Whatcha Sawin' 2020 ??

[caveman]

Magicman, thank for posting the pics of the big log.  The reason I posed the question about how you were going to break it down the other night was I was wondering if you were going to shoot for three, eight inch wide cants out of that log.

WV, some days are just like that.  I am just dumb enough to keep pushing on.  Sometimes it seems like a sensible person would just go inside, turn on the T.V. and read all of the posts by one of the esteemed FF contributors on the computer.

We sawed a few small, not very good cedar logs this morning and slabbed a few larger, not very good cedar logs.  We are trying to get the junk sawn, piled to burn or otherwise cleaned up.  Tomorrow we will probably build another 16' drying rack or make a 12' x 8' stacking rack for dry wood inside the shop like we did last Friday.


 This one is 7' wide x 8' deep and it is about full of KD wood.  We loaded the wider, center compartment with cedar slabs this morning.

[goose63]

 

 

This one made some nice 1 1/2 x14 x18 foot ash plankes for this trailer



 

When my stepson gets home on leave this summer he will be happy

[doc henderson]

that is a big ash log...

[Magicman]

The reason I posed the question about how you were going to break it down the other night was I was wondering if you were going to shoot for three, eight inch wide cants out of that log.

No way.  Although it would easily square out to 24", opening the blade guides out to 24" and sawing SYP would be a recipe for disaster.  The inevitable pitch buildup and the occasional 2"-3"+ knots would virtually guarantee some waves regardless of the blade used.  As it was I was closely examining every pass.

[tule peak timber]

One each redwood light bar. I don't think the customer has any idea of the weight of this overhead light he plans to hang from the ceiling of his living room ???...........

 

[doc henderson]

maybe you can sell him on a hollow foe beam, like you do with your mantles.  With a charge for all the work as well.

[tule peak timber]

Bingo, probably what will  happen. 8)

[hunterbuild]

 

 A neighbor needed two 16ft long by 14"high and 51/2" wide for a building he doing. I did have anything big enough, so he cut down a tree last evening in the rain and we milled it up to day in the rain, so his guys could get it up. when he got to the building site, they had quit for the day because of rain. Some one had some sense.  

[Raym]

Will be sawing these beauties next week. Customer dropped them off yesterday. Not sure of his cut list yet but should be some pretty lumber. 75 rings

Well it took a while for this guy to decide what he wanted which was ok by me. Since the 1st of the year we have been scrambling to keep up with work. 

16 footers, He wanted mostly 4x8 posts with random width 2x and 1x. On the last log, he only wanted 4x8 pith centered cant and the rest 1x. I think he got tired of loading the 4x8s.

A little less than 2 hours, 200.00 and a 40.00 tip. Was a good morning




 

[SawyerTed]

This week has been busy sawing oak for a customer who parted ways with a different sawyer after many years.  The customer was dissatisfied with the production and quality of their previous man. I was a bit concerned that he had unrealistic expectations.  I'm acquainted with the other sawyer and others have described the same issues with his sawing. His heart doesn't seem to be in it anymore. 

I was pleased to find my crusty customer quite reasonable in all aspects but one.  He brought logs and more logs.  Every time I thought I could catch up, out came more logs.  Several were 28" plus SED 16' long. Big suckers!  Not complaining about the work but when I looked over the job, he had about half the logs hidden. :D  

We cut for nine hours Tuesday and Wednesday and I'm going back Saturday.  The tally for the two days was 3,400 board feet.  

Tuesday was one of those days with lots of little issues that slowed things down. My battery died, the drive belt and the feed belt decided to be loose.  Had to jump start the mill twice.  I hate having to tinker on the mill while a customer is watching. 

Wednesday I got to the job early, installed a new battery and went over the mill.  Wednesday sawing was smooth and lumber seemed to fly off the mill.  It was a much better day. 

The good news in all of it was there were five or six helpers all day both days. We had a lot of good fellowship as we worked. There were three young people who helped.  One young lady showed enough interest that I showed her how the mill operates.  She cut several boards and turned the log under close supervision of course. 

