Whatcha Sawin' 2024 ??

[WV Sawmiller]

  Several days to catch up on. I took my wife to the hip doctor Monday 30 miles away. Just as I was getting ready to leave a guy called and wanted to pay me to go look at a "huge" maple tree they had cut. From his description I told him it would have to be quartered with a chain saw to fit on my mill. As luck had it, it was near where we were going so after her doctor appointment I entered the location and it was 4 miles away on a sort of scenic route home. I went, met the cousin of the customer (who was on his way to the airport and home to Texas) then after opening and closing several pasture gates got to a family cemetery and saw the logs. There was way too much rot in them to be worth sawing so I called the guy and left a message. He called me back yesterday and nearly begged me to go at least saw the tops and such but I apologized and declined. There was just no decent wood there. I know it was sentimental and I felt bad but the risk was just not worth the rewards.

  I talked to a man many times last year then when I was ready to go he called and said he'd bought fence boards elsewhere and did not need me. He called back a few weeks ago wanting me to come saw. Two were big, as it turned out, knotty pine logs but amazingly the worms have not gotten in. It was 75 miles away and was a minimum rate job as less than my 1,000 bf  minimum but we scheduled for today.
    There were 8-9 logs scattered in the woods slightly downhill from where I could, with masterful skill if I do say so myself, finally get the truck and mill in beside them.

    We're assuming this was elm. It was very dry and very hard. I sawed the first as 5/4 X6" fence boards then the customer decided thinner was better so the rest were all sawed true 4/4.
We started with a handful on a small trailer.
The rest were staged on the ground till they can be moved and restacked. Elm, white pine and red oak. All 1X6 fence boards from 8-11 feet long. Total job was only 780 bf. I had to stop in the middle and ride on the UTV with the customer to see his cabin in the woods which he is real proud of and very well built but no power or water so the female members of the family don't appreciate it as much.

  I had a former Marine for a helper and he, of course, was perfect and best helper I've had in a long time even though the work was not that bad. Tell him once, hand and arm signals understood and followed perfectly and I never had to wait for any wood to be moved or a new log to be loaded when needed. I'd forgotten how good a feeling that is.

  I loaded up and stopped and got paid and a tour of the house to see his wife's quilts and a bag of pecan cookies to take home with me. He complimented me and had sent a video of me sawing to his neighbor and said he'd be calling me tonight. I saw the neighbor's logs in his yard as I drove out.

    A couple hours later and five miles from my home and then the neighbor called and sounds like he will have me come back. I probably could have sawed half what he has today if he'd called earlier when my customer suggested. Oh well, that is for another day.

[Magicman]

If you sawed Elm for fence boards, I hope that it was for an indoor fence.  Elm is not rot resistant at all.

[WV Sawmiller]

I bet it lasts as long as the white pine!

I discussed and they said they'd treat them all. 

The man's cabin was all locust uprights and framing with pine for paneling so he was aware of the resistance issues.

[WV Sawmiller]

   I forgot to mention but on the way but on the way back about 10 miles from the job site and on the main highway (219) I found a state trooper car parked in a curve with his lights on so I stopped and he walked by and I talked briefly with him as he returned. Evidently someone had run through the guardrail and crashed in the woods out of sight below. He said nobody had reported the accident and there was nobody around so he assumed they had walked away and called for a ride. I asked if I could help but nothing more to do except for him to follow up with the info he'd got from the tag and such to see if everyone was okay.

   We have no idea when it happened but assume it was the night before and nobody had witnessed the accident and neither the driver or others called it in..

[Southside]

Dollars to donuts the vehicle gets reported has having been stolen by the owner who was drunk at the time he actually crashed it.  Can't tell you how many times I saw that movie.  

[KWood255]

Had another 35 cords of 12' and 16' Jack pine delivered this week. Some of the nicest pine I've seen in years. With all the local logging, mature pine is becoming a thing of the past around here. Thankfully this was saved from going through the chipper, and sent to China.

I tried adding pictures but it keeps telling me they are too large.

