The Greenhorn's initial sawing season 2019-20

[richhiway]

Hang in there. We are staying home as much as possible. Getting a lot of little long neglected projects done. Milled a few days.

Just be extra safe. Not a good time to need medical care because of a preventable injury!

Take Care.

[Old Greenhorn]

Man I tell you guys, it was slow dawning on me, but I was really depressed about this whole thing going on. The forum being my safe place where I could get away from life and read and communicate with good folk about things I loved. I maybe didn't agree with everything I read, but respected the points of view. Last week, it plum wore me out with all the 'stuff' being posted. Not that there was anything wrong with it, just that there was so much of it. And it's all fine, it was just that with the news stations, work stuff, public advisories, executive orders, etc, coming here and seeing more of it, just plum wore me out. I was in a funk and after work didn't feel like doing much. I got some stuff done on the weekend, but not as much as I would have liked. I am concerned about my family, my young and older neighbors and my co-workers. It wears on a body, you know? Yeah, I suppose you do.
 Today, for some reason, I sort of broke through all that. Yeah, the issues are still there and getting worse but I think I am adjusting. My sister, the last of my immediate family, is fine. my wife and I are fine and my kids and grandkids are fine, so far. I should be happy for that, and I am. Until to today, I hadn't thought of that or in quite that way. I do know this thing is getting worse and we are not over the hump yet. I had better toughen up and get adjusted if I am going to get everyone through this, so that's what I am doing now. I recognize now that I have been pretty depressed, not sleeping right or on a regular schedule, so I am changing that today. I hit the rack at a regular time last night, got up a bit early and worked a 'regular' day, quit at 4:30 and got out in the shop, did some sanding, some epoxy, and urethaned another coat on a mess of stuff. Had dinner, took a long shower, and am now relaxing before another regular bedtime. Having spent years responding to other's emergencies and now being done with that, it's been an odd adjustment for me. I cringe every time I hear the scanner with another EMS call for my former crew and they add to the dispatch 'Respiratory precautions are required for this call'. That should be me climbing onto the ambulance and pulling gear on the way to the call. I pray for them. It's a numbers game. A lot like roulette. I pray for them and feel a bit guilty I am sitting home and safe.Yeah, I did my time and have my scars both visible and otherwise, but it never leaves you.
 Anyway, all that was to just say that I am trying to come back. I tried catching up with all the reading here, but I am too far behind, just glad to see the virus posts are dwindling to a very manageable level I can handle. Trying to get back in the groove. Sorry I have no photos to post, you have seen too much already of the stuff I have on the bench now, just picture a fresh coat on everything. ;D Sunday afternoon I shot a short video that is a little tour of the shop for my FB business page. You have to go there to see that but it is nothing special. (It took 6 hours to upload!) Maybe I should have put it on you tube and linked it, but who knows.
 Anyway, trying to get back into the groove here (I think I said that last week before I knew what that really meant) and I think I am making a little progress now. Everybody please keep themselves safe. I am worried about reading of the first one of our members that gets hit with this thing. I already have two friends with it (both had NYC connections), one is just past the critical stage (barely got through it) and recovering, the other is not quite there yet. Both are touring musicians.

[richhiway]

 

 
Here is a idea for you. If you could get someone to bend the metal, they are easy to build.
I restored this one with Cherry. You could also make the legs from wood.

[Old Greenhorn]

@richhiway yes, I do like that idea. In fact, my wife and I are always looking in junk and salvage shops for legs we can use of any type. Getting them fabbed up would not be as cheap as buying new and the new ones run $50-150 for a set. Rite Leg does not yet make a set with a back, but when they do, it's on my order list. If I have to pay $100 for a pair then I would probably need to get 180-200 for a bench that in the end looks a lot like something they can buy in a big box store for 75 bucks. Tough sale. I am looking at making wood end legs when I find the right log(s).

