I just wanted to show off my first board with my homemade mill!
Thanks everyone for your help!
Kip
(https://forestryforum.com/images/3_10_03/My%20first%20board.JPG)
Nice looking pice Kip. I had my sawer in this saterday and
we cut 800bf of white oak. most of them are 14" wide and
10' long ,boy was my butt draging. Wat wood is that and
how many bf did you cut. Sure is great to saw and see what
you have. Sort of like Christmas day.
Sawwood
Well done, Kip. Where's the mill pics ???? ;D
Hey thats just to straight, or straight too, or two straights? The board and George.
If that aint george on your shirt, my post was double stupid. :D
Welcome to the club! I can't remember my first board, but I'll remember yours! Good job.
Yea, and what deadhead said
Judgin' by yur grin I think yur hooked. :) Looking good, but you furgot to turn da lights on so we could check out yur mill.
Congrats,
I had a look on my face about like that when my first was born. Kid, that is. ;D
Yep, yer hooked. And that ain't all bad. Lots better to be hooked on buildin mills and sayin a few boards than some things some people are hooked on. :D
I just have one question. Did George know he was watchin history bein made? :o
You got it right, I am hooked. That was just a very small SYP I had been saving in my yard. Attached is a pic of my mill. Its been a long time in the making. I have taken a few pics of it as I have been building but I get home late and it already turning dark. Here is a link that has my pics: www.davieseng.com/sawmill . I will put guards on it but I just had to cut something!!! I works much better than I expected. I just pushed it through the log because I don't have my feed motor hooked up yet. It cuts faster than I can push it! Almost scary. I still have lots of learning and questions still and this is the best place for both.
Thanks guys & gals,
Kip
P.S. Jeff, there are three straights in that pic! hehe
(https://forestryforum.com/images/3_10_03/sawmill%20with%201st%20board.jpg)
Sawin, I meant to say sawin.
Durn blankety blank spell checker anyway.
Where is she?
:)
Nice wheels but get some finders and mud flaps! Man the first broken blade and you'll wish you had some.(https://forestryforum.com/smile/knife.gif)
I agree with Bibbyman about some gaurds, but I can't say too much. I just had to cut something up as soon as I culd put a blade on my homemade. Neat too see something that you built come together and work ain't it.
William
Thanks for the comments.
I am making me a chart of lumber sizes and rough cut dimensions. I will be cutting mainly SYP for framing.
What do I rough cut a 2x6 to? I won't be planing it just air drying. The finished product should be 1-1/2" x 5-1/2". So what do I add to each side to achieve this? A 1/16", 1/8" or 1/4"? Does a 2x12 shrink twice as much in width than a 2x6? I did a search but can't find what I need. Please point me in the right direction. Thanks! :P
kip,
Your questions on shrinkage bare the fact that we don't know either. :D
Seriously, wood shrinks different amounts based on the direction of the grain. It is difficult to cut two green boards to the same dimensions and have them dry to the same dimension. Sometimes the difference is negligable and sometimes drastic.
When cutting for a commercial operation where the boards or dimensional lumber is planed to size after drying then the general rule of thumb is to cut to nominal sizes. That means to produce 2" or 4" as the size calls for by adding the blade kerf to the measurement. This can be adjusted once you know how the species reacts to drying. Some species can be cut green to a nominal measure shy the kerf or even more and still produce a valid planed board.
Many times you will find that 4/4 boards are cut 9/8ths to make sure that the finisher can produce the proper finished board.
When I am cutting my own material for rough construction, I am not interested in a full nominal measure because it is too heavy and the strength is overkill. I do cut to a true inch which provides the nominal measure minus the kerf of the blade. This gives me a green 1x that is actually 7/8's and will dry to something a little less than that. My 2x4's are actually 1 7/8's X 3 7/8's which will dry to a little less and provide me with a product that is light enough to handle yet stronger and easier to hit with a nail than a finished piece. It can still be planed for size if necessary.
You will find that cutting to a true measure is easier too. You don't have to worry about trimming a cant if you turn it nor adding to measures to determine how large the cant should be to cut through and through. It makes sawing a lot simpler and, for rough construction, provides perfectly good material.
When I have questions about wood strength, color, shrinkage, etc., I go to the Wood Handbook. It's link can be found in the Link Library under Sawmilling miscellaneous. Its URL is:
WOOD HANDBOOK (http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/FPLGTR/fplgtr113/fplgtr113.htm)
It is not generally advisable to rough cut to finished sizes. If the saw dips or the board shrinks then you will end up with a non-usable piece. Folks do it but you can't expect a final product that is really a finished size.
Amen to that last statement, brother !!!! ::) ::) I have some 2X that looks like a herd of beavers cut. :o :-[
The blade dipped and dove and ???? Funny thing, the boards are clear and only show in a couple of places ??? Wish I had the bottom guide plate on these guides ?? I been studyin adding them !! ;)
Know what you mean about the bottom guides, Deadheader. The other day I was sawing white oak with a new blade on, I was zipping away on the first board & when I got to about the end, coarse I forgot about the knot & did'nt slow down. Well anybody want to buy a wooden spoon, 8 ft long by 10 wide. ::)
Anyway a guy at the shop that works in heat treat said I could use a piece of mild steel, heat it until red, and put it in oil until cool. I need to do something so I mite go for it.
EZ
Kip
Good job on your mill, looks good.
EZ
EZ. I'm gonna add brass pieces to the bottom side of the rollers. Already got it figured out how to add them. They will be interchangable.
Well I decided to make all the rookie mistakes all in one day today.
Mistake # 1
My brother-n-law came over to check out the mill. Well, I put a blade on while he was asking questions about it and I got side tracked and forgot to tighten the blade! :o I now know what happens when you try to cut with a loose blade. >:(
Mistake # 2
I said a few choice words as I was digging the blade out of the tires and log. Lucky me it didn't puncture the tire but the blade was twisted beyond use. Not so bad, It was the free one. lol. I put new blade on & tightened this one up nicely.
Mistake # 3
I now know that I should have made my log dogs out of wood!!! You got it. Brand new blade plus steel log dog equals very dull blade. ::) :'(
After that I just showed him what I cut the day before and put everything up. I guess it was gonna happen sooner or later. I am now making me a check list to hang on my mill before I start cutting. (to little to late)
It's just one of those days, should have stayed in bed. :-/
I hope yalls day went better than mine.
Hey !! That's cheatin !! You're not supposed to get all that stuff out of the way, all at one time!! :D :D :D :) :)
Kip,
This doesn't top your day, but it might make you feel better.
ElectricAl hit barbed wire while sawing today. He decided since the blade had been cutting good he would take the time to sharpen it. It went around 5 times on the sharpener, then had to be reset. Then it was remounted on the sharpener for a final pass. As he went to take it off the sharpener he noticed a crack. >:(
Guess the recyclers will have a nicely sharpened blade to use as a fillet knife! ;D
Linda
Fla.Deadheader,
Don't quite understand about the brass inserts you are going to use. Brass is alot softer than the blade, which to me I think wood wear really fast. Coarse I think brass is alot slicker metal then the blade wood be. I dont know, I got myself all confused now. ;D
EZ
I put maple blocks on mine under blade. I know they are soft but blade is not touching them most of the time anyway.
William
EZ, like Wiam said, it doesn't touch the blade all the time, and I just happen to have a piece of brass that is 1/4" thick X 2" wide X 4 feet long. I Don'T believe I will run out for a while. The pieces will only be 1" square.