Whatcha Sawin' 2020 ??

[Larry]

Found a picture.





I'm dragging slabs straight back and sliding boards to the side.  If I stick, the saw is faster than me in most 8' logs.  If I don't stick, the saw cuts the next board in about the same time as I stack.

Your pulling boards straight back and pushing slabs to the side.  Might be more efficient for me since I edge on the mill.  I'll try it.

[Walnut Beast]

Good idea having the fire extinguisher 🧯 around 

[ladylake]

 I like sawing popular , saws like butter.  Steve

[Resonator]

The Poplar I've cut here in Wisconsin either has a fruity smell, or has kind of an "unpleasant odor". ;D

[firefighter ontheside]

I sawed a sassafras log today.  Man did that smell good.  I was really surprised how strong the smell was while cutting.  It's not very hard wood, but is pretty.  Then I hurt my back and that was the end of cutting.  Instead I went in and ate lunch.  I took the boys with me to get a new rope for my crank feed on the LT15.  I should have done that a long time ago.  Feeds much better now.

[Walnut Beast]

Wasn't a little cold 🥶 today 😊

[YellowHammer]

I realize you handle more boards than slabs but the slabs seem to put you farther out of position from the controls

Not sure if this would work in the real world.

You are correct, it does.  Up until a short time ago, I had the roller table at a slant and when I put the slab on the table it would gravity feed to the end and drop off in the forks. At some point, it got too level and I never got around to fixing it.  
I'd really like some kind of slab kicker but I haven't found one that works the way I want.

I saw in a similar fashion but my mill is not near as fast sawing and the setworks are slower.  

My comments.

When sawing I make it a practice to never handle a board or slab until I have the blade back into the log making the next board.  I noticed your saw is doing nothing while your pushing the slab down the roller ramp or stacking boards.  Why?

Great job on the video and my hats off to you for taking the time to make it.  I just started doing video's and quickly learned how much time it takes.  I picked up on a couple of things I might be able to do to improve my production.

I've never sawed rainbow poplar as we don't have any here.  I did go to a wood turning school in N. Carolina this past February where we spent a week turning rainbow poplar.  I was stunned by the brilliant colors.  Within a couple of months it had all turned to a boring brown.  Does your wood keep its color?

The LT70 has a nice cruise control button, and I tried it because I always used it with my LT40.  However, this mill will cut as fast as me stacking and if I put it in cruise, and a board doesn't flop right, the I have to take the extra second to fix it and it throws everything out of sync.  
I look like Lucy boxing chocolates.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_y0nsN4px10
 I could slow down but then I get into the issues of too much residual sawdust and stuff.  Also, I'm old and I can't stack wood that fast all day, but I sure enjoy sawing fast.  If I have a tail man, I bury him.  
The longest we have had a customer tell us they can keep the color is 15 years.  They key is to use a very UV protective coating, and expect the shades to darken a register.  However, the darker cuts like in the log in the video can be allowed to darken to almost black and it's "Poor Man's Walnut."  It's spectacularly dark, almost black with whiter stripes.  
Making videos will eat up time unbelievably fast, and the hardest part is making myself stop what I'm doing to make them.  It's why I never did it before, but so far it's kind of fun.  Not a lot of fun, but not bad.  

I cannot saw that fast. I'd be popping blades off right and left.

Surprisingly, I have the set works forward speed at well below maximum.  This was fastish, but when I chuck up some small cedar or white pine, soft maple, etc and dial up the speed controls, it will make this speed look not fast.  



 

[WDH]

I am too old to try and run a race so I just does what I can does. 

[WV Sawmiller]

The Poplar I've cut here in Wisconsin either has a fruity smell, or has kind of an "unpleasant odor". ;D

Are you talking about tulip poplar? I have never known it to have an unpleasant smell. Maybe sometimes a bit of a lemony smell.

FFOTS, did you get the overpowering urge to go drink a root beer when sawing all that sassafras? :D

[Skip]

All the trim in my kitchen is sassafras. The roots made some great tea and used the branches in the smoker . 

[YellowHammer]

I've never noticed a smell off poplar, other than a "clean" hardwood smell.  Sass on the other hand will stay in my nose for a few days.  