 Speaking of logs, I am up early today, just headed out to load the truck with my gear and hook up the trailer and head on over to another members place and drop a tree or two. He is clearing around his house for new planting and I need some logs to finish that last loft. Both of us, with our wives have been cooped up in our respective homes for weeks and are looking to get some air, exercise, and sweat going. We should not have any problem maintaining our distance, and I have masks in the truck if that changes. ;D
 Got my saws fired up last night just to test. Had to replace (again) the kill switch in the 382 clone. I had an original switch in there which I had repaired once because it would not short and kill the saw. But now the saw wouldn't start (open?). So I put in an OEM husky switch I had ordered a while ago and that doesn't shut the saw off. I guess there is a reason they sell these in 3 packs. :D Guess I will order some more till I find one that works.

 As it turns out, my son is having a buddy coming over late this afternoon to lift the utility body back on his truck after replacing half the rear frame with new steel. The buddy is bringing his mini-ex with a log grapple to do the lifting, just the same way they got it off. Now if I time this right I should arrive home while they are doing that, and with a trailer full of logs to empty, so this may just work out. :D

[WDH]

Rite Leg does not yet make a set with a back

They do have a system for adding a back, not sure if they are in full production yet. 

[Old Greenhorn]

OK, I am so tired I don't feel like eating dinner, but the wife is cooking now, so I guess I will do as I am told. Today was a day I had been waiting for, not that is was a super special day, but I finally got to spend a day doing hard work, and with good company to boot. Got over to NYBHH's place today and he had 2 trees that need dropping. One was an EWP about 100' feet or so and 23" dbh if I recall, that is sort of in his 'front yard' and we had to drop it across the driveway and lawn. Not a big deal really ,but a big tree nine the less and well within reach of his new construction if it went tideways. We were ore concerned I think with the trees we wanted to thread it through and not cause damage. Brandon cut that one and the top only landed a few feet to the right of the mark we had set. More importantly, there was no damage or scarring the the trees that are staying, so win-win there. I think it took and hour or so to buck it up, haul all the branches to a mulching pile to be chipped in the coming days and then load my trailer with some of the logs. My trailer is only rated for 1,500# and we were only a few hundred over that with these two logs. I'll go fetch more tomorrow.


 
Then it was my turn to cut one and we took down that big ash that we looked at last year the first time I visited. It's big and right near his driveway. It leafed out a little last year, but not much/ Looked like a lot of dead stuff up top and there was a bunch about this tree we were both concerned about, but we talked it through, then looked some more, and talked again and agreed on a plan. It worked out just fine and she came down pretty much as planned. The top was about 20" short of the expectation we both had, which was good because it was the base of the power pole that feeds hi home. ;D She was a long one.


 

 He bucked from the top, and I bucked from the bottom up as I had the longer bar on the 372. A little heavy to move but we got it cleaned up in short order.


 
So we had some lunch his wife thoughtfully made and boy those brats went down good with a nice beer. We cleaned up the tools, did some other stuff and I headed home around 3:30 or so. I got home and the mini-ex was not here yet, so I unloaded my own logs.


 

Geez you gotta be SO careful to not even touch those log ends or you have sap dripping off your fingers. This is my first milling experience with white pine. I am learning quick.

So having all that done, and having been up since 5. I thought it was beer-thirty. But apparently not. The mini-ex showed up and I got called into service to drag the truck out of the shoo and help with spotting and alignment and generally lend my wisdom and learned eye to the operation.


 

Anyway, I am tired tonight. GOOD and tired. I feel like I earned my day today and had a fine time working with a like mind and we accomplished something of value together.  There is a lot to be said for that. Tomorrow I'll make another run up and grab some more logs. Then I am going to learn about milling Pine. :D

[Nebraska]

Looks good glad you got a bunch done, my friend who runs an excavator and I dropped two black hills spruce trees in his mother inlaws yard, not  nearly as nice as the whack of logs you just got, my plan for it is dimensional lumber, the price was right took me about two hours to drop, limb, load and haul home. Glad you are well,  don't watch too much news it gets to me as well.

[WV Sawmiller]

OGH,

   Glad to see you had a safe and productive day. I sawed WP for a neighbor friend a couple years ago. His brother was stacking as I sawed and he was cutting and bucking logs so 30 minutes after cut I had them on the mill. One had a crotch that dripped like honey in a bee tree when I cut into it. I spent hours with a WD40 soaked rag cleaning up the sap on my mill. It built up so much it was affecting the bed height.

