LT40 Rescue

[Brob1969]

Your chipper would actually come in quite handy as a means of waste disposal. This is what chips look like after 4 years of being in a pile. Nothing added, never turned, just squished into a pile.

This is exactly the kind of thing I need to show my wife.   Living in Florida, we need organic material for the garden constantly. 

[GAB]

Questions for the experts:
I have heard that nothing grows under a walnut tree - will walnut sawdust in the garden hinder the growth of veggies?
Will walnut sawdust around blueberry bushes stunt their growth or worse kill them?
Is there any species of wood whose sawdust should not be used in the garden?
GAB

[Southside]

Yes, you will need organic matter there, the decomposition never stops in your soil.  I don't sell the stuff in that photo - it goes onto our farm ground, but I do sell one and two year old composted chips for $20 / yard, they are well broken down and make a great soil amendment.  

Just know that chip mulch will tie up nitrogen while it's breaking down so plan accordingly.  

To answer your question GAB I don't separate out any of the sawdust or chips, even the walnut, it all goes into the compost pile.  That being said, "The solution to pollution is dilution" so a relatively small volume of walnut in 2,000 tons of compost doesn't cause me any issues.  A straight 55 gallon drum of it onto a garden might be a different matter but I suspect the juglone in the walnut looses it's potency after the tree is dead.  I do know there have been conflicting studies of the impact it will have on horses foundering that make it look more like an urban legend than fact.   

[Andries]

Do people actually go ice fishing?  I thought it was just a myth....

Not a myth, and as with all fishing, may be be open for 'embroidering' around the facts and figures.
Truth be told, opening enough ice for the boat, as OldGreenhorn mentioned further back, did turn out to be a lot of work. We old Canadian hearty stock needed a new modus operandi. 
So, after dock building, we'd take the truck out on the lake for a spin and stick the poles out of the window. Trolling for walleye in four wheel low worked out best.

In-dash depth finder isn't an option on the old Dodge, but she holds a lot of fish! 😆

[Andries]

Brob1969, if you could indulge your highly focused elders as (Yellowhammer) takes us far away from your very well executed and most excellent thread, I needed to show you what a small horse power WM can do.
 
This is a smallish fishing shack made with an LT30. . . and yes, that is ice on the lake. Weird, eh?
Sorry for rising to YH's bait, and derailing your thread.   😆

[Brob1969]

Andries that's one heckuva fishing shack!

[Andries]

Brob1969, it's actually a guest cottage for a very well off client.
All in the name of the "fishy truths" re ice fishing that YH enjoys. A NorthSouth rib poking tradition.
Plesse don't let us derail your thread, which I'm enjoying.

[YellowHammer]

That ice shack looks better than my house!  

And I would never have to mow the lawn!  

On the waste question, if your burning laws allow, transform it into ashes and spread that out. Burning concentrates the minerals, decreases the bulk, and sweetens the pH.  It is a an incredible soil amendment.    

[Brob1969]

 

 

 

 

 Last Thursday I ordered a box of Ripper 37s from Jerry's Resharp.  The website still shows the order status as "pending".  I do hope to get the blades this week as I'd like to try this saw out this weekend!

I have now spent several hours and a few wire cup wheels on the angle grinder cleaning up the rusted guide rails.
The rails I have worked feel smooth to the touch, but still have slight dimples where the rust cut into the steel. You can see from one of these pictures the texture.  I got the majority of the top rail done, and a section of the bottom done where I moved the gantry.  

Do I need to get the rails perfectly smooth?  Or will it cut well as-is?

[handhewn]

When I was running the 60" circular with the 5/16" Kerf I made a lot of sawdust. To get rid of it I had a sign I'd put out by the road that said "free sawdust". That helped much but I lost many potential takers if I had black walnut sawdust mixed in as it will kill a horse. Those people with horses always asked if there was any mixed in before they loaded up.

[donbj]

 

 

 

 Last Thursday I ordered a box of Ripper 37s from Jerry's Resharp.  The website still shows the order status as "pending".  I do hope to get the blades this week as I'd like to try this saw out this weekend!

I have now spent several hours and a few wire cup wheels on the angle grinder cleaning up the rusted guide rails.
The rails I have worked feel smooth to the touch, but still have slight dimples where the rust cut into the steel. You can see from one of these pictures the texture.  I got the majority of the top rail done, and a section of the bottom done where I moved the gantry.  

Do I need to get the rails perfectly smooth?  Or will it cut well as-is?

Those rails are just fine. The rollers only track on about 1/16-1/8 of an inch anyway. Rust anywhere else doesn't matter for operation but it's good to keep them in good shape in that regard. Just give a good clean./light sanding along the tracking surface and your good to go.

[Andries]

i like donbj's answer.
Once you get your first thousand board feet cut, the track and rollers will have smoothed each other out. It's cold rolled and case hardened steel, so if they're a bit rough, you may wear out a set of top rollers a bit sooner.
If you're milling resin-rich wood, bumps of pitch will squash onto the rail and make it bumpy. There are plastic top rail scrapers that fit under the roller covers, front and back. Their job is to keep the rails clean. 
Those scrapers are probably more important than a few rust pits in the rail itself.

[Brob1969]

Thanks guys, that's what I was hoping to hear.  I really appreciate this forum and all the collective knowledge here.  I hope that one day all the experience I've gained going through this mill will be valuable or at least encouraging to someone else in the future. 

I managed to get a topcoat of orange over the primer this evening.  Eventually I would like to paint the entire mill, but for now I am focusing on the main operational parts and ensuring that I get rid of the rust before it becomes problematic.  So far I haven't found anything structural. 

 

[Magicman]

Congrats and hopefully that paint on the top of the top rail will not cause you a paint buildup problem on your cam followers.  It shouldn't but just be on the lookout and clean it off if it causes a problem.

[Brob1969]

My thought was to run the head back and forth a bit to give me the exact run of the mill, then go back with a flapwheel to take it back to bare metal and keep it lubed with ATF.  I wanted to be sure to get between the bed and the guiderail really well and just sprayed the whole thing in the process.  

I plan to keep it lubed well moving forward.  I should have bought stock in a wire wheel company before I started this!

[Southside]

Gotta love those chunks of wire that break free and impale into your arm....

[Brob1969]

Gotta love those chunks of wire that break free and impale into your arm....

More than one so far for sure!

[Brob1969]

I just ordered 4 more wheels off Amazon.  Same brand and same size that I was paying $17 locally is $8 online.  
They arrive next day. 

[Magicman]

 

 
It went in, came out, and then went back in. 

[Brob1969]

It went in, came out, and then went back in.  

Ouch!  I'll bet pulling it out with needle-nose pliers was fun!

[Southside]

Stainless steel sutures.  

[Durf700]

at the rate of progress your going at I would repaint the entire mill before you get sawing with it!!  it looks awesome!!  you seem to be able to get quite a bit done quickly..  keep at it!

looking fantastic!

[donbj]

Really enjoying this thread. Don't have a lot to contribute as you have a good head on your shoulders for this. Like how you operate.

[Brob1969]

I got a box of blades delivered today!

I have to change out the drum switch on the drive unit tomorrow morning, then I am going to put a log on the deck!

[donbj]

I got a box of blades delivered today!

I have to change out the drum switch on the drive unit tomorrow morning, then I am going to put a log on the deck!

Stick that old blade you have on it to test run it just to make sure everything is running true.. Hate to smoke a blade if something goes sideways on you. Not that I don't have faith in your work :D