Auto Up on Accuset 2 - It Works!

[SawyerTed]

My last job was cutting cedar 6x6 posts and cedar 2x stock for porch railings and pickets. 

My method was:
1.  Center the pith end to end with the toe boards, 2.  Mark my 6x6 marks on the end of the log
3.  Align my blade on my upper mark
4.  Then used the Auto Up on Accuset 2 to get one or two 2x flitches
5.  Cut the slab off, and use Auto Down to cut the flitch(es)

After the opening face it depended on the log what the flip sequence was.  Sometimes it was a 180 flip, sometimes a 90 degree flip was next.  Auto Up and Auto Down together eliminated all calculations in my head (room for errors). 

For the last year I've just couldn't wrap my mind around just how Auto Up would be useful.  This method made Auto Up a good tool and speeded things up.

Others have described this method I believe but it didn't register until that job.

[PAmizerman]

I use it the same way. Instead of marking my target cant I line the blade up with the pith look at the scale and add half of my cant size. Go up to that number then use the pattern up.

[moosehunter]

I use auto up all the time. What I need to learn is the "flip" button. Upper left on the accuset. Who uses that?
mh

[SawyerTed]

Now it's occurred to me that Reference set at 6" could be combined with auto up and down to speed things up more. 

I'll be back on the cedar job on Friday.  So I think I'll spend some time programming my Accuset 2 this afternoon.

Pattern mode could work too but may depend upon the face being cut.  I'm going to program Pattern mode with a 6" bottom board and 2 1/8" boards above. 

It seems my original method is necessary for faces 1 and 3 and Pattern mode would be for 2 and 4?

[terrifictimbersllc]

I keep all the 16 settings the same for auto up and auto down. And tape a chart of them including pattern mode settings next to the display.

On the fly i will modify a setting if necessary but change it back to my defaults when done.

[SawyerTed]

For full disclosure, there are a couple of things at play here.  

One is the 18!months I waited between sell of my LT35 and delivery of my LT50.  That break took some time to get back to speed. 

The second is the current lull in sawmill activity.  It's beginning to pick up but has been slow for a while.  

With that in mind the jobs are beginning to come in again and I have reason to experiment with the Accuset.  Lately, my personal sawing has been all 2x material so not much custom programming necessary.  

So the Accuset 2 has been sort of like an egg.  A bit hard on the outside to crack.  But pretty soft (easy to learn) once inside the shell.  

What may be obvious to some has been " a little while" coming to me.

[Old Greenhorn]

My full disclosure: I have never used auto up. I just have not gotten into the control that much and our presets cover 90% of what I do. When I read your OP Ted, I thought that was pretty dang smart because I was just milling a log with a similar requirement, taking sidewood and working toward a 6x6. I did it differently, l sort of a semi-manual version of what you did and was determined to try your way when I got to the mill today, but the sun was right on the screen and it is SO dang hard to read anything that I gave up on the idea for the moment until I can read a clear screen and find my way through the options.
 I admit all this with some shame because for 50 years I ran, setup, and troubleshot CNC machines of all types learning hundreds of different options and finding my way through multiple manufacturers control, all of which are different and all of which have different versions. The Accuset control is by far the most simplistic control my fingers have hit in 40 years and I have not spent the time to learn it...yet. Shame on me.

[SawyerTed]

When presented with a new situation and a few minutes to tinker, my need to figure how to use a new function kicks in.  

The problem with portable milling is every job is different and most are 4/4, 5/4, 1x and 2x jobs for me.  Accuset use is pretty basic for most of my sawing. Most customers want through sawn lumber as much and as fast as they can get for the $.  A few are more discerning.  (Some customers "just want boards") 

So learning the Accuset on my customers' dime ain't kosher.   Auto Down and Pattern Mode get used a good bit.   But Pattern Mode is just set at 4/4, 5/4, 1x and 2x.

I do use Pattern mode for siding with a cant size at the bottom of the pattern.  So I can saw down to a cant the width of the siding.   Cheat sheets are a thing of the past and even more now I've worked auto up into the mix. 

[Percy]

I've had my accuset and accuset 2 for around 21 years. Reading this thread has brought back a flood of memories. Some good, some bad, but all kinda funny now. The automatic kerf calculation is a godsend in my opinion. I've defaulted to .125 inches for expediency. It does make my lumber thickness minutely oversized by possibly a 32 of an inch. 

It's great to see how everyone has conquered the hurdles of accuset differently for their own application. I'd really like Yellowhamer or Southside to explain that system on the Super70s some day. Now that we understand accuset 2, we might possibly grasp their system. 😁

[John S]

Yes!  At first I was not impressed with Auto Up, but now ( for about 6 years) I use it on just about every log.  Very accurate and a time saver!

[GAB]

Percy:
If you set the kerf to .125 and since the blade plus set is roughly twice the blade thickness the for .045 thick blades you are right in saying the boards are approx. 1/32" over. However if you are using .055 blade with the same kerf set then the boards are approx. 1/64" over.
GAB

[GAB]

I saw for a wide varity of wood users.  One day two fellows showed up with two city street black walnut logs the wanted live edge slabs.  I told them that the maximum width I could do was 24" and one of their logs was 26".  As I was sawing I thought of what MM had said about lowering the log stops to allow the log to get closer to the mast.  So I did not saw the first face as far down as I normally would and flipped 180.  Then tucked the log as close to the mast as I dared and as I'm getting ready to saw I was asked if I could mark all of the slabs so they could keep track for book matching.  That is when auto up came in real handy and I sawed in approx. 1" all the way up and after they had marked  them as they wanted I sawed the rest of the log.  On a couple of the slab in the center of the log I just barely cleared on both sides but I did saw 26" wide.  They were happy.  Thanks MM for the idea.
GAB

[SawyerTed]

Auto Up and Hydraulics Everywhere - two features you don't know you need and "you are suffering and don't know it" (Yellowhammer's saying).  

[YellowHammer]

That's a fact!  It's like walking down a hot gravel road in the middle of the summer, barefoot, carrying an elephant.  

There are easier ways....Auto Up, Auto Down, Pattern Mode, Hydros Everywhere, and Drag Back Shoes.  Life just got a lot easier and faster.

[Old Greenhorn]

Well not that anybody needed confirmation but I was at the mill this morning before the sun hit the screen and I had a reason to try this out and it worked like a charm. Bill came by a little while later and I mentioned to him that I was using a new function with good success and he just laughed and said he had told me to do that 3 years ago. He's been using it for years. Who knew?
 Thanks Ted.

[SawyerTed]

You're welcome!

When that voice says, "This thing ought to do this."  Listen to it and try until you prove it can't!