   Looks like that ash stayed pretty intact. I cut one 2 weeks ago and it shattered everywhere when it hit. I did get a really nice 15' butt log with 300 bf of framing. I like to find good clear ash with 12" wide boards and cut it about 3/4" or less and dry and plane to about half inch X 12" wide and 18-24 inches long for cutting boards. I made several boards like that out of this one. We have such a cutting board we've been using several years and it works great for big projects.

   Stay safe out there.

[Old Greenhorn]

Funny I only just found out during our last words during the 'pre-drop briefing' that this tree had leafed out a little last year, so it was not fully dead. But it was certainly fully EAB destroyed. It had an average MC in the 40's and the center was actually wet when we bucked it. It hit really hard and shattered the top off of a bluestone rock it landed on. He got some really nice saw logs out of it. The butt log he couldn't lift with the tractor, we just dragged it to the mill.  8) Cutting boards? I gotta try that.

[nybhh]

It was a good day for sure.  Thanks again for the help.  Gonna have a long day of chipping tomorrow and may drop that other ash behind the house while all the gear is out.  I'm tired too but the beer is going down too good at the moment to retire.  Have to do my part and help the local brewery/restaurant stay in business!  See you for that next load of logs tomorrow.

[Old Greenhorn]

A HA! Got you to come out of the woodwork! Add to that the first photo of you as far as I know on the forum and it's a banner day. Yes, I had a blast today and enjoyed that more than you would guess. It feels good to be tired from work and not stress. All my gear is still in the truck, so I can lend a hand with that if you need it. "Look for me, coming from the north, at about 9:30 am" (ish).  :D (Doggone though I am tired, but you are right, the beer soothes my old bones and is just starting to take hold.)

[Old Greenhorn]

Well, up at 5 again today and still pretty sore from yesterday, which I take as a good thing. Nice to be doing some work that pushes me a bit after too many weeks of light shop work. I caught up on my reading here, did some other stuff, then headed up to NYBHH's place and got there around 9:30 (it is Sunday after all even if all the churches are closed up. I saw a neat sign on one small Church tucked up in the woods not far from Bradon's place, it said "This building is closed, but Christ is still working." ). I had 3 logs left plus a stout 3 and a half foot stubby one. I realized it would be folly and pushing my luck and my trailer to try to get those 3 logs on in one load. I would rather blow time on an extra loop than blow a day or more repairing a broken axle or spring. So we loaded a 10 and an 8 footer on the first load, I brought those home while Brandon was chipping up the tops from the pine. Skidded and staged those by the mill and talked the wife into making the second run with me for company.  Shot back over and loaded up the 11 footer (my trailer is 10') and that short piece. I will make something silly out of that. It was a sweep section between two straighter sections. I only took it because it was one less thing Brandon would have to deal with, but then I started thinking of ideas to play with and I might try that method of freehand chainsaw milling to split it in half. I dunno, that's for some random Sunday afternoon when I want to mess around. While I chained everything down Brandon's lovely wife came out and we had a nice chat about trees and dogs, and other stuff for a half hour or so. It was nice to just 'visit for a bit' and we were all about 15 feet or more apart, in case anyone is concerned. So now I have logs at the mill.


 
 We bucked up a total of 6 logs from this tree (counting that short chunk) and it scaled out at 3,750# and 625 BF. Brandon noted that two of the logs have a pretty good sweep and there will of course be loss there for sure, but this is more than enough than what I need for the loft. The log lengths were cut to match the cut list which is why they are a mix of lengths.
 After I unloaded the second load we had lunch and I was already pooped and still sore. I must have fallen asleep in my chair for a while ;D. I got back out around 3pm and cleaned up the logs, put away the trailer, unloaded my stuff, and parked the truck. Then I tried to get that 11 footer up on the mill, but the sweep made it hard and I just could not budge it, but along about then my son showed up and the two of us just managed to get it. He went back to his stuff and I set up and took the first cut of the spring:


