Well winter is here and we are logging again. Good snow conditions and weather has been cold .
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Dug our little temp lunch shed out from under the snow. We had it racked up in the woods but the snow had collapsed the rack . It's starting to get a bit long in the tooth and it will soon be time to make a new one
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One hour later presto cabin built and stove in .
We have 184 logs cut so far . Logs are getting scarcer and harder to get in this region. Like my wife said as we were walking through the woods the other day were running out of places to cut logs and were running out of life as well. Pretty stiff and sore some ( most) mornings. You gotta love it.
My question ... I am now producing D4S 2x4 and 2x6 . I am looking into some method that I could use to trim the ends square and to the correct length. Something a little more robust than a chop saw. Thinking I would wear one of those out very quickly . I am leaning towards some type of pendulum saw. Have seen some info but not much . I am thinking something home built with maybe a 2 hp electric motor . Another option would be gas driven with a small gas motor. No power at mill site other than generator.
I saw one home built swing saw type on here a while back but can't find it now . Any ideas comments or pics would be a great help.
Here's another pic of the kiln that blew over last fall . We propped it up on its side and will attempt to put it back upright this spring
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Happy logging
Quebecnewf
Maybe it was the one I made that you seen... They are dangerous.
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if you are sawing alot of 2x material you might want to check into a pack saw they will trim the entire stack at one time saves alot of time :) but i doubt if they are cheap :(
Looks to cold there for me. ;D
Is that a solar kiln. Really thinking of building one for slabs.
Sounds like a good start on the logging season. Stay safe and as warm as you can.
I sell lumber in log length. ;D
But I'm setting up my swing saw to trim the ends of the grade stakes only.
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Quote from: Peter Drouin on January 25, 2017, 08:22:29 PM
I sell lumber in log length. ;D
Ditto here. A guy ordered 30 - 12' 2X4s a couple weeks ago and my son took them home to let the guy pick them up there as closer and I was gone for the weekend. Customer brought a 12' trailer and commented they were longer than his trailer. My son reminded him it was typical to leave approximately 6" of trim. Once the guy understood that he was fine.
I have a radial arm saw set up in the end of my lumber shed and I will cut small orders to whatever length the customer wants if he needs to put it in a car or shortbed truck or trailer.
Several years ago I picked up a DeWalt DW705 chop saw (used) for trimming my 1" lumber. It's got a 12" blade and it pivots down (no sliding mechanism). I can set horizontal and vertical angles but I just set it up to cut the ends square. Everything on it is absolutely solid -- no play or looseness.
My helper trimmed about 40,000 BF of 1" lumber with it (both ends). That would be about 12,000 cuts. I bought it from a timber frame shop and I've no idea how much it was used.
I specifically wanted this model because it didn't use slides. The downside is that it doesn't have a huge capacity. It will cut up 8" wide straight across and 5-1/2" at 45°. If you want to trim anything wider it's a pain.
We set the saw up with homemade roller tables on the infeed and outfeed sides. The outfeed had 3 stops that we could raise for our 3 standard sizes.
No power at our site, so I bought a 3000 Watt Honda generator to run it. Theoretically a 2500 Watt should have been enough to power it, but I took the saw to the Honda dealer and tried it out. With the 2500 Watt generator the saw would never get up to full speed. With the bigger generator it behaved just at if it was plugged into a wall socket.
Very interesting reply,s guys. The home built is the one I saw a while back and found again just after I posted my question. Would you have any plans on that baby . It seems to be what I would need . I think some thing like that with some automation added to it would be something everyone with pile of slabs would buy. Add a feed wheel and a trigger stop and you could just throw a slab on the wheel would feed it until it hit the stop this would trigger a air clamp . The saw arm cycles and you cut of your section of slab and the process cycles again. Sounds so simple .
Where did that factory swing saw come from . Never saw one like that and are there any still around?
I might go with the Makita chop saw option as well . Not the best option but for sure the easiest to rig up . Still like the look of those swing saws though both the home built and the other one
Quebecnewf
It doesn't that much to build one.
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I found it on CL, $200.00
There is a trim saw with 2 saw blades on each end that moves in and out while the your sawing wood. Maybe someone here has a pic of one.
I went to look at a sawmill where the old man died.
Has a debarker, trim saw, a vertical edger, 5' circular saw with a 3' top saw.
:o
I never did like swing saws. Just don't.
Theres a lot of OHSA rules and guidelines get stretched here around the docking saws, about "adequate guarding" and "safe operation under all conditions" Most mills have swung to using pop up dockers with full guarding and two buttons that need to be simultaneously pressed: and they're a good thing but there are limitations around sizes they can handle. Most of them will do the bulk of the work for dimension lumber though. One thing about them big old swing saws is they can handle the big stuff that nothing else can.