Tomorrow the customer will have a new stack of logs. 

[Magicman]

I know the feeling.  I have left a job in the evening thinking that I would finish the next day only to find more logs the next morning than were there at the beginning of the job.  That is good but it surely will screw up a schedule.  :

Your whack looks really good.....and heavy. 

[WV Sawmiller]

   I thought that was normal. :D I bet over half the jobs I do the customer drags out a few more logs when he sees it looks like I may finish. Two weeks ago the customer came by with his wife, changed the order (For the better - 2X & 3X instead of 1X) and even borrowed my chainsaw to go cut 3 more logs and a 5' crotch which we sawed for the wife. Everybody won on that deal because it made her happy.

    This weeks customer had a whack of logs stacked and dozens scattered around the area and every time I'd nearly finish the stack he'd jump on the tractor and drag 4-5 more over. Oh well, it beats selling lady's shoes.

[tule peak timber]

We are cutting redwood and carob today. Took a break to unload a couple more pine sticks this morning.

 

 

[WV Sawmiller]

   My rear drive chain came off my mill 3 times on my last sawing job 2 days ago so I got to checking and discovered the last time I had worked on it (I replaced the power feed shaft and sprocket) I had incorrectly installed the master link at the end of the chain to the bracket (I had not run it through the hole there for that purpose) so I talked with Dennis at Indy WM and confirmed what I had done and after I broke my $75 Leatherman pliers trying to remove the old frozen piece, I went to our local hardware and got a new $1.54 master link, cut the old one off with a grinder and replaced the link. I'll buy another for stock the next time I am there. I checked/verified  the specs for the tension and the head rolls fine on it so hopefully that fixes that problem.

   I sawed an 8' 2 year old RO log last week in the front lot of my place and after repairing my mill today I loaded the slabs on my FEL and took them to my pile. I remembered a couple of thin trim cuts and set them aside and took them to my RAS and sawed them into narrow strips for kindling for my wife who builds a small fire almost daily to knock the chill off in the basement where her sewing and quilting areas are set up. This should have her set for a few more weeks then she will want me to make her some more.

The bucket is about as tightly packed as reasonably possible. I am just too good to that woman. :

[SawyerTed]

Selling ladies shoes sounds like a job from the "hot place"!  I'd rather sit in a tub full of scissors! Or saw hickory for a month! :D  :D

One great outcome from the sawing this week was that blades I resharpened cut beautifully after I got the belts adjusted on my mill.  Hopefully I'll remember to get photos of this weeks sawing tomorrow.  Just how many more logs can the guy have, right?  

[WV Sawmiller]

Ted,

   The answer to "How many logs can one guy use" is the same as the number of passengers you can put on a Haitian TapTap or an African bush taxi - "One more". :D

[SawyerTed]

Now that's funny!  :D  :D  

[WV Sawmiller]

Ted,

  But true. I worked in Cameroon and Guinea in West Africa several years and they would have 2 - 15 passenger vans used as bush taxis hit head-on on some remote highway and it would kill 75 people.

  The TapTaps in Haiti were about as bad only they mostly drove around town and at slower speeds so they would just break 20-30 legs when they wrecked. Most TapTaps were a small Japanese long wheelbase P/U with about a 1' extension welded on the end, wooden benches along each side of the bed, a wider bench down the middle for back to back seating and a bed liner turned upside down used as a camper shell only attached to 15" metal stanchions bolted to the the top runners of the truck bed for extra head space and cover from the rain. They typically ran a standard route like city buses and passengers would flag them down and get on then tap on the top or side of the truck to let the driver know to stop. Typical rates were 6-9 gourds as I remember depending on the length of the route the driver ran. The back glass on the truck was removed and the passengers passed the money through the opening to the driver or his helper.

  Then there were the Bentskins - motorcycle taxis in Cameroon using 50-100 cc motorbikes to carry passengers and freight. Rate was about 100-125 CFAs (About 25 cents) unless you were white and they knew they could charge more - there was always 2 rates, local and expat. I think about 4 passengers were the most I remember seeing on one of them. But I digress...

