help needed

[timcosby]

welcome and you don't need hydraulics.
i have the ground higher on one side of my mill and drag the logs to there and roll them with a cant hook onto the bed. it almost rolls itself on, some i can roll on with my foot.

 

high side is on the left.
now if i was trying to lift them up a foot or two onto the mill.... that would be another story. hydraulics would be nice to have but you can add later. i bought a norwood lumberlite 24 with a 6.5 hp new for $3000 including shipping. it does everything you and i would need because we are not cutting to make money selling lumber. you can cut so much lumber you will run out of room to stack it too! figure up how much oak or what ever from the big box store it would take to cost $3000. bet you could cut that much in a month sawing in the evenings, poof mill paid for itself!!! i just got a new 13 hp honda clone engine off of ebay for $210 i intend to swap the engines out and use the 6.5 for an edger or hydraulics.... not that you need hydraulics it would just be nice (luxury) to have.
1. sawmill
2. cant hook
3. anchoreseal
4. cut lots of stickers
5. read all you can on drying

[Rancher]

Amen Tom,
   My wife spends about $1000. on flowers every summer. Why? Because she wants them. You can't enjoy them when you're gone. Can't argue with sound logic.

[Todd]

Bedway...welcome!  Get whatever mill YOU think works best for you, and your brain will rationalize the rest

Tom...great post. So many people today NEED a new car and the finest what-not, but I have a sense the people on this forum are old school and tend to make do or have to justify everything.  I know I've been bitter about not having things and trying to "be responsible" while those around me aren't; and your post made me think maybe I do have to lighten up and indulge more often.  (spoken on Saturday after I already gave the wife my check to put in the bank....maybe next week )

[jpgreen]

I reach to my front shirt pocket and retrieve my Meisterstück 149 with the flair of Ed Norton ...

...................

[brdmkr]

Welcome to the forum, but watch out for the sawmill.  I used to consider myself a hobbiest woodworker.  Now that I have a mill I collect lumber   I just seem to saw, sticker, and dry.  I really haven't done much with the lumber.  I enjoy cutting it more than building with it.  Of course, that is about to change.  Really, it is.

[joelmar10]

Hope your discussion goes better than mine!   My wife wants to see a business plan......

[bedway]

well, heres the latest. wife saw me on here and read the whole thread. she says theres two sides to every story, of which this is her side. she starts reciteing a list of things that need done around the house, of which of course she notes havent been completed. gawd, i had to stop her at around #43,,,geez, did she have this stuff memorized? i need to mention at this point that a couple years ago this same senerio was played when i decided i needed a kubota. one day out of the clear blue, she said, if ya want it,,,(GET IT). this is my second wife,and combined ive been married to a woman near 40 years. i consider myself to be a fairly intelligent fella but my gosh i cant figure woman out. on a serious note, one of her real concerns is that her father was a logger and was killed by a widow maker. any time im in the woods, especially alone, shes worried to death. this is actually my first real participation in one these forums and it really amazes me. ya throw out a  question or an idea and all these perspectives and imput come back. its kinda like a big think tank, only were not all in the same room. do ya think shes useing this mill as leverage to get things done around the house,,duh! ya GOTTA love em!

[Radar67]

How many of those things she wants done require wood? 

Stew

[tcsmpsi]

There are always projects, and there always will be.  One never gets all the projects done.

I, also, am in my 'second stage' (and emphatically, the last, according to my darlin' little significant other) of marriage.  Judge relates to her from time to time after he has seen me, that obviously things are going well, for I am still alive. 

Now, what worked for me, is that I had to go into overtime and work on some of those projects, with notable intent and conviction...and inspiration from which gathering a sawmill provided.

[Cedarman]

Bedway, if I was your wife, I'd make you give a lot of concessions to get this mill because once you have it her bargaining position won't be what it used to be. (As far as buying a mill is concerned)

[gary]

Just go get one she will only be upset for a short time and you'll be out running the mill.

