Year-End Reflections & What I've learned

[DR_Buck]

It's been about a year since I decided to take the plunge and buy a mill.  I picked up my new LT40HD25G at the VERY COLD January 04 Virginia Farm Show and stumbled blindly into this new part-time sawyer profession.  Since then a lot of water saw dust has gone over the dam and I've learned a oh so much. As this 1st year comes to an end I'd like to reflect on, and share just what I have learned.

In no particular order:

• Never leave the truck windows down when the saw mill is operating nearby.
  
  
• Logs are heavier than they look.
  
  
• Calling the wife and asking her to drive to a customer site to bring you the band blades you forgot is not a good thing.
  
  
• Bibby should work for the Wood Mizer design department.  I'm still waiting to order my "manual-to-hydraulic" clamp mod kit.
  
  
• Those 'free logs' aren't really free.
  
  
• 'DanG' is a politically correct cuss word.
  
  
• You really can't saw through the log dogs no matter how many times you try.
  
  
• Owning a 'high-lift' jack is a must.
  
  
• Wood-Mizer has GREAT customer service.
  
  
• Never roll a log onto the mill without first putting up the log dogs.
  
  
• A fork lift on the tractor is the greatest idea since sliced bread boards.
  
  
• LogRite Girl makes great brownies and it will rain at the Richmond show.
  
  
• Backing out of a log in the middle of a cut with the blade running makes a terrible noise when the blade comes off!
  
  
• Don't forget to lower the taper rollers.
  
  
• You never have enough saw mill (toys) accessories.
  
  
• You can lead a Yankee south of the Mason-Dixon line, but you can't make me eat grits!
  
  
• Logs don't roll well in the mud.
  
  
• Iain builds some pretty cool medieval looking furniture.
  
  
• Always check to make sure you put the fenders back on the mill before leaving the customer site.
  
  
• LogRite makes some super tools.
  
  
• Marmite is Vegimite on a different continent.
  
  
• No matter what direction the wind is blowing or how you set up the saw, the saw dust WILL blow directly into your face.
  
  
• I know a whole lot less about saw mills, milling, logs, lumber, wood, kilns, marmite and grits than I thought.
  
  
• Forestry Forum is an unlimited source of information and entertainment.
  
  

[Jeff]

I would like to add that you have learned to use the YaBB tags at a professional level that even I am jealous of.

This post is not only entertaining and educational, well, its just DinG-DanG Purty.

[Danny_S]

That list looks like something that should be printed on the inside page of a sawmills owners manual...  hehheh

[Chet]

The learnin' curve must be pretty universal. Your list looks awful familiar.  

[WoodSmith]

        [size=14]Good reading[/size]

Gives me alot to look forward to, gettin into the sawin biz.

[GareyD]

After only sawing a couple months, appears I have a lot to look forward to...can hardly wait.

GareyD...Grits is Good

[sprucebunny]

Good observations, well presented. That should be in the Knowledge base.

Or on a little card that comes with a new mill.

[Bibbyman]

Mule-Man was just starting out with his new Wood-Mizer mill last spring.  He asked me what a new sawyer should know.   I made him a long list that included most of the items on you list.  Then I ended by,  “and I’ve done most of these things in the past 6 months”.  So they’re just not things beginners do.

I got a couple more “mods” in the works so stay tuned…..  It’s just too cold to get out there and work at them.   It’s 14, feels like 0 out there today and I think we’re going to have to get in some firewood.  May have to go up to my folk’s house and get a tailgate load of dry, seasoned firewood!

[OneWithWood]

Great list, Dr. Buck.  I noticed the 'P' word did not get mentioned anywhere



P=Profit, as in 'I might have taken in more dinero than I handed out, mebbee.'

[SwampDonkey]

I'de add another item to the list.

If  you put your cell phone in the pocket of your fleece sweater remember to remove it before ya put it through the washing machine. Cause when ya retreive it after ya forgot to remove it in the first place, it don't run the same as it used to, if at all. :-/

cheers

[woodmills1]

and did ya ever notice when you do remember that you left your fenders at the customers site you can't find a decent place to turn the truck and mill around.

