Author Topic: I done went and done it... (Read 4710 times)

DanG · « **on:** January 01, 2002, 07:17:49 pm »

Yup, Frank, I'm the proud, new owner of a Mobile Dimensions sawmill.

The mill checked out just like the guy said it would. All the rusty color on it is just surface rust. The engine performed well, and everything else seems to be in good shape.
He had some little Red Cedar logs for us to play with. He had gotten into the books, then practiced with it, beforehand, so he had figured out how to run it, pretty well. Since the logs were so small, we cut mostly 1x2's and a few 1x4's. I got frisky and cut one slat less than 1/4" thick, just to see if I could. All the lumber came out even and true.
The mill has the 12" edgers, and comes with a pair of spares. Also included are about 50 each of teeth for the edgers and the main wheel, as well as a handfull of inserts. He has the manuals, the regular owner's manual, plus a larger, service manual, the tooth puller, some extra dogs, etc.
Also included is the sawdust chain, and it's chute, motor, etc. That will be nice to have, when it is set up at home, but it is huge and heavy. I don't yet know how I will get that part home, as it is 40' long. We don't know, yet, if it can be disassembled.
It will be a few weeks before I can bring it home, but I have plenty to do, between now and then.

BTW, Frank, the title of this thread was just a "payback" to all my old English teachers.

DanG · « **Reply #1 on:** January 01, 2002, 07:20:18 pm »

HEY, how 'bout that! I got my sawmill, and my tooth twee, all on the same day.

Tom · « **Reply #2 on:** January 01, 2002, 07:29:59 pm »

Congratulations on the second tree and the sawmill, Dan.

I expect to see a cloud of sawdust on the horizon when I look to the west in a couple of months.

Frank_Pender · « **Reply #3 on:** January 01, 2002, 08:47:10 pm »

Welcome, Dan, to the family of fine mill owners. They are Orange too. I don't care no more, as I are no longer the teacher, I was, once.

A point to consider when you spearte the sawdust shoot. If it is not bolted but needs to be cut with a torch; 1. cut the sides of the shoot a different distance from the end. (example one side at 19 1/2' and the other side at 20 1/2' and the bottom at a zigzag pattern that way when you reweld it will not all be at the same stress points. I hope I am making sence. Anyway, congrats on the new toy and if Timber Beast and I can help, don't hesitate in letting us know. The best of luck with your cutting ventures.

Frank_Pender · « **Reply #4 on:** January 01, 2002, 08:50:40 pm »

By the way they are not called inserts, but "shanks".

The extra edger blades are quite valuable also. I have never need to replace any but the fact you already have them is with moocho $.

RavioliKid · « **Reply #5 on:** January 02, 2002, 06:01:16 am »

Way to go, Dan!

All this tool talk just has my little heart a palpitatin'! I may just have to go out and play with my chop saw.

That is, if the temperature ever gets out of the single digits!

Gordon · « **Reply #6 on:** January 02, 2002, 02:56:50 pm »

Congrats on the new mill, but I've got a question for ya. The reason I'm asking this is my lack of knowlege on the Mobile dimension mill. The one you bought looks pretty stationary.

Are they really portable mills? Or are they best set up in one place and not moved? Guess what I'm getting at is a mobile mill really mobile?

Gordon

timberbeast · « **Reply #7 on:** January 02, 2002, 03:51:32 pm »

Congrats, Dan, sounds like you done good!! You'll be sawing a lot of lumber! Great that you got the manuals, too.
Gordon, MD can be configured on a trailer, that was where I first fell in love with one, and decided to buy. A guy up around my woods had one, brought it out to the land and sawed me about 1500 bd. ft and was gone before dark. MD sells the trailer kit, though mine is stationary, I could retrofit it and tow it anyplace. I figured I'd set mine up where the trees are, can always move it if I need to. They do have a website, not sure of the address.
Dan, if I can answer any future questions, I'll do my best, but I don't think you'll need any help, especially since you have the books.

timberbeast · « **Reply #8 on:** January 02, 2002, 04:17:04 pm »

:)www.mobilemfg.com

Frank_Pender · « **Reply #9 on:** January 02, 2002, 06:10:31 pm »

Gordon, I set my first mill up inside of a building. I located the mill on my own self-designed trailer. I had to have a trailer for a site specific situation. The second mill is on a factory dsigned trailer that makes it very mobile. It is a very unique mill in and of itself. They only made two of them like mine and mine was the prototype for what they were thinking about building. It has very unusual bells and whistles all centered around hydraulics.

DanG · « **Reply #10 on:** January 03, 2002, 06:15:39 am »

Gordon, while this one is set up stationary, right now, it is on a trailer. He just took the wheels off, and lowered it a bit. The fenders are removable, but, unfortunately, they left one of them on, and it got a little beat up. The guy has put new tires on the wheels, and will have it ready for me to drive away, when I go to get it. The trailer is 8x24, plus about 3' for the tongue. I will leave it portable until I figure out what direction my business will take, but I'll probably settle in to a permanent location, eventually.
My THANKS goes out to all of you for your help and support, especially to Frank and Timberbeast. Operating the mill seems to be a piece of cake, but I'm sure I'll have lots of technique questions, soon.
My Darlin' Bride lined up my first WHACK of logs for me, yesterday. She stopped by to see a friend, who has about a dozen good pines to be removed. He has another friend who is trying to get a mill, and he told us that the first one to get in operation would get the trees. He declared us the winner, yesterday.

