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Expanding again

Started by Bibbyman, April 21, 2005, 08:10:30 PM

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Bibbyman


We're expanding .... again! 

We can never get too much room.   I think it was just summer before last we about doubled the size of our loglot to make room for tractor trailer rigs to come in,  turn around and load or unload – sometime more than one at a time.

Then last fall we added some more lot space on the other side of the drive to have room to sort and stack logs.

Today we had our bulldozer guy over and had him prepare about another acre of lot.  The area had been heavily eroded from the old mud road changing course each time one part got too muddy or too rutted.  Evidence of four distinct and "extinct" roadbeds could be seen plus a number of places where they intermixed.

The ground had very little top soil over the red clay it even though I'd been trying to build it up for over twenty years by feeding the cattle on it in the wintertime, etc.

Anyway,  now this area, 100 steps long and 50 wide, is on it's way to becoming more log lot and more room for truckers to turn around.

When weather permits,  we will have gravel hauled in.  It may be while as a major rain storm moved in within an hour of when the dozer guy left.
Wood-Mizer LT40HDE25 Super 25hp 3ph with Command Control and Accuset.
Sawing since '94

dail_h

   Bet that red clay's nice now huh?
World Champion Wildcat Sorter,1999 2002 2004 2005
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Singing The Song Of Circle Again

Percy

Wow Bib.
Looks like an airport! Shud take a while to plugg that up ya!  ;D ;D
GOLDEN RULE : The guy with the gold, makes the rules.

Frank_Pender

Geeee, I am enveious. :'(
Frank Pender

ronwood

Bibbyman,

Will you start with a large rock (4in) and put some smaller rock over that?

Ron
Sawing part time mostly urban logs -St. Louis/Warrenton, Mo.
LT40HG25 Woodmizer Sawmill
LX885 New Holland Skidsteer

Bibbyman

We are wealthy in creek rock - having a good size gravel bar on our farm.  We'll start with that and probably end with that.  I don't like it because it is mostly flint and other hard rock and lots of sand and small stones.  Hard on blades.  But ... so far,  we've been able to "trade out" the hauling and dumping for our use by others that want gravel.  Makes the price REAL atractive.
Wood-Mizer LT40HDE25 Super 25hp 3ph with Command Control and Accuset.
Sawing since '94

Ironwood

I just leveled a large platform for a new shop and at first I cussed the rock that we hit then my neighbor reminded me that  I had saved thousands in gravel expense. Those long days running a rock hammer on the bobcat will not be soon forgotten by me or the folks in the neighborhood. I figure the savings in rock paid for a lot of the excavating cost. REID
There is no scarcity of opportunity to make a living at what you love to do, there is only scarcity of resolve to make it happen.- Wayne Dyer

GF

Did you grow 6" taller by walking that red clay when it was wet?  I have clay also, and when it wet it sticks to everything.  Looks like that additional room is going to help out big time.

Bibbyman

Here is an update on our loglot expansion project.



We got 14 loads of gravel spread Thrursday and Friday. 
Wood-Mizer LT40HDE25 Super 25hp 3ph with Command Control and Accuset.
Sawing since '94

WH_Conley

Go ahead and order 14 more, yer gonna run out of room again. :D
Bill

Bibbyman

Fortunately for us,  we have a good size creek running through our farm.  We could take out 100 truck loads and then the next heavy rainy season it'd be back. 

The trick it.. to get the gravel haulers in when it's dry enough to get it out.   They're often busy else where.  But often enough, they need gravel in our area and will come looking.  Yea, take what you want - just drop a load hear and a load there before you leave. ;D


Wood-Mizer LT40HDE25 Super 25hp 3ph with Command Control and Accuset.
Sawing since '94

Bibbyman




We've been working this week at adding another 32 feet onto our shed.  Don't laugh,  I know it don't look like much for a week's work, but we're pretty pleased at how much we've got done.  Our old muscles and joints sure know we've put in some effort!

First we had to move and clean up all the stuff we had around that end of the mill.  We started that on Labor Day.

Then we had to argue out what we were going to do.  We both wanted something much bigger and better but both know it'd be beyond us to get it done.  We'd put this off for at least two years – not having time or not deciding on just what we wanted to build.  It just got to be that time to decide and do it.

It took the first three days to saw out and set five posts and nail up the outside headers.  Digging the five post holes took the majority of the time.  It was no fun digging in packed gravel over clay dirt. We were exhausted by noon so we'd break off for the day and go get materials.  We got our tin Wednesday afternoon. 

Thursday we sawed out and built the four trusses and started taking down the old 16'x15' shed.  I had built the extension way to good.  It took a lot of work with a sledge and 4' wrecking bar to break down the joints.  I'd nailed the sycamore purlins on with hardened ring-shank nails.  I had to use the Terex to rip them off.  At times,  it taxed the hydraulics to get the purlin to pop loose.  Sometimes they'd bust before the nail pulled!