I havent got a pop up myself, but I want one. A new docking line for the green mill is 2 down from the top of my upgrades list. I want/need a pop up with a full set of air length stops to 20' either way of the saw (that is I need the pop up docker and really want the push button length stops)
I've also got a pair of radial arms. Ones electric and lives in the drymill. The other is a trailer mounted unit... got a set of 10' rollers either side of it, and the electric motor has been replaced by a little gas engine. It does a job. Problem with the radial arms is you're back in the same "adequate guarding" deficiencies as a swing saw - for the saw to work properly some of the sawblade must be exposed during cutting.
Someday I'm going to put a dashpot on mine.
We used whirlwind's in several shops I worked in;
(ebay link removed by Admin)
We made one that simply rocked from a pivot under the table when you stepped on the lever. I did have one jury rigged knockoff get me. We had a loose foot pedal that cycled the pop up cylinder. I bumped it while rolling an oak board, my hand was around the board and it was away from the fence when I hit the pedal. It slammed the board against the fence with my hand in the gap, that sent a bone out the side. Dumb accident, well I've never had a particularly bright accident, but keep those kinds of things in mind as you build and use one.
I have been looking at different trim saw options as well. The pop-up or up-cut saw with roller tables seems to be a good set up. My Makita compound sliding miter saw is on its last legs from too much cutting. I think that if you are going to be doing any type of volume, a saw designed for industrial use is the way to go.
I have found some conveyor rollers on eBay and am in the process of getting them ordered. I am thinking I will build a roller table setup with stops at 8/10/12 ft . Most likely I will have to use a Makita chop saw as the cut of saw but I really like the swing saw or pop up option. My problem I do not weld or do metal fabrication so I am kind of limited.
I will have to run the chop saw with my generator and the steady power on power off with a chop saw is not the best way to go. A better way ( I think) would be a blade that's running steady and you cycle it into the wood .
Still poking around and checking every idea out . Thanks for all the input guys. We're busy in the woods now at the logs. Snow conditions are good. Lots of rabbits to catch so we spend a bit of time at that. Soon have enough so most of our snares are up now. Cold forecast for the next few days -25 and the like .
Nothing like it . We had 15 nights at our winter logging cabin in Jan . So that's not to bad.
Quebecnewf
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Winter is moving forward and we are still at the logging. 400 cut so far so that is not too bad for us. Lots of snow this winter.
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Here are a few of the logs we cut piled near our shoreline staging area. Just got an order for 120 4x4x12 so back in the woods on Monday I hope
Quebecnewf
It's nice seeing you have a good year. 8)
It's about time!! Glad to hear of a good year.
I am not sure how wide that your ;umber cut off saw needs to be, but we use a 14'' Dewalt metal cut off saw with a 12'' wood blade. It sure works for stuff that is 8'' or less wide. Pretty reasonable to buy too and can be had from Lowes. I think if you build a frame, wood or steel, for your rollers then set the saw between them works pretty nicely.
We have had one of these saws set up and running that has cut more than 1500 1x4-4' a week for the last 3 years.
PC
That's the way I am going to go . Have rollers coming ( I hope). Going to use Makita cutoff saw.
Not ready to start sawing here yet
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We are still cutting logs . Hope to finish this week . Cutting an order of 12 ft logs for 2x4 and 4x4. Need around 200 of those . Should end up around 600 logs for this season.
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We will then, by the looks of it have no choice but to dig out the mill if we want to start sawing anytime soon
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Quebecnewf
So you are able to skid your logs across the ice and to the sawmill this year? Does that mean that you will not have to float any logs?
We're hauling some and will float the rest. Too much gas and expense to haul them all by snowmobile.
Quebecnewf
Hope the ice bridge lasts as long as you need it to.
I'm looking at the Portable Winch you recommended a few years back. I'm curious which model you have, and did you need to do anything to it for winter operation?
I have the bigger model . 2500 lbs line pull. For winter operation not much different than summer operation. We use a skidding cone. We only log in winter although we did cut 75 last fall and stacked them in the woods and moved them with skidoo after the snow came.
Logs slip better in winter. On real real cold days we warm the winch by the stove a bit before starting. Most of the time this is not necessary. We just use regular " fishing rope " 3/8 poly. It works fine for us and is cheap in this region. We wear out a rope each winter so we don't bother using the expensive braided rope that is sold by the winch company. Our rope gets wet on mild days and we. Must dry it at night to use again the next day. The proper winch rope would not have this problem .
Great little machine and very tough .
