Cheat Sheet

Rob in NC · April 23, 2019, 01:35:40 PM

First let me throw in a disclaimer - im sure this is not an original idea by any means and could probably be added on and improved on tremendously but it helped me so I figured I would share..

Most of my framing lumber I cut for my projects I run 2x4s at 1-1/2" x 3-1/2", 2x6s at 1-1/2" x 5-1/2" etc. so im cutting actual dimensions off the mill instead of nominal with the exceptions of 1x - I cut them a full inch. In my air drying im only losing about 1/16" each direction and im good with that. Plus the weight difference in full size with green lumber is very noticeable after you move a few hundred boards in a day..

Since im running repeated numbers and I found the math I kept doing in my head was getting redundant I wrote a sheet up accounting for the 1/8" kerf each time on each board and printed it on a sheet and stuck it to the lid on my controls. This list covers me for all 1x4,6,8,10 & 2x4,6,8,10. When im slabbing on my 3rd side around (for my widths) I can look at the 5-1/2" table (if im running 1x or 2x6s) and know that if I cut at 16 - 3/4" I will come out perfect with no waste on the bottom side for 3 equal widths - then when I roll to my 4th side I can cut at say 14-1/2" for example and get 9 boards from each width with a perfect 1-1/2" board on the bottom. It lets you throw your waste on top with the slab instead of having an oddball board on the bottom of the stack.

I guess you could apply this to any size you cut repeatedly but sure speed my math up and cut down on my waste. I used to just let that last board be a screwball but this is definetly a better way.

I would be interested to see all the cheat sheets yall have come up with because I know there are a lot out there that would be helpful on redundant measurements.

WV Sawmiller · April 23, 2019, 03:07:09 PM

Here is mine. I keep it in a ziplock bag under the cover of my Simple Set so it stays waterproof. I swear by it.

Ljohnsaw · April 23, 2019, 09:54:37 PM

I like using a rule:

I have another one I'm using now with more scales - 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 IIRC

Crossroads · April 23, 2019, 10:16:41 PM

Mine is laminated and has full dimension on one side and nominal on the other. There's also a free app called sawmill calculator that you can set up your own cut list. Unfortunately though it isn't working right now. Apparently apple made some changes and the app isn't compatible with iPhones.

hacknchop · April 23, 2019, 10:45:05 PM

Just in the way of FYI if you cut 1 1/2" it will shrink below building standard so I always recommend 1 3/4 X 3 1/2or %5 1/2 otherwise it cant be graded as 2 & btr stuctural , still ok for strapping or sheathing but not framing on anything you need a permit for in Canada anyway but I'm pretty sure alot of states are the same if you need to have your lumber graded the make sure you need to have your lumber graded then cut it oversize to alow for shrinkage most don't care if it's an 1/8 under in width but 1/8 under in thickness is to much leaving absolutely no allowance for saw deviation.

Old Greenhorn · April 22, 2022, 03:49:13 PM

Here's a little thread I like to bump up. I don't remember reading it when it was fresh but likely I did and filed it away in my head. This morning before I headed to the mill, I made this one up after doing the same math over and over. I finally got a 'roundtuit' and it saved me some time today and even gained me a couple of extra boards.
I am running an LT50 with Accuset and yes, it will run these numbers automatically. The sheet is not replacing that. What I wanted was a list of cant sizes for various board thicknesses so that when I cut the 3rd slab, I got right to a dimension that will give me the boards I need without 'that extra board' of odd thickness that winds up in the boiler anyway. If I can't quite make the best cant size I want, I can at least see if I get grab and extra board or two at a different thickness. Working with it today it saved me some extra cuts, gave me a couple of extra boards that fit the order, and saved time.

Yes, it is upside down. This is how my mind works. The accuset on "saw to bed" will take care of the numbers and I just wanted to know what is the exact cant size I need to avoid extra cuts. So I bring the head down to where I think I might take the slab and look at my height, then I look at the chart and see what the correct (biggest) cant size is and decide if I can sneak an extra board out, or just bring it to the final cant size and let the rest go to BTU's in the slab.