 
8)
 Those 10 degree blades cut really nice in that white pine. I needed to get at least 3 2x10' out of this and 1 2x8, and 1 2x4. I made a 10" cant and got 5 2x10's which I can make all the 11 foot stuff I need from it, Plus I got some 6/4 side boards I can use for the random flooring sizes when I edge them up. That log scaled out at 120 BF and Brandon and I both agreed there would be pretty good loss because of the sweep. Best I can figure, before edging and re-saws, I got 124 BF out of it. I am pretty happy with that.
 What I am not happy with is the mill isn't cutting flat. I knew when I reset it up behind the shop it was a quick and dirty leveling and setup. Then I milled all that lumber for the loft I built in December-February and noticed than that I had a lot of tweaking to do, but today I had forgotten about that mostly. So now I see it and will have to dedicate time to getting it right before I go further. It really seems to show up in the pine a lot more than in the hardwoods. BUT, I got a start on some milling. I called it a day around 7pm and came in for dinner and a well needed shower. Pine sap brings showering to an entirely different level.
 GEEZ! This sap is a pain. Brandon gave me great advice yesterday when I took the first logs. He said "just use gloves you can throw away when your done", and of course, this is true, but he also should have added pants and long sleeved shirts to the list, as well as a hat and, Oh yeah, SKIN! :D ;D
 Anyway, another very good day. Lots of hard work and I should sleep OK tonight. Tomorrow is back to the desk job right here at this very same desk for the 3rd week in a row. I was supposed to go in this week, but one of the other engineers had a project he needs to be there for so there is no sense in both of us being there. I will go back in the following week.
 I hope everybody has a good safe work week, if you are working, and that you get by fine if you are not. I sense that three is some light at the end of the tunnel coming soon. Not that it will be over by any stretch, but we should start seeing some light soon. We have already lost too many good folks.

[doc henderson]

I like WD-40 to help as a sticky pine sap remover, get a little bottle for the shower.  a little behind the ear, drives those gals crazy!   :D

[Old Greenhorn]

Actually I was using that on the blade while cutting, worked well. Didn't think of taking care of myself as well as the blade, I guess.  :D ;D

[nybhh]

As long as you keep it out of your hair, it's nothing good soap and a long shower can't take care of ;)!  In summer with short sleeves, it was always the underside of my forearms that bore the brunt of it for some reason. Shame to hear the mill isn't cutting  level but once you do get it dialed in, pine cuts like butter as long as you mind the knotty sections.  

As you know, EWP is what I learned how to mill with and do I enjoy it, mess and all, but part of that is partially because it just isn't as precious as the hardwood to me so I take larger opening cuts and with logs that size, keep to the heart wood as much as possible, and just don't stress about it as much as hardwoods.  "There is always another pine tree that need to come down".  The heart wood doesn't blue stain nearly as easy either.  Reserve judgement until after you are finished building.  No one should have to pre-drill holes in construction lumber!

[richhiway]

 



Nice to get some good pine logs. you need a little boat winch on the mill to get those big logs on.
Over here I started the addition to the saw shed that will be the mill head "garage". 

[Old Greenhorn]

Man I like that little worm gear chain saw thingy! Can you do thru mortises with it? DO you have any videos of it cutting? Who makes that? And Yeah, I need a garage for my mill too, it's on the list (a very long list).
 Speaking of projects, here is one we decided to abandon. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but as I recall there was beer involved.


 
 I think it was supposed to be a doodle bug with a short wheel base for short turning in the woods and the back end would have a skidding plate and winch. There was a cut-out to handle the gas produced by the driver. The back seat was for the winch operator. But we ran out of time (and sobered up) and now it is folded up in the dumpster along with the falt dump body that came off of it. My son had gotten it for a parts truck, and there wasn't much left of it.

 Today I only had time and energy for a walk-about at lunch time. The sap is still running out of those logs and there are icicle-like drips hanging off of it.


