My milling adventure begins (HM130)

[fishfighter]

For sure a good set of saw horses are gold around the mill. More so on a manual mill.

[thecfarm]

Let there be light!! And lights are important too.
bandmiller is right on the equipment part. I have two logs that I put the logs onto,than I use a peavey to roll the logs on to the mill.

[Roundhouse]

Thanks for the feedback guys. Yes the shed is on the small side. The length was driven by wanting a continuous timber (and 20 feet being the longest I could produce with a little cheating). The width was determined by the size of the steel I had for the roof and the pitch I needed (the shed being in a heavy snow belt). Also the shed backs up into a hill so driving through from that end would be impractical without a lot of landscaping. It will be a long time before the mill is moved. With the heavy core I figure I can add onto it as needed.
Heavy horses/log deck is definitely on "the list" but so far I've been cutting pretty hand-to-mouth as I put together the essentials. I'll also need to plot out the flow for lumber coming off the mill once that's set up. As it is the lumber is going directly off the mill back onto the forks, then driven over to a lumber pile. I have some roller tables that will be part of this next phase.
And blades, I've given serious thought to the blade sharpener sold by Woodland Mills. So far I haven't cut enough to reach that crossroads yet. I bought a 10 pack when I bought the mill and used a few blades last year. Ahead of this season I bought another pack of 10 to make sure I didn't run out of sharp blades, it doesn't look like I'll be breaking into that pack this year. I like the idea of resharpening my blades but until production picks up I'm still weighing the benefits of having a sharpener vs. sending them out for resharpening.

[bandmiller2]

In reality a fella could use bands until dull and scrap them, and still be ahead with the board feet milled. Save your bands and in the future ether setup to sharpen or send them out. Myself I do as much "in house" as I can but theirs no shame in resharp. Frank C.

[btulloh]

------------  oops - posted this reply in the wrong thread. ----------

[fishfighter]

Roundhouse, in the future, look at Kasco blades. I used the 7 degree on my 126 as a all around blade. For sure, I would like to try their 4 degree, but hate the idea of ordering 15 of them to find out I can't use them.

Blade sharpener, I end building my own. Takes me about 10 minutes to do a blade.



 

Yep, a $25 power buy radial saw. ;D

[bandmiller2]

Fishfighter, most of the band venders will sell you or give you bands to try. Call and ask their advice and try several, seems theirs always one brand and hook angle that works better on your mill. Frank C.

[Roundhouse]

I can't believe it's been over a year since I've updated my thread but I've got a couple new photos and updates to share. Earlier this fall I finally got around to building a log deck at my mill. It took a little longer than I expected but I notched the joints of the cribbing so it would be very stable without having to bolt it together. It's roughly 5 feet wide and 10 feet long, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out:





Here it is with the first logs set on top. The log deck is mostly built of maple with one large birch base/bumping post seen on this end:





One last picture of the log deck from October where the log deck is full and an early snowfall is in progress. You can also see the lattice I'm trying on this side of the mill shed. It provides some wind break and shade but allows plenty of air flow, it just hooks onto the mill so I can lift off each piece and set it out of the way:





The other piece of news this fall is the 10 acres I bought at auction with an eye toward having a better supply of softwood for milling. The woods around my mill are well stocked with hardwoods but now I'll have a decent source for spruce and cedar 3 miles down the road. It's not a premium tract but it also hasn't been logged in a long long time so there are some nice mature trees out there, a high canopy making for some nice saw logs with easy access. Most importantly the price was right enough to be able to pay cash. Towards one end of the lot there is an old beaver pond that has been drained for a number of years, provides a decent overview and the deer seem to love it:





An example of one of the cedars found in the low lands. Not sure how much the center of the trunk may be hollow but eventually this one will find it's way to my mill:





Anyway, that's it for now. I hope to work the mill a few more times for winter completely takes over.