[SawyerTed]

Was in several Central American countries in the mountains and have seen the vans, truck and buses  packed sardines.  And yes they always stop to pack one more on.  "On" being the operative word. 

[trapper]

Send that leatherman back to the company.  They replace them free.  I had an original that they no longer make but they replaced it with a better model.

[Magicman]

Yes, Leatherman will replace a broken tool that's less than 20 years old for free, but I am saddened by the knowledge that they have run out of the "Original" model.  They have a very similar tool that is labeled the Collector's Edition PST for $274.95!! 

Most of the newer models are too large for my convenient carry,  :  and I always carry.  ;D

[WV Sawmiller]

   I will check with them. I see it now lists for $90. I have 2. One has a mangled Phillips screwdriver now this one has a broken plier. I see their HQ is in Oregon so they are not open even if they do open on Saturdays. I think I contacted them years ago about the screwdriver and they said ship it with the original receipt which I did not keep. I think I had bought it through the MCX when I was working as a contractor in Afghanistan or Iraq. We will see what they say when I can get hold of anyone.

[Magicman]

I didn't have a receipt, just boxed it up with a letter and sent it to them.  I figured that they would just replace the broken item, but they sent me a new tool.

They will not replace the holster, hafta buy a new one so I bought 3.

[WV Sawmiller]

Lynn,

   I will try that on Monday when the PO opens. I don't have anything to lose with the pair with the broken pliers as that is the item use the most often. The case is still intact so I will keep it.

[DPatton]

This is the first weekend in five weeks that I haven't had a portable sawing job to do so I welcomed the opportunity to do some long overdue maintenance on the mill. My son Jesse loves turning wrenches so we spent today working together adjusting, replacing, and fixing quite a list of issues. First off was removing the belt cover and adjusting belts.





I have been wanting to check the bearing in the drive side blade wheel for some time. It seems to be ok as there was no play or movement. It spins freely and smooth however it does make a little noise when it's spinning unlike the other blade wheel bearing that I replaced earlier this year. For now I'm gonna leave it be. 

Next was reinstalling the blade drive belts and tensioning per TK's specification then aligning the PTO belt pulley with the drive wheel pulley. This is probably one of the trickiest maintenance alignments to do on my mill and provides ample opportunity for a good old knuckle buster or two. Having Jesse there to loosen and tighten the engine mounting bolts from underneath saved the day and the skin on all of my knuckles too. The hydraulic pump belt was in need of being replaced and Jesse got right on it.





We also replaced the Tiny Tach that had quit working last winter, and made some long overdue adjustments on the sliding guide arm that now slides back and forth with ease.









Last evening I had put a caliper on the guide wheel rollers and found that the were also overdue to be replaced. They were both worn by .010 of an inch at the leading edge so I called TK and ordered a new pair. I gave Jesse the green light on taking the old guide rollers off so here he is removing the roller on the fixed side.



 

The new roller guides will ship Monday morning. I will put them on Tuesday, and adjust accordingly. 
One issue I noticed last week that I haven't addressed yet is a crack on the vent side of my fuel tank. From the looks of it I will either have to try some sort of JB Weld patch or replace the tank all together. I don't believe this hose connection is removable or otherwise replaceable.





Last weeks job took me on a 165 mile trek to Waterbury Ne. On that trip Google Maps and I had a miscommunication about road types and I ended up taking gravel for the last 12 miles of the journey to the saw site. Gravel is not friendly with trailer lights so I have a few lights to get replaced this weekend as well.









I also had a cross bar or two and some compartment dividers missing on my energy chain. Thanks to Matt at TK I had a few shipped in a couple weeks ago. I installed new replacements where those were missing today as well.





By Tuesday I should have it all put back together and ready for the next several portable jobs. I just received several boxes of resharpened blades back from member Cutting Edge and I'm looking forward to see how it will cut again once everything is aligned and adjusted.