Anyway, it works for the way my head is. I posted it in case it might work for you. Just looking at it, I realized I left out 1x material, so I should add that. YMMV.

moodnacreek · April 22, 2022, 04:51:16 PM

I have a slide rule that gets looked at when the plan has to be changed half way through the log. On a Lane sawmill you have the notches and clicks that takes all the math out of it until you make a mistake or find a bad spot in the log. For the beginner the first thing to remember is that every board has a kerf except the last one.

WV Sawmiller · April 22, 2022, 09:04:54 PM

I use mine religiously even though I remember the common sizes. I have mine done up for a wide assortment from 1/2", 5/8", 3/4", 1", 1-1/16", 1-1/8", 1-1/4", 1-1/2", 2", 2-1/4", 2-1/2", 3", 3-1/2" & 4" which are the common orders I have received. If someone ever wants any 1-7/8" I will add it to the list. My philosophy is only do the math once.

For cuts less than 3/4" I plan to end on a 1" finished board so I don't saw into the dog.

It works great for me. Not my original Idea - I got it here off the FF but saw the value and readily adapted it to my process. It saves me an extra cut off almost every log and make me look a lot smarter than I am.

Old Greenhorn · April 22, 2022, 09:16:54 PM

Well mostly I am alone at the mill, so it doesn't make me look smarter, frankly nothing can. BUT it does save me time and more importantly, it helps me grab an extra board or to I might lose with my head calculations. The acuset will do a lot of this and I had been messing with that a lot to just help me find the numbers quick, but over time I realized a simple chart is a lot faster. I am not so good at changing the programming on the accuset yet, and that take time anyway. I just want to know a final cant size, cut that and move on. The chart helps me do that quickly. I do a lot of odd shaped logs so seldom have nice square textbook cants. Maximum BF is the goal on all the softwood I do.

WV Sawmiller · April 23, 2022, 09:47:49 AM

I ran an LT50 for a couple hours to show a local Wisconsin doctor with land and a mill here how to operate his mill. Only exposure I ever had to accuset with the "blade up" function. I forget the actual title but if I had it that's what I use a lot because I'd start on the bottom at my mark and come up in scheduled pre-programed drops/lifts and when I reached the top where I could still get a useable flitch I'd stop and resume sawing. Or at least that is how I would make my new cheat sheets instead of doing the math in my head and recording them on my spreadsheet.

Yesterday I was cutting 2" framing and 1"X4" nailers so every time I went to my mark I'd check to see if there was another 1" flitch possible for a nailer and if so I'd start there, drop 1" (Actually 1-1/8") then resume sawing framing. There is not a lot of waste when you use a cheat sheet properly.

If nothing else sawing teaches you an awful lot about adding fractions. :D

TreefarmerNN · August 07, 2024, 10:42:47 AM

Quote from: Rob in NC on April 23, 2019, 01:35:40 PMFirst let me throw in a disclaimer - im sure this is not an original idea by any means and could probably be added on and improved on tremendously but it helped me so I figured I would share..

Most of my framing lumber I cut for my projects I run 2x4s at 1-1/2" x 3-1/2", 2x6s at 1-1/2" x 5-1/2" etc. so im cutting actual dimensions off the mill instead of nominal with the exceptions of 1x - I cut them a full inch. In my air drying im only losing about 1/16" each direction and im good with that. Plus the weight difference in full size with green lumber is very noticeable after you move a few hundred boards in a day..

Since im running repeated numbers and I found the math I kept doing in my head was getting redundant I wrote a sheet up accounting for the 1/8" kerf each time on each board and printed it on a sheet and stuck it to the lid on my controls. This list covers me for all 1x4,6,8,10 & 2x4,6,8,10. When im slabbing on my 3rd side around (for my widths) I can look at the 5-1/2" table (if im running 1x or 2x6s) and know that if I cut at 16 - 3/4" I will come out perfect with no waste on the bottom side for 3 equal widths - then when I roll to my 4th side I can cut at say 14-1/2" for example and get 9 boards from each width with a perfect 1-1/2" board on the bottom. It lets you throw your waste on top with the slab instead of having an oddball board on the bottom of the stack.

I guess you could apply this to any size you cut repeatedly but sure speed my math up and cut down on my waste. I used to just let that last board be a screwball but this is definetly a better way.

I would be interested to see all the cheat sheets yall have come up with because I know there are a lot out there that would be helpful on redundant measurements.

