Whatcha Sawin' 2022 ??

[WDH]

Steve, it is a slippery slope.  You are a goner :D. 

[Old Greenhorn]

One good thing is that you will find plenty of company deep down in that rabbit hole. :D :laugh:

[terrifictimbersllc]

Woo hoo x 2

[Larry]

Michigan is no longer a safe haven for trees now that olcowhand has a mill! ;D

[WV Sawmiller]

 

My son was going to come tomorrow to bring his larger tractor  to help be move this log that was too big for my little JD, Threatening weather made him change his plan and he called and came today. The location  and terrain made it too big for him to safely move too so we decided to move it downhill a few yards and bring the mill through the yard and set it up in the edge of the pasture. My ATV pulled it up the slope just fine but I forgot the direction of the loading arms and it was facing the wrong way so we had to spin it by hand which was another chore. We got set up and rolled this beast on the mill. It yielded 342 bf of lumber. Just the lumber weighed a little over 1100 lbs per the toolbox and it filled most of my 2X8 order. I have one-two more that should finish the customer order. I thought the log was several inches bigger at the little end. The mill had no problem lifting and turning it. I was getting 2X8 and 2X4s and after some whittling I got an 8" & a 4" cant and cut 7 each, 2 per pass. I'd stop and my son and I would put them on the forks of his tractor then he took them out the my 5X8 trailer for staging and slid them off and came back for the ones trimmed from the flitches.

I am glad to have this monster slain and enjoyed the time and help from my son.


After careful and due consideration I have determined this load is probably not roadworthy and won't fit through my 10' gate so I guess I better restack them tomorrow.

[Old Greenhorn]

good call on that one Howard. ;D

[doc henderson]

I think that trailer will go through a 10-foot gate, just have to get up some speed. :D :D

[cutterboy]

How about....... MY FIRST BOARD!!!!!



 



 

 The Cant looked like a Trapezoid from a Picasso painting. 

:D :D :D :D :D I know what you mean but don't ask me how I know. ;D

[WDH]

Trailer police will be knocking on your door.  "Sir, is your name Howard?  We have a warrant for your arrest, and your trailer will be confiscated."

[WV Sawmiller]

Doc,

   I see great minds think alike. :D

   One thing I guess I had known and been doing for years but yesterday it crystalized in my feeble little mind that for most sawing cuts to faces 1 & 3 determine the width of the board/cant(s) while cuts to faces 2&4 determine the number of boards returned.

   My, and many others technique, is to put the log on the mill, rotate till the heart check is parallel to the bed rails, saw a slab and a flitch or two then rotate 180 degrees and repeat taking care to start on a mark that will leave the widest possible or desired size board and or cant(s). 

   Yesterday when cutting my big poplar log I knew I was going to be sawing 2" framing so when sawing on the 2d and 4th faces I started on one of my marks off my cheat sheet to end on a finished 2" board. When I saw it was possible to salvage a 4/4 board I'd move up an inch plus kerf, saw and set that flitch aside, resume sawing 2" flitches till I got past the bark where I wanted to be and rotate again. 

   Turning the log/cant to face #2 and 4 I cut a few 2" flitches then when I got the pith positioned where I wanted it I did a 1/4" trim cut to hit my mark to make a 4" and an 8" cant, rotated both together and sawed 2" finished 2X8 and 2X4 boards to the rails. In some cases I'd have made 3-4" cants centering the pith in one. If the pith is off center I might make a 6" and a 4" cant. In many cases I saw the cant more on one side than the other till the pith is going to be centered in one of my cants then saw.

   Simply stated when sawing faces 1 & 3 keep in mind and start on marks to yield the width of the boards you want to produce whether you plan on a single cant with the pith centered on multiple cants with the pith centered in one of them and when sawing faces 2 & 4 start on your mark off your cheat sheet to end on a finished board of the thickness you want.

   When sawing for grade or quartersawing, this technique goes out the window. 

Danny,

   Do the sticker police moonlight as trailer police?

[WV Sawmiller]

 

Well unless the trailer police are also the sawhorse police I should be safe. I got the load transferred here temporarily till the customer can come collect it. I also went ahead and trimmed off the wane and cut to length the side lumber I had salvaged and stacked it in the proper place. All this in the drizzling and miserable rain which prevented me from sawing another log or two and trying to complete the customer's order.

[SawyerTed]

  One thing I guess I had known and been doing for years but yesterday it crystalized in my feeble little mind that for most sawing cuts to faces 1 & 3 determine the width of the board/cant(s) while cuts to faces 2&4 determine the number of boards returned.