Quebecnewf
Quote from: paul case on February 26, 2017, 08:58:59 PM
I am not sure how wide that your ;umber cut off saw needs to be, but we use a 14'' Dewalt metal cut off saw with a 12'' wood blade. It sure works for stuff that is 8'' or less wide. Pretty reasonable to buy too and can be had from Lowes. I think if you build a frame, wood or steel, for your rollers then set the saw between them works pretty nicely.
We have had one of these saws set up and running that has cut more than 1500 1x4-4' a week for the last 3 years.
PC
Paul is that what you cut your stringers with? I have a retired trim carpenter that hangs out at the sawmill here and there and helps out just for something to do. He was tailing my chop saw the other day when I was cutting stringers and he was just wincing. Says I'm gonna burn out the motor. He brought me over a radial arm saw to use, and I put a new blade on it and he cut out around 500 stringers with it, but I wasn't there watching. Anyways, I brought a couple units to the pallet shop down the rd and the owner was giving me some ideas to increase my production, and he showed me a couple of his chop saws. One is a big Baker double head, pneumatic chop, pneumatic stops, powered infeed/outfeed, feeding a C model resaw... way outta my league. He had a home made 240v one that was pretty slick and then he had a similar dewalt chocktaw I use. He said it is handy for certain things and that's why he keeps it around but he burns them out pretty fast with alot of on/off work. The one I use is a sliding compound miter saw that I got for building stuff and other things, hoping for it to last me a long time, I don't needa be burning it out cutting pallet parts!
So what advantages do you see to using the metal one with a wood blade? Is it more heavier dutier? I have a metabo metal chop saw that was busted I got for free and fixed it up. Possibly could use that.
I recently acquired a home made 240v chop saw that has a 26" blade on it. My friend is fixing up a few things on it for me before I feel safe using it. I did test it out on some 7x9's and it worked good but is scary. But it's not really all that safe right now with the shields and the way the handle is kinda no good. The previous owner said he could cut 800 stringers/hr with it. I don't believe him but that's what he said. If it was true that would be awesome. I'll prolly start off cutting 5-6 at a time with it and go from there.
I tried a big miter saw. It broke within 1 day. I have a friend in the pallet building business and he uses a 14'' metal cutoff saw with a wood blade and his will cut an incredible amount of lumber before giving up. I know that for him the switch will quit first, then he rewires another switch and goes till the motor dies. They were made to start a lot. It is easy to fix up a long table for them with set stops and they can be swapped out for another one if you have troubles.The table should be fixed up so that the little pieces you cut off to square up the first end fall out the bottom into a trash can so there is less handling junk.
We cut 2 at a time pretty regular. I have found that if the boards are stacked up at knee level and higher the cutoff operation Is not nearly so hard on the operator.
PC
That is my concern . All the starting and stoping for long periods will put a lot of strain on the motor. Most chop saws are used a bit and then they get a rest while you nail together the pieces you have cut. No other option at this time for me. I like the homemade swing saw but wielding is not my thing.
Quebecnewf
I just bought the 15" Hitachi Mitre Saw. It has a 5 year warranty so I am hoping that I won't burn it out.
did it come from Lowes? Sounds a little too familiar.
PC
No, it was brought in by the local lumber yard for another customer who didn't pick it up. It is a well built, all metal industrial saw popular for cutting 6" crown moulding vertically.
We used to have a trim saw that was a factory affair I believe. I don't have any pictures of it so I will try and describe it. It had a long mandrel over eight feet with a saw on each end, then there was a moveable table on it. You put the stud on it, lined it up and pushed it through the saws, instantly trimmed on both sides. You could do either eight foot or precuts by moving the spacers on one of the saws. The metal chop saw with the saw blade works good too as a pallet maker here found out. Oh and that trimmer was ran by a eight hp Briggs and Stratton.
I thought about something like that as well. Problem I will be trimming 8/10/12 ft material so need to move one blade every time you change length. I am more or less committed to a chop saw with roller tables on each side and stops at 8/10/12 ft. I know it will be hard on the saw all that starting and stopping for long runs of time but she will just have to suffer I guess. The best setup for this would be a continuous running motor on a swing blade but they seem hard to come by. Not a welder so building my own not an option at this time.
Our logging season is coming to an end still good in the woods but we have cut 625 logs so that's a good year for us . Lots of snow here yet. Dug out sawmill . Most likely start sawing next week.
Quebecnewf
bon_fire
Thanks for the input on the winch. Hope all goes well (or went well) in getting the kiln back on its feet.
CT
Kiln is still on its side and pretty much snowed up.
As you can see in this pic.
Will be unloading the lumber out of it on the weekend if things go as planned. Upright it after the snow melts
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