Or how about, did ya ever leave the nice chrome Jack bar lying on the machine as you pulled out onto the road...........lost mine once ina hay field......didn't know it till I got home and spent about an hour lookin for it at the customers.

[Bibbyman]

On that finder thing....

Don't put your finders under the truck "so they won't get run over".

Guess what?  I found out that putting the finders under the truck was a good way to get them run over.

[Tom]

The best place I found to put the fenders was under the hitch end of the mill.   You see'em when you hook up.

I always thought it would be nice to have a "hanger" somewhere on the mill for them, but, never could figure out a good place for it.  ..........on the diagonal brace at the end of the mill, maybe?    .......or,  the inside of the main beam ata the end of the mill..... ? ?

I lost my bright shiny chrome jack handle too.  Have you ever priced one of those things?  I replaced it with a pry bar from the flea market for $4.   You know, one of those pry bars that has a spud on one end and a lip on the other and is about 30 inches long.  They sell them in most all of  the Tool places that deal in imported tools.  I keep 3 or 4 on the truck all of the time now.

[SwampDonkey]

On the farm father kept a pry bar or a heavy long handled screw driver for prying in every tool box and on the back of the truck. We was always in need of something to pry with or get leverage with. That be at least of the top 3 items ya should always have. I got 2 crow bars handy in my shed and one thin bladed crow bar in my tool box which came in handy rip'n off stucko brick outta the kitchen a couple years back.

[Bibbyman]

I don’t normally buy cheep tools but a few years back I gave in to temptation to buy as set of pry bars in a set.  Don’t know what you call them – they are for mechanic work.  The longest is about 16” and the shortest about 6”.  They’ve came in handy many times around the mill.  The tapered punch end has help align bolt holes and the hook end is handy to pry off bearings and plates, etc.

Got to go... Supper's ready.  

[customsawyer]

Great list. Thought I was reading mine.

[DR_Buck]

It's been three years since I started this thread. Now closing in on my first 100,000 board foot under my part-time sawing belt, I figured it's about time to resurrect it see what new and amazing things I have learned. 

 First, EVERYTHING on the original list at the top of this thread is still relevant.  I continue to re-learn some of them.     

Now again, in no particular order:

• The 'P' word.....Profit is good.  It's how the equipment got paid for.
  
• Never,  and I mean NEVER let a customer use your chain saw.  Especially when he's trimming a log laying on your mill.
• Accuset (now Accuset2) is well worth the $$$.
• Keep you fingers away from the fairlead rollers on the winch.  (Don't ask how I know)
  
• You can't saw through a horseshoe or railroad spikes.
• There's no such thing as a log to big.
• The customer is not always right.
• You need three things in addition to a sawmill to sell lumber:

           Log trailer, Kiln, and a Market  (I'm working on this one)

• It's OK to raise your prices, no matter what the guy down the road charges.
• Stickers evaporate.
  
• When you decide to burn the slab pile, it will burn for 2 weeks.
• Adding a board drag-back is a good idea.
• You can't keep up with all the post on this forum, but you got to try.
• If you have an almost unlimited source of white oak, your customers will want to buy walnut.
• Saw dust never completely comes out of your pockets.
• Yes,  even in Virginia, the sawmill can freeze to the ground.
• You can never have to many LogRite tools.
• Don't ever forget to put antifreeze in the lub-mizer tank when it starts getting cold 
• Attending Sawlex and other industry shows is a good thing.   So much to learn, so little time.
• There is no such thing as 'enough' band blades.
• If your winch has 100 ft of cable, you'll need 110 ft.
• Owning  a knuckleboom loader is a good thing.  (reference the "free logs' comment in the first post)
• Keep at least 3 spare tape measures in the truck at all times.
• Never stand on the downhill side of a log and yank on it with a cant hook.
• You can't saw through concrete.
• If you build a kiln to hold 2000bf you'll need one that holds 2500bf.
• Attending the FF Piggy Roast is a good thing.   So much to eat, so little time.
  