[firefighter ontheside]

Yes, the sassafras was quite pungent.  I may have to go get some A&W later.

I'm not feeling too motivated this morning.  It was 18 when I got up and it has only warmed to 21 in 3 hours.  I have some big walnut logs to mill for a customer.  I'm gonna give it another hour.

[Resonator]

Are you talking about tulip poplar?

No, not Tulip Poplar. I don't know the proper genus and species, but what grows here up north is a type of Aspen with white bark. I know that it grows like a weed, and if you cut one down, 1000 sprouts will grow back around the stump. 

[firefighter ontheside]

Balsam poplar and quaking aspen both grow in Wisconsin.  I'm guessing you're referring to balsam poplar, which is not related to Yellow/Tulip  Poplar at all.  

[Otis1]

Balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera) pretty much only grows in the northeast part of Wisconsin into the U.P.  
Throughout the rest of the state it's either Bigtooth aspen (Populus grandidentata) or Quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) also called trembling aspen or popple by a lot of people here.  You're probably dealing with Quaking aspen if it's whiter bark. Usually the Bigtooth has more of a yellowish color bark, and when they get really big almost look like oak bark. Can't comment on the smell as I don't saw, just a forester.

[olcowhand]

Balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera) pretty much only grows in the northeast part of Wisconsin into the U.P.  
Throughout the rest of the state it's either Bigtooth aspen (Populus grandidentata) or Quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) also called trembling aspen or popple by a lot of people here.  You're probably dealing with Quaking aspen if it's whiter bark. Usually the Bigtooth has more of a yellowish color bark, and when they get really big almost look like oak bark. Can't comment on the smell as I don't saw, just a forester.

Otis1,
The great thing about this forum is that everyone contributes (except me, I just read and learn...) for the benefit of all. Nobody here is "just" a Forester, least of all- you. Thanks for the info. 
Steve

[cutterboy]

I have sawn quite a bit of Quaking Aspen and I can tell you it doesn't smell very good. Think of a mens room used by a bunch of drunks.

[Bruno of NH]

I saw lots of it.
It sells well and makes me money.
It does smell

[Andries]

Elm is the same.
Makes me want to have a nose enema.

[firefighter ontheside]

Gonna go out and mill this 22" walnut that is 10' 6" long.  It has a good curve to it.  I gave my customer the option of having less waste and curved slabs or straight slabs and more waste.  He opted for curved slabs.  He said his son is planning to make a big dining table with these live edge slabs.  


 

[Brad_bb]

@firefighter ontheside , Jealous.  22" dia, pretty clean, those are the most fun to mill.  Love walnut.

Contest: Can ya'll guess what I'm milling now?


 

[Darrel]

@firefighter ontheside , Jealous.  22" dia, pretty clean, those are the most fun to mill.  Love walnut.

Contest: Can ya'll guess what I'm milling now?

Yellow crayons?

[Walnut Beast]

Osage 😂

[firefighter ontheside]

It was a good log.  I did find one nail and half a dozen .22 bullets.  Made some great slabs though.  This one was for a customer.  I've got a bunch of walnut of my own to mill, but it will have to wait.  I put a red elm on the mill at the end of the day today.  The bark all fell off and revealed a drywall screw sticking out.  Pulled that out and decided to run the metal detector over it.  Found 2 more nails.  I will have to use the metal detector on every cut with this log.

[Brad_bb]

Contest: Can ya'll guess what I'm milling now?

Yellow crayons?

Close (we have some real comedians here!).
Walnut Beast got it.  
Cut the first 4, only about 50 more to go.  Making live edge brace stock with the curved ones, and fence posts with the straight ones.  These are logs I cut a year ago.  Never intended to wait this long to mill them.  They are making some very fine flour sawdust which necessitates a respirator.  Obviously I'm going to need to wear my goggles too.  Not milling as bad as I thought given the dry time, but you still need to keep a sharp band on.  4° double hard.  One band every two logs or so.  Taking and keeping side wood from them too.   There are two 5x5x 8.5' fence posts you can see in the top of the pic,the first ones I've cut.  I'm going to make a fixture put the posts at 45 degrees so I can make them into octagons.