:38:25AM, First post was Dec. 17, 2000 about Oak Wilt. I can't remeber what brought me here. I think I was looking for logs maybe and found the place through some kind of log finder something or the other, or maybe it was a link to a log calculator. The more I think about it, I believe it was te l;og calculator. I never have posted a whole lot. Kinda internet shy I guess. Lately I've been coming out of my shell a little. I have posted more this year than all the other years togehter I think. I started across the other side of the fence and it didn't take long to figure the folks was a lot more friendly on this side. LeeB

Wow, Lee!  I didn't realize you had been here longer than me! :o

Let's see now, your avatar says "Proud to be a Texan" but you bounce back and forth between Arkansas and BFE. ??? ::)   They kick you out of Texas, or you just trying to get away from Staples? ;D

I spent 2004 peckin around and doing a lot of reading, but not really planning on joining. That there DanG kept on and on about getting on and being a part of the forum so in March of 2005 I decided I'd log on. Ever since it's been an education, a way good folks can find their common interest and a whole lot more. Over time I've learned that it takes a lot more than good ideas to make the forestry form work.

Hats and shoes off to everyone that keep things steered in the right direction. I'm talking about the thankless job the admins have to keep things cleaned up and the members that want to see it stay that way.  And let's don't forget the sponsers.  8)

Quote from: DanG on June 07, 2007, 10:04:42 AM
  BFE.   

Haven't heard that since I got out of the DanG military.   8)

I thought that was in Idaho.  Poor Idaho. They cant even get a contestant for miss america any more. :-\  No one will wear the sash. :'(

Hey, you used stole my DanG joke!

I think I found this place from Google. I am pretty sure I was researching chainsaw stuff. I do know my first post was in the chainsaw section, and was on the side of levity. A harbinger of my participation.
I have since become a bastion of wisdom and seriousness, avoiding comedic relief entirely.

We need a Pinochio nose smilie. ;D

Nah, just read the word over the US flag on your avatar.

Proud to be, brother!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 8)

Quote from: Texas Ranger on June 07, 2007, 12:23:38 PM
Hey, you used stole my DanG joke!

What joke?

My first post was in March 2005

I was making an offer on a woodlot and wondering what to do if I got it so I searched the internet on this fancy new gadget called a laptop. Stumbling in here is just like stepping in quicksand - even when you don't do anything you can't leave  ;D

I usually step in once a day.  8)

I finially decided to check in on this thread.....and.....I've been here 3 years almost to the day.

8) 8) 8)

Ed

I hate to bust your bubble SE but, your 3 year anniversary is still two days off.  :-\  :)

Quote from: kevjay on June 07, 2007, 01:52:48 PM
I hate to bust your bubble SE but, your 3 year anniversary is still two days off.  :-\  :)

Yea, I caught it. oops.  :( :( ::) :D

Quote from: DanG on June 07, 2007, 10:04:42 AM
Wow, Lee! I didn't realize you had been here longer than me! :o

Let's see now, your avatar says "Proud to be a Texan" but you bounce back and forth between Arkansas and BFE. ??? ::) They kick you out of Texas, or you just trying to get away from Staples? ;D

Didn't get kicked out, just couldn't handle all the angry, in a hurry, hords that were moving in around me and the contruction that came with them. I decided to go somewhere with a little slower pace of life. We were gonna try Tennesee and decided to look in Arkansaw on the way. We liked what we saw there and the people we met. Land was cheaper too, so now I got 105 acres a stones throw away from Arky. I guess I'll always be a Terxan at heart, but I imagine Ill finish my days in Arkansas.

Just so you know I wasn't trying to be the Faux Pas Police. When I read your post I decided to check my own join date, but instead of clicking my own profile I absent-mindedly clicked yours. ::)

When I saw that June 9th join date i thought "Wow I joined the day before my marriage anniversary. My anniversary is tomorrow yikes I gotta plan something!!!!" But then I began to see other things that just didn't look right and the Faux Pas was on me. ;)

Thanks though, for reminding me of my annivesary. ;D

Quote from: kevjay on June 07, 2007, 03:10:55 PM
My anniversary is tomorrow yikes I gotta plan something!!!!"

Ours is on the 18th. Makes 30 years for us. I reckon we're gonna go play on the lake and fish some. How long you got invested?