Saturday,  with help from Gabe,  we finished taking down the old shed and got the rest of the headers sawn and up and other work done.  A lot of time was spent taking off the gable end trim and otherwise tying into the existing building.

Today, again with Gabe's help,  we got the knee braces in and some other blockers needed to nail in the truss.  Then we got the truss up and some of the purlins.   We ran out of purlins and steam and quit for the day.

Tomorrow's goal is to get the rest of the purlins sawn out and nailed up and other framing ready for the tin.




Wood-Mizer LT40HDE25 Super 25hp 3ph with Command Control and Accuset.
Sawing since '94

D._Frederick

A nice well planned addition, how much do you figure it will cost you?

What new piece of WM equipment do you have your sights set on?

jpad_mi

Jeff P. in Michigan

Bibbyman

Quote from: D._Frederick on September 11, 2005, 07:41:21 PM
A nice well planned addition, how much do you figure it will cost you?

What new piece of WM equipment do you have your sights set on?

So far we've got less than $700 "hard dollars" in the expansion.  Most of that was for new white tin.  In soft dollers,  we've got time and lumber. Some of the lumber is off-all odds and ends from other orders but we've swaw up about 5 logs.   We've recycled some of the parts of the shed we removed - like 5 pieces of tin, edge trim and posts, etc.

We are planning to add roll-up doors.  That's going to be big bucks compaired to what we'll spend getting it under roof.

We got prices from a pole barn builder of something like $8,000 to build it (without doors).  And we considered it.  But then, we thought we'd sawed out lumber for so many pole barns,  it'd look kind of odd to have a store bought building made from store bought lumber.

New Wood-Mizer equipment ???  Well,  that's not why we're adding on but we are talking with Wood-Mizer on something they have that we want. ;D  This addition is to cover our lumber coming off the mill and getting stacked.  Before we  started this additon,  the outfeed of the edger stuck out from under the roof line.  We could only stack one bundle 8' long under roof.  Now we should be able to make 2,3,4 stacks under roof.   And if we're not stacking lumber, we can park the Terex under roof.
Wood-Mizer LT40HDE25 Super 25hp 3ph with Command Control and Accuset.
Sawing since '94

Ernie

Looks like Mary's getting her money's worth out of the new help :)

Looks great guys.
A very wise man once told me . Grand children are great, we should have had them first

TN_man

We are glad for ya. 8)
I am sure it will help to keep the rain and wind off of ya as well.
My son and I are looking into building something like that so we can move out of the barn and be able to put more hay in there.
WM LT-20 solar-kiln Case 885 4x4 w/ front end loader  80 acre farm  little time or money

D._Frederick

                               Guessing a LT 300

red

looks great  nice when a plan is taking shape!
Honor the Fallen Thank the Living

mac

Bibbyman i am going to have to look you up and check out your place before you get to big for a small fry like me. :D

OneWithWood

I am betting it is a lathe attachment. 
One With Wood
LT40HDG25, Woodmizer DH4000 Kiln

DanG

I wuz figgerin' that tha Bibbster is gonna buy a LT-10 fer Mary to run, while he uses tha 'lectrik Sooper.  Thataway, he might have a chance of keepin' up wit her. ;) ;D
"I don't feel like an old man.  I feel like a young man who has something wrong with him."  Dick Cavett
"Beat not thy sword into a plowshare, rather beat the sword of thine enemy into a plowshare."

beenthere

Make a space for the computer so you don't have to run to the house to keep up with the FF.  :D
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

sandmar

 :D DanG, I couldn't have said it better myself. Looking good Bibbyman,I figured Mary was building you a place to stay out of her way ::)  :D

Sandmar

Bibbyman

Mid-week update on the new extension;  We got the tin on!

Tuesday morning we caught one of the neighbors as he was feeding his cattle and asked him to help us put up the tin.  He'd already volunteered the week before when we were just starting the building.  He went home and got his tools and his brother.  The four of us got the purlins up and tin on the upper side of the building by mid afternoon.  We got a load of logs to deal with so we knocked off for the day.

They came back this morning and with the help of our son Gabe,  we got the tin up on the lower side by noon.  After a picknic lunch,  we got the gable trim boards up and end trim.  We were going to put the ridge cap on but didn't have the screws needed. 

We've got it under control now.  Mary and I can work on it an hour now and an hour then.


That Terex sure made the job a lot easier.  The boxes we made came in right handy too!



Gabe (in red shirt) with Victor in high box.  Victor's brother Dinnis in lower box had just put the end trim on.  Mary in Terex.



From another angle.  They are waiting for me to get done taking the pictures so Mary can let them down.

Y-all know I'm not the kind of guy that will brag on myself but I want to say I was really pleased how well the tin went down on the front side.  It went down perfect and came out perfect.  Pretty good considering we designed it as we went and used a string level and 50' tape to lay it out and square it.  Most all the lumber was cut to length with a chain saw.
Wood-Mizer LT40HDE25 Super 25hp 3ph with Command Control and Accuset.
Sawing since '94

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