Verbalizing that fundamental of sawing lumber so succinctly is invaluable.  Other stuff tends to get our attention before some of the obvious stuff.  Obvious stuff that really are the fundamentals of sawing lumber.

[WDH]

Howard, the Sticker Police and the Trailer Police are different agencies. 

[Magicman]

 

 
I am finally winding this one up and should finish tomorrow.  One log on the sawmill and the final log in the get-go-ready position.  Over 15Mbf sawn and I will have a final tally plus some pictures tomorrow.

I have customers waiting, but my plans are to park the sawmill for the rest of the week.

[caveman]

You have done a great job on that one.  I am envious of the logs you had on this gig.  Thank you for sharing pictures.

[Magicman]

Yes Sir, no question this has to be the highest quality logs that I have ever sawn on one job.  Not the first one knotty, nor crooked.  18" was the smallest top end and 31" the largest butt.  I think that there were a total of 43 logs. 

I have been riding the sawmill hard and lotsa big logs have been hitting the bed rails so it is time for me to check and make any needed adjustments.

[Walnut Beast]

This is in some black gold. Hollowed out inside of stump. Inside was this guy. What is it ?

 

 

  
Alaus oculatus
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Elateridae
Those are not real eyes; they are just for show. Adult eyed click beetles are not very common, but people tend to notice and remember them when they do see one. At one to two inches in length, these are large insects, and those large false eye spots on the back of the thorax are just so conspicuous. Although some species of click beetles have bioluminescent eye spots, the eye spots of eyed click beetles do not glow in the dark. Eyed click beetles are most often spotted around the outsides of buildings, where they have been attracted to lights—yes they can and do fly. Place an adult beetle on its back and it will usually flip into the air in an often successful attempt to right itself. And, if at first it does not succeed...... This flipping action is accompanied by a relatively loud click, which explains why beetles in this family are called click beetles.    
 

 

[Magicman]

The logs before I began:  LINK  Without measuring, I estimated that it would be over 14Mbf.



 
The last log was sawn 2" X 1&2 live edge. 


 
And it turned out some purdy slabs.


 
The Sticker Police were not always watching.


 
From the inside looking out.


 
The Kubota pulled the sawmill out to solid ground.


 
And I left nothing but slabs, sawdust, and 17,261 bf of stickered lumber.  I am glad that I decided to slow down on my sawing last year because this puts me @ over 80Mbf in 5 months of sawing. Not a record but it ain't too shabby.

[forcemac]

Slabbed up some big sycamore.  I have straps and weight on it.  We hope I can tame the drying movement.  Gorgeous wood.



 

 

 

[WV Sawmiller]

 

 

Sure is going to be hard to catch up with the MM at this rate. (I'll either have to break one of his legs or his ride along seat to slow him down.) I sawed these 2 - 14' long poplar tops as part of an order I have. I got 168 bf including 7 - 2X8s and a couple of 2X6s. Finished the 2X8s, need  5 more 2X6 (I probably have that many in stock if I wanted to dig them out) and a dozen 2X4X14 to finish the order. I have a 13'11" log to finish the 2X6s which only need to be 12' long and I'll stretch an extra inch out of the bevel on the cut if I can and that should about finish the order. If not one more tree will do it.

[Cornerstone]

My first slabs cut on my homemade mill!



 

I forgot what kind of log this one was, but I think it was red oak.  

                                                                                                                                                   br>


Is this spalting? I thought it looked like flames.                                                                            br>

[doc henderson]

yes, the black lines are spalting.  ;)

[WV Sawmiller]

 

Got out and sawed up this stock log today. 13'10" or so poplar. 187 bf of 2X6 and 2X4 to finish my customer's order.


These plus the boards shown earlier on the saw horses are about 1,000 bf of poplar framing from 12'-16' and 2X4 to 2X8.

   Now I just need to call him to come pick it up. I think he will have to rent a longer trailer as he only has about a 10' utility trailer. 

[Magicman]

Yes he will because you can not haul 16' lumber in a 10' trailer. 

Round figure speaking, you need to follow the 60-40 rule, 60% of the weight in front of the axle and 40% behind.  A tail wagging trailer will get you in big trouble very quickly.    Yes, I have been there!!  Yikes !!! 

[rusticretreater]

I usually put down the pick-up truck rear gate and stack the longer ones narrowly in the center of the trailer.  Then you just make sure you don't do a 90 degree turn on your way to the destination.