We have two sort of. I have told the medium length version several times so I spare the regular suspects the repitition and be brief. I gave her a promise ring in 1976. I kept my promise on my birthday (her idea) June the 10th, 2004. So we have 31 years and 3 years to celebrate. My math says tha equals 34 years I guess we got you beat. :D

Hey! My brother's birthday is on the 10th as well. Mine was the third, and I worked with a fellow once that had the same birthday as me. I know it's not earth shattering, or scream from the mountain top news or anything. ;D

Happy anniversary anyway for whom ever where ever.  ;)

I joined September 30, 2006, 07:21:39 PM. Thanks to Jim_Rogers! I had been searching for several different forums, timber framing, blacksmithing, etc., and not having any luck. I started my own forum in early 2006, only to have it crash after having only one member sign up. ::) Then I met Jim at a Timber framing workshop and he sent me here.  8) I have found answers to a lot of questions. I have found plenty of things to amuse myself. But most importantly, I have found a bunch of new friends!


Dave

June 16, 2005, 08:18:26 PM

I'd spent a couple of months attaining cost information about building my mill. By the time I thought I had explored all the potential cost, I'd already expended more than half what a mill like I wanted would cost. Not to mention, a factory purchased mill would have been designed, tested with time and already functional. No bugs to work out. I've not operate one mill but seen several before I placed my order with Woodmizer. The internet had allowed me to see all of our sponsors. I considered the pros and the cons decided by me and not the factory literature. I had also kept up with WM for about 20 years and seen the improvements. This forum is not only the finest information and people network for our like minds, but the best information link to inquiring minds. I'd hung around for a couple of months before I placed my order with WM. Once I did, I wanted like minded people to know.

Quote from: Chris Burchfield on June 07, 2007, 06:42:32 PM
black fly season 16, 2005, 08:18:26 PM

Now THAT'S a funny result of Yooper night!   ;D :D ;D ;)

I have been wandering around here ever since I decided to go to Costa Rica to grow trees. I suspect that is a lot of years now. I even been around long enough to know what is Yooper Night!

I have been around a couple of months longer than 5 years.  Wow, how time flies when you are having fun.

I am a newbie.  October 30, 2006.  Found the Forum doing research on Robinia pseudoacacia.

Joined Oct 2001.  First post Oct. 2003.  I guess I just didn't have anything to say.

first post : just an introduction
https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=19682.msg281668#msg281668

i got here from a google search looking for timber framing info. I have always loved to work with wood and plan to eventually build a timber frame home. I fell into the sawmill portion because i thought wow how cool would it be to take a truck load of logs (man there are some huge doug firs and cedars around here) and turn it into my own usable timbers and demensional lumber and lumber to do bowl turning and furniture building... whew almost wore myself out there. I did some logging with my grandfather and dad in the late 70's, early 80's in Virginia. Took logs to an old circle saw mill but never until i came here knew anything about bandsaw mills and the possibility of one being in my price range was amazing. (Still drooling over getting one someday)

I (and i am sure my wife would agree) wonder if i could ever possibly do all the things i can envision but, i am positive that i will keep working on something up till the end. I appreciate all the information that is so freely passed here. It is a welcome relief from the corporate attmosphere i work in for the day job. I am an Infrasturcture Architect (fancy title for Network/Sytem designer) but, my love is to be in the woods.

Thanks again for everyones participation it is what keeps this site so interesting.

Happyj

Joined up on Oct. 10, 2005  09:58:12 PM  8)

I found my way to this Forum through a link from an article on Warden Sawmill (Bibbyman) on the WM site. I had bought a LT 15 in June of that year and was trying to find anything on sawing I could. Went to Moultrie just a few days later and met my first members. DanG, Tom, Woodbowl, DonE911, Captain, Ga Boy, Thiggy, FCPineknot,and a few more. I have enjoyed every minute of my time here, about 14 1/2 days total time logged on, and have learned alot. My wish is that I could meet the members I have come to know so much about. Thanks for a great place Jeff, and all the work that everyone does and hats off to our sponsors

Don  

I lurked here for a couple or three years then joined December 7, 2006 @ 6:34.54 P.M. after Jeff posted something about why folks lurked and didn't join. Never have been much of a joiner and really didn't really have much to say and enjoyed the characters here, learned a lot. Was looking for a plans to build a bandsaw mill. Sorta slid in the back door, real quiet like, without saying much and listened in on the conversations. Still read this forum daily.

First contact came because I was looking for info about an old Poulan 245 chainsaw I wanted to fix up. Found that and more so I 've been coming back ever since and joined on :

October 24, 2005, 05:23:50 PM

Kudo's to da Boss and "old timers" for running a class act . . .

