Winter sawing tips - or things I had to learn over the hard way.

[bandmiller2]

In the winter never stand on cement floor or frozen ground.Make yourself a spring floor out of 2" planks supports about 4ft apart keeps you off hard cold surfaces.The old down east lobstermen would make a heated floor to stand on where they stood next to the pot haullah.A steel diamond tread with hot coolant from the engine running through it,helps to put a rubber mat on the steel.Brake the wind and face south and do something else when its brutal cold,you won't get squat done anyhow!!Frank C.

[spencerhenry]

i saw outside, and the snow and sawdust buildup is a problem. i have had the outrigger feet frozen so deep in snow ice and sawdust that i spent most of the day with an axe chipping out the feet so i could move it. now when i set up for more that a day or two this time of year, i put chunks of 6x or 8x under the outriggers, and set the mill up as high as i can. the clamping are will actually lift and bend the mill if there is not enough space for it to work.

[Dan_Shade]

you mean the linkage that moves the clamp as it goes in and out?

[rockchucker]

When I worked out in Eastern Washington farming alfalfa I was introduced to a really old track tractor.  Don't even know the brand.  She was red though maybe Allis Chalmers?  This old girl was used up in the hills for logging in very adverse conditions.  When the guy said that she wouldn't run I begged to differ.  First thing I noticed was the two fuel tanks.  One smelled of diesel and the other smelled of gas.  Then the big huge lever that seemed to operate a few things at once.  The big lever was a fuel and ignition switch.  So in very cold conditions the diesel would start on regular gas with regular spark plugs and ignition.  The engine would fire up and sound like a gas engine.  Then once the glow plugs were heated you would throw the lever and it would cut the regular ignition and switch the fuel from gas to diesel all in one throw.  Once the switch was all the way it instantly turned to sounding like a diesel engine.  This may be normal for some of you older dudes but it was one of the coolest things I had ever seen.  So with an oil change some new fuel and filters and such she came to life.  The throw of the switch was smooth as butter.  Started on gas...runnin' on diesel.


I guess this post is kind of off topic...  We are lucky to have the technology to fight the cold.  Even now it gets the best of us.  Just imagine back in the day when the technology wasn't around.   Be glad you don't have to do this with every machine anymore! 

[pineywoods]

re : combination gas and diesel     Most of the older international diesels worked that way. Cat used a small external gas engine called a pony motor for starting. I agree with you, the change over from gas to diesel sounded kinda weird, You'd swear the thing was dying before the diesel caught on.

[PineNut]

The normal start on the International was on gas. One nice thing about the pony motor on the Cats was you didn't worry about the battery. Just hand-crank it. Now if it didn't want to crank, you had larger problems.

[mike_van]

I sawed up a really frozen white oak log today, with a blade that had so little set in it you could just about see it. Boy, did it cut nice! Smooth boards,  no sawdust  spilled out or packed on the wood. You'd never cut a softwood in the summer with that blade!

[WH_Conley]

Yeah I sawed today too, half froze logs >:(. I am sure it will get better.

[mike_van]

I ran that near-no-set blade through the sharpener, did another 12'er today, still cut good, nice clean boards. Had one left, an 8'er -  about the third cut into it, she just took a dive - Must have hit the "point of no set at all"  So, I had to change it. The one I put on had good set, and the sawdust it left behind sure said so! I took a good look at the one that dove, it was pretty old. Found a tiny crack, flexed it back & forth & it snapped. Got my $$$$ out of it anyway.  Nothing worse than setting & sharpening a blade only to have it snap.  Unless some big "emergency" comes up, I'm all done sawing 'till spring. It was 5F when i walked up there this AM, I really hate running stuff that cold, grease is like tar, snow & ice make it harder outside. My wifes ready to go buy a cabinet if I don't get it made. I think thats an empty threat, but I won't bet the farm on it.