Frank_Pender · « **Reply #11 on:** January 03, 2002, 06:48:08 am »

Dan, With that long of a trailer I strongly suggest that you make sure the mill unit is all the way toward to tongue. secondly, I suggest that you place some extra wieght on the tongue area. In this way you will help eliminate any tale sway in the trailer at speeds of 50 and above. I have put as much as 600lbs when moveing my portable unit. I run with a '99 F 450 4 x 4 and it makes all the difference in the pulling action for tail sway. Again, Congrats, and welcome to the sawmillers brotherhood. The best of luck in your venture. P.S. Stay Permanent. It will pay off better.

Papa Dave · « **Reply #12 on:** January 03, 2002, 07:23:38 am »

Congratulations, Dan. Hope you have a bunch of fun with your new mill. May the sawdust pile high and the boards be straight and true.

Ron Wenrich · « **Reply #13 on:** January 04, 2002, 02:49:54 pm »

After looking at the Mobile Mfg website, it looks like you got a pretty good deal!

Gordon · « **Reply #14 on:** January 05, 2002, 05:57:33 am »

Thanks for the info and the website link. That is a nice setup.
No wonder you guys talk so highly of it.

Gordon

L. Wakefield · « **Reply #15 on:** January 05, 2002, 07:20:47 am »

Yes- it's one of the 2 new links on my new laptop. I'm slowly copying stuff over. Having a lot of fun.

lw

DanG · « **Reply #16 on:** January 07, 2002, 03:41:35 pm »

Thanks to all of you for the encouragement. I'm getting excited about getting into production.
It's getting to be nitty-gritty time, and I need to think about the things I need to support and maintain the mill. The books come with it, but I don't have possession of them yet, so I'll ask FP and TB. What do I need to sharpen the teeth with? A little hand operated grinder comes with it for use in the field, but what about in the shop, and at locations where power is available? Do you guys sharpen them on the mill, or do you always replace and grind later?
Are there any other supplies or equipment that is specific to this mill, that I will need before I can operate? If so, I'd like to go ahead and order them now, so there won't be any surprises, later.

Also, the mill is equipped with 24v DC power to raise and lower the carriage, but it looks cumbersome to set up if using it in the portable mode. Is it practical to raise and lower with the hand crank, keeping in mind that I'm no longer in my 20's. :-/ BTW, we didn't find a crank with it. Is this something that would only be available from MD?

Frank_Pender · « **Reply #17 on:** January 07, 2002, 07:32:38 pm »

Dan G.
Use the 24 volt unit. It will save on the following: shourlder joint replacement costs. tunnel issues for your wrists and hospital as well as dr. costs, equipment purchases fro m Mobile Mfg., instalation time and materials, frustrations, loss of time in just turning the handle.

The hand grinder lasted a very short time aroung here. the wife got tired of turning the handle for me

and I could not afford to hire it done so I ordered the one the Mfg. Co. has. It is money well spent. I usually have tow or three complete sets sharpened in advance so it helps in down time cutting. Have them sent you an extra stone for the unit. You can purchase your own or they have a stone dresser that is very handing also to keep the stone dressed evenly across the surface. This prevents the teeth from getting ground unevenly.

timberbeast · « **Reply #18 on:** January 07, 2002, 09:23:57 pm »

I have my teeth sharpened by a guy I know who is a tool-room machinist. I know the guy, so he does it free, and the teeth last longer than when I fumble with them. I think you'll find that they last longer than the manual says between sharpenings. If you have a lot of weight to lose, or want to build up your upper body, use the hand-crank for raising the mill, I can send you my crank handle (I really will). You'll be cranking more than sawing!
A cant hook would be real handy for loading logs onto the mill.
Also, you can get (if you don't have) sets of "mid-dogs???", so you can set more than one log at a time on the bunks and just move down the line and saw them. You can also get raising pieces for the bunks, with which you can raise the small end of a log on the one bunk, to get a better yield, or raise both sides with small logs. It's better to have the small end towards the head of the mill, saves wane in the learning process! Have a ball!!

Frank_Pender · « **Reply #19 on:** January 08, 2002, 05:49:31 am »

Timber Beast,

I am sorry to disagree with you to a point. Yes the idea of small end toward the opertor is good when learning, but I have found that you have more difficulity in getting hold of the scrap piece since it is further away. I keep the larger end towards me and that way I get hold of the scrap and discard it into one of two places, the chipping trailer for chipping or the firewood gig for cutting.

News:

Author Topic: I done went and done it... (Read 4710 times)