     April 02, 2003, 10:14:34 AM

Just after April Fool's Day!   Norm had been enjoying the Forum's company for along time, so I had to join just to get in on all the action.  :D   I have made lots of good friends here, and enjoy the visit everyday.

Only 'beenhere' about 18 months;  followed a link from a woodworking forum.  Called a tractor site "home" for several years, but it eventually evolved into a different place from what it had been.  It was originally much like this site, with folks exchanging information and .......gently..........poking fun.  I finally realized that I had little in common with someone would INSIST that, "I can so too pull up stumps with my new-to-me 8N Ford; I've already owned the tractor 6 months and have done it a bunch of times."  I still go over there occasionally and poke around, but haven't posted for a couple of years.
I was without a home for about a year, before stumbling in amongst all y'all.   8) 

September 14, 2005, 08:18:43 PM, creeping up on two years, hard to imagine it's been that long already.  Also referred here from a tractor site.  Use to search the tractor and ATV sites for any info on logging, skidding, cutting, ect.  More and better info here on what I'm looking for then all the others combined.

Biggest issue for me is the attitude.  In so many organizations and sites over the years you forever run into the attitude that "this is the right way and nothing else will work!"  Here it's more of a "find what works for you, but here's some suggestions."  Even in the circle vs. band discussions it seldom gets too heated and both sides admit there are different tools for different situations.

Only real problem I have with this site is trying to get caught up after being out of town for 4 or 5 days.

Amen Brother! ;D

I was researching sawmills and related subjects/tools on the internet and came across a forum where folks discussed such matters.

While digging around the forum, I found it a pleasant, disciplined bunch with folks who seemed to actually know a little about what they discussed.  That being as refreshing as it was, I made the lucid decision to join.

About that time, Staples came in, recognized I was in the Forestry Forum, and proudly announced he was a member and had been for some time.  This was pleasantly surprising, because up until that moment, I wasn't aware he could read.  Much less operate a computer.    :D   ;)

That was March 31, 2006.

Bringing this back up ....  I like reading the whys I joined dis forum ....  :) :)

Man this post is a great read.    :)   Don't know how I've missed it until now.    Thanks for bring it back to the top.   Reading this is almost like attending a 25 or 30 year class reunion, reading how, what and where everyone has been.   

I think I found this site doing a search using "web crawler" (remember that search engine?) .   I was looking into buying my mill and had no idea of what I wanted or needed.   

I made my first post here DR Buck 1st Post (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=5251.msg71252#msg71252)

I got help I didn't even ask for from the forum members.  ;)   I've been here since.  camaraderie and friendship here is unmatched ANY WHERE else on the web.   I've got a lot of "best friends" here at FF.

I thought I had replied to this post some time ago but I guess I just htought I had.

I made a few posts before this one in 2002 but this is the one that really got it rolling for me.

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=1400.0

I have been pestering these fine folks ever since!  :D

   oct 26, 03
   We had just purchased  the lt30, and i got home and typed bandsaw mill, or something like that in my search and landed here.
   i have don a lot more reading than i have typing.
   I have found a welth of info here.

This is quite the thread.Makes for some interesting reading.

Was wondering IF and WHEN someone would resurrect this thread.....it's had a high profile the last couple of days!

Myself, became a forumite on April 3^rd 2005, so it could be said ' I'm a relative newbie'.   Suffice to say, I did lurk as a guest for 2 year prior to registering.  The Forum was found from the results of a search months after buying  our sawmill.  I've never looked back since and it's such  8) 8) place to be a part of.

Date Registered:  September 19, 2005

But I was reading the posts here starting in late 2002 or early 2003 when I was deciding on a portable mill.

I found this site researching trees, in particular, black locust.  Serendipity ;D

  I am very new as a member, but enjoyed reading on here for about 2-3 years. Joined December 21, 2007, 09:55:40 PM. I was reading at WW as well, not a very friendly bunch IMO.
   Sure like it here though. Jeff, you've done a good thing. Thanks.  smiley_clapping


Erik

I think I've found my first post: Probably my first post (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,6403.msg306440.html#msg306440)

Like I mentioned earlier, I was just a lurker until Jim_Rogers got ahold of me, you can all blame him. ;) :D


Dave

I started reading this old thread and wondered how I've missed it.   Then I go to the part where I posted  :D   and realized I read it before.   :D :D    I think it was even a better read this time around.   

I joined the Forestry Forum and made my first post on May 27, 2008, at 06:19:09 pm!

As a matter of fact, this is a copy of my first post!

