The Forestry Forum

I'd rather eat a bug than saw long logs.   :-X

But we got a great order for a bunch of 6x11 beams.  Six of them happen to need to be 20' long.  20' on an LT40 should be no problem but we've made it difficult.

First,  the door openings on the sawshed are 19' inside.  Why? Because I could only saw 20' headers and besides, we'd hardly ever saw anything that long.  And when we built the shed, the mill we had was portable.



(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10034/15/wssawinglonglogs20110731a.JPG)

I have to knock down the infeed rollers on the jump saw and take down the outfeed rollers on the mill. 



(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10034/15/wssawinglonglogs20110731b.JPG)

Then I have to bring the logs in at an angle and get one end past the door. 



(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10034/15/wssawinglonglogs20110731c.JPG)

The long reach of the Terex helps a lot placing the log just right to get through the door.

Things like the log deck that is most useful most off the time is now pretty much just in the way.  I have to take the dragback guide fingers off as the 20' log is too long for the head to pass for the dragback to catch.  I've pulled the head end bumper off to get just a little more sawing length to get through the last log.

We take the beam back out the same 19' door it came in - at an angle.

It's a real production killer to saw these long beams.  I take a lot of time getting them positioned just right to produce a beam with the heart centered.   One bad spot and you've got a lot more of something else – maybe firewood. 

it is a lot of extra work for me too.
my doors on the chicken house are only 11' or so. anything longer i have figured out i can load on a trailer and pull inside, roll them off then pick them up with the forklift and put on the mill. lumber goes out on a trailer also.
my longest cut is 16'6'' and i get a lot of calls for 16' trailer flooring. i have learned to leave the logs a foot or so long and cut them to length on the mill so it isnt so hard to load just right. pc

any job over 16', the mill gets pulled outside plus then it gives us time to thuourly clean around where the mill sets. :)

The posts on my shed is 21' cen. to cen....I can bring them in on an angle just like Bib does...I just finished up some 21' ers 2x8's and 2x6's....They go in fine but they don't come out so good....Some day I will add some more concrete and some more roller tables and roll the long stuff out from under the shed to handle it better.

(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/18028/100_0562_Roller_Table.jpg)   

Tim

It would be very difficult to do that without the telescoping boom loader. My record so far is a stack of 29'-1" rafters through a 15'-10" door on the Lull.