WM bandsaw mill+ swingblade mill ?

[chainsaw_louie]

Does it make any sense to keep a swingblade mill around  and use it as an edger to cut and trim full width boards that come off a bandsaw woodmizer mill ?

If the swingblade mill were setup with a large log that was cut down in half to make a flat table, full width boards  from the band mill could be placed on it and the edges trimmed and cut into narrower widths , this would avoid the waste of the slab wood and improve overall yield.  I'm just thinking of this when milling expensive hardwoods like cherry and white oak. 

Or is this just making a lot more work for a small return ?  

Thoughts?

[scsmith42]

Or is this just making a lot more work for a small return ? 

Thoughts?

Yes.

Seriously, an edger sounds like it would be better suited for what you're describing.

There are at least two drawbacks with using a swingblade mill for your stated needs.  First, the time to load, unload and align the boards on the milling bunks, and 2 the time spent securing them.

Whereas with an edger you line up the board with the blades and 10 seconds later you're done.

The exception to this would be if you're working with extremely thick slabs - such as 3" plus.  Then the power of the swingblade may come in handy since most edgers aren't going to like 3" or 4" thick oak.

[woodman52]

From your wording it sounds like you have a swing blade. If so I would keep it for trimming down logs that are to big for the band Mill. If the band mill has hydraulics it would be faster, easier to edge your flitches on that. An edger is best up to 2 inches but cost prohibited unless you saw alot.

[SawyerTed]

+1 on an edger over swing blade mill for edging productivity.  It's nearly the same money.  

[Jeff]

I see a frick edger here locally for sale

[DanielW]

Maybe a different idea: Some of the most efficient small-scale/hobby operations I've seen around here pair a small circular mill (like a Belsaw M14/M24) with a bandmill. Belsaws are far from the best circular mills out there, but for most folks you can use them to square up the cant for 80% of the milling you do. Knock the slabs off on the Belsaw (where you don't care about kerf loss and where the circular blade can handle the bark/slab area far better). And your board-sawn stock from the cant will have far more consistent/accurate width because it won't have been subject to band wander. And although a circular mill certainly not as good at edging as an edger, it's far better/faster than using a bandmill to edge.

Also, when you have a large load of logs come in and need to pound through them quickly (or when cutting thicker stock where the kerf losses aren't as much of a concern), you can just use the circular mill and get through them in no time.

[chainsaw_louie]

From your wording it sounds like you have a swing blade. If so I would keep it for trimming down logs that are to big for the band Mill. If the band mill has hydraulics it would be faster, easier to edge your flitches on that. An edger is best up to 2 inches but cost prohibited unless you saw alot.

Woodsman52,

I do have a Lucas swingblade so I'm used to making boards right up to the bark or as close as I can get.  I'm sure that folks have figured out tricks to do the same on a WM but so far all I know is to make a square cant and go from there.

Could you explain what you mean by using the swingblade mill to cut down a log that's too large to fit in the WM.  If I'm going to go to the trouble to get a log leveled up on bunks for swingblade milling, I'd just keep going and finish it on the swingblade and I'd certainly not turn the log to trim the other sides. That would be a lot of work.


The main reason I want to get a WM is for the hydraulics. After years of manually moving and positioning logs, I just have to try the hydraulic assisted method. 

[woodman52]

What I was referring too if you want wider board than your swing mill is capable of or slabs with one free edge. You can knock down a large log to have it fit on the band mill and use its capabilities to make lumber that your swing mill is not capable of. If you just want lumber that the swing mill can make by all means, just use that. I have often thought of getting a swing mill to trim large logs down instead of a chain saw but don't have enough need to justify it. 

[woodman52]

The way to trim the edges off of boards on a band mill is to stand them up, clamp in place and saw. You might need a spacer board if the clamp won't tighten on what you are sawing but if you do multiples, you usually don't need it. You can also use a band mill as a straight-line rip saw on dried lumber if you need straight edges, just saw a little oversize. Not as quick as an edger or a straight-line rip saw but better than trying to joint a long board with a curve in it. I don't have enough need (or money) to cough up for dedicated equipment so I make do with what I have.

