Dustbunny

[sprucebunny]

I cut up my first log today 8) 8) It was a blast...... except the wind blowing the wrong way :

Thank you very much to Marcel for meeting me in Quebec City to help with everything. I really appreciate it. M. Gilbert showed me how to coil a blade and it wasn't too hard or scary but we should have had gloves on




This is the saw on the trailer safely home . The roads were very rough in Quebec.

[sprucebunny]

It took a bunch of jockeying around to get the saw and it's trailer on my trailer and to unload I needed my support equipment ;D



All I had around to cut up was a crummy chunk of beech with sweep and lots of other defects.
The most handy thing around my sawmill today was a sawzall :    had to free the blade a couple of times 'cause the dogs slipped on my little log. But the saw cut EXCELLENT 8) I'm very happy.




This was my second attempt at cutting a spiral. Didn't get quite as far the first time . Should have the spiral thing mastered soon. :D :D :D

MORE LOGS      I NEED MORE ;D

[sandmar]

CONGRATULATIONS SB! yup...you dun got it....more logs...more logs....more logs  : Have fun!

Sandmar

[beenthere]

Great going and thanks for the pics. Hope the long hair is tied up when working around the saw or anything turning.  :

I expect you knew that already, but ..... just in case.

[sprucebunny]

For those who are thinking about buying a sawmill these are the reasons I chose this one.

Honda engine 20 hp
20" band wheels
heavy wall, stiff, welded frame
removable trailer
stable 4 post head that is nice looking... not boxy ;D
cuts 20 feet +
all parts that aren't welded on beautifully are available at any auto parts store
And most of all  It's green ! :D

This is alot of saw for the money. I'm sure it's not perfect for everyone but it suits my needs . It's simple, strong and bunnyproof ;D :D :D

Thanks guys ;D

Yes...that is a rare shot of my hair

[Fla._Deadheader]

Hey SawBunny. Nice Mill .  8) 8)  Like the support equipment.  ;) ;) ;D

  I just gotta ask. You were waiting for a couple of weeks to pick up the mill. WHY did you not have a whack of logs standing by ???  : : ;D ;D :D :D

  I pity the Timber around your place,  now.  ;) ;) :D :D :D

  That first board is a sweet feeling, no ??? 

[sprucebunny]

Thanks, Harold.

Where I live at the moment and where I have land with wood are not the same place, they're an hour apart. Maybe this weekend I'll tow the saw up to the land or load up some logs to bring home.

What I really want is a BIG log to saw up ;D

OUI ! The first log is a good feeling 8)  Cutting a log into someting useful will be even better ;D

[Patty]

WAY TO GO, JOAN!!! 

The saw looks like a really nice one, you did good. I'll never forget sawing up our first logs. We sawed down the trees, skidded them up to the mill, and made ourselves some LUMBER!  8)  8)

[Bibbyman]

Say!  I've been looking for a way to saw boards from logs with defects all the way around.  Now you've found the way - the spiral cut!

Is that a standard feature or does it take special training?  ;D

Congradulations on the new mill! 8)

[leweee]

Congrats... Spruce(sawyer)bunny you got sawdust in your viens now. 8)

Only one thing finer than maken them boards....is building something with them boards. ;D Play safe & have FUN :D

[Dan_Shade]

nice!  I've found uncoiling blades to be a bit more hairy than coiling them.  Gloves are a very good idea.

congrats on the new toy

p.s. it's nice to have somebody show you how to coil the bands, it took me forever to figure it out, and wow is it easy after you know how to do it!

[Weekend_Sawyer]

Uncoiling blades is easy for me.

I just throw it on the ground, teeth up, and it jumps from a coil to a big circle!

[Teri]

ALRIGHT!!!!!!!  8) 8) 8) 8) 8)

Enjoy your new toy!  ;D

[Tom]

It's time to go to the Knowledge base, Sprucebunny... er.....  Dustbunny.

Opening a band blade

Closing a band blade

There's some neat stuff there, written by members over the years. 

[mike_van]

Weekend Sawyer - I used to just throw 'em too - no gloves 'cause it was too hot - One of those tips put a slice in a finger that could have used a stitch or two - I stopped using that method after that -  Sprucebunny - Nice mill, will there be a large clearcut near you soon? :D

[Tom]

Throwing a blade can damage teeth too.  It's better, and more impressive to customers, if you use a little finesse.  Then you go on about your business and listen to the oo's and ah's behind you while you smile and try to be nonchalant.  :D

[sprucebunny]

Thanks to you all 

Mr Gilbert showed me very well. I've got one of those car window shades that coils up and I could never deal with it but the blades are easy.I surely do like finesse ;D
I got Woodmizer blades .045s. They are packaged so you don't have to uncoil but it's great to know.

I always had sawdust in my veins, Leweee ...just needed something bigger than an 8+1/4 circular saw ;D As soon as I can make some useful logs , I'll make a little generator/tool shack.

