Whatcha Sawin' 2025 ??

[WV Sawmiller]

  I returned mid morning and we sawed about 10 logs. One was a monster that the customer had to help load with his skid steer as too heavy for my hydraulics alone. Another was mullberry which was very hard/dense and heavy and I had to saw it real slow. It was real pretty wood and I sawed most onto 5/4X10" X 12' boards. One poplar log I hit 2 nails in the log so we ditched it then when I went to edge the flitches I hit another so 3 bands down in one log.

    At the end of the day my mill starter made a grinding sound and after I shut it off at days end it would not start so I guess it has been my week for starters. We tallied in the dark so no lumber pictures. Total for the job was 9,139 bf.

  We have 10 more logs and 3 will have to be split as they are 7-8 inches over my mill limit and too big to even gun barrel.



  I'll pick up my truck and the mill tomorrow and replace the starter on the mill and give it a good check up and return in a couple of weeks when weather and customer schedule  permit.

[Magicman]

You are rocking on Howard!! 

That is a good job to start the sawing year with.    

[WV Sawmiller]

  Still learning on every job. I learned on this job that relatively fresh cut mulberry is heavy and hard and looks a lot like elm.

  I learned a long time back but probably never mentioned it here, when your customer has a large whack of logs stacked directly on soft ground and rolling them on to the loading arms a handy trick, when they are not stacked on parallel runner logs, is to lay a couple of your first cut scrap slabs perpendicular to the mill with the sawed face up to make a track. The logs will roll easier and stay cleaner because they don't dig into the dirt as much. As you whittle away the pile and the remaining logs get further way from the mill, just add more "track". At the end of the job the customer can pick up and dispose of the track just like the other waste cuts.

  I felt like I was using a ton of blades on this last job with 20 or so blades used, not counting 4 that hit nails. But when I divided the 9K+ bf by the number of bands used it was still over 400 bf per blade so I don't feel as bad. I don't know what is "normal" bf per blade average and of course the kind and type lumber being sawed makes a world of difference. Yes, much cleaner logs would not dull the blades as quickly but I'd rather just use my debarker and replace the blades more often than power washing or wire brushing the logs. That's just me and not being critical of others who clean their logs better than I require. If it gets bad enough, I'll adjust my rates accordingly.

  My mill starter problems seem to be a bad solenoid and my small engine guy should have one in 2 days from now. In the mean time I need to finish a complete service and probably change out a guide roller. I had to adjust it on the fly when the back of the band started hitting it at one point yesterday. I bet when I check closer I'll find some taper to it. Tomorrow I need to replace a bad mill/trailer tire. I think the fender scrubbed and wore it down. I adjusted the fender outward and will be checking that more closely

[caveman]

I attempted to post yesterday, but it got lost.  Anyway, JMoore and I got a late start sawing some really dirty but nice cypress logs that varied in length from just over 12' to almost 18'.  We were instructed by the customer not to cut them to any particular length.  I thought we had a pine sawing job lined up, but it fell through.  My intention was to let these cypress logs sit a few weeks until we could easily peel the dirty bark.

We used the same Kasco 7/34 blade that we finished up sawing some pine logs and some live oak cookies the last time we sawed.  We were able to saw over 700 bf of cypress on that blade.  It cut flat but not as fast as I like to saw cypress.

One of the logs had a bit of stress.  I lit my slab pile Saturday afternoon.  We will probably have a burn ban soon.  

We have quite a bit more cypress to saw for this customer, but most of the rest of this week I'll be volunteering at a Central Florida Youth in Agriculture (county fair) event.

[WV Sawmiller]

   Another tip I picked up on this trip was due to the fact I was using a borrowed van while my truck was in the shop. To stay in good graces with my DIL and still get fuel to the mill for my daily sawing I bought a deep plastic tote with a lid. I'd put an empty 5 gallon gas can in the tote and snug the lid on tight. I'd stop at the last gas station on the route which was about 5 miles from where the mill was located and fill up the can there, make sure the top was tight and put it in the tote and snug the lid back down tight. As soon as I got to the mill site I'd remove the tote then empty the can into the mill's gas tank during the day and at the end of the day then put it back in the tote and repeat the next morning. That way I was minimizing the time there was actually fuel in the can and I did not detect any smell of fumes. This tote idea would work well for other applications where you had to carry fuel in a van or trunk of a vehicle or such.

