Herd of pictures

[Percy]

We have WHACKS of lumber and JAGS of logs so here is a HERD of pics. :D :D
One thing, I done the pixel thing and my pics are a tad grainy,hmmmm, some of you guys get real nice pics happenin, whut am I doing wrong,? ???

well atleast they are bigger ya??


This is my view for most of the day



  

This is a home made conveyor, powered by a 11hp honda that also runs the sawdust blower


After the board goes up the conveyor, it rolls down this thingie that will pivot lenghtways under the weight of the board/flitch  but only after it hits the latch



This is the latch that keeps the rollcase from dropping untill it is hit by a board/flitch


This is the power unit(11 horse GX honda that started first pull outa the box(gotta love them Hondas)that runs the very used sawdust blower as well....


This is waste management made easy, I just scoop the mill sawdust away after the day is done with the bobcat

 Here is a days production of birch and a home made cyclone(made outta a plastic 45 gallon drum and some heating ducts/sheetmetal..elcheapo, but works




This last pic is of the edger with the sawdust box under it and the furnace ducting that goes to the blower.

If I were to have my druthers, I think a conveyor/chain mechanism for edger sawdust removal would be more effective as about twice a day, we gotta do a little stick fishin from the sawdust box......and when some of them do go up the pipe, they tend to get a little nasty with the output pipe(note ample use of duct tape on the output elbow of the blower).
I hope these pics are better than my last effort.

I managed to build all of this stuff for about 2200.00 Canadian including the Honda(831.00)conveyor belt(480.00)Pillow block bearings ,rollers,ducting for blower,other  stuff..900.00.
I need to do a little tweeekin still but the system works real well with two people. I may try a third guy, to do cleanup, lumber banding , log bucking, while the two of us cut. Perhaps I can get to 3000 bdft of one inch a day. The LT70 is amazing and feed rates thru birch are scary fast. Just did a little WRC today and had to relearn that the softwood means SLOWDOWN....wavey fence pickets arnt cool.

Note the lumber jigs to keep piles square and proper sized. It is so important to do this  properly if you want to effectivly load a semi trailer to proper axleweight and within allowed dimentions. I still have a bit of learnin to do and am considering a trimsaw setup of some kind to help in this process.

This post was harder than sharpening a tramp metaled blade....but I think ill get better at it...heh
Later
Percy

[Frank_Pender]

Nice herd of pictures, Percy.  Thanks for sharing.  ;D  I like your blower set-up.  Real inventive. 8)

[biziedizie]

  Percy how many hours away would you be if I was to come see you??? Estimate the hours in a rental car as my truck would take all day. :D :D
  Would like to see your mill up close and shoot the chit about things.
  


   Steve

[Norm]

Thanks for the effort Percy, it gets easier each time. Nice setup you have there, plus the scenery ain't too bad either.

[Bud Man]

The view looks pretty DanG good from all angles !!  I'd look into doing a little advertising for the Orange company -- EH !!

[Fla._Deadheader]

I Don'T see NOTHING wrong with them pics. Nice set-up.
  Gotta ask, you mentioned softwood = slow down??? Do you use different hook angle on softwood blades??? I wooda thought the LT-70 would chew right through softwood, much easier than hardwood ??? ???

[Bibbyman]

Looks like you're on top of that picture posting thing.  Your view looks good to me.  I like your plank floor.

[Percy]

Thanks for the responses folks.

Frank.....the blower was a bit of trial and error..heh...my first cyclone was a plastic garbage can but was too small for this particular blower.


Steve.....You are about a 14 hour drive from me one way.  It would definitly kill an afternoon :D :D :D Let me know when your commin, Ill chill the Buds, ;D

Norm & Budman....yes, we have nice scenery up here and I tend to take it for granted at times , thanks for the reminder ;)

Deadheader...Thx for the pics compliment, but yours seem clearer than mine...mebey Im too fussy, the ones on disc are soooo nice but are 30 kb.....On the hardwood/softwood thing, it has been my experience that the hardwood generally cuts nicer/faster than softwood. I asked an old sawyer about this when I got my first mill. He explained with "Take a 5 inch nail(=blade) and go  hit an inflated tire(=softwood) with about a halfassed swing of your arm...not much happens to the tire, now hit a block of ice(hardwood) with the same nail & same effort and you will get way more results."
On the hook angle thing, I know Im gonna get flak for this one but when I first started cutting this load of birch, I had about 9 sharp .045X1.50X13 degree blades left and thought Id dull them before switching to the 10 degree blades.Well the 13's feed rate was sooooo fast and smooth and never did wave at all, and regonfigureing the sharpener(changing angles,stones, etc)seemed like a waste of time so I did the whole load with the 13's. Dosent follow conventional thinking on the subject  but sure worked for me.

