After 5 years - still a begginer

[opticsguy]

For retirement I purchased a TK 1220 mill with one extension.  I am very very very pleased with this mill and have made a lot of great wood and a lots of piles of sawdust, and firewood and a big mess in general.  Being a manual mill, I find I use most of my time not cutting but moving logs and cut offs and handling everything many times more than once.  Also after five years I find I still do not really know a lot about milling, working alone and never watching others, I seem to have reinvented what most of you already know.  I have figured out that if I want a certain thickness of lumber, I set the blade on the existing cut and set my tape to any inch mark and than move down the thickness of the board to be cut PLUS 1/4 inch and then raise "two clicks". this gives me exact thicknesses.  I know there are other ways to determine settings but they seem to be so complicated..........

The biggest time consumer seems to be rotating the log to an exact position for the second cut, I rotate manually or if too large use the front loader on my tractor with peeve hooks and chains. Still a time consumer.  I use square welded pipe slipped onto my back stops for turning larger logs and remove after set up for cutting.  The backstops hardly ever give me a square cut and always to need some kind of shimming to get a 90 degree cut. Yes i have used the adjusting nuts on the back stop.  Still when loading logs those back stops often take a big hit!!!!

The cool part about a sawmill is being inventive, making up jigs for specialty cuts.  I have made a jig to hold wood that can be rotated to make cylinders, either a column or tapers.
Also smaller jigs to hold smaller pieces of logs and wood for specialty cuts.  With one the extension rail I can cut up to about 20' 7" and could probably squeeze in a few more inches with some adjustments to the "drive cable". 

A hydraulic mill sure would make life easier but hard to justify doubling the cost of a mill just for a hobby.

All-in-all, this is a great hobby, a really nice mill, love it, hate it, lots of work and lots of smiles.  Did I mention fun?

Thanks for listening. 

[tmarch]

I'm kinda in the same boat, not enuff time to run the saw and really get good at it, but then it would probably become a job.  Just keep enjoying your toy, oops tool.

[Peter Drouin]

I do it full time, But, the fun is what it's all about. 8)

[MikeBreaux]

I make two cuts top and bottom .if backstops are at 90' .the other two cuts should line up easier.

[Magicman]

Every saw day is a new day and every saw job is a new job and you never know where a teacher is lurking.  Enjoy!   ;D

[dboyt]

Rather than depend on the backstop being square, I use a carpenter's level.  If the mill is level and the flat side is plumb, you will get a square cut.  One trick that works really well is a wedge that fits on the crossbunk to chalk the log from rolling back on you so you can get another bite on it with the cant hook.  For heavy turning, I use a high lift mechanical farm jack with a rope wrapped around the log and hooked into it so that as I raise the jack, it lifts on the rope and turns the log.  Very precise, and no getting on & off the tractor.

 

[Kbeitz]

You could put a cant hook right on your jack. I made this hook out of a file.



 

[Ohio_Bill]

I have been sawing with a band mill for 19 years and learn something new almost every day. Its amazing with a little common sense and a sharp blade you can make lumber right out of the gate but the opportunity to learn and hone your skills goes on for a lifetime.