I've been looking for a site like this for about 2 years now and this one is really great!
I've been reading the pages on here, there is a lot more to go.

For the last 3 years, I've been using my Father-in-Laws 1992 WM-LT40G18 and sawed out around 15,000 bf each year.
It kept me busy and I learned a lot in the process.

Less than a month ago, I bought my own mill, it's a 1995 WM-LT40HDG24.
I am the 3rd owner, and the mill only has 530 +/- hours on the clock.
I bought my mill from "petefrombearswamp".
I'm getting a little more comfortable running this mill now, there is a big difference between this one and my FIL's.

Great site folks!
See ya around the boards.

The mill now has 1398.8 hours on it!

May 01, 2006, 01:27:27 pm
This is my 1st post, I was doing my research on building my log cabin, I would go on the net and type in different things, as I tried to gather info on how to build what I had already partly built. I have met some great people from here, and it is a big joke in the family as ...Dad and the FF especially when I ordered the hats.
Cheers everyone

November 05, 2002, 07:17:12 pm, after lurking for a long time.

I don't post very often anymore, but still communicate with folks behind the scenes. 
Got started when I voted myself off the WW site, dealt sawmills for a while, now I just do it as a hobby.  Check in once in a while to settle my nerves.  Can't keep up anymore, it was a lot easier when there were only 20 posts in a day.  Appreciative of the atmosphere created and sustained by all.  Jeff deserves a big thanks.  I've relied on this group when I was down, and learned from all. I'm sure I'll forget if I try to list, but Tom, FLA_Deadheader, wiam, Captain, sprucebunny, engineer, etc come to mind.  Met many at shows in NY, MD, ME, and VT. 
I still lurk around when I get a chance.

June 28 2010,  I found this sight after finding a sawmill advertised on an auction this last spring.  I was looking up info on mills, being from (basically) central Ne there aren't a whole lot of them around and wanted to see what we were getting into if we bought it. I lurked for a few months before joining, really don't know why, I have gotten so many answers from members here and most questions were never even asked :).  Wish I had more to contribute but I'm very inexperienced in this feild.  Jeff and the rest of the administrators here all deserve a big pat on the back for a job well done, and the members too as far as that goes.  It really is nice to have a site with a very positive attitude, positive members, and my 2 young daughters can read any thread over my shoulder without me checking it for content/language first! ;D

12 years, 9 months, 2 weeks, and 4 days to finally make it to 5000 posts. I may not post a whole lot but I sure do like coming here. Have made a lot of good freinds in all that itme. Thanks to you Jeff for letting me stay this long and thanks to the rest of you for sharing your life and times with me. Been rough every now and then, but been good way more than that. Looking forward to many more years with all of you.

September 2004, almost 10 years. WOW :o I was looking for a west coast logging and/or chainsaw forum, this place looked interesting so stuck around. I have shared a lot of laughs, shed some tears and learned a lot .

August 2004.  I don't post much, but I've benefited alot from reading here.

Date Registered: May 20, 2011, 08:03:22 am

I had never cut any wood besides a Christmas tree until about 6yrs ago when I moved onto a chunk of land devastated by ash borer.  I had a little poulan wild thing and proceeded to cut and sell about 80 face cords of fire wood off that little 5 acres the first 2 years.  Man that thing cut slow in retrospect..  My family thought I was crazy; I was always "cuttin' wood".

Then I thought I was crazy, why was I burning and selling all these gourgeous trees.  I had to have a sawmill, so I found a good deal on a little LM2000 in very nice shape.  My family thought I was even crazier. I hung my shingle on CL and started doing portable sawing, not making a killing, but loving it.  I first posted here the day I brought my norwood home.  I found the site thru arboristsite and saw there was way more sawmill action going on here, so I joined and read, and read and still read and read.  I don't post a ton since it seems like the cliques have been established, but I love to browse the threads and learn about being a woodsman and a sawyer.

I soon found my little norwood wasn't quite up to the task that I envisioned, so I sold the norwood and bought a WM LT35HD from Marty Parsons at the forestry festival in WV.  I never officially made a post about it, just started talking about it.  Then I got a tractor and grapple and bigger and faster saws, and a firewood account with a local restaurant, and more land, and a planer, joiner, cabinet saw.  Most of it now sits in storage waiting for me to raise my frame.  I dream about kilns, felling wedges, straight and true timbers, expanding my empire to escape the chains of a timeclock, and last but not least, liberty, peace and prosperity for my children.

