Reading a past post of window unit AC to make DH

[Buzz-sawyer]

Dont be so shy about it man....topics are fluid IF they are incorporated into interesting discussions..that is the great thing about this forum

[DanG]

Yeah.  Keep on posting this stuff for all of us to see.  I can assure you that brdmkr is hanging on every word and pic, along with everybody else.  We like innovative ideas. We Really like people who bring them into reality.  We really REALLY like people who bring them into reality with PICS!

[Buzz-sawyer]

By the way Charles what kind of saw cut this?

http://www.cyg.net/~charlesk/Milling%20log.jpg

[Charles]

Well taken won't happen again
signing off
charles

[Buzz-sawyer]

Charles so ...my point was lets keep talkin about it

[Charles]

The saw was a 24 inch  1/4 kerf so we had take one pass then  we had to turn this thing by hand, not a lot of fun, but with four guys it happened. If you noticed  the color of the wood was a little darker than normal white oak, that is because it came from a field that had a high mineral content and if you ever get the chance to get red or white oak from a these fields the color is gorgeous.  But got to think this poor baby fell cause it stood in the center of a field and was in the way of farm equipment . Columbus had only discovered America shortly before this tree was a baby. BUT the color is gorgeous and I am gonna keep it for me.
There is a very long story behind this but there are 2 more of these trees still standing that I could have BUT like I said right place right time.

[Buzz-sawyer]

So it was like a 54"" circular blade then?
I really dont like burying my blade like that.....though I have done it from time to time realy dangerous if the log shifts.......

[Charles]

Ya sorry 24" was the depth of one cut
The first cut was a slab off the side but was pretty much the full width of the blade and the blade heated quite a bit. The log was turned to the flat then the second cut was deeper more than the 24" , as I recall may have missed a few details but the point is the blade jammed half way through and was  stuck so tight the clutch on the blade started smoking like crazy before anything got shut down.
The blade was jammed that tight that we had to get a payloader to try and move the log and all we did was start to move the bunks of the mill.
We then got a chain saw and had to cut a relief from the top down and not hit the blade. We did get it unstuck and it was at that time the sawyer realized he had the a set of custom narrow kerf bits in the saw. He replaced the bits with the regular ones and everthing went fine but it took us about three hrs. or so to get the blade unstuck
He said he had never sawn anything that big and wasn'r sure he ever would again

Using chain saw for relief cut


still stuck


Bring in the payloader


nice stuff

[brdmkr]

I can assure you that brdmkr is hanging on every word and pic, along with everybody else.

Lurking in the shadows, the elusive brdmkr relizes he has been ratted-out by the beared grit-eater (Sounds like some sort of bird doesn't it )

DanG got it right.  I check this thread and a few others everytime I get a chance.  Sometimes I respond, and sometimes I just study it. 

Who knows, one of these days I may be able to share some knowledge  instead of just soaking it up from you guys .

Pics Pics Pics!!

Charles, that is one nice log!

[Buzz-sawyer]

I used to think those big brutes were nice also.
Now that I have cut way to many of em .........I look the other way when offered one!
Theyre brutal in every way!

[Tom]

I've gotten so that I prefer 16" to 20" diameter logs.  They are much easier to handle and still produce some good wood.   I'm feeling a little like the big mills that have a 22" cutoff. 

Don't think I would turn a big log down if someone dropped it in my yard, but, I don't go looking for them anymore. 

[carl]

HI CHARLES
THANKS FOR THE INFO AND PICTURES ONTHE  PLC ...I FOUND THE MODEL NR ON THE WEB BUT CO

ULDNT LOCATE A CANADIAN SUPPLIER.   IF YOU WNT TO E MAIL ME MY ADDRESS IS ON MY PROFILE
WHAT  MAKE AND MODEL OF DH UNIT ARE YOU USING....DID YOU MAKE ANY MODIFICATIONS AT ALL
THANKS  CARL

[Charles]

Carl

The supplier here was Torbram Electrical they are industrial suppliers of electrical whatever.
If you go to a industrial supplier and tell them what you want to do they should be able to set you up, in fact there may something better that what I have. Just rember that they are very delicate and usually require a controll to go with them. The kiln I built myself and the DH units are just ones I pick up at garage sales if they look and work. Right now there is a guy near me that reconditions them and sells them for $50.00 and his stuff seems to be pretty reliable. One thing is to make sure you pull the drain pan out and look behind it and it will say the freon used and the test pressures. All of pre 95's will have r-12 in them some have r-500 and the new ones r-134a. You will need the r-12 if you are going to go anywhere near 100f,  r134 won't cut it. I am not sure what you have planed for drying. If you are going to make a kiln for your bowls then I think this would be a much longer drying process and maybe r134 would work because your drying time would greatly increased to stop cracking. I have never turned bowls but believe a lot of them are turned green so I would think that you would want to try cut the time drying by a 1/3 to start off with.
They may somebody out there who can jump in here and help, so you don't have to re-invent the wheel.
One thing I am working on now is a way to drop the condensing coils through the top of my kiln and keep the compressor on top. This way I could keep the compressor cool and be able to use a common freon. The heat generated from the compressor would be directed back in to the kiln above each of the fans by way of ducts.

my thoughts
charles

[carl]

HI CHARLES
THANKS FOR THE INFO ON THE PLC.  REGARDING MOVING THE COILS INTO THE KILN AND CMPRESSOR ON
TOP.   THAT IS HOW A  SLIDING DOOR TYPE DRINK COOLER WORKS;   COMPRESSOR  IS ON TOP OF THE UNIT AND THE  COOLING COILS/CONDENSOR   IS INSIDE WITH HE FAN CIRCULATING COLD AIR.   AS A DH UNIT  THE INSIDE FAN WOULD BE CIRCULATING  WARM MOIST AIR OVER THE COILS AND CONDENSING  OUT AND DRYING THE WOOD   I THINK THE CMPRESSOR WOULD  DEFINITELY  RUN COOLER   AND  YOU COULD GO WITH A COMMON FREON.   SOUNDS LOGICAL.... NOW ABOUT CYCLING THE WARM AIR OFF THE COMPRESSOR  BACK INTO THE KILN....
CARL

[Charles]

Carl
the jury is still out on this one. The hookup would be a simple encloser around the compressor with a "y" junction of 4" ducts to each fan from the enclosure. The question I have to myself is that the comp. must have some outside air flowing past it to keep it cool or it might as well be inside the kiln.
So if you are cooling the comp with outside air you are adding to the  MC of the air going into the kiln.
One thought is, if outside air is moved across the comp. or side to side and the heat is sent forward through the condensor then heat could be sent back into the kiln and the cooling air would never enter the kiln. Now the hot air from the condensor would still have moisture but not near the amount of the cooling air.
So the drying cycle of the DH unit is set with a timer so if a little moisture is entering the kiln chamber,  the on time for the comp. would be a little longer but the end result of water per day would be the same. I know this needs a little work but I believe the idea is sound and will work. It took me a year to design the kiln and it works excellent and so will this.
If any HVAC guys are reading you may jump in at anytime to assist .
Carl never thought of the sliding door cooler, good idea

my thoughts
charles