[chainsaw_louie]

I've never used a bandsaw mill.  
When trimming an oversized log to fit the max throat width of the bandsaw, is it just necessary to trim on one side only to a width that will fit the throat width and then the mill will flatten sides 2,3,4. ?

[Andries]

Louie:
Trimming on one side only gets you so far in making an oversized log fit the throat of the bandsaw mill.
The width of the throat and the height are both limiters.
This log was about 34" across at the butt end.

It took 10 skim cuts to get it just under maximum width of 28", however height determines the 'bite' of each slice.
aka: as gun barreling or 'Bibby-ing' to honour a FF member from days of yore.

The top end of the log was under 28" and just barely made it through the top of the throat.
A dragback or board return arm will decrease the throat height/capacity.
The job here called for 30' half-logs of Western Red Cedar, for a deck.

[Andries]

Side view 

Rough layout and gap trimming of the 'deck'.

[barbender]

Now where do you get red cedar by Winnipeg??

Louie, on a bandmill you use toeboards to position the log to take cuts parallel to the bark. You don't always cut that way, it depends on what you're sawing.

[Ianab]

I can see what Louie was thinking about. When using a swing mill it's quite common to pick up the bottom slab, which can still contain a lot of wood if the log was sitting on the ground. You pick that up and flip it on to a 1/2 cut log with a lip left, to help hold it in place. Then you can mess around and saw / edge it, or leave a single live edge board. 

So you could technically do it, but I don't think it would be very efficient. Quicker and easier to reload onto the band mill and cut it there. I do it because all I have is a swing mill. The ole adage, if you only have a hammer, then everything is a nail?

[Ianab]

I've never used a bandsaw mill. 
When trimming an oversized log to fit the max throat width of the bandsaw, is it just necessary to trim on one side only to a width that will fit the throat width and then the mill will flatten sides 2,3,4. ?

It depends.   

With a 4 post mill you have a hard limit on log width that will fit between the posts.  With a Woodmizer and the single post design, there is a bit more wriggle room where you can whittle multiple slabs off the log while rotating it, and get down to a manageable size, like Andries 10 sided log. But oversize logs are a pain, folks do it because they are usually high grade, and it's still a lot of wood recovered. 

Then it depends if you intend to plain saw, flat / grade saw or quarter saw the log. So there might be all sorts of gymnastic flipping and board edging going on, depending on the sawing plan. 

One way you can use a swing blade and a band was together is oversize logs. Saw cants from the oversize log, and then re-saw them on the band mill. It's maybe debatable if it's worth the extra handling, but you can probably get an extra board from each 8" cant due to the thinner kerf, and the band mill will resaw 8" cants at full speed. 

[Andries]

BB: by truck.

Nine logs per load.
.

Ianab has had considerable experience by the sound of it.
"you can whittle multiple slabs off the log while rotating it, and get down to a manageable size, like Andries 10 sided log. But oversize logs are a pain, folks do it because they are usually high grade, and it's still a lot of wood recovered."

[chainsaw_louie]

What's the vertical limit of the WM lt40?

Actually, on a swingblade mill it wouldn't require any log turning to reduce a 40" diameter log so that it had a flat side 28" wide and 28" tall .  That's assuming it's a cylinder shape but the reality of a flared out end may present difficulties since my swingblade can only reach down the sides 8.5" .

[Andries]

It's been a while, but if the memory banks haven't been over drawn, the throat height was half the width.
That was on the LT30 and I believe it's true for my LT40 as well.

Note: that's without a dragback, right? 
Also, lookit the top left log on the trailer. That's going to take a bunch of turning at 12" per slice to get it centered and down to 28" like the log top just to its right.

[customsawyer]

I have a dedicated slabber and have moved one log from it to my band mill for a special customer wanting a special cut. It cost him for the extra handling but he doesn't care since he's rich. I certainly wouldn't want to do it on a regular basis. 
Your job as a Sawyer, is to produce the best lumber you can, from the logs you have, in the most efficient manor.  If you're on a piece of equipment moving logs from one mill to another, then you've become an equipment operator, not a sawyer.