I've been here a little over a year (March 29 2013). I've learned quite a bit from folks with years of experience, and every now and again I throw my two cents in. Thanks to all the mods and members of the board for having a board that you can learn from and is kept " family friendly" as well. I definitely enjoy scrolling through the forum.

September 04, 2009 was the day I registered.  Have enjoyed this site for many an hour ever since.  Have dreamed of doing some timber framing for a lot longer than that.  Bought a sawmill a few years back and in about 11 days will be hosting a timber frame class at my shop here in Nebraska.  Jim Rogers is coming in to teach it and it never would have happened without this site.  Thanks Jeff and everyone one else here!

Victor

I have read this thread through several times.  If gives some interesting history of the FF development and it's first members. 

about three months for me. Folks here with a lot of common interests. Unlike other forums , web sites , people here for the most part generate knowledge instead of just plagiarizing other sources.Sure sets this site apart !!!!!

Just re-reading this thread and see that I have been here 10 years now. I still visit and read almost every day. Do not post a lot but chime in when I think I can be of assistance.
mh

Quote from: Magicman on May 11, 2014, 07:46:02 PM
I have read this thread through several times.  If gives some interesting history of the FF development and it's first members.

Len   Some of them should be up for parole soon.    :D

I thought I had this post in this topic but I don't see it. In the beginning, you had to walk uphill through a foot of snow to get here. Then it was a foot of snow uphill to get home again.

Quote from: Den Socling on May 11, 2014, 10:39:32 PM
you had to walk uphill through a foot of snow to get here. Then it was a foot of snow uphill to get home again.

Old Saying.  :)

I registered July 31, 2007.  Hard to believe it's been 7 years ago.  Almost afraid to admit that my first post here was on the chainsaw board.  LOL  Here it is:

www.forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,26892.msg385737.html#msg385737

Warbird, at least you made it out alive!

The chainsaw board is not nearly as bad as it used to be.

Quote from: LeeB on May 12, 2014, 01:52:07 PMThe chainsaw board is not nearly as bad as it used to be. 

I thought that it was kinda like that "other" board.  One way in and one way out.   ;D

Quote from: Magicman on May 12, 2014, 01:58:25 PM

Quote from: LeeB on May 12, 2014, 01:52:07 PMThe chainsaw board is not nearly as bad as it used to be. 

I thought that it was kinda like that "other" board.  One way in and one way out.   ;D

Kicking, screaming and covered in blood? ;D

LOL Yeah, the chainsaw board has definitely been...  colorful, in the years I've been here.  ;D

looks like my first post was 8-17-05, I bought my mill in the fall of 04.
spent a lot of time on here reading, cant tell you how much I learned here from others.
thank you jeff.
I did pm a lot with tom about a lot of different things, I never met him or even talked on the phone with him, but I loved him just like he was my family, I truly miss him. thankful and a better person for having talked with him.

My first post was on a lurker thread in Oct 2006.  I only posted rarely for quite a while but the family atmosphere here makes it much easier to chime in.  I check in a couple of times every day.  Thank you Jeff and moderators for the work you do.

The 19th of March was 10 years for me.  Been very interesting to say the least.  Hopefully there will be a bunch more.

Bruce

I'm not posting as often anymore, but still stop by once in a while.  I joined after watching fla_deadheader and others for a while, on November 5, 2002. Doesn't feel like more than 13 years.  Thanks Jeff for all you have done.  It always feels like home. 
My first post; https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,1844.msg22527.html#msg22527

I discovered and registered with the Forum in March 2011,  six months after I bought my first mill.   I probably have not missed reading the Forum a day since.  Good people, info and humor.

 not to get off the topic but     I reread this hole topic last night and cant believe how many good people we have lost over the years   I hope they are up there looking down and laughing at us  8) 8)

Started April 2 last year.   I have learned a lot reading thru lots of hte old posts.   Hope I have contributed in somesmall way to this finesite.

Just perused through this old thread from start to finish, again. I nice walk down memory lane.

I joined in August of 2010, after reading about various sawmills for several months.  When we were trying to decide which brand and model of mill to purchase, I was referred to the FF by a friend.  I have learned a lot here and even had the opportunity to meet several members at Jake's last April. 

Before Hector was a pup.  June 3, 2001.

Jeff, Tom, Arky and I would post on the Woodweb (Does that forum still exist?).  Brother Tom led me the the FF.  Jeff didn't want to add sponsors at that time.  Times have changed.   

