D&L Double Cut mill is home and busy!

Shamus · August 25, 2005, 11:45:04 AM

Hey y'all,
well, its been a long time coming, but I finally got my mill home and set up. For the last year my D&L mill had been set up on B.C's central coast in the middle of nowhere. Landowner had cleared an airstrip, and I ended up milling ~100,000 bd. ft. for him, working a week at a time when I could. Got a good chunk of the learning done practising on his logs. When the job was finished the mill was brought back to Lindsay Flett's shop, where it was lengthened (from 16' to 20' capacity), tweaked and retuned. Lindsay took good care of me and the mill, and she runs better than ever.
I finally got the mill home to Bowen Island, and got to work on a sawmill shelter. Now she's no looker, but I got 'er done all right. Pretty hard to erect one of these son of a beans by one's self! We don't get much snow, and its protected from the wind pretty good. Some day I will build an actual shed of some sort, but I gotta get to the milling...

Yesterday a neighbor dropped off a dump truck load of western redcedar for me to have at. It's my first official paid gig in my backyard!

You gotta love the board return...

My customer wants a wack of 3/4" siding milled, and so forth.

Seems like it took forever to get to this point, but there's no stopping the sawdust factory now! Still gotta figure out how to deal with sawdust removal, build roller tables (Harold I'm gonna use your ideas there), firewood jig (for slabs) etc. and on and on.

Anyhow, it feels DanG good to have achieved liftoff!

Fla._Deadheader · August 25, 2005, 11:53:33 AM

Dat's KOOL. 8) 8) 8) 8) 8)

Glad ya got things going forward. ;) ;)

Paul_H · August 25, 2005, 11:57:12 AM

Good pics!

That is an interesting shelter.Any pics from the cenral coast?

tnlogger · August 25, 2005, 11:57:31 AM

Shamus nice looking mill shed 8) not having to travel you goner be covered up with work now ;D

Shamus · August 25, 2005, 12:09:01 PM

Hi Paul,
yeah i have a few pics from somewhere up the Dean Channel, closest town is Bella Coola.

Here comes the mill on a barge,

A view out Nascal Bay,

Boards a plenty...

beenthere · August 25, 2005, 12:14:08 PM

Shamus, great to see you are 'off and runnin'. The shelter looks clever. I'm curious as to how you fastened the poles together? lashing, bolts :

??? (also curious how you worked at that height, or did you have scaffolding)?

Thanks for the pics

oakiemac · August 25, 2005, 12:19:16 PM

Looks like you live in God's country Shamus. I'm jealus ;D

I like your D&L also. What kind of hourly production rate to you get sawing buy yourself?

Paul_H · August 25, 2005, 12:30:21 PM

Nice 8)

People pay top money to see the kind of sites you see from your sawmill. :D
What did you have for living accomodations up there?

Ernie · August 25, 2005, 03:47:41 PM

Nice setup Shamus.

You can't beat a twin saw, what is your maximum cut size?

Shamus · August 25, 2005, 04:23:17 PM

Thanks all!
Just finished the morning shift. I was sharpening for the first time since I got the mill back home (~1,000 bd ft cut), when I noticed a carbide tooth had shattered on the headsaw. Time for a replacement insert tooth. I've got a few used ones kicking around somewhere. No point putting on a new one. I'd have to grind it down about half way to be the same height as the others.

- beenthere:
- tripods are lashed together with a good amount of 1/4" cable, legs supported with 2"x4" and
2"x6" bracing
- got up there with an extension ladder, leaned up against the dozer when needed

- oakiemac:
- well it depends of course, but cutting 1" and 2" boards I probly average about 150 bd ft per hour

- Paul_H:
- you don't know the half of it, they just finished building a 6 suite 'lodge', and have a bath house
(blue roof beyond mill in photo) with 2 large hot tubs fed by a spring that spits out water at the
perfect temperature, sulphur free
- floating cafe in progress
- plan is to operate as a base for heli-skiing in the backcountry

- Ernie:
- max cut is 10" x 7" (railway tie option)

Jeff · August 25, 2005, 07:49:56 PM

I really, really, really, want to saw on a doublecut one day. Being an old circle saw guy theres just sumpthing about those mills that makes me wanta latch on ta one. :D

doublecut · August 25, 2005, 08:04:59 PM

hey jeff got abign in the yard right now T.S 48 DTH 55 h.p. Come on and we can get at er. Lots of logs any time your welcome.
The invitation stands to anyone else who wanted to come.It would be great to have ya all
doublecut

oakiemac · August 28, 2005, 12:45:46 PM

where you located at double cut?

Might be time for a road trip!

doublecut · August 28, 2005, 05:25:49 PM

We are located in central B.C 5 Hours north of Vancoouver on Hwy 97 . HAve a look on ther map and look for 100 mile House . We are 12 miles north right on the Hwy. If you Are going to fly come to kamloops bc and we will look after you there.
MOre than welcome anytime.
doublecut

oakiemac · August 28, 2005, 06:26:25 PM

DanG Double Cut now you the wheels in my head turning! It ain't always a good thing when that happens.
I'm trying to figure out a way to get up there. I love B.C, I have only been there once but that was enough to get me hooked. I spent a day on vancouver Island by the town of Nanaimo. beautiful place.