The Greenhorn's initial sawing season 2019-20

[Old Greenhorn]

OH I know HF is not a source for quality, but for the oddball occasional use tool that may or may not hold they are fine. Just really going to look at pick up some filler junk that I have no need to buy first quality. It's not a bad source to buy things that you are going to modify anyway. I fully understand where they are on the quality ladder. ;D

[Old Greenhorn]

Well we made the trip to HF yesterday, the wife and I. I dropped over 200 bucks on nonsense mostly. Well not exactly. I got parts and such to repair some things. I needed a trailer tire for an old small utility trailer I am going to refurb and use for moving lumber. Right now it is rotting, so might as well fix it. I also got a 2 inch coupler for it to replace the crushed one and match the rest of my trailers. I bought some cheap tools to try out some concepts before I buy good ones, plug cutters, pull saw and other odds and ends. I got a metal detector that seems to work fairly well so far, but I have to play with it. Also picked up a solar powered motion detector light that I needed for the side of the shop. This has been a very dark winter so far. Also got a new heavy duty tarp to cover the mill, the old one was porous. I got a cheap battery maintainer for the Mule because plowing season can be rough on the battery with the winch, lights, heater fan, and radio all going. nice to just pull it in and plug it in. I'll do a permanent mount in the Mule to make it simple. So now I have to put all these things to use. I will spread that out and do it in the evenings. 
 When we got home, the rain was just a mist so I skidded up a log and opened up the mill and made the last 6X8 I needed with a couple of 5/4 boards I will make into stickers. As I was finishing the 6x8 I realized the rain had crept back in and was steady. I can tolerate getting wet, but I had a lot of tools in the Mule which were getting wet, so I closed up, brought the column in the shop to dry off and put everything away around 3:30. Short day, but I got something done. I had been up since 4 so I was pretty tired anyway.
 I am off for the holiday week, so I am thinking I might get into that loft build pretty well. I arranged to borrow a timber saw (I think it's a 16" blade) from a buddy to cut those columns which will save me a LOT  time over the '4 cut method and finish with a handsaw'. I have never used a saw that big and am a little concerned I can handle it. I still have a little more framing pieces to mill up, but I think my task for today is to go find a log I can mill the 6x10x12' that I need for the main cross header I recently added to the plan. I am pretty much out of log stock. I may have to take a tree, which I would rather not do (more time spent).
 Well, time to get at it and do 'something'.

[Old Greenhorn]

Mid-day check-in while I wait for lunch to cook. Well I found my 12 footer an old 18" log that has been laying there a while. The center is really solid, but man I busted my butt getting that thing on the road and under the log arch. It was hard just to turn and point it in the right direction.


 

 I made a path to it and backed the Mule in and got the arch on it, but I could not budge it, holy cow that thing is heavy! All four tires were spinning and the skidder wheels were sinking in the mud. I finally came up with the idea of putting a chain choker around an anchor tree and pull the mule with the winch and I yanked with the Mule. 


 

It took several tries and more than a little back prying to get it to move, but finally I won out. Holy cow, what a mess of a mud trail I left up my neighbor's driveway with the discharge from the tires. I had to clean it up with a snow shovel for 100'.



 

I got the big sucker up to the mill, but now I can't roll it on. :D I'll wait till my son is over this afternoon and get him to help. I don't know how much more I can get done today, I am pooped.

[doc henderson]

If it is the Makita one, 16 and 5/16th I think, and they saw great.  looks like a big skill saw?  i was going to get one but the price went up 50% after the tsunami hit japan.

[Old Greenhorn]

Not sure yet. He had a job with 24 6x6 posts. Paid for itself in one use. Never used it again, so  I will keep it lubricated for him. ;D

[richhiway]

I like H.F. for tools that I keep in the shed or truck. They are fine for daily stuff. They also started offering higher quality lines. They just had a sale on the 2000 watt predator generator. I was surprised it runs like a top and seems fairly well made. Time will tell I just wanted a light weight quiet machine to run my power tools. It also comes with a 12V battery charger cord. 

I just went for the Milwaukee cordless chainsaw and blower. I have all Ryobi but I decided to spend the $$ and go for a higher end cordless. I think the saw will be very handy around the mill. I'll make a video of it if I have time.

That mule will pull! 

[Old Greenhorn]

OK, I am just about outta steam. Yes, @ricihhiway I think it's nice to have a battery chainsaw around the mill. My neighbor bought a ryobi and the darn thing works pretty good! Good luck with yours.

