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Cutting barn/fence grade lumber

Started by flip, June 12, 2007, 03:39:36 PM

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flip

What is the most effective way to cut barn/fence lumber?  Have a local guy that has 100 logs mostly WO and poplar and some other mixed stuff ranging from 8-20".  By talking to wifey I think they want 1X6 1X8 so siding or fence makes sense.  Last job I did I lost my butt because of distance to job, what customer was expecting, yadda yadda.  If I through and through would that be sufficient or do I need to read and flip like when we grade cut?  I want to through and through and bring the edger up and just mow through the stuff in a weekend but not sure that is the right thing to do. ???
Timberking B-20, Hydraulics make me board quick

Tom

I'd lean toward through and through.  Cut boards from each side until you reach your target 6" or 8" cant.  Then turn it up and cut boards.  Try to shoot for 16' lengths if you can.  It means less log handling and makes a better fence too.  He can span three posts and alternate joints.

When I cut fence, I offer some wane too.  At 60 miles an hour nobody will ever see it. 

I also cut a good hefty