Being seriously retired, we saw very little for our own use so I don't get involved as I use to but I see my post average is still just over 2/day.  I'm pleased to see some of the topics I've started continue to be popular. 

  I've been here a bit over 5 years, joined right after I retired from "official" work and started getting more work done on our farm. I belong to a few other forums that are "brand specific" for the boat and camper but the FF is the every day all purpose forum.

I followed Bread Crumbs from Wood Web over here. I can't remember who spread out the crumbs now.

October 21, 2007. I disappeared for a few years a while back after I upset some people.

Joined April 2007, did not post until June , kind of shy that way. Great site, I visit almost daily.

Well.........I just spent some time reminiscing through this old thread and reading remarks from my brother Tom and other old FF friends that have since passed on. I enjoyed it and was amazed at how many have passed away. I miss them. I remember when Brother Noble had to cut down an old red oak tree on his property that had died. It had been in his family for years and he grew up with it. He sent me a chunk of it via U.S. Mail and it arrived wrapped in a plastic garbage bag.....no box.  ;D  How it got here still amazes me. Anyway, I turned several things for him and his family from that tree. I imagine those "gifts" he gave his family are still treasured. Brother Noble, Jeff and I share the same birthday and that was always fun. He passed about a month before my brother did. 

Seems like almost 6 years is long enough to drag this topic back to the top after it was mentioned on this thread (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=30658.0). 

I'm newish, started 12/9/2020. My first post (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=112053.msg1779805#) was (surprise!) in response to a post by @Old Greenhorn (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=42103) !

I think you can blame @sprucebunny (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=1412) for inviting me here from the Heavy Equipment Forums, but I don't remember why she suggested it. 

I've learned loads from both places about a ton of things I didn't even know existed. It's been a treat chatting with everyone here, learning, and meeting OGH. Y'all have experiences that remind me of my dad and keep the spirit of real men and women alive in a world that otherwise tends to seem very soft. 

Thanks @Jeff (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=1) and the admins for making a lovely place to hang out! 

Well, since you blamed me I should pipe in also. :D
I am coming up on my 4th anniversary here and it has been quite a ride and I have learned a ton, met great folks and improved my outlook on life in general.
I can't thank everyone enough!
 My first post was about ash trees. Figures.

I just checked; I passed my 17th anniversary the other day :o. It has been quite a ride, met great people and learned a lot about sawmills and life in general. Many thanks to Jeff and everyone else for keeping it friendly and civil.

I just went and checked. I showed up here in April 2020. I'm still a new guy compared to many of you guys but I cant believe its been almost two and a half years.  I check in at least once a day and some days I'm here a lot.  Thanks Jeff and all the staff for what you do.  

This is a fun thread!  I joined on October 12, 2012.  My wife had passed away 2½ years earlier and I was left with a 19 year old daughter and 6 year old son.  I was doing whatever I could to make my kid's life as happy as I could, which included camping.  That led to my life long desire to have a cabin like what my parents would rent when I was a kid.  That led to some property and the desire to build a timber frame cabin.  Searching the internet for answers to timber framing and sawing led me here.  My first post was Looooong Timbers (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=61313.msg900866#msg900866) and initial questions on attaching them to the foundation.  That led to months of designing my cabin that I'm still building today (10 years later!).  I was so green (and optimistic) back then ::)  Everyone here is so helpful and like family - I'm glad I found this site rather than the "other" one.

I actually posted my second thread that day about building a bandsaw mill (which I did).

   You guys made me look it up. I see I first posted in November 2014. I see I found this site  few weeks after I ordered my mill and 2-3 months before it arrived. I remember finding this site and reading every single post on Sawmills and Milling from the start to finish. I used the information I found here to print my business card, used a lot of it and after checking other sites to make my website, and build spreadsheets to keep history and keep up with BF and species sawed, etc. I learned the recommended techniques for sawing a log, stacking lumber, etc. I later started reading the other threads and found there is a lot more here than just milling. I consider this a post graduate level source of information on sawing and handling logs and lumber if you will let it be.

  I got chastised sometimes mildly and sometimes more severely when I crossed or approached the no-go line. (I deserved it and more but learned and try to be more positive now. I greatly appreciate this is a site where you can disagree but you need to be careful not to deliberately offend or insult others. The admin and moderators do a great job of that as well as the other members.)

  I got my mill January 8th 2015 and sawed my first log 2 days later and then the questions and posting really began.

  I have met several of the members in person and would love to meet the others as time permits. I find it to be more like family than professional or social organizations.