Mike ...There is already too much clearcut near me. Some of my land is pretty hard to get to and could use some thinning to increase the growth of what will be left. That should yeild plenty of 5-12" spruce ... enough to build a log house or two and alot of corduroy. I bought the saw because it seemed pretty stupid to buy a log cabin kit when I had all those extra trees out there that weren't worth a logger's time to cut in a responsible way.

I'm very thankful to the Forestry Forum for helping me gain the knowledge and confidence to go this route. I had always wanted my own saw ( backhoe, skidder, etc ;D ) but I certainly couldn't have made THIS leap without the experiences shared here.

[tnlogger]

 congrats joan now thats a good looking mill there  8) I like the color contrast between the head and frame too.
and yup dont forget drying shed, klin,then ther's planer/moulder and so on so forth. ;D

[sprucebunny]

Thanks , Gene.

Yup...gonna cut some good size balsams into 6x6 and framing lumber and get a pole barn of some sort started.

There is a big stud mill down the road with a big kiln. I'm going to ask if they dry other lumber.
I have a litttle planer...12" will be enough for what I got that will need planing.

[Stump Jumper]

great pics  8) nice suport equipment  8) congrats

[Brad_S.]

Tom said

Then you go on about your business and listen to the oo's and ah's behind you while you smile and try to be nonchalant.

:D :D :D :D :D I love that feeling! But it only works with people who have a shop bandsaw and have tried to do it before. Someone who's never tried it doesn't appreciate the art.

Congrats Sprucebunny. Won't be long before you have friends oo'ing and ah'ing with all that fine home made liumber! 8)

[Dan_Shade]

I need a video of that opening thingy

[woodbowl]

There is good reason sometimes to throw a blade to open it..............Had a dog get after me one time so I threw a cocked blade at him. You know, that dog didn't bother me any more....Dog gone!   ;D ;D ;D

[Norm]

Cool saw Joan! 

[Furby]

Way to go Joan!
8) 8) 8)

[Ernie]

Nice one Joan ;)

There is no cure for the addiction

[UNCLEBUCK]

I am very very happy that sprucebunny has her sawmill now !  ;D I hope you build yourself a little sawshack for that so the paint stays nice and also its fun to always be in the shade of your office sawing and hanging stuff on the walls ! Very well done !  8) 8)

[Brucer]

Parlais vous Francais, Joan? Votre instructions est en Francais, n'est ce pas?

Nice mill. It took me about 10 tries before I could get that blade to coil -- I was being too tentative about it. I dunno, Brad_S. When I was sawing for Louis last year, everybody who saw me coil a blade seemed to be impressed. Sawing a log, on the other hand, well anybody could do that :D.

I like the way Wood-Mizer packs their blades, but you'll always want to take a few with you to the mill when you're a ways from the shop. That's where being able to coil and uncoil them comes in handy.

And then there was the first time Louis gave me a blade straight off the tooth setter. Teeth were facing the wrong way, but I didn't fall for that one. No sir, I started coiling and uncoiling and twisting around that blade, and getting nowhere. Finally Louis took it with a big grin, gave a little sort of twist near the top, and the whole thing just snapped around. So obvious when you see it done -- did I feel dumb  ;D.

[Swede]

Nice saw mill, sprucebunny and it´s a 4-poster!  8)  There will come days You´re glad there is no Hi-Tec to deal with and no eletronic stuff that don´t work because of rain or severe cold. 

Swede.

[sprucebunny]

 Merci ;D   Je ne parle Francais but I can read it ....well....sort of  ;D

Yes, Swede, no hi-tec is good for me. If something could possibly go wrong, it would go wrong for me.
That's why I have more than one truck all the time. But the Hondas in my life haven't let me down yet    ;)

[karl]

 

[Kirk_Allen]

Way to go Sprucebunny!  Dreams do come true!   8)

[MULE_MAN]

Congratulation on your New Mill   8)  8)  8)


You sure are busy Little Gal !!    What's next ???

[Roxie]

 ;D  Outstanding Sprucebunny!  I know you have just got to be thrilled to be cutting on your very own mill....and running your very own skidder.....
You are one talented lady, and my hats off to ya!   8) 8) 8)

[Murf]

Congrats Joan, we have to call you Spruce(sawdust) Bunny now ...........  8)

The roads were very rough in Quebec.

Boy, are you ever diplomatic about it.

We used to joke that the roads in Quebec, they don't have potholes in the roads, they have a little bit asphalt around the potholes.... 

I bet I know where you'll be this weekend ......  ;D ...  practising spiral cuts.  :D

[sprucebunny]

To be fair, some of the roads in Quebec were very good. The empty or only lightly loaded 10,000 pound GVW trailer sure did not add to ride quality  :

I've been debating what to do with this log for a couple of years. The far end is grown together but not very tight.


Today I turned it into blocking for the mill and kindleing. Bit of a learning curve here but I figure these crummy logs will get me over the hump fast ;D


There is probably one useable board in there and some square firewood. :D

I can't wait to try cutting something that is sort of straight ;D

What's next is to get enough logs to build a cabin/house ;D

Thanks, everyone. I AM thrilled ;D

[Fla._Deadheader]

   8) 8)  Sawbunny started a lumber yard.  ;D ;D 8) 8) :D :D

  Good going, Joan. ;)

[Tom]

That's a pretty good effort for a first day or so.

