How to avoid nails

[tcsmpsi]

Further reading lead me to specific areas contained in the dirty south.  Among them are Dallas, Atlanta,Memphis, Jackson, Nashville, Houston, Shreveport, Orlando, Louisville, Tampa, Jacksonville, Austin, New Orleans, Miami, and San Antonio.  

Well then, that 'splains that.  Any thinking that Dallas is in the South, is off kilter anyhow.   :D

[Jim_Rogers]

I usually saw without checking every log with a my metal detector....
But after I hit a nail in a log I pull it and check to see if anyone else is home....
And I check all the other sides as I roll it to try an minimize the number of chances of hitting nails....
Sometimes this means rolling the log back onto the loader and lowering it down to the wooden bunks to get away from the metal of the mill, but you have to do what you have to do.....

I grind my own blades a 2 times very lightly and then use them...
After a few grindings, I send them in to Re-sharp for sharpening and setting....
This procedure has saved me lots of money over the years....

I got my metal detector from Radio Shack for about $129 or so.... works for me....

As mentioned reading a log for stain or bark swirls will tell you a lot about whether or not there is metal in there....

Jim Rogers

[Nate Surveyor]

Never put on a sharp, or new blade. This will keep you from hitting nails!  :D :D :D

N

[inspectorwoody]

All of our logs are fed through a ring debarker than through an MDI metal dectector. If metal is present, the log is kicked off the deck back into the log yard where it is scanned with an MDI hand held. If possible the metal is bucked out and the log is thrown back on. If the metal cannot be found or bucked out,the logs are piled and taken to our WI mill where they mill them up on the mizer.

I've used the MDI hand held several times and find it to be very accurate. Took down a yard Walnut. Find one nail,pulled it out and couldn't get the other one so I bucked it shorter. Still made veneer.

Metal dectectors can earn there keep and pay for themselves if your willing to make the initial investment. When you look at the down time involved in hitting hardware plus the cost of parts etc.,it is worth the time it takes to scan a log.

Our bands run about $800-1,000 if we junk it. Plus another $800-1,000/hour down time cost.

[oldsaw]

Don't start milling wood.  If you don't mill, the chances of not cutting nails goes down significantly.   ;D

Get a metal detector, avoid yard trees, scan between cuts, but you are still going to find them.  Follow the stain.  Sometimes you get lucky and cut into metal stain before you hit the tramp metal.  Sometimes.

Mark