  Thanks again to all the folks who make this the great place to be including Jeff, the Admins, the fellow members who teach and motivate me every time I log on. Keep up the great work.

I don't even know.  Years pass so fast now that it's hopeless for me to remember what happened when.

I remember when I was much younger, an old man told me he'd gotten to the age where Christmas came twice a year.  I thought he was just a crazy old man.  He seems the opposite of crazy these days.

It looks like Feb 17, 2001. I think I was in and out on the road for a year or so before upgrading to a laptop with ME that would fit in the motorhome on the job. We might be anywhere in the country building but I could pop in and visit with the same folks and carry on conversations about stuff that interested me. That was pretty cool, we were used to seeing pretty much just each other and a pile of lumber for months at a time. Here were a bunch of folks who wanted to talk about trees and wood after a day being covered in sawdust. What could be better. What I learned during that period, dialup sucks pretty much everywhere  :D. and as time went on, there were more of us than I ever imagined.

At one point a member pm'ed me and said I must be close, the pictures I was posting looked familiar. We were about 5 miles from their house and visited quite a bit. Now that we're settled back in at home it's just the neighborhood guys. One called the other morning, "I know its early but I saw you were on the forum".

Jeff, you have created something good  :)

edit; I just looked at my first post, it wasn't my first post, apparently I forgot my password before Staples :D. Well, I'm pretty sure I was somewhere, sometime.

March of 2004, getting to be a while ago!

Quote from: Don P on September 21, 2022, 09:57:48 PM"I know its early but I saw you were on the forum".

Gotta love it! It's like that overbearing neighbor who sees a light on in your house at 5am and pounds on the door. 

Not sure how this topoc got locked, but it sire shouldn't have been. Unlocked now! :)

I looked at the moderation log. It was me.  :-\ 

It seems I first joined on July 5, 2014.  That was at the urging of my friend Andy, who was gfadvm on the forum.  I met him thru a woodworking forum that we were both on.  I went to visit Andy several times at his home in OK and we milled on his LT15.  Andy would talk about his friend Danny on the Forestry Forum who was also on the woodworking forum.  Andy talked so highly of Danny's ability to identify any tree or wood.  I was no active on the forum for the first several years.  Andy got sick with brain cancer and could no longer use his mill.  He wanted me to have the mill and wouldn't take any money for it.  My first post on forum it seems was me asking a question about setting up the mill at home.  I hadn't even gone to get it yet.  Reply #9 on that thread was Danny giving me an example of how he had set up his LT15.  Sadly Andy and Danny are gone now, but I sure appreciate their input in my life.

Here is my thread in 2017.
Setting a mill on a wood deck in Sawmills and Milling (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=98200.msg1516345#msg1516345)

I think I joined in October of 2020. I needed help with one of my saws a Partner 500, which to this day still runs like an absolute top. I went from knowing just enough to replace carb kits (and that's just replacing diaphragms, not actually pressure testing etc, I learned that late last year, and have been making leaps in what I know about these motors. Still have a LOT to learn though lol) to knowing how to replace crank seals. To be honest, I never thought I would take a saw apart that far, but the next project also took me to bottom end. I gained a tremendous amount of confidence through talking with forum members. I'm extremely grateful for this forum Jeff! Thanks so much!

Just checked, Jan 2003 for me, so coming up on 20 years.  :(


Teenage daughter now was a thread hijack in the early days. 

This is from 2006

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=20194.0

Today is the anniversary of the Forestry Forum!!

22 years. A very sad anniversary. :'(

Yes, sad days indeed Jeff. But I was just thinking. If you had not thrown all the effort into creating this site, would you ever have met Danny, or Jake, or Tom, or any of the hundreds of others you count as good friends? Taken further, would any of these folks have met each other? Think of all the close relationships out there that came about because of this forum. I wouldn't be doing what I am doing without this, or at the very least not doing it as well. I am a tiny guy in that picture, because there are thousands of others who can say the same thing and to a greater extent.
 So yes, we are all feeling a great loss and grief now. But the FF made a lot of things possible for a lot of people and I am sure Danny would be the first to remind you of that.

Yes, a sad time indeed.

Looks like I've only been on here about 9 months but it seems a lot longer.I'm not on Facebook or anything like that and this is the only internet activity where you actually communicate with other people that I have ever used. I'm surprised that I have figured out how to do it.I have enjoyed it immensely and I thank everyone involved.I can't believe how much I've learned about so many different things.

