Whatcha Sawin' ???

[Southside]

Definately need to make sure the toeboards are down

Uh oh - is there a story to go with that comment?  I actually did that today - luckily it was only a 65 BF poplar "log", but still.....

[Bruno of NH]

YH
Nice walnut
Do you have a movie of the edger running ?

[YellowHammer]

Southside, yeah, I forgot to drop the front toe board on one 14 foot log and cut a $90 wedge board.  Ouch.  Basically tossed a hundred dollar bill into the burn pit.

Bruno,
No videos on the edger, but I should make one.  Baker built it custom for us, and among the 20 hp upgrade and larger blades, it has custom length conveyors on the outfield to more fit the wood lengths we saw, and also has a "spit roller" which is a powered roller to eject or spit the board off the machine so it will land cleanly on a pallet or sorting table.  When we went to go pick it up in Mo, the guys who built it were on site waiting for us, and the first thing they did was wind it up to full speed (which is scary fast), and feed a very heavy, wide monster 3" thick slab of wet red oak through.  It spit the double edged slab out the back like the proverbial you know what from a goose.  We put a straightedge on both sides of the edges and they were straight.  Extremely impressive machine.

[PA_Walnut]

Baker built it custom for us, and among the 20 hp upgrade and larger blades, it has custom length conveyors on the outfield to more fit the wood lengths we saw, and also has a "spit roller" which is a powered roller to eject or spit the board off the machine so it will land cleanly on a pallet or sorting table.  When we went to go pick it up in Mo, the guys who built it were on site waiting for us, and the first thing they did was wind it up to full speed (which is scary fast), and feed a very heavy, wide monster 3" thick slab of wet red oak through.  It spit the double edged slab out the back like the proverbial you know what from a goose.  We put a straightedge on both sides of the edges and they were straight.  Extremely impressive machine.

Very impressed with my Baker edger also...it was retrofitted with a little Kubota diesel and it eats wood like a Japanese movie monster. We don't use ours nearly as much as YHammer, but it's always a pleasure. I usually work the feed and and can bury two people working the other end. It's kinda funny to see them shuffle and dance! :D

[alanh]

I got around to building this river table from a maple slab I cut and have been hoarding...I believe I still have a good size cant from the same tree somewhere, might be time to dig it out and have another look at it.

 

[tule peak timber]

Maybe I'm just jealous, but walnut walnut walnut is that all anybody saws anymore?  Jealousy aside, that's a mighty fine walnut you've got there yellowhammer.

Its what people want to buy, so I have to saw it.  We mill about 20 other species but walnut is a mainstay.  I just hate spending $300-$400 per log.  Painful.  Definately need to make sure the toeboards are down.   :D

I'm curious what size logs for those prices ?

[YellowHammer]

Not that big, unfortunately.  Nothing like the monsters you get.  I pay anywhere from $3 to $5 for walnut here. So one load last week was 1,000 bdft for 9 logs, costing $3,600.  These were very clean logs Appalacian Black walnut, and straight, but not big.  The only good thing about high priced walnut logs means the high grade boards are also high priced and local demand is very high.  Around here, nobody wants sapwood in walnut, and since most local walnut is sawn 40/60 face, and then steamed, as opposed to our walnut, trimmed to have a low or no sapwood ratio, and low temp kiln dried, is in very high demand.  We basically have our own market share which is both good and bad.  Most high grade walnut here gets exported overseas, which really drives the price up.  So I'm competing against overseas buyers, and bid against them occasionally, for the same load of logs.  

I remember when I could get a good walnut logs for $1, top grade at $2, but I'm seeing some as high as $8 per bdft.  I don't buy those, they are destined for Asia.  

[Brad_bb]

AlanH, Nice top!  What is the product that gives the swirly effect to the colored epoxy?

YH and Tule, you guys are making me feel better with what I paid for my walnut.  $1.55/BF for about 5,000 board feet, plus 3 days of bucking to get them to my yard.  A mix of high grade to low grade(but more high than low).  I wasn't buying from a logger though, it was direct from land owner.  Another 3-4000 BF at same cost from tree service guys (yard trees that did have a few nails).   Mostly cut as beams, all to go into the building of my home eventually.  Some flooring maybe from side boards.  I sure felt like I was spending a lot of money, but If I had to pay what you guys are, I couldn't have done it.  I guess the finances work when you're selling grade material like that, but seems expensive to a hobby sawyer like me.

[alanh]

Brad, thats ecopoxy from Jeff Mack supply, as far as the colors.. I bought the 20 sample pack as I was  (mis) informed by a friend that one packet was enough color for a table, it wasn`t even close, so we ended up using 5 packets, 3 different blues, a black and a grey. The swirling just kinda happened although I`m told you can stir it in the mold

[tule peak timber]

And some more walnut in this morning. English-no graft. 44960 pounds.

 

 

[Southside]

I am surprised DOT does not give your trucker a hard time with that set up.  

[tule peak timber]

The driver put 600 plus miles behind him on this load.

[Southside]

Wow - around here he would need your log check to pay for his bail.  

[Magicman]

I am sawing but there was a hitch.  Last week's rain did a serious number on my customer.  He had to do an emergency excavator cut through the temporary levee on the lake he is building.  That plus my sawmill was completely isolated from any access except by foot.


 
This washout was probably 15' deep.


 
A D5 showed up and rebuilt the access road.

No sawing picture because it is the same old ho-hum.  The cut list is 4X6's but any logs that will make larger timbers get sawn into those so we also turned out a few 4X8's, 8X8, and 4X12's.  I was hoping to finish this job this week but he plans to fell more trees.  He is already doing the dirt work for 4 more condo units which means many more timbers.  After we finish these trees his plans are for me to move to another tract and continue to saw timbers.  I guess that this job will be off and on for a few years.  He has built 6 units, is presently building 4, and has 60 more to go. 

[Brad_bb]

Yeah Tule, I thought they had to have metal bunks (U shaped metal bunks) to haul logs like that?  rjwoelk from Canada says it's required by law up there and big trouble if you try hauling logs without.  I figured it was the same here.  I thought chains were required too when log hauling on a semi.

[tule peak timber]

This is California,,,bungee cords rule ! Seriously I have no idea as I contract the trucking -and that is a lot of different people.

 

And just two logs at 45000 pounds.

[Crossroads]

Sounds like some job security MM 👍🏻

[Magicman]

Those are some serious logs Rob.  

Yes, Crossroads, I had no idea when I agreed to saw this job just how large it would be but neither did the customer.  He has quadrupled his acreage and building plans since I did the original sawing last year.  This is all condos for university student housing.

[Ljohnsaw]

MM, was your mill ever in danger where it was parked?  Glad you didn't loose it!

[YellowHammer]

Big logs, wow.  What would he charge to haul them 1,950 miles to our place?  Google Map says the traffic is light this time of day? :D :D

[Brad_bb]

Remind me, what are you slabbing those with Tule?

[Crossroads]

That's interesting MM, I've been painting and doing some tile work on some college student housing/apartments for the last few weeks. These are pretty boring though, they don't have any rough cut eye candy 

[tule peak timber]

Remind me, what are you slabbing those with Tule?

A Lucas slabber.

[PA_Walnut]

A Lucas slabber.

How wide of a slab can you do? 

[Bruno of NH]

They use straps on loads on semi trucks around NH but have log bolsters.