[DanG]

Ahhhh, you're gonna be ok, Bedway.  Ya just need to make a small down payment in project completions. OR, just go ahead and get the mill.  Ya really can't hear anybody talkin' to ya when you're running it.

[jkj]

...a list of things that need done around the house, of which of course she notes havent been completed. gawd, i had to stop her at around #43...do ya think shes useing this mill as leverage to get things done around the house,,duh! ya GOTTA love em!

Well, are you going to tackle the list or sit around and moan about it?    Moving to a farm a few years ago with a house and property that had been neglected for years, I had a very similar list, probably longer than yours!   But in my case she had everything written down and prioritized.  I too got the Kubota right away (absolutely needed to even start on the property) and had a sawmill on my wish list. 

This is what I did: I tackled the projects with unstopable energy, starting at the top of the list.  She checked off each one when completed.  If the next project seemed too overwhelming for the moment, I skipped down the list and found a quick one to check off.  I continued to talk about the sawmill over the next two years but didn't press the issue.  SWMBO was floating on air at all the progress and sometime after the refinished floors, new kitchen, lighting, garage door opener, landscaping, and new entranceway, the sawmill was in place.   And the two years of extra time allowed me to easily save up the cash for the mill.

Another thing I did for continued harmony:  the first fruits of the sawmill went towards items on the eternal list, including new shelves for the walk-in closet from yellow poplar and new front steps cut from 4" thick white oak slabs.  Life is good for both of us.

BTW, a written list with a bunch of projects checked off is a real help, both a reminder of all that has been done, and an unspoken assurance progress will continue.  We add new projects to the bottom of the list - as someone mentioned, there will ALWAYS be projects!

JKJ, with 36th aniversary this past weekend

[Max sawdust]

on a serious note, one of her real concerns is that her father was a logger and was killed by a widow maker. any time im in the woods, especially alone, shes worried to death.

Welcome to the forum,
Address her concern.  Use all safety equipment available study up on the OSHA stuff see link
http://www.osha-slc.gov/SLTC/etools/logging/mainpage.html
Take a Game of Logging course.  Be safe

Having a Sawmill will keep you in the yard more than in the forest, cause you will be milling and stickering and processing lumber, all much safer activities than logging   What kind of logs are you going to process if it is mostly under 22" and you are milling for personal use with an occasional for hire job then a manual mill and a good cant hook may be all you need.  My suggestion is to start small see how you like it if you like it alot upgrade


Max

[jpgreen]

Build her some beautiful slab patio furniture, so she can sip some lemonade and supervise...

[Phorester]

Tom, that's the justification I used when I bought my "new" used 1999 F150 a couple years ago.  Mint condition, 10,000 miles on a 4 year old truck. Didn't need it, already got a '77 F150, just wanted it. 

[bedway]

well,,me and the better half havent had more discussions  on a mill in the last few days. all the posts up to this point have been great food for thought. im tending to believe as tim stated, a small simple mill and a cant hook is the way to get started. now geting to that point is still a work in progress. the theory of working on her list of projects seems to be the avenue which will show the most rewards for yours truely . needless to say id love to have one of the big mills with hydrulics etc.,,,,but in reality,,i dont need that. at least not for now anyway. i seem to recall haveing these same feelings when i decided to get into woodworking,,,you know,,a few tools.. well years  and thousands of dollars later!!!!!!!!!! .  as has been stated so elequently by many of you this becomes an addiction,,woodworking and or sawing lumber.  its in my blood so bad that when someone goes to throw a piece of wood on the bonfire i have to measure it first and check the grain to see if i can use it for anything. i know im sick! i guess im not getting any progress done towards that list in here yaking away.. but trust me,,i will check back. i have found this forum to be an addiction also.

[fat olde elf]

Yes, the Forum is a positive addiction, just like sawing..... I was 65 when I got my Cooks mp-32.  Never had some much fun...............

[Percy]

What a good thread!

Bite off more than you can chew......and just chew it.......