How some stuff happens at my mill.

customsawyer · February 04, 2022, 05:59:14 AM

I get asked fairly regular what I do with my sawdust. Well I sell it is the short answer. This is going to a plant that deals with unused paint. They mix the sawdust in with the paint and then it can be disposed of. It is difficult to find a market for everything but it is one of the main things that helps the bottom line. I also get asked how I unload log trucks. I would like to have a knuckle boom loader but, I don't like having a piece of equipment that is only good for one task. Here is a couple of videos of how I load a "chip trailer" and unload a log truck. Both trailers are a little over 13' high so most loaders don't have the reach to clear them.

Loading some sawdust with JLG10/55 telescopic loader - YouTube

Unloading a log truck with the JLG 10/55 telescopic loader. - YouTube

taylorsmissbeehaven · February 04, 2022, 07:28:41 AM

Thats a great operation Jake. Paint disposals a good group to be involved with!! Thanks for sharing, Brian

Crossroads · February 04, 2022, 07:53:46 AM

Looks like a nice operation you have there. I have to admit, I'm a little envious of all the flat ground you have. Out of 20 acres, I might have 1 1/2 that are flat and I've made most of that. Keep up the good work!

mike_belben · February 04, 2022, 08:12:10 AM

Im impressed how well it handles a bucket. Looks like you could weld a 12" high steel strip riser around the whole perimeter wall and not hardly lose any visibilty being you are so far back from it. A tall bucket is very annoying on a bobcat.

I dont suppose JLG plumbed in a 3rd function valve on it? The length of the logs and narrow fork spread had me nervous without a top clamp. I wonder if theres a way to have a bolt on mechanical top clamp.

Your machine would solve alot of my loading problems. Long, 8ft wide forks and logs as short as 8'8" are a real trainwreck. Its so clumsy with dropping short wood between the forks that i park it and load like this.

I think you can see from my timelapse its pretty slow! :D

Ive been reluctant to narrow them a position but maybe i ought to.

moodnacreek · February 04, 2022, 08:27:55 AM

The problem with forks is they don't like uneven ground. You always have one up and one down. The closer you can have the forks the better. Most guys want a baler on top of the forks. We tried that, can't see anything and always caught in something. They are good for taking logs out of pond and junking cars. My yard is too small for a handler or articulated so I use a picker on an old tandem.

rusticretreater · February 04, 2022, 09:36:12 AM

I remember the old butcher shops used to have sawdust on the floor to catch any blood drops from the meat.

My uncle who is an old dairy farmer likes to use sawdust in some of his cow sheds instead of straw. Easier to muck out and dispose of in the end. He gets the sawdust at the local Merrillat cabinet factory when he can. So you might let the local co-op know you have some you want to get rid of or sell $$.

I do wood turning and a neighbor comes over for the shavings to put in his chicken coops.

boonesyard · February 04, 2022, 09:41:46 AM

Jake,

How do you like the airless tires on your telehandler?

StimW · February 04, 2022, 09:18:30 PM

Great job finding a use for the sawdust, recycling and all that.
Wonder if they still use it in Dynamite?
I got drafted in 1968 into the ARMY. In advanced training I had to go to a local sawmill in Coulumbia SC with a Duce and a Half and back up a huge sawdust pile as far as I could then a couple guys shoveled the bed full. I delivered the sawdust to a training area and the guys shoveled it out and spread it! I did about 6 trips with 3 other trucks.
I forgot about that until I saw your sawdust pile.

beenthere · February 04, 2022, 11:14:01 PM

Quote from: StimW on February 04, 2022, 09:18:30 PM
Great job finding a use for the sawdust, recycling and all that.
Wonder if they still use it in Dynamite?
I got drafted in 1968 into the ARMY. In advanced training I had to go to a local sawmill in Coulumbia SC with a Duce and a Half and back up a huge sawdust pile as far as I could then a couple guys shoveled the bed full. I delivered the sawdust to a training area and the guys shoveled it out and spread it! I did about 6 trips with 3 other trucks.
I forgot about that until I saw your sawdust pile.