After lunch I was still pretty shot but I went back out, rolled the big log out of the way and put up some 5/4 filtches from the previous log to make stickers which I desperately needed. Then I restacked the pieces I flat stacked last weekend and I pulled the 2 2x8x12's I had at the bottom of a temp stack I made before the snow. I expect this stack will be gone in 3 weeks or less.


 
Then I closed up and dragged an old utility trailer that had been laying in the weeds for 15 years into the shop. I put a new 2" ball coupler on it to match my others, removed the rack, and swept the deck.


 



 

it is covered in moss. I will leave it in the shop to see if it dries out at all. I plan a new deck in the spring, and I don't feel like using the pressure washer in this weather.
Now I have to go fetch my son to help with that log and shuttle trucks back and forth, but I am truly shot. A LOT of heavy labor today for sure, but I am having fun.
Edit to add: I took inventory of what I had for the loft now that I have it re-stacked. I am only 5 pieces short but one is a 6x10x12'. My son and I got the big log up on the mill tonight and it was tough for the two of us. I may have to put the extension on because I didn't get it as far up as I wanted and the two of us could not slide it up. I will figure it out and find a way to cheat it a little bit. I MAY be able to get the remaining lumber I need from this one log, but if not I have another next to the mill. The log scales out at 150 board foot so in theory it should all come out of it. I am keeping track of the chart I started last week and will add this log to it when I share the full results.

[Old Greenhorn]

no updates in 4 days because I have done nothing in 4 days beyond small tasks to keep me busy for a few minutes each night so I feel like I did something. I am going CRAZY. We had snow and killed some time on that. Took the plow off last night hoping I don't need it for a while. ;D Too darn cold. I don't want to fire up the heat in the shop for just an hour or so of work. It's tough enough to go out before bed to fill the wood cart. Too cold, too soon. It's about 16 now. I can work in the dark and I can work in the cold, but I just can't get motivated to work in the cold AND the dark. Now we have a hard frozen glazed over something or other that is not a lot of fun to work on.
 Tomorrow is my last work day for the year and I am going to a gig tomorrow night, after that, it's game on to get this loft going. I wish I had that timber saw, but I have not got it yet. First order is to get the posts all cut to the same length. It will start slow with all the detail work but once I get the slow details done, it should move faster. All I seem to be able to do in the evenings is sit and think and plan my steps so I don't waste time. 

[SawyerTed]

Cold and dark doesn't motivate me either.  In fact cold and light doesn't motivate me much!  It was in the low 20's here this morning.  I kept the fire going and did inside chores until 11:00 or so.  By then the temperature was 38.  Got out and milled 25 2x8x16 white oak for side boards for a 2 ton firewood truck.

Tomorrow will be "cold" for here too.  I have a portable milling job at the local builder supply tomorrow afternoon.  

[Old Greenhorn]

Cold and dark doesn't motivate me either.  In fact cold and light doesn't motivate me much!  It was in the low 20's here this morning.  I kept the fire going and did inside chores until 11:00 or so.  By then the temperature was 38.  Got out and milled 25 2x8x16 white oak for side boards for a 2 ton firewood truck.

Tomorrow will be "cold" for here too.  I have a portable milling job at the local builder supply tomorrow afternoon.  

Everything is relative. Your cold is my warm, but judging by some of the posts on the weather thread my cold is somebody else's warm. I just want to get some work done so I can feel better. Lousy days at work dealing with the nonsense the new generation of management is dishing out. I counted 3 hours on non-value added time in my day just today alone and most days are the same. I had to fill out a form explaining our 'high risk task of the day' (it's the latest 'thing') and it took 4 of us to figure it out and fill in the blanks. I calculated the amount of man hours we spent on it combined to make a point, and when I handed it in at the meeting I said to the guy "Be very careful with this piece of paper, it cost us $500. in time to fill it out". He laughed, I don't think he got the point (everyone else did). We are doomed.
 This is why I need to come home every night and do something of value, with my hands, that I can hold up, touch, and look at, that is not a spreadsheet or checklist, it helps maintain what little sanity I have left. ;D

[Nebraska]

It was beautiful here Sunshine and I think it hit almost fifty,  hang on its coming your way. Wish I could keep it but for this time of year it was a blessing. Even milled a little chunk of basswood.