I joined in April 2004. I was building my log cabin and searching for info and help . Don P,  I used your calculations for my ridge pole and king posts in my build. The building inspector questioned me at the time, asked me about the calculations. I told him I got the them from the FF. Of course they are correct I told him. He wanted an engineer stamp. I then ended up with 3 different engineers stamps on the cabin. The log walls, sip roof and of course the Ridge Pole and King posts. Don P was right of course as they are still the same ones I made before the stamps. 

I had to go back and check. To my amazement, I found I have been on here just over 16 years. Then I started remembering the many fine folks who have helped me on life's journey who are no longer with us (WDH being the latest) It's been a good ride, like the old gospel song says, "wouldn't take nothing for my journey now". Thanks Jeff

I've been 9 years. Been great. I've grown a lot with the help of this forum never been much for social media or people in general I guess but I like it here. And I've now even met a member that has passed. Time is one thing we all need to cherish. Thanks to everyone. 

2014 for me, great place and great people! Thanks Jeff

Sept 2019.  I joined after I hired DPAtton to mill some trees for me.
Re: Whatcha Sawin' 2019 ??? (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=105481.msg1677917#msg1677917)

He mentioned this place so I took a look and joined.  Hiring him was one of the best decisions I have made in my very limited woodworking "career".

Doug in SW IA

Joined 11/2009

Been a great place for dialog and learning

D

  When I joined in Oct 2011 I had over 75 acres half wooded and I heated with wood, as of June this year I'm down to about 2 acres with about 1/4 acre wooded and no longer heat with wood, big change. My brother and I still burn about a half cord a year at our cabin so I'm keeping my chainsaws and I'm sure not leaving here.

Bump

Late 2011,  Twelve years.  When I bought my first mill.  

Since May of '08, so about 15 years now!

Sold the mill, but still sharpen a few bands for about 4-5 local mills.

January 3rd of 2013 after lurking here for quite a while

Brent

Joined in 2017 when I first started using a computer. Joined because I had no one to talk to about sawmilling anywhere near me. Wish I had joined earlier when more members ran circles. However I have met some good guys here who understand what i do and have knowledge to share.

I joined in January 2006 when I bought my first mill.  I'd been kiln drying for 2 years by then.  I'll never forget Tom reaching out via PM to welcome me and encourage me to contribute.

Scott you and I are close. 
I joined in April 2006. I was building my log cabin and looking for info on the build. All I Had ever seen before was books I bought by B Allen Mackie , The guru of Full scribe log home building. 
I progressed to a sawmill after attempting a chainsaw mill, during that build. I obviously wasn't here long enough to be warned about those horrors. 
I am now on my 3rd sawmill and a kiln. 

January 02.

A bunch of us were regular posters on Woodweb and got to know each other their.  Bibbyman sent me pm's several times about joining the FF.  I had been following the FF but almost no activity so I didn't see much reason to join.  Tom was the primary recruiter for the forum and did finally talk me into joining and the rest is history.

Quote from: Stephen1 on June 24, 2023, 03:36:25 PM
Scott you and I are close.
I joined in April 2006. I was building my log cabin and looking for info on the build. All I Had ever seen before was books I bought by B Allen Mackie , The guru of Full scribe log home building.
I progressed to a sawmill after attempting a chainsaw mill, during that build. I obviously wasn't here long enough to be warned about those horrors.
I am now on my 3rd sawmill and a kiln.

We had similar paths.  I started with an Alaskan, then bought a Peterson swing blade, then added Tom's Baker and built a 72" slabber.  
Also have 4 solar kilns, one L200 and the makings of a second L200 that I need to build a chamber for.

September 2004.Wow, time does fly! I had a passion for chainsaws and  logging and was looking for like minded individuals, @Skeans1 (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=37446) and @donbj (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=43431) are kindred spirits. I have learned a LOT and hope I have been able to contribute to the knowledge base.

November 2005 - 3 years after getting my mill. Still learning. 

Joined 3/17/21 so still a newbie. Bought my first band mill in 2006 and was cutting a lot of wood that resembled boards. Didn't realize how much I didn't know until I joined this forum. Recently someone called me a Sawyer and I flinched a little because I still don't consider myself worthy of having that title. Still so much to learn.

July 2007 I joined.  First post was trying to identify what turned out to be a thornless honey locust  in my farm yard that was damaged in a storm.  I was trying to see if the large broken branch was useable for woodworking. I didn't end up getting my LT15 mill until 2014. I met Jim Rogers before joining the forum (via the Timber Framers Guild), and he was very generous on FF helping others.  I tried to follow his lead.