 
 Tonight after work, I went out and went over the mill with a level again and made some adjustments. I also put on a new blade and threw some pine-sol in the lube tank (how much is enough?). I edged some boards and it cut straight. SO I am back up and running and will keep an eye on it as I cut more.
 I got an order request today, sort of an RFQ. He needs hardwood for an old truck restoration. It seems like every board is a different size. I am going to have to transcribe it into something I can work with and he followed up with a note to ask if I could cut 1/4" boards.  ;D Sure! BUT....
 Its about 30 boards with thicknesses of 3/4, 1", 1-3/4, 2-1/2, 1-1/2, 5/8, 2-1/4,and 2". Widths include 10", 2-1/2, 6, 8, 3/4, 7, 2-3/4, 3", 2, 6, and 8". I am going to need a tally man to keep track of all this. :D But he is a friend and he is retired and is restoring this truck with his son, so.... I will figure something out. I think the truck is a '23 but don't know anything about it yet. He does nice car work and runs a car show or two. Anything for a laugh, right? :D

 I am in my third week working at home, just me and the wife, and my son in and out working in the shop on his stuff, and the rare short visit from the grand boys. During the workday, I am producing more than normal with no distractions BUT there is a lot more stress, I am getting emails, skype messages, and doing phone conference/skype sessions daily. Everybody wants everything right now because they figure you are working at home and can do that for them. I try, but sometimes there are 3 things hitting critical mass at the same moment and I begin to loose it. Plus, trying to work through very technical explanations in an email is not the most efficient way to do things and can be very painful and time consuming. I am concerned about this virus and do not take anything for granted, but it sure would be easier to go into the office for a day or two and get things taken care of. AT the same time, I am trying to see if I can get my company to work a deal and move my retirement up somehow. My birthday is on 5/17 but there is the issue of being insured until Medicaid takes over. If I am uninsured for even a week, it becomes a mess. They have had our site reduce our headcount by 7 people this week. They managed to do that by counting retirements, overtime, and some other finagling. But the corporate greed is never satisfied, so I know they will be coming back for more. Our CEO is demanding to maintain profitability at 'normal' levels in spite of the world situation (this from a guy that picked up about a 15 million bonus last week). So heads will roll. For once, I am going to try to see if I can make their greed work in my favor and get me out a month early so I don't have to deal with this stuff anymore. I am tired of these guys. All they have to do is agree to cover my insurance for 4-6 weeks (maybe less), my severance and vacation will take care of the rest. I have been shafted by every company I have worked for in the last 50 years (except one short tenure). I am hoping this time I can get what I need instead of the other way around. Any body want to take odds on this? :D The ball sits in their court right now and I am not holding my breath, knowing who has the ball, very low confidence. They never act until their back is at the wall.
 If I didn't have the work stress and I could just worry about my wife and I, things would be a lot easier. I have never looked for the easier way, but this time, this one time, I am leaning in that direction. Right now, for probably the first time in my life. I have to think about my own home and family and peace of mind. It's got to be my turn one of these times, right? My wife is 70, I want to keep her home and safe.

[thecfarm]

That project does not look bad, but back seat needs some rethinking.    I guess the dumpster is the answer to that.

[Old Greenhorn]

That project does not look bad, but back seat needs some rethinking.    

Yeah, you're right. We realized we did not consider a proper place for the cooler at all. Major design flaw right there.

[Ljohnsaw]

Hey, I'd play hard ball with them.  If they just want to do a staff reduction and let you go, call it age discrimination!  Then they would be willing to make a deal to keep you happy.

[Old Greenhorn]

Well, not being driven by pure greed myself, I never know what they are thinking, but I don't think I would be very high up on their hit list in most cases. I appealed to their unstated desires, which is to keep the younger or newer hires, which are cheaper than an old warhorse like me. My management does not understand the value of experience and for once I hoped to use that to my advantage. They only know how to look at dollars, because that is what the colleges teach these days. We will just see what these guys do with it, if anything. I have been working through worse things over my career, I can work through this too if I have to. I am just tired and want out so these guys can beat each other to death while I am blissfully unaware and working out in the woods. :D

[richhiway]

That is a $20.00 garage sale Skil worm drive saw with a Prazi beam cutter attachment the I got on ebay for a hundred bucks. Works pretty good. 