[Old Greenhorn]

well, the holiday break I have been so looking forward to started off well enough last night. I met my buddy and borrowed his timber saw (more on that in a bit), then caught some home grown music, French Coffee house standards of the 30's and 40's along with some good jazz standards by a great trio of musicians. Got to bed late, and it was too cold (10) to think about milling so I started in the shop doing the loft prep work. I had to remove a tool board and cut and rehang it, you can read about that in the 'Did something Dumb' thread and I won't repeat it here. The pain is still quite real and holding me back. The middle finger is now a cross color between purple and black. The index finger that kind of exploded is just fine, but there is so much swelling stress in that middle finger that it is sensitive to everything, especially touch. i tweaked it more than once today. It will heal.


 

Anyway, after the 'incident' I went out and finished that part of cutting and rehanging the tool board. I had to take a break after that for an hour. Too much pain, tiredness and felt really cold. I had lunch and rested by the wood stove, then went back out. I emptied all the drawers out of the bench and stacked them out of the way. 


 

Then I pulled the bench and shortened it by removing one set of drawers and making a new foot on the new end. It is ready to go, but I won't put it back until I have the corner columns set in place so I have working room to do that. Of course this is making a mess out of the shop. ;D But I got the bench trimmed so, moving on.


 

Having that done, I turned my eye toward the next step which is finish cutting the columns to length. These will support the entire loft. Last loft I built on the other side, I did these column cuts with 4 passes of the circular saw (one on each face), then finishing off the cut with a hand saw, then hand planing off any imperfections. It took a LONG time. So that's why I borrowed my buddy's timber saw. With a 16" blade it will do the whole cut in a single pass. Now I had seen this saw a few months ago and made a mental note he had it. But, it's a whole lot different when you have it in your hands. ;D It is a beast of a saw. I set up for a cut but then realized I need another person to hold that beam in place. I also realized my left hand is not in the greatest shape and you need every bit of both hands on this fella.


 

For scale, that saw is sitting on a 6x8 full sized beam. I will wait to cut these until I can get some help keeping it in place. Tomorrow I can either find somebody or do other work. I have started now, so I can't stop at least until I have the mess in the shop sort of cleaned up so I can pull a truck in if we need to.
 But the god news is I am back at and making progress even if I am short a couple of functional digits for a while. It never broke 25 today, but tomorrow they are saying 40, maybe I will get back on the mill. Handling beams with this bad hand will be tough but I gotta get it done. I am just happy to be working on my 'stuff' and in spite of my dumb move, I made pretty good progress today.

[Ljohnsaw]

I bought one of those saws used.  Lots of fun.  Has a bit of a torque kick when you start it.  I made a special board the exact width of the saw shoe to the blade.  I put that on the cut mark and then screw a temporary fence (1x2) to the beam on the other (left) side of it.  Remove the special board/spacer and make your cut.  The main reason I did that is I was cutting angles and it was easier to layout.  Note that you want the fence to be on the "keeper" side of your cut.  That way if you wander away from the fence, your beam/post will be longer than intended, not shorter!  Make your fence board long enough to come out about a foot towards you so you can get your saw lined up for your cut.  Easy Peazy.  This big blade does not like you to adjust your cut angle while cutting ;)  When you finish your cut and the piece falls away, DO NOT MOVE YOUR SAW.  Release the trigger and let it come to a complete stop.  There is so much gyroscopic power in that blade you might have a little accident if you try to walk away while running.   You can see the fence and I'm letting it spin down at the end of the cut (no sawdust flying).  I'm making multiple kerf cuts to chisel out a section.

[Old Greenhorn]

Thanks for those usage tips! This saw 'concerns' me a bit and yeah boy howdy it has both start up and shut down torque! Your fence method is better than the one i used, so I just changed. ;D I always let the saw stop before I pull it because a long time ago I caught the cord on a withdrawal and have never done that again. I am just wondering how this is gonna feel when I have it buried and if I can stay in the saddle if things go wonky. Given my left hand issues I am not attempting this without a helper to keep that beam secure (and dial 911 if needed  ;D). Your advice raises my level of comfort (just a little).

[Ljohnsaw]

I am just wondering how this is gonna feel when I have it buried

It is actually a little under powered.  If you try to steer it, it will bog down and came close to stalling it - though I was running it from a generator.

[Old Greenhorn]

Geez, I better have a good grip on that puppy if I am going to stall it. 'Equal and opposite reaction' and all that stuff.
 Well I got lucky and found myself a sucker um, generous helper who will be here around 8 and we will see how this beast cuts.

