OldJarheads Milling Thread...

[Magicman]

Since your sawing is at the customer's location and not under a shed I wonder about the value/usefulness of a laser. ?? 

A LubeMizer was the first option that I added to my sawmill.  Will it ever pay for itself in water/soap savings?  No.  Would I add it to my sawmill again?  Absolutely.

The additional hydraulic side supports and a LubeMizer would be the best $1500 upgrade that you could make.  ;D

[OlJarhead]

I am convinced of that now MM.  The laser is sponsored so I'm happy to try it out 😉 Fro. what I've seen the more powerful green ones work well in daylight but I'll find out and let folks know 

I crammed the mill into my shop today so I could work on it. lolCheck this our!
When you need to.. #sawmill #shorts #woodmizer - YouTube

[fluidpowerpro]

Please make sure and let us know how the laser works. I have often wanted to add one to my mill but always didn't because I understand they don't work well outdoors.

[OlJarhead]

You bet!  I will be honest about and that is a condition I've made to do this review.  Some may remember I used to run one of the world's top dart websites and in those days had a reputation for being honest even if it meant losing a sponsor 

[GAB]

I am convinced of that now MM.  The laser is sponsored so I'm happy to try it out 😉 Fro. what I've seen the more powerful green ones work well in daylight but I'll find out and let folks know

I've heard say that lasers can be damaging to someones eyesight, but they were talking red lasers.
Are the green lasers safe?
GAB

[YellowHammer]

Not necessarilyy, it has to do with the class of laser including wavelength, and the power category, which then fits it into the OSHA eye safety categories for lasers power vs time of direct or indirect ocular exposure.  However, as a general rule of thumb, most visible spectrum consumer lasers fall into the unconscious "blink and flinch" level of power, or lower.  These should certainly not be stared at or they may cause damage, but when looked at casually, they will cause the viewer to blink, flinch and look away.   

Short term laser damage is retinal burns, but long term damage is slow cataract formation and similar.  This is probably why the WM Laser is weak, not because they can't get a more powerful laser, but because they don't want to injure somebody, or can't put on a more powerful laser by usage and law.

If anybody has the WM laser, it will be labeled with its power, wavelength, and safety classification.  From there, it's a simple task to determine the exposure safety guidelines.  

[GAB]

YH:
Thanks.
GAB

[OlJarhead]

Having worked in Telecom for 3 decades I can tell you that yes, lasers can be harmful to the eyes and you should not look into one!  That being said, we had to and would wear protective Eyewear when we did.

Lasers are classed to help with this and Class 2 lasers are generally considered safe (YH refers to as blink) but still can cause harm.

Class 3 lasers are more powerful and require added caution particularly in the 3B class.  Class 4s are more powerful so more caution is advised.

Sine we were using Class 3Bs we had to get 'baseline eye exams' to look for burns or holes in our eyes.  Yes that's a thing.

The laser should have class rating on it and 2s 3Rs and 3As are fairly safe.  

Incidentally we use them to transmit data in fiber optics... that's how your internet works today.  No satellites anymore except for remote connections.

[OlJarhead]

 

 

 

 

[OlJarhead]

lol when you want to work on the mill but your shop is a little small and full of woodworking stuff.....

[Crusarius]

that sure is a conveniently placed door.

[OlJarhead]

lol yup!

[Andries]

Compliments on your "truck backing up skills" ! Pin point landing !

[OlJarhead]

Thanks!  I've backed this mill into many crazy places but this may take the cake lol

Now to do some work on after making more room

[WV Sawmiller]

   I was looking at one of those little 2 wheel dollies used to move trailers around this afternoon. Have you or any readers ever used one for tight work like this or other mill purposes? I am tempted to get one. It is small enough and light enough I could take it on mobile jobs.

600 lb. Trailer Dolly (harborfreight.com)

[OlJarhead]

I just lift the tongue and move it.  If on a job then I have help.  

I don't think the dolly would work on rough ground but it may and may make life easier too.

[Ljohnsaw]

I have one of those to move my trailers around my driveway.  In the winter I have 4 trailers packed in.  Doesn't go well by myself when trying to roll up hill.  But, put someone on a trailer tire rolling the top of it (gives 2x the pushing power), you can move a lot of weight.  Two issues.  First, I broke the handle off - really bad weld - so I re-welded it way stronger.  Second, the cheap chineseium tires leak.  Filled them with slime but still have to air them up a few time a year.  Not motivated enough since I have this one but I'd just make my own.  Use flat-free wheelbarrow tires (bigger) for easier rolling and less maintenance.

[doc henderson]

well now if you turn off the lights, that laser may work better!   8)  

[OlJarhead]

lol First I need to sort out the hydraulics issue which appears to be electrical.

But then, yes, laser time!

[fluidpowerpro]

  I was looking at one of those little 2 wheel dollies used to move trailers around this afternoon. Have you or any readers ever used one for tight work like this or other mill purposes? I am tempted to get one. It is small enough and light enough I could take it on mobile jobs.

600 lb. Trailer Dolly (harborfreight.com)

I use to sell hydraulics to a MN company that built car washes. Nu-star. Another product they built was a car / trailer puller. I've often thought something similar could be made using an old snow blower. Remove all of the snow blower stuff and just use the engine and drive wheels as a traction unit. Mount a ball somehow on the front to hook to trailers. Up here you can get good used snow blowers cheap or even free on Craigslist.

[Ljohnsaw]

I'll do you one better.  Got an old (cast iron) rototiller.  Had no motor.  Took the tines off and fitted some wheel barrow tires.  Mounted a 1/3 hp electric motor with a small pulley turning a very large pulley on the input shaft.  Added a pair of kid's wagon wheels on the near end.  The ball is mounted about 10% behind the powered and 90% in front of the non-powered wheels.  Tip it back to move it without power and lean forward on it to transfer more weight to the powered wheels for traction.  The motor was reversible so I wired up a pair of house switches (1 regular, 1 four lug).   Never stalled the motor no matter what I was trying to move.  Slow but works pretty well.  Just the extension cord was a pain.  It's currently buried in the back of my garage.

[WV Sawmiller]

Fluid,

  I sure hope we're not hijacking Eric's thread here but something in your description about car movers and such reminded me of the way the police on Okinawa towed illegally parked cars over there around 1979. They just took a pair of regular hydraulic floor jacks and lifted the car from each end and skid a little 4 wheeled dolly like a furniture moving dolly under it.  Then they'd attach a simple tow bar to the front of the car (I don't remember how they attached it) and hook the bar to a ball hitch on a regular sedan and tow it to the impound lot. Of course the cars over there were not nearly as big as the ones we drive here. It was a very fast, low tech and cheap method but very effective.

  Part of the attraction the HF 2 wheel dolly is it's simplicity and it is cheap. I don't weld and I could not buy the materials to have one built for what they sell for.

[Old Greenhorn]

John that is pure genius! Now I'm sorry I gave away the second old (running) rototiller I had! I'll have to keep my eyes open for another one now. That is genius!

[OlJarhead]

No worries!  You are sharing good stuff!

[Magicman]

I have had several occasions when there was absolutely no way to turn the sawmill around while hitched to the truck after sawing.  We either turned it by hand or used the tractor/safety chains to make the 180° sawmill turnaround.  After flipping the sawmill I turned the truck around, reconnected, and drove back out.