If I could recommend something:   worry about 'square' first.  That lumber needs to have 90 degree angles.  Looks pretty good from here.

You have a big thrill ahead of you.  Wait until you drive a nail through your own lumber.  WOW!

[fstedy]

 :D 8) ;D Congrats Joan   ;D 8)  :D  Hope you have many enjoyable days milling with it. Its work but you get a lot of satisfaction seeing all those boards come out of that log.

[Brucer]

There is probably one useable board in there and some square firewood. :D

Every crummy log I saw (and every mistake :D) gets turned into something useful around the mill site. Stickers, blocking, 4x4's to stack lumber on, more stickers, racks for storing stickers, shims for the mill, and stickers. DanG, I never seem to have enough 4x4's and stickers (and I've barely got started).

[Patty]

Uncoiling blades is easy for me.

I just throw it on the ground, teeth up, and it jumps from a coil to a big circle! Smiley



We throw ours out onto the big pile of sawdust that is always behind the mill. Works just fine.. ;)

[maple flats]

Nice going there Joan. Saw to your hearts content. Nice mill there.

[twostroke_blood]

Joan you better seperate that log in your picture before it has children  :D

[isawlogs]

  Joan
  It was a pleasure to meet with you to get the mill , I sure do hope you have a lot of fun cutting logs with it .
    Joan called me to see if it was possible for me to meet her in Québec City , she had bought a mill there and was not sure of the capability of the people there to be able to speak english , and her french was not up to pare , seeing that my french is a lot better then my english I made myself available to meet with her there and act as her official translator ,  I had a great time there with her and Mr. Gilbert . They make a nice simple mill that can be handled by almost anybody and all parts that would need replacing are easy to get at and are readely available at any parts store , Just to saye I had a great time and if you need any help with any thing up in Québec dont hesitate to call ...

  You manadged to make some nice blocking out of that there log , if one can call it a log , Now just wait till you actually get a log on there and saw it up , I,m very happy that you made it back with out any incidents , other then some ruff roads ...
  Hope to meet with you again soon . 

[Fla._Deadheader]

  Marcel the Translator.   8) 8) 

Seems like not that long ago, SOMEONE was talking about how poor their English was.  : :  Way to go, Marcel.  smiley_clapping smiley_clapping

[Tom]

Yep!   Ole Jerry would be proud. :D :D :D

[Fla._Deadheader]

TOM     :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

[isawlogs]

  Harrold ...
The english aint any better ... I was there to talk french ...  And try to tell Joan what was going on .
Musta done and did something wright cause she did manage to leave there with a mill ...  ;)
 Tom ... you best be careful I have my santa tucked away but can bring him out anytime ...  ;D
 

[DanG]

I might go up there and buy one of them mills just so I can meet Marcel! ;D

Congrats on getting a mill, Joan.  It looks like a good'un.  What didya saw this weekend?

[sprucebunny]

Thanks, DanG ;D

And thanks again to Marcel.

I went north and cut a few standing dead trees ... just a few to try out the mill ;D



Didn't cut up very much .... I've been getting the equipment ready to go to Michigan ;D



I did cut one old spruce into a cabin type log and that was fine.

I'm looking forward to cooler weather when I'll take the mill up to the land and get busy :D

[Ernie]

You are having fun aren't you.

Congratulations, you're addicted and there's no cure.

[Fla._Deadheader]

Nice job, but, ya could stack them things a little neater, Bunny.  : :D :D ;)

[sprucebunny]

Yes, Ernie, I'm having a blast 8)

Neat is not one of my strong suits, Harold  ;) :D

I had plenty enough of neat doing finish work for other people, building boats, etc  ;D

[Teri]

Looks like your having lots of fun!  ;D

[isawlogs]

DanG...

    Dont need to buy a mill to come up here to meet with me ... I can take time off , only need to ask to guy I see in the mirror every morning , most of the time he lets me take a day or two for good behavior  ;D
 
  Harold
  Gees ... itys all in the same general area ... almost in a pile ....  almost sorted ... almost edged ....  I think she is having to much fun cutting things up to do actual work ...  ;D
   
    Joan .....    I had a good time , you are more than welcome to ask again .
 

[Fla._Deadheader]

  Yer correct Marcel. What was I thinkin. : : ;D

[isawlogs]

  Forgot ... tis sortof  ... covered    ;D ;D :D :D

[Captain]

I once sent Marcel on a interpreting mission for me...turns out the guy from Quebec he went to speak with knew better English than he did.  :D  Thanks Marcel!!

Congrats Joan, those Gilberts make an elegant looking functional bandmill.  They were not in Bangor his year, were they??

Captain

[pappy]

Nice mill Joan... buildin' something with lumber you sawed on your own sawmill is even better'n catchin' trout with flies you tied yourself   :D  :D

This is how I stayed out'a da hot sun before I got the mill building done  ;D