Bibby....Ya the wood floor is handy when you wanna attach somthing to it and the Woodmizer dont seem to care that it aint level. You were askin about the conveyor, the drive roller is made out of a piece of 4.5 inch pipe with a 1.25 inch shaft thru it(machineshop stuff(100.00 can). The idler roller is a 5 inch unit off of an old gravel crusher conveyor(free). The frame is 2 4X8X17.5 pine beams with bracing,plywood, yaddayadda. I contact cemented some of that cheap bathtub surround stuff where the belt slides. With no load, I can turn the 1.25 shaft with my hand and move the belt.

[Fla._Deadheader]

Percy. Thanks for the info. I am gonna WAYYYY increase my hook angle on this SYP. If I hurry with it, it gets wavy or the blade will start to dive, very slowly. If I slow up, the blade will rise back up and finish with a flat smooth cut ???

[D._Frederick]

Percy,
There is nothing wrong with your pictures, they look good to me. I hate to show my ignorance, but I don't understand your system. The cut stock goes up the conveyor, then slides down then hits a latch, I am lost after this. What pivots and were or how does the board drop? Could you give more detail with pictures- Please.

[Percy]

Hey D....
Dont feel that way, Im a lousy splainer. Ill take more pics and post them. In the mean time.....That wooden rollcase you see in the third pic actually tilts toward you once the latch is activated by a flitch. The fourth pic is taken from the opposite side and there is a hinge mechanism(barn door technology) that you cant see behind the post in ther center of the picture. In that pic, the rollcase would tilt away from you. The perpose of the thing is to let the edgerperson work at a comfy pace and not have to babysit the mill. The flitches can pile up and the mill can keep cutting....Pics commin. just got a better computer so ifn I get a digicam of sorts, I can USB them up elquicko..heh

[D._Frederick]

Percy,
Thanks for the reply, I understand what you are doing, you made yourself an accumulater that drops everything coming off the saw into a pile. I will wait for your pictures to show how the hinged system works. Great idea- it allow full speed ahead!!  WM has an accumulater system for there Lt 300 mill that allow the edger man to sort the lumber and slabs. It didn't allow much change back from 10K, so you saved yourself some big bucks. You have a nice thought out mill system.

[Percy]

OK D Frederick
And all others Ive confused with my contraptions.... :D
Flitch being cut


Board dragback in action


Board going up the conveyor


Board tipping rollcase after activating latch


Board waiting for futher processing and rollcase returning to level position via gravity(free)


I hope this clears things up a little    :D :D :D
 

[Percy]

Hmmmm.......I guess were back to the runt pics...sorry, My little digicam must need some tweekin, Ill try the  low quality setting and mebey the pics will grow...heh

[biziedizie]

  Hey Percy that explains things a bit better. 8) 8)

  Ya gotta explain one other thing though :D Why does it hurt when ya pee??? :D :D


   Steve

[Shamus]

Sadly, he got it from the toilet seat.
Ir jumped right up and grabbed his meat!

Obscure Frank Zappa reference I believe (?)

[woodmills1]

Madge, what's a girl like you doin ina a place like this?
another Zappa reference, but I just read Mick Fleetwood's bio of Fleetwood Mac and it seems they "knew" Madge.

[Bibbyman]

I figured it was a Canadian thing... You know it gets real cold up there.  Maybe frost bite? :-[

[D._Frederick]

Percy,
Thanks for taking the action pictures, a picture is worth a thousand words. Your system speeds up sawing, and you can get the potential out of the Lt70

[Gilman]

Percy,
Thanks for the photos and the description of your process.

[Swede]

Tank You for the pictures, Percy.  
I´ve been thinking about how to pile my wood under a roof and want to build anything looking different, the American style. Realy like your style of buildings!
 It´s frozen here today and there is just a few days I can use for that roof. We´ve got a lot of rain this year. I´m realy bad in woodworking but have made many 00 (000?) belt conveyors.  :D
Have to look at Your pictures again.

Swede.

[T_in_SC]

Nice pics and a great system, Percy!

[WoodSmith]

How does your shed roof work when it comes to the rain?
Nice setup