[Old Greenhorn]

Geez, I better have a good grip on that puppy if I am going to stall it. 'Equal and opposite reaction' and all that stuff.
Well I got lucky and found myself a sucker um, generous helper who will be here around 8 and we will see how this beast cuts.

Well that was amazing! In and hour and a half we did the equivalent of what took me 2 full days when I did the last loft. It takes a bit to push that saw and controll the line, BUT it never bound or balked. There was a time or two we realized I was pushing the beam and my helper away  ;D but we figured it out. I could have never done that alone. 5 posts (6x8 ) cut on two ends each and the variation from the longest to the shortest is 1/16". I can live with that. The finish this saw leaves is amazing! Like it's planed and polished. Yeah, I owe my buddy a case of his best beer for this loan. 
 OH, and @ljohnsaw , as much as I doubted you, you were right, this saw is a lot of fun!
 Break time is over. I need warmer boots so I can fire up the mill. 8)

[Old Greenhorn]

Early end of the day today because we got invited to the neighbors for a dinner party and I really need a shower and clean clothes. ;D It hit 40 today and I am soaked with sweat.
 After that last post I went back out but instead of milling I did some more shop work. My newly altered finger sensation really enjoy running a hammer drill (not) so I drilled a couple of the holes in the floor for the post pins and drilled one post to check out the fit. Then it seemed warm enough, so I uncovered the mill and took the opening cut on that big log that took two of us to load. I had to add the last length of track to give me some run-off room, I was just short. (and I thought I wouldn't need that until spring.) That was easy, but flipping that log...was not. I wound up rolling it half off the bed (mistake in judgement) and then spent the next half hour inching it back up with an 8' pry bar. Second side was fine, but flipping again was problematic and took a lot of time and sweat. At that point I am thinking 'man it's hot out' and took off my jacket. I brought it to 10 inches thick by taking a couple of nice 5/4's off of it. Apparently this is RO which explains the weight. The third side flip was a little easier, but by now my back was getting tired. Then the 4th and I got a 5/4 and a nice 8/4x 10 with wane I will trim to a 2x8. I thought I was finished at a 8x10 beam but it looked big. So I left it right there until I checked.  My cut list was in the house. Later when I checked it, sure enough that 8x10 is supposed to be a 6x10, so I have one more cut to make to finish it. I will need help moving it to the shop anyway so it will sit on the mill until some unsuspecting person comes to visit. ;D

It turned out to be a fairly nice log.


 

I found this white stuff in the middle of the log. I have no idea what to make of it, any ideas?


 

I did learn a few more tricks about winter milling. First I need to be sure that there is no snow around the track and wheels. I had cleaned the track off, but the surrounding snow served as a block against certain parts of the carriage. Also, the blade lube somehow mixes with the snow and sawdust ofand gets on the carriage rollers, freezes and builds up. I need to watch that, it was a problem. Last note: Punky rot and bark is easy to clean off with a square shovel when the wood is frozen.

Not much time or thought for photos today. It was kind of like a double bonus day for me. I was worried what I could get done with the punky fingers, but between sizing all the columns this morning, getting a few holes in the floor at mid-day, and getting that beam milled up (except for the one remaining cut), it was a banner day. Sure I did have a few moments with the overly sensitive finger and saw stars a time or two, but that's just part of the fun. Looking forward to another good day tomorrow and may start hanging some lumber in the air. 8)

[Old Greenhorn]