• If you don't know how to weld, learn.
• It's OK to say no to a potential customer.   You don't have to take every job.
• Wood-mizer customer service is 15 on a scale of 1 to 10.   
• Even with everything I've learned I feel like I don't know anything about this business.
• Forestry Forum is an unlimited source of information and entertainment and good friends.

[Dan_Shade]

Dave, I never noticed this post until today.

of course i'm not sure if it's the post, or the 6 beers i've had, but I like it, and agree with it.  Happy New Year!

p.s.  I put my fenders "where I trip over them to get in the truck" or in the truck bed.  I heard that trip comment around here somewhere!

[Dan_Shade]

I do have one to add:

• take a cooler with you on EVERY job
• take cups for the helpers and a screw top bottle for yoursef

[John Bartley]

It's been three years since I started this thread.

• The 'P' word.....Profit is good.  It's how the equipment got paid for.
• The customer is not always right.
• It's OK to raise your prices, no matter what the guy down the road charges.

Three universal truths ... learned the hard way from self employment over many years

cheers eh?

[Jeff]

DR_Buck, you took a great post and made it greaterer  

[DR_Buck]

I'm just about to reach my 6th anniversary of owning my mill  and I've been thinking about updating this thread the past few weeks with all the new things I've learned in the two years since my last update.  The problem is I don't think I've learned much new.    I keep re-learning the same stuff over and over.   

In spite of my  best efforts I did learn a few 'new' things:

• Never wear a hoodie with the single front pocket when milling.  You'll never get the sawdust out of the pocket.
• Skipping a pig roast causes depression.
• Read all the forum topic areas.  You'll be surprised what you may find. 
• 4° bands are great.
• If you have a Logrite Junior arch, take it to every job.  It will save you lots of work.
• Never, and I mean NEVER move the mill with the front leg still down.
• Keep spare tail-lite bulbs for the mill in your tool box.
• If a short heavy log has the potential to fall down, end-on, between the bed rails, it will.
• Regardless of what SNOPES.COM says, it is possible to roll a log off the backside of the mill and get it stuck between the mill rail and the tire.
• Just because the loader arm hydraulics can lift a big log onto the mill doesn't mean that you can turn it with the turner or clamp.
• Take every opportunity to attend sawmill trade shows such as Sawlex, logging expo's or mfgr (Wood-Mizer) open houses.  There is so much to learn.
• Subscribe to Sawmill & Woodlot Magazine.
• Only drag home logs that you can use.  Or buy an outdoor furnace.   
• Beware of free logs at the bottom of a hill or down over a bank.
• Do not run the debarker blade into the turning clamp.  It makes a real bad sound. 
• Support the Forestry Forum Sponsors.
• If you want to know how much you have learned by hanging out on the Forestry Forum, go back and look at your 1st posts.
• Don't tick off the admins.  I learned recently that there are worse things than the woodshed. 

[DR_Buck]

8 YEARS and I'm still learning! (deja-vu all over again)

Dear Diary,

Two years ago I added my 6 year update to this thread.  After re-reading in it's entirety again, I've realized this is a diary of the learning opportunities I've had by owning a sawmill.   It's also beginning to cause me great concern with my memory as I can see now that I have to keep re-learning some of the same things.       However, no matter how many times I have re-learned the things on my three previous lists, I have found that I can still learn new things as well.