[Magicman]

I took off two weeks before this last job and I am hopefully planning three weeks or a month this time.  I am smelling some salty air.

Hey....that is no Sawmill behind my truck!! 

[SawyerTed]

It's so dry here I can't even look at that burn pile!

As of yesterday, NC had nearly 7,000 acres burned in the last few days.  Even with statewide burn bans  some have still been burning despite the high winds and dryness. 

[TimW]

I just burnt my pile yesterday evening.  The winds have died down to 3mph and we had rain yesterday morning.
It's just red coals now.

Last week, we had a 2,000 acre fire about 12 miles East of us.  We had fire alerts with high winds.  But someone from the Texas Forest Service authorized a controlled burn and it got away from them.  That person that authorized a burn in high winds needs to be fired.  1 house and barn was lost to the fire.

[Magicman]

Being off does not stop the phone from ringing.  We had already talked and he sent me pictures of his logs today:






All fresh felled.  The SYP will be framing lumber and the Oak will be 1" X whatever.

Looks like a two day job.

[WV Sawmiller]

    Did not saw today but did get my mill running again. The starter died at the end of my last job and I had my small engine guy order a replacement and took the mill over and let him install it today. I had completed a service yesterday and decided to check on a hose to drain the hydraulic fluid similar to what I have on the engine. The engine has a rubber hose with a plug in the end.

    I asked my guy about it and showed him what  I had. I went ahead and pulled the plug and drained the fluid there in his lot. I had bought replacement fluid yesterday. He did not have a hose type drain but showed me one like the picture below so I bought it. I had to stop at the hardware store on the way home to get a reducer/bushing to fit the hole. With this type drain you just twist it a quarter turn, slip it down and pop a rubber cap back and the fluid drains out with no tools needed.



    When I got home I first tried to go ahead and lower the arms and collapse the cylinders but that did not work well. No joke there Smedley - you've got to put the fluid back in first. Duuhh!!!

  I went ahead and installed the new drain plug/extension but that was when common sense overtook my inspiration and I removed it and put the original plug back in. The new easy use plug stuck down 2-3 inches below the bottom of the hydraulic box and was about level or slightly lower than the bottom of the landing gear on the front jack. I remembered late last year when I tore that jack off when I hit a high spot on a dirt road on a nearby pasture where I was sawing. I figured the likelihood of tearing off the hanging fitting outweighed the convenience. I could see me driving 75 miles then tearing off the fitting and draining the hydraulic fluid and shutting me down. I set aside the fitting and it I ever become stationary I may put it back on.

    I topped up the hydraulic fluid and then did a detailed alignment of the blade and roller guides and such. I am set and ready to go as soon as I get some blades back from my sharpening guru or a new box from WM I ordered this week. Something is due here tomorrow but it is a partial shipment so I can't tell if its my blades or idler arm spring. If blades I'll call and schedule my next mobile job for Saturday or Monday.

I topped up the fluid tank, lowered the arms and collapsed them to verify the proper fill level.

[Magicman]

Those cylinders do not empty when they collapse because they fill on the other side.  They power both in and out.  That applies to every cylinder on the sawmill. 

[WV Sawmiller]

Those cylinders do not empty when they collapse because they fill on the other side.  They power both in and out.  That applies to every cylinder on the sawmill. 

Yeah there was enough to move them but they sure moved slow so I saw why and refilled the tank and all worked properly. The tank holds just under a gallon but I don't know how much more is out there in the lines and cylinders.

[Magicman]

That is why the system never needs purging.  It will self purge just by operating the levers. 

[SawyerTed]

Today I cut white oak, poplar, walnut, cedar and persimmon for a regular customer.  Just a slab of this and a log of that.   I cut a half day every two or three weeks for this guy.  