Well, I didn't start hanging lumber in the air today. I started on the mill while the shop was heating up and I finished off that log. Made the 6x10, edged some 2x8's and 5/4 decking boards. I am nearly done with the cut list. I may just need 1 more 2x8. but my cut list was generous so I may already have enough wood. I have one more log sitting there if I need it but I need to get that 6x10 out of the way. It's too heavy to move easily and I am not ready for it in the shop yet. I covered up the mill and I went in the shop and went back to the hammer drill to set posts. Here is where I disappointed myself.The first one was right along the outside wall near the footing and it was a bear to drill. I think I hit stone so that took a lot of effort and time. The poured floor there has a little spalting so it is not quite flat and level. I will have to do some shimming to get the column square. I also had to add a relief slot  across the back of the column for a run of 1/2" EMT that goes through. Fit like a glove. Then I had to do some layout for the last column in the square (but not the last column). I wanted to make sure this thing comes out pretty square as a unit and things match. Just because my plan, by eye, made sense, doesn't mean the math would work out. Turns out the building is square within and 1/8' or less and the column landed where I wanted it. I drilled the hole in the floor, drilled the post, and did a test set to make sure it fitted and lined up. This one was a bear because not only did the masonry drill take a little walk, but so did the hole in the column. 8 times I had that 170# post up and down checking things and trying to make it fit right. By the time I finally got it I was physically shot. Nothing left in the tank. I still have one column left to drill and I had hoped to have it done today, but I am not wasting time wishing for things that didn't happen. Every day is progress and that is all that matters. It will just push out the end date to whenever. Yesterday I accomplished a lot more than I expected, so on the whole, we are still doing good. I can tell you my two crushed fingers were reminding me all afternoon how much they 'enjoyed' the hammer drill.
 I have said it before, but it bears repeating: I am not a carpenter, I am not a woodworker, I am not very good at this stuff at all. (Heck, I am not even a logger but I stayed at a holiday inn just last month.) I just do my best to overbuild important things where somebody could get hurt and follow good accepted practices. But my execution is always just a little frayed. Cuts that don't line up perfectly, a 1/16 out of square here and there. I take a lot longer than I should to make things fit right. It has always bothered me that I can't seem to do it as well as a lot of people I have watched, worked with, or seen here on the forums. But with each project i try to get a little better and try new things. Tonight I was laying out on paper my plan for a step joint for the front beam header on this thing. I want it to appear from the front as if there is a solid red oak beam spanning from wall to wall instead of seeing the wall headers at each end. So I am going to hide them with a step in the beam and just two spikes on each end tying into the headers. It's a very simple thing, but I have never done it so this is a good place to try it. It will work, regardless of my skill, but I want to take the time to see if I can make it pretty. This might be my precursor to messing around with some timber frame joints, but that is in the future...way in the future. This is also why I am doing the floor decking on a 45° angle. I have never done it before and I want to see if I can and how it will look and function. I am even planning of planing it all the same thickness, another new adventure for simple minded me. It's all a learning process and if it goes wrong, I will know not to do that again.
 I just wish I had more gas in the tank. I could be out there right now banging out the work, but I am pooped. Getting older just sucks sometimes. I'll hit the rack early and hopefully be back at it early tomorrow. I have to quit by noon and do honey-do's and I should probably start my Christmas shopping too. ;D It will get done, but doggone I am getting slower.

Oh, and by the way, if you recall that little experiment I am doing about calculated board footage verses actual yield., I have  not forgotten that and am keeping detailed notes as I go through the logs I listed. I have one log left, and I will post the results when it's done. I can say it's been very interesting for me. (152 BF out of that last log I milled.)

i believe this might be the last lumber i need for the build except for the deck lumber, which is nearly done also.


 

[ManjiSann]

Nice progress!!! 8)

That's a big circular saw!  ;D ;D 

Keep up the good work and try not to put too much blood into it 

Brandon

[doc henderson]

I guess that is where the phrase, "blood sweat and tears"  came from!

[Old Greenhorn]

No tears Doc (yet). But I have a ways to go yet. ;D I don't think I can get this done by the end of the holiday break. but hopefully I can have it all framed up and just have the floor to finish. Then I have to go borrow a planer, run a 220 outlet for it and then plane the wood and do the deck. One day at a time, right?

[doc henderson]

you need 3 teenagers following you so they can learn to show up and get er done.  I am sure there were some tears... but what happens in the shop, stays in the shop.  :D Best Regards and enjoy your holiday and accomplishments.

[thecfarm]

doc is right about the teenagers part. I work in a hardware store. We hire them and they have no idea what anything is. If I send them for a ¾ inch bolt they would have no idea if it was a small one or a big one. Forget about asking them for a fine thread or coarse thread bolt.No idea how to cut copper pipe. I am not blaming them,but I followed my Dad around just like a puppy dog,poor guy, ;D even when I left home I did. But I learned all this stuff. I realize no one knows everything,but these guys know nothing!!! But they do ask questions. Some it sinks in and others I can tell,can care less. It's almost like,I will never need to learn this. : 

[Nebraska]

Nope they can hardly fix a thing, but they can sure make a stupid looking face into their phone and send it out on snap chat, or barely write a sentence using cursive writing, or even look you in the face and have a short conversation.  Ok sorry old dad rant,  I'm sure my dad thought I was special too with my head phones and walkman. 
@Old Greenhorn glad you've gotten some time to get stuff done, all I've gotten done lately is drive by the mill and log pile and look at it.  Hope your fingers heal quickly we've all been there, enjoy the holiday season.