Would COBRA health insurance work for you if you left early? 

[Old Greenhorn]

Well that saw is a pretty neat setup no  matter how it came together. I never see those worm drive saws in yards sales that haven't been beat to death beyond repair. Good on ya.

Yeah, cobra would work, but last time I checked they were getting about 3 grand a month for the package I was offered. That ain't happening. I will be happy to let the company pay that, if they want to make a deal.

As it turned out, around 10am I got a message from one of the supervisors that they needed some programming done. "When?" asked, "Well, the guy is standing here in my office and the machine is set up, but he needs a program." Really?! you didn't know this work was going on the machine a week ago? You didn't think to mention it earlier, or before he started the machine set up? Well I can't do the programming from home. None of that software works over VPN, so I had to pack my stuff up on 5 minutes notice, drive in and reset it up, then figure out what they needed. I was not a happy camper. I did the program he needed and the next two coming down the pike. Turns out somebody was asked to tell me all this a week ago and he dropped the ball.
 Stressed as I was going in after hearing on the daily management meetings that tempers were short and stress was high in the shop, it was good to go in. Turns out the info in the management meeting was all wrong, but it was delivered by a guy who is pretty much hated in the shop, so.... The men and women in our place have their act together, they are following all the protocols without prompting, keeping things clean, and keeping distance and they are quite relaxed, except when a service guy or somebody like that comes in from the outside and nobody knows where he has been. Then they get testy. But I think having all the salaried people working from home really reduces the stress in the shop because those folks are not going around and making change requests and asking for other things and in general adding to the normal stress of the job. At least that's how I see it.
 SO I got my work done and took the time to plot out and file all the design work I have finished in the last 3 weeks, it was a lot and I was glad to get it done, neat and clean. I left early and brought home an office chair that was in the recycle bin and is much better for my back that the 25 year old chair I have been using at home, which was not designed for 9 hours of sit time everyday.
 I got home around 4:30 and headed to the mill and edged up the remaining boards from that first pine log. I am getting better at avoiding the sap and have none on me as I type this.  :D SO that felt good, but I'm tired.
 I also learned that my neighbor across the road, in his infinite wisdom, invited an artist friend to come up and camp at his house and paint a mural on the side of his garage, he said he needs the money and is broke. So in other words, he invites a guy to come up, from the most infected city on the planet to stay in our town, one of the least infected, to get a cheap mural. He says the guy is not coming in his house and will eat, live, and take care of his bodily functions outside. Can't wait to hear how this goes. Hopefully the rain and chilly temps will send him home soon. From my point of view, he just contaminated a neighborhood that has done a really good job of staying home and clean. Everyone I have talked to here has been at least 3 weeks, most 4 in their homes, just going out on 15 minute shopping trips to get what they need once a week. Stuff like this aggravates me and causes stress on everyone.
 Life goes on, we deal with what comes, right? One day at a time, one foot in front of the other.

[APope]

I get those messages that I GOTTA come in for a fire that should have been handled through regular channels. It makes me want to put gasoline and dynamite under the bridge when I burn it.
My point being, if I were as close to retirement as you, I would encourage things a bit... by not doing their bidding very well.

[Old Greenhorn]

I get those messages that I GOTTA come in for a fire that should have been handled through regular channels. It makes me want to put gasoline and dynamite under the bridge when I burn it.
My point being, if I were as close to retirement as you, I would encourage things a bit... by not doing their bidding very well.

Yeah, you may be right, but it is just not my style. I have worked in places where co-workers asked me how I dealt with all the abuse and yet every day I gave them 100% and they could not understand why. I would tell them 
"It's simple, they can mentally beat me, abuse me, and do what ever they want, yes it is demoralizing, but I need to walk out that door each day and know that I gave them a good days work, because in the end, they are paying me for a job and I need to do that job as well as I can to keep my own pride and self esteem. If I stop doing a fair days work, I stop respecting myself, and THAT is something I cannot live with."
 A person has to take pride in the work they do, and if they don't, well it's all down hill from there and the ba----rds have won. I do the job I signed up for. That's just the way I am. I keep my promises even if they don't keep theirs.