My first real logs

[dewwood]

That Chet sure is a "cut above" the rest of us.  But thats ok cause I feel much better right here on the ground.

Jeff it looks like that new mill works just fine.

[MemphisLogger]

Way to saw it, Jeff!

But y'oughta let them baby trees grow a bit longer  ;)

Did ya count the rings? How old was it?

[sandmar]

Da Boss will soon be bleeding ORANGE like some more of us here on the forum  ;D Have fun Jeff.........Tammy seems to be enjoying herself too.

Sandmar

[Vermonter]

Congrats on the new mill.  Sawdust may be the worst disease a person can get......

[Swede]

Looks great, Jeff! 

I could go through it as fast as the sawhead would travel.

How many inch/sec. is that?
What type of guides do You have? Plates over and under the blade+bearing behind or just bearings pulling the blade down? Or............?
Every sawyer with a WM I have seen has the blade strength gauge on RED.   You too?

Asking for that reason I always wish I could feed faster.  ;D

Swede.

[Jeff]

Nope, won't be bleeding orange. I bleed sawdust. I am proud to have a sawmill, be it this Wood-Mizer or if it was anyone of the mills built by anyone of out fine sponsors. I'd love to have one of each. Maybe I could be the first portable sawmill Collector. 8) Why not? I collect all sorts of other things. ;D

 Actually, the saw I got was such a good deal for me that I would have bought it even if it were whitepe pink.

[Jeff]

Swede, her is a photo of the guides before I cleaned them all up and lubed them.




I have the hydraulic tensioner. I set the tension at 2200, and it floated down to 2000-2100  while I sawed. Dont know if this is optimum, but I learned it here on the forum.   I have no idea what my feed rate is.

[KILROY]

  Jeff,
Looks like you are having fun plus entertaining the neighborhood. Your lumber looks good. White oak is usually one of the harder woods for a band mill to cut.
After looking at the pictures of your mill closer, you have a late model 86. You have the new cutting head (new at that time) on the old style frame.
If you have the hydraulic blade tensioner, then someone added it at a later date. It was not available when your saw was new.
When you get down to some serious sawing, take your fenders off. It is easier to get around the tire and they do not get beat up when you loalogs.
If you have not done so already, weld the two center supports in place.
You will want to take those two sliding end supports off and replace them with the swinging supports. You will pinch your hands with those sliding ones because you don't alwats know where they are at.
The blade tension will fluctuate as you saw.  If it drops to much crank it up a little, otherwise do not worry about it to much.
Your doing a fine job for a rookie.  ;D :D   You are getting closer to that million board feet.

[Swede]

White oak is usually one of the harder woods for a band mill to cut.

KILROY, Haven´t You ever saw knotty soft wood?
In Sweden we use to say there is ONE thing that gives a man his right to cry. Trying to put a furniture from IKEA together. :D
I think there is one more; Sawing knotty soft wood!  ;D

I saw ~60% spruce and ~25% pine. When a blade is too dull for soft wood I can still use it for some cut in hard wood less than Ø10-12".  Most of it is oak.


Jeff; One of my guides was difficult to find when i get the used Amerika-Sågen home. Biologic bar oil+saw dust=asphalt! : Took me some hours to find what was in that black lump and make it rotating again.

Swede.

[KILROY]

  Swede,

  Have I cut any knotty softwood before? Definately. I am presently sawing the lumber for two houses out of southern yellow pine. Those green 20 foot  full 2 by 8s are plenty heavy to move.
  You are right about being able to cut oak with a blade that will not cut softwood. That band always wants to take the path of least resistance.

[customsawyer]

Welcome to the forum Jeff B we always knew you had it in you. :D

[Jeff]

You will pinch your hands with those sliding ones because you don't alwats know where they are at

Tammy already did that yesterday. Smashed her finger pretty good.  I take it that there is a swinging support upgrade available from Wood-Mizer?

[KILROY]

  Jeff,
Yes, you can order the supports that swing.  They are the supports Wood-Mizer used for years on all of the saws. I ordered an extra set to put my 40, to help support long logs. I do not have my book handy to give you part numbers.  Just call Wood-Mizer and they help you. In the mean time take those sliding ones off.
I am sorry Tammy hurt her finger. That probably did not help her first sawing experience with the band mill very much. It really does not happen that often, but does happen. Wear gloves around the mill.   

[KILROY]

  Jeff,
I hope you take this in the right way big guy, but I don't  see any ear or eye protection. I know you were just kicking the tires and taking a test run on the saw. Please do wear safety glasses or something. That blade will toss debris back at you. Plus sawdust can get in your eyes.

[Captain]

So if Arky is bringin a WRC for you to whittle at the Pig Roast, what am I to bring ???

Looks good, Jeff.  Are ya looking over the neighbor's trees for more candidates??

Captain

[Norwiscutter]

The first wood that any sawmill owner should cut should be the boards for a new garage to store everything in.   I thought i remember there being a calculator on here somwhere for figuring the size of building you need.

Something like this.... 

Size of building you think you need x 2 x 30% = building you build.


A ridiculously large garage is the best support equipment a guy could ever use.

[Ernie]

Once you peg out your building as per Norwiscutter's formula and visualise it completed, you will obviously find it way too small, just push the corner pegs out about 10 feet in all directions and you will be getting close to something that will last you for about 2 years :D :D

[Brucer]

Once you peg out your building as per Norwiscutter's formula and visualise it completed, you will obviously find it way too small, just push the corner pegs out about 10 feet in all directions and you will be getting close to something that will last you for about 2 years :D :D

Just like buying a computer -- out of date before you get it home ;D.

[iain]

Way to go big man
you got to look after Tammy or it will end like a certain other family on this forum
Pro sawyer Tammy  and her odd job Jeff (grease monkey, slabber, mill shifter,etc,etc,etc  :D




iain

[Rockn H]

I wish I could get my wife to run the mill some.  I ALMOST feel bad when she tries to help by pulling those 18' slabs off the mill. :  She says she can't break the slabs, but I try to assure her that SHE could and I can't fix them as easy as I could the mill. ;D

[Jeff]

KILROY, are the swing support add-ons bolt on or do they have to be welded?

[KILROY]

Jeff,
They bolt on. They are known as pivoting auxiliary bed supports. There are four bolts. Your frame will not have the holes already drilled, so ask them for a drawing  for proper location.

[Patty]

This is all so cool, JB. First you get a mill from a very nice FF member, then you have another very nice FF member saw you a few logs, and then you get your beautiful wife Tammy (yet another very nice FF member    ) to help you saw your first logs. It just doesn't get any better than this JB.   


Congratulations!  8)

[GF]

Congrats on the saw, nothing like making sawdust and opening up a log to see whats inside.   The way it looks around you place you may have alot of stumps for people to sit on during the piggy roast.   :D

[Doc]

I have 2 questions.....

1) What did you do to your shoulder to be healing up (I think I caught this in a thread somewhere)?

2) How much you charging for that fine looking stack of fresh sawn lumber you got in that pic there?

Now the answer to number two would bring the whole thing full circle. You got a nice, well working mill at a good price, sawed logs off your place and made some fine lumber out of it, and then sold said lumber and made some bucks for your effort (fun!).

Doc