As usual, in no particular order:

• Everything on the previous lists   
• It is an absolute fact that you can saw completely through a backstop roller
• If you don't have a spare tire for your mill because you think you will never one, your wrong.
          ....it will be needed late on a Saturday when it's raining and you are 50 miles from home. 
• Keep spare v-belts in the truck, including for the alternator.
• There is no end to the things you can saw into to destroy a blade
             ..... can you say cast-iron pully or galvanized water pipe?
• If you get a bad feeling in your gut about a job you are bidding, take heed.
                          ...."Just say no"
• Get to know all the other sawyers in your area just in case you need to refer customers elsewhere.
         ....... see bullet above
• Take your maintenance & operator manual with you on every job.
• If you hit something in a dry log and don't stop the blade fast enough, it can set the log on fire.   
• You can so get a cant stuck between the roller guides.   
• Beware of lies... "I've lived here all my life and there are no nails in that log!"   
• I have more Logrite tools than Dan Shade   

[bugdust]

I learned a new one yesterday: If the wife tells you not track sawdust across the carpet, she means it ..... I mean, "SHE REALLY MEANS IT!" 

[zopi]

There is no substittute for having a mill on wheels.

four feet of cypress carved into a bear is worth more $$$$ than quite a few sawn into boards. Hopefully one habit will feed the other.

[WDH]

• Hickory is a dirty seven letter word.
  

• Pecan is a Hickory.

• Wind and currents create waves.  So does Hickory.

[Shotgun]

• Hickory is a dirty seven letter word.

• Pecan is a Hickory.

• Wind and currents create waves.  So does Hickory.

This belongs in the FF "profound sayings" file, wherever that is.     

Norm

[WDH]

Norm,

I have some nice wavy pecan that I cut yesterday if you need some  .  You would think that the lumber would bring more if it had waves in it rather than that straight stuff that you always see  .

[ellmoe]

A customer came into the mill and asked if I'd cut his hickory. I hesitated and asked him, "what sizes?". He told me, "I want each board to be 8.5 inches wide at one end, 7.75 at the other; .75 inches thick at one end, 1.25 inches in the middle and 1.0 inches at the other end. I laughed and told him that I couldn't cut his hickory like that. He said, "why not, that's how you cut my last hickory!".....So I did it again!

[WDH]

 

DanG, that is pretty good with hickory!  You did better than I can do with it  .  Next time, I will get you to cut some for me  .

[Mooseherder]

Bring it on down for the party Saturday.   We'll get even with it on the BBQ.

[Dan_Shade]

now that I know we're in official competition, i'll have to step it up!

(and for the record, I think I've got you beat)....

5 cant hooks, a hookaroon, a scale (2 if you count the one I left behind while doing an estimate once), and a bottle opener!

and on top of that, I gave my uncle a 48" cant hook, and gave another one to a guy that gave me a bunch of logs!

:-)


for the rest of you, i refer my headaches to Dave 

[DR_Buck]

now that I know we're in official competition, i'll have to step it up!

(and for the record, I think I've got you beat)....

5 cant hooks, a hookaroon, a scale (2 if you count the one I left behind while doing an estimate once), and a bottle opener!

and on top of that, I gave my uncle a 48" cant hook, and gave another one to a guy that gave me a bunch of logs!

:-)


for the rest of you, i refer my headaches to Dave 

Dan --- Do the math.   Then place an order with Kevin & Tammy   

2   5' Cant hooks
2   4' Peveys
1   36" Mill Special
1   Mega Hook (aka - Arky Hook)
1   Hookaroon
1   International Scale
1   Jr Arch w/Extender handle
1   ATV Arch
2   PR Logrite Leather Gloves
1   Logrite Ball Cap
1   Logrite Bottle Opener
1   Capstan Winch & 400' Rope  (Sold by Logrite)

                                    

[Dan_Shade]

oh ok, I concede, but at least the paint is wore off of all of mine!  ;-D

[ellmoe]

 You did better than I can do with it  .  Next time, I will get you to cut some for me  .

I'll be glad too. Just as soon as you bring me my table (or was it a desk?)!
Mark

[WDH]

It was a table  .

• I had a new Wood-mizer razor-tip blade that I got at the Pig Roast that I was eager to use, so I tried it on some pecan.  I found out that it slices nails real good  .

[Magicman]

Even when "playing dirty", that is just not fair.

[zopi]

That hickory is not wavy....it is curly.