It's slow, messy and low production because he wants this CSM live edge chunk "flattened" or this log in mantles or 1 piece 1 7/8". 2 pieces 2 1/4" and a 5" piece.   It's kind of random and an hourly rate kind of job. 

Until I found JEB Stuart's horseshoe in a piece of cedar.  It's not a recommended method of metal detecting!

[Magicman]

Not recommended but 100% reliable. 

[Wlmedley]

My neighbor who is a really nice guy called and asked if I wanted some cherry logs from a tree he had just cut. His property was logged a few years back and there's not a lot of good trees on it but I said bring them on up if you want to. He is trying to get the property cleaned up so he can run a few cattle on it and he was afraid of the cattle getting poisoned from cherry leaves I think. He brought these up on his tractor forks. I might get something from the center log although the center looks a little soft. The other two don't look to promising. One is crooked pretty bad and the other is split almost the whole length. Don't think cherry is much good for firewood either 

[doc henderson]

Finally got a nice cottonwood log to make target boards for the hatchet throwing venue.  it was 9 feet so i could freshen up the ends.  It was somewhat squarish.  made two cants 10 inches wide and 8 feet long.  I cut a split nearly though in the center as we needed boards, 2 x 10 x 48 inches.  this had been suggested by @SawyerTed in the past.  turned out about 46 boards and a nice full width slab 24 x 8 feet.















Also made hammer schlagen logs but no pics.  drive the nail game.

[WV Sawmiller]

Bill,

  Cherry makes very good firewood. Crooked logs make very nice benches, Short cherry boards are still in demand so there looks like a lot of options there for you.

Doc,

  I don't know nothin' about no cottonwood but looks like you used that offset pith to good advantage.

[Resonator]

I sell cherry firewood every year, may not be hickory or oak but it still burns good. Also has a nice smell, and is used for meat smoking. 
You should be able to get some boards out of those logs. Box the heart as you cut, especially if there is center rot. Could be cut into slabs or bowl blanks too, always had good luck finding buyers for any cherry I've cut.

[SawyerTed]

Hey @doc henderson the method of cutting the target boards to length on the mill saves a ton of heavy lifting, doesn't it? 

Good going there! 

[GAB]

My neighbor who is a really nice guy called and asked if I wanted some cherry logs from a tree he had just cut. His property was logged a few years back and there's not a lot of good trees on it but I said bring them on up if you want to. He is trying to get the property cleaned up so he can run a few cattle on it and he was afraid of the cattle getting poisoned from cherry leaves I think. He brought these up on his tractor forks. I might get something from the center log although the center looks a little soft. The other two don't look to promising. One is crooked pretty bad and the other is split almost the whole length. Don't think cherry is much good for firewood either 

@Wlmedley:
Do not ignore Howard and Jeremy's suggestions.  There is more value in those logs then you are seeing.
Bowl turners do not want pith in their bowls as it behave like juveniles, ie they don't.  So place the log on the mill and center the pith at the same height at both ends then take a cut above the pith and then take a cut below the pith.  This will give you a nice quarter sawn cherry board.  It might have a curve in it, but in the right hands it is a valuable treasure.
Then chunk both the upper and lower pieces so that they are 2" longer than the average width and then give them a double coat of wax on all cut surfaces so they do not dry or they will crack and become expensive waxed firewood.
GAB

[SawyerTed]

Add one more vote for cherry for smoking pork or chicken.   So the unused parts could be split and bundled for smoking. 

[Magicman]

When sawing Cherry, identify the pith check and orient the log accordingly.

[KWood255]

Pretty decent production today. We cut 60-3x8x16's and 60-2x6x16's in a little under 6 hours total, including cleanup. For easy math, call it 500bf/hr or maybe a little better. 

[GAB]

When sawing Cherry, identify the pith check and orient the log accordingly.

MM:
If his logs were straight or at least straighter I would agree with your suggestion.  However looking at the pictures he may not be able to do that.  I hope he lets us know what he acccomplished with those challenges from mother nature.
GAB