That looked so helpful that I recreated it for my use. I hope you don't mind.

WV Sawmiller · August 07, 2024, 03:06:12 PM

Boy howdee! If I got in trouble every time I copied somebody's better idea or suggestion here on the FF I would never get out of jail.

My business cards have a log scale on the back from Tom the Sawyer's suggestion. I use my Magic Hook on almost every job I go to. I think the cheat sheet was a MM suggestion or maybe one he commented on. Sliding lumber off the mill instead of lifting them is a Jake suggestion. There are many, many more I do on a daily basis.

Now your obligation to the rest of the forum is to share your good ideas. Sharing a bad lesson learned so the rest of us don't do it is just as good as sharing a good lesson/idea for us to follow. We may joke with you about mistakes you admit but trust me most of us will probably have the same or worse.

SawyerTed · August 07, 2024, 05:53:09 PM

R&D is just the way it works here...Ripoff & Duplicate!

There is no end to the good ideas I've ripped off and duplicated. Much like Howard, I owe a lot to the Forumites for good ideas.

Cheat sheets, hydraulics anywhere, material handling, drag back mods, Accuset 2 techniques, sharpener and setter mods, lubemizer mods, even something as simple as changing the orientation of hydraulics knobs to differentiate among them and much more I owe to innovations shared by members here.

Magicman · August 07, 2024, 07:23:08 PM

When I got my sawmill I immediately developed a cheat sheet to establish my starting points for various thicknesses of lumber. Fact is that I very seldom ever look at it when sawing. Those number are like the control knobs and switches; I don't look at them either. They are simply extensions of my hands and fingers.

Rob in NC · August 11, 2024, 06:37:34 PM

Absolutely thats why i posted it

RAYAR · August 13, 2024, 02:18:07 AM

I use an older version of Sawmill Calculator on my Android that I saved and keep installing on my current Android pocket computers (phones), an electronic cheat sheet.

scsmith42 · August 13, 2024, 09:15:50 AM

Attached are my cheat sheets. I factor in drying related shrinkage, which is different for quartersawing versus flat sawing.

These are printed off and then heavily laminated by the local OfficeMax. I keep extra's for when they get chewed up.

Usually I spend extra time with the customer to determine exactly what they want. Some want dry measure boards, some want green measure boards. So I have a milling thickness sheet for each. The dry measure sheet also includes separate listings for quartersawing.

I have a separate sheet for milling 7/8" thick siding. When we sell board and batten we usually recommend a 7/8" board and a 3/4" batten. That allows customers to install the battens with a nail gun shooting 3-1/4" long nails.

No message is associated with this attachment.

Milling thickness sheetv6.pdf

amarsh64 · August 15, 2024, 06:59:09 AM

So far I have found on the fly calculations in my head works the best for me. Once in a while I make a boo boo but good for the most part. I have only been sawing for a couple of years so I am sure there will be lots more boo boo's .

Also I am not cutting for money , just for myself so I can afford not to be super fast with the whole process.

John S · August 15, 2024, 07:35:54 AM

When I had Simpleset on my previous mill I did use a cheat sheet. When I mentioned that to my Woodmizer dealer, he said why not use the adjustable sliding scale on the mill (LT40). I thought about that and tried doing it, no more cheat sheets! Now with Accuset2, (thanks to Auto Up), I do not need to use the adjustable scale.

Sixacresand · August 15, 2024, 08:25:37 AM

I made a chart for even size and store bought size. Often I saw boards off two sides of a the log to get down to a one or three cant size. The three cant size is then cut into three cants. The odd number of cants is to center the pith in one of the cants. Starting points for one cant is in one column, the next column is for sawing down to a three cant size. Taping the chart under the control lid is a good idea.

jpassardi · August 15, 2024, 09:01:49 AM

The extent of my Simple Set is the Simple guy running the mill

I made scales in AutoCAD accounting for kerf, stuck to magnetic tape and laminated with packing tape. I can read the height to bed scale at the same time as my increment for the first cut and can saw surprisingly quick with this method. I found I don't need cheat sheets for a starting point.

SawyerTed · August 15, 2024, 09:07:17 AM

A cheat sheet was most useful to me when sawing things on the LT35 (Simple Set) like siding where the measurements don't align with a scale. Learning use the cheat sheet with the set works speeds things up.

