Sunday Sawing (no good, some bad, all ugly)

[Engineer]

Yesterday, start time 8 am.   :(  Decided to saw some 2x stock for my barn after a day of men's league rugby Saturday.  I already was hurting.  Log about 22" dbh small end, butt log, pine, major butt flare, about 32" large end.  12' long.  It took my dad and I five hours to mill this log.  I realised that a combination of inadequate tools, two tired men, and an old rusty manual mill do not make for an easy job.  When you have a tractor that can only lift 700#, even rolling a big log on a manual mill is a chore.  By 8:30 we had the log on the mill.  Spent another half an hour with a chainsaw and various chiseling objects removing a large wrought-iron plant hanger and three nails from the log.  Hit a nail with the chain - brand new 24" Oregon chain, barely through two tanks of gas for that chain. 

Time to start mill.  Fire up engine, realize that mice have made a home in the shroud and I am now spraying mouse parts all over the place.  THAT'S disgusting.  First slab cut, blade getting dull (older blade was on mill from last session), wavy cuts.  Oh well, it's only 2x framing lumber.  Roll log.  Now about ten am.  Second slab cut.  Halfway through cut, run out of gas.  Fill tank.  Resume cut.  Goes OK.  Take heavy 4" slab for sawing into 2x4's vertically.  Roll log, take slab cut through area of plant hanger.  Realize very quickly that plant hanger had FIVE nails, not three, holding it into the tree.  Change blade.  Take lunch.  This is hard work.

By one o-clock we have a large pile of absolutely clear, knot-free straight 2x4's and a good sized pile of clear 1x8x12' when I couldn't bring myself to saw clear lumber into 2x4's anymore.

Second log same size, not as much butt flare, save for the large knots that took some time to trim off with chainsaw (and another dull chain, as the log was in the dirt for a year).  Halfway through first cut, run out of gas....  Roll log, break weld on a center support.  Oh well, it'll work fine with only three supports.  Roll log second time, break another weld.  I hate this thing. 

Spend rest of day finishing log, get 19 - 2x6x12' for roof rafters out of second log.  Stack and sticker lumber to allow for a couple weeks of drying before building shed (around Columbus Day...)  Shower, eat, pass out on chair during football game...

And the worst part is, I had three separate people notice my mill set up in the driveway, in the past three weeks, all of them stopping by to ask if I could saw some lumber for them.   One wants to trade sawing for shares, half of a 28" dbh black walnut.... yard tree.....  I ask myself if it's worth sawing for others.   :

[DanG]

And the best thing?  Spending the day working with your Dad would be my guess. 8)

Your story makes me re-wonder something I've always wondered about.  Why do so many of you guys chase those big fat logs? :  I'd rather have a 20 incher any day.

[bull]

Sawing for others is worth $50.00 per hour no less and twice that if they help !!!!

[timberfaller390]

Your story makes me re-wonder something I've always wondered about.  Why do so many of you guys chase those big fat logs? :  I'd rather have a 20 incher any day.

me too. I hate trying to kill myself wrestling big'uns. There are easier ways to comitt suicide :

[Engineer]

And the best thing?  Spending the day working with your Dad would be my guess. 8)

Your story makes me re-wonder something I've always wondered about.  Why do so many of you guys chase those big fat logs? :  I'd rather have a 20 incher any day.

Yeah, that's definitely the 'good'. 

As for the fat logs?  Free is still free.  Even if it's a tough job.  I'd stick to the small logs if that's what I had, but unfortunately I drug those out of the pile first.  All that's left is 26-36" diameter stuff, even at 8' long it's still a bear to move around.  Now's when I really wish I had a hydraulic mill....

[backwoods sawyer]

Even with all the bells and whistles these big logs give you a work out. What you put on the mill with hydraulics still has to be packed off and stacked by hand.

Shower, eat, pass out on chair during football game...

Did they win?

[Jasperfield]

Sunday was created for a higher purpose. I used to try to "catch-up" on the week via Sundays. I now know better.

[medic1289]

You know what, Engineer?  After reading your post for the second time, it still sounds to me like you had a pretty good Sunday. You seemed to have wrestled some DanG nice lumber outta them brutes. If your dad enjoys spending time with you as much as my son liked helping me frame our saw shed yesterday, it was a GOOD day.   sy

[moonhill]

I sure feel better knowing those thing don't happen to just me.

I one time sawed a small stick of hard wood for an old timer, he had run a circular mill for years.  I started the saw and it quit, out of fuel.  I did put a fresh band on, BUT it was turned inside out the teeth were going the wrong way, that was a crazy cut.   I was finally able to finish the small stick up and he was pleased. 

Tim

[Engineer]

[

Shower, eat, pass out on chair during football game...

Did they win?
[/quote]

Yes. :D 

[Meadows Miller]

Gday

Engineer That doesnt sound like a bad day apart from hitting a bit of metal and being tired and having to handel a coupple of oversize logs My bad days where when I was sawing 26" to 36" dia case grade pine logs through a Kara/Laiomet sawmill  :( :(which had a max log dia limit of 26"  ;) :D Who Cares what the manufaturer says :D have Chainsaw will RIPP  :D :D I was doing 20 to 30 logs per day and every one of them needed at least 2 cuts finished with the chainsaw  I was still getting 3500bft+ stacked out in the in 8 hours on My own in thoes size logs .

Ive being telling that boss since I was 18 that He needs to get a MD like Yours DanG as He allways buys Logs that are to BIG  for his mill All the Time : I did My longest run at the start of this year 5 months before i told him to jam it  for the 4 th time since I was 18.

Dont worry Engineer while those logs are still free just keep cutting what You need Its all worth the bit extra time You spend milling it Yourself ;) ;D 8)

Reguards Chris