So Stim, do you think the sawdust was used in the dynamite, or used in the practice training area? just curious...

TimW · February 05, 2022, 03:20:25 AM

Quote from: moodnacreek on February 04, 2022, 08:27:55 AM
The problem with forks is they don't like uneven ground. You always have one up and one down. The closer you can have the forks the better. Most guys want a baler on top of the forks. We tried that, can't see anything and always caught in something. They are good for taking logs out of pond and junking cars. My yard is too small for a handler or articulated so I use a picker on an old tandem.

Not if you have aux hydraulics for carriage tilt. I love it on the Lull and miss it when I have the short forks on the tractor's loader. Frame tilt does the same, but I don't like to be tilted while doing it.
But I prefer the grapple for loading and unloading logs.
hugs, Brandi

customsawyer · February 05, 2022, 05:21:00 AM

I started to answer some of these questions yesterday and customers kept coming in to pick up orders. Since they was paying and y'all not so much you got to wait. :D

MB That bucket is homemade and is 4' high and 10' wide. It wasn't in the video but there is several times the back tires are coming off the ground when the bucket is full and extended some. My machine actually has some extra plumbing on it that isn't in use. I think it was used for side tilt on the forks but I don't really need it with the tilt of the machine. I've handled enough 40' logs that I can normally get really close on the balance of a log. On the first one coming off of the trailer you can see it hanging up on the front bolster and I had to reposition the lull forward a little to get it lose.

MC with this machine I can tilt it left or right and have the tips of the forks parallel to the logs and eliminate one fork being to high.

B Y the airless tires are a love hate relationship. I like that I don't have to worry about getting flats or any of the regular tire stuff. I also like the extra weight they add to the machine as it adds to the counter weight in the back. I don't like how aggressive they are as they are rough on soft ground. I don't like the extra weight and how narrow they are in soft ground as it will get stuck fairly easy. WDH has witnessed this in person.

Bindian I agree with the carriage tilt but all of that does is add weight to the end where I don't want it. I like it when a logger comes in with some really big logs that they have had trouble loading and I can unload them with ease.

Appreciate y'all watching.

customsawyer · February 05, 2022, 07:47:05 AM

Here I share some of the things I look at when first orientating a log on my sawmill. It won't help the experienced guys but some of the new guys might learn something.

This video is about how I orientate this log on the WoodMizer LT70 for the opening face or cut. - YouTube

mike_belben · February 05, 2022, 08:07:04 AM

Wow i didnt grasp how huge the bucket is. Pretty sweet.

dgdrls · February 05, 2022, 08:42:13 AM

CS, thanks for posting these, Question, do you build the pile with the
tele-handler as well?

D

Magicman · February 05, 2022, 08:44:49 AM

Thank You Jake. 8)

I mostly saw SYP framing lumber, etc. and your setup and sawing procedure was exactly what I do on virtually every log that I saw.

I use a red retractable marker instead of a blue. :D

customsawyer · February 05, 2022, 06:33:03 PM

MM I don't want to steal your thunder. :D In watching that video again I was wondering why I didn't trim the end off about a inch and have fresh wood for the crayon.

dgdrls That is just how the pile is built coming out of the blower pipe. I have a gate on the end. When it is dry shavings that are good for horse bedding I blow it into the container and sell it for horse bedding. Everything else I change the gate and gets blown into this pile. I make about a semi load a month now that I'm here full time now.

MB If you look while I'm bolting on the bucket the back is taller than my hips and I'm not small. It's a 4x10 steel sheet on the back with another 4x10 sheet for the bottom. If you notice anything about me it should be that I don't do anything small. I was going to build it myself but had a friend that does mobile welding and needing work. He said if I would buy the material, furnish my welder and shop, he would build it for $25.00/hour. I can't weld as good as him and can't park the rest of my equipment that cheap. So I let him do it. That entire bucket cost me less than a little one for my skidsteer. ;D

caveman · February 05, 2022, 07:51:51 PM

Jake, I appreciate the videos. I've been under the weather for the last week and a half and have had a bit of time to look at the forum and your new videos. As I was watching you saw the pine 1x6's today, I decided to go out and reprogram our Accuset II in the pattern mode. I think the new arrangement will save some time and we will still get the same accuracy.