[mudfarmer]

KWood try uploading to gallery and then copying bbcode to add to post, gallery uploads work for me again but still don't have a way to resize so that I can attach within the post itself

[WV Sawmiller]

Muddy,

    Aren't you having to resize before you load to the gallery? That's what I have been doing to get it below 1000 KB (I think that is my magic number) before I can load it to the gallery. Are you saying I can skip that step and the gallery will resize them?

[Stephen1]

I was trying to find a simple way to resize and can not find a free app for my iPhone They all want money 

[WV Sawmiller]

  I don't have a smart phone nor would I be smart enough to use it if I had one I bet so I download from my camera to my laptop and I have a program there, probably part of the basic Windows package, that will allow me to resize. I resize here then load to the gallery.

    I think the old gallery system automatically resized but apparently that ate up memory and such so that was sacrificed or traded off for other benefits. I'm not saying its better or worse or complaining about the change which no doubt was needed - I'm just old and learning new things is never easy.

  As I have said many times before  my mental hard drive is full and for me to learn any new step or procedure I have to dump some memory to make room and what I dump may be my wife's birthday or anniversary and will be something that will get me in trouble down the road.

[Magicman]

I was trying to find a simple way to resize and can not find a free app for my iPhone They all want money

"Image Size". 

It's a blue sorta diamond with a blue right turning arrow in the center.  Free and I have been using it for years.

[mudfarmer]

No the past few times it has just let me upload to gallery. I do not know why 

[barbender]

 If you have an Android phone, you can edit the pic size right in the gallery on your phone, before you upload it to the Forum. It will give you options of 20%, 40%, 60% etc. I usually use 40%. 

 All I know how to use is my smartphone🤷

 Kwood, I have a soft spot in my heart for quality Jack pine. We don't see it too often around here, but there are pockets where it really grows well, and will produce nice saw logs.

 The contrast between the orange and white in the early and late wood make distinctive paneling.

[richhiway]

Still sawing that load of white pine from my camp in the Adirondacks. I was there this weekend and cleaned up the tops and stacked the smaller logs to trailer home. 

[RetiredTech]

"Image Size". 

It's a blue sorta diamond with a blue right turning arrow in the center.

I haven't had a problem with the new size limit myself. However, I just googled the Image Size app that MM suggested and it is available for Apple and Android phones. Reading the description it sounds like it would be easy to use. I went ahead and installed it in case I do need it later.

[Stephen1]

This is a wack of 2" barn board wood . We ran it thru the old resaw twice. 3/4" The 'ugly side' down as the customer wants to put  the that side up. We then take the next piece 1"1/8" and run it thru the resaw again giving us a piece of veneer and another 'ugly side' for the customers floor.
My 1st try at resizing photos

[TimW]

Anybody got any idea what tree this is?  It blew over in my daughter's back yard and was wondering if it would make good fireplace wood.  It is still alive as it has been 3 or more weeks since it blew
 
over. 

[Magicman]

You need to back up and get the tree and some bark. 

[TimW]

You need to back up and get the tree and some bark. 

I have to cut my way to the bark.  Going now to start carving it up.

[richhiway]

Good logs make nice lumber. The yield was spot on. And in case you think a Woodmizer isn't accurate. Heat wave here in upstate NY going to be over 90 the next four days. Love my new forks. I should have converted my tractor to skid steer years ago.

[richhiway]

the yield.

[TimW]

Here is the limb and the trunk.  Leaves were posted above.  What is it?

[KWood255]

If you have an Android phone, you can edit the pic size right in the gallery on your phone, before you upload it to the Forum. It will give you options of 20%, 40%, 60% etc. I usually use 40%.

 All I know how to use is my smartphone🤷

 Kwood, I have a soft spot in my heart for quality Jack pine. We don't see it too often around here, but there are pockets where it really grows well, and will produce nice saw logs.

 The contrast between the orange and white in the early and late wood make distinctive paneling.

Yes Jack pine can be gorgeous. Red Pine is my favourite to have on the mill, but jack pine is a close second. Lots of character and great colouring indeed. These logs that arrived last week are beyond premium jack pine these days, for around here at least. I will try to add a few pictures once I get to opening a couple. 

[Southside]

Well the bark says Hackberry

[Magicman]

The bark says Hackberry but the skinny leaves lean toward Texas Sugarberry, which is in the Hackberry family.