For example, I have customers who want 5/8" or 3/4" thick clapboard siding. To arrive at a 3 sided cant quickly, a cheat sheet was essential to keep my "ciphering Jethro Bodine" in check (pauses to calculate in my head). It also helped get the third face final cut (siding width) at the right height above the deck without a trim cut.

Accuset 2 almost does away with cheat sheets. As I get more used to Accuset 2, it does more of the "cheating".

A cheat sheet doesn't compensate for sweep, taper or off center pith. The temptation using a cheat sheet is to treat a log like a uniform cylinder with the pith perfectly centered. I fell into that trap early on while using a cheat sheet.

KWood255 · August 15, 2024, 06:43:54 PM

Quote from: Rob in NC on April 23, 2019, 01:35:40 PMFirst let me throw in a disclaimer - im sure this is not an original idea by any means and could probably be added on and improved on tremendously but it helped me so I figured I would share..

Most of my framing lumber I cut for my projects I run 2x4s at 1-1/2" x 3-1/2", 2x6s at 1-1/2" x 5-1/2" etc. so im cutting actual dimensions off the mill instead of nominal with the exceptions of 1x - I cut them a full inch. In my air drying im only losing about 1/16" each direction and im good with that. Plus the weight difference in full size with green lumber is very noticeable after you move a few hundred boards in a day..

Since im running repeated numbers and I found the math I kept doing in my head was getting redundant I wrote a sheet up accounting for the 1/8" kerf each time on each board and printed it on a sheet and stuck it to the lid on my controls. This list covers me for all 1x4,6,8,10 & 2x4,6,8,10. When im slabbing on my 3rd side around (for my widths) I can look at the 5-1/2" table (if im running 1x or 2x6s) and know that if I cut at 16 - 3/4" I will come out perfect with no waste on the bottom side for 3 equal widths - then when I roll to my 4th side I can cut at say 14-1/2" for example and get 9 boards from each width with a perfect 1-1/2" board on the bottom. It lets you throw your waste on top with the slab instead of having an oddball board on the bottom of the stack.

I guess you could apply this to any size you cut repeatedly but sure speed my math up and cut down on my waste. I used to just let that last board be a screwball but this is definetly a better way.

I would be interested to see all the cheat sheets yall have come up with because I know there are a lot out there that would be helpful on redundant measurements.

I have copied a very similar version off this site years ago, probably from MagicMan if I was to guess. The only difference I noticed between yours and mine is that my 2x8's are 1 1/2 x 7 1/4 and 2x10's are 1 1/2 x 9 1/4 to be consistent with nominal/store bought dimensions.

I don't often refer to it much anymore, except when I second guess myself...often due to distractions around the yard every few minutes. I keep a copy sealed under the control cover on the mill with 2" packing tape. Works great and always in sight.

rliuts · August 16, 2024, 10:43:07 AM

SawyerTed, I completely agree with your points, especially regarding the limitations of using a cheat sheet. It's easy to fall into the trap of assuming a log is a perfect cylinder with a centered pith, but as we all know, that's rarely the case in reality. The cheat sheet might work for basic, uniform cuts, but it doesn't account for the complexities like sweep, taper, or off-center pith, which are critical to consider for maximizing yield and quality.

For hobbyists, a cheat sheet might suffice, but for anyone serious about sawing, investing in computer set works is essential. Not only does it help in making precise cuts, but it also optimizes lumber yield and overall productivity. The ability to calculate varying board thicknesses and adjust for irregularities in the log is invaluable, and a cheat sheet simply can't offer that level of accuracy.

In fact, it's worth noting that almost all band sawmill producers now offer computer set works as an option for their sawmills. This underscores how important this technology has become in the industry. While a cheat sheet can be a handy tool for simple tasks, it's no substitute for the precision and efficiency that comes with computer set works, especially when you're aiming for high-quality results.

WV Sawmiller · August 16, 2024, 03:01:05 PM

I use my cheat sheet and religiously use my Simple Set/Setworks also. They work hand in glove together. I saw and turn my cant till I get to the fourth/final face and look at my cheat sheet to find my starting point and periodically I will check my interim starting points against my cheat sheet to make sure I am tracking as planned.