One tip that I'll offer is set one preset to the thickness of the 4' level plus the tongue on the framing square to reach the BGAT on the idle side of the mill. We check this each time we change a blade, after a crash and at the beginning of each day's sawing. It is much easier to use a square than a tape measure for this (thanks Earl).

I went back and watched Bibbyman's Accuset II video also and I see that he was doing what I did today (somewhere around 14 minutes in in (Tom) the pattern mode). We will be sawing cypress tomorrow and I hope that the new tweaks will help us to be more efficient.

In my opinion, the Accuset II option is one of the most valuable options to have on a Wood-Mizer. We went from manually sawing with the index wheel (which was incredibly accurate) to Accuset II and it is my opinion that the production gains using that setworks justify the cost.

Tomorrow's agenda:
Sell a hand hewn, sinker cypress beam that will be used as a mantle
Saw some cypress 1x6x16's
Sell some heart pine 1x6 and 1x8's
Maybe saw some cedar slabs and dimensional lumber
Sort some cedar 1x for a retail store
Possibly sell some reclaimed red oak for flooring (1100 ft2).
Both John and I are getting over the China virus so we'll see how much we can do before the tiredness hits.

Nebraska · February 05, 2022, 08:37:32 PM

Nice video...I saw your bolt on bucket and thought I'd rather use a payloader. Then I heard 12 buckets was 17000 pounds and changed my tune. It is way bigger than it seems.
For any of you folks pondering a sawmill purchase that Lt 70, went through that in less than 20 mins, with time for explaining. That same log on manual non hydraulic mill, is an hour at least for me. Loading, turning, clamping etc.. Just thoughts I had while watching...
I don't need all the bells and whistles, as I don't need super production in my situation
If you want/ need it to make money, choose wisely.

customsawyer · February 05, 2022, 08:46:54 PM

Nebraska you forgot to subtract the 30K pounds for truck and trailer. His first load I just filled it up and he was north of 96K gross weight. He had to dodge the scales going back. He knew it as he was trying to leave my yard. So we did some simple math and figured each bucket scoop was between 4-5000 pounds of sawdust per scoop. So we decided to give 12 a try. Seemed to work pretty good as we kept him just under 80K gross. Appreciate your observation on the LT70

Southside · February 05, 2022, 09:40:12 PM

I see you have the heated seat option on the telehandler, I like it! ;D

Larry · February 05, 2022, 09:58:15 PM

Jake, thanks for taking the time to make the video and share with us. 8)

TimW · February 05, 2022, 10:21:02 PM

Quote from: customsawyer on February 05, 2022, 05:21:00 AM
Bindian I agree with the carriage tilt but all of that does is add weight to the end where I don't want it. I like it when a logger comes in with some really big logs that they have had trouble loading and I can unload them with ease.

Appreciate y'all watching.

With 6,000 pounds of lift, I haven't felt the Lull straining from the extra weight of carriage tilt. My prime telehandler requirement was it have aux. hydraulics for a grapple.
hugs, Brandi

customsawyer · February 06, 2022, 05:17:16 AM

Yes ma'am but keep in mind that I have a mill that is 56' long and also a Lucas dedicated slabber. I have some big logs come in here.

This live oak was more than 10,000 LBS

Caveman what do you mean by BGAT?

Walnut Beast · February 06, 2022, 05:31:46 AM

Nice job. Great video 👍

caveman · February 06, 2022, 06:02:39 AM

Quote from: customsawyer on February 06, 2022, 05:17:16 AMCaveman what do you mean by BGAT?

Blade Guide Alignment Tool. The little aluminum gadget that clips onto the blade.

We have started using a square kind of like a feeler gauge to set blade roller tilt rather than trying to use a tape measure to measure the distance from the bed to the BGAT. My eyes can see an air gap and I can feel the tongue of the square barely contact the end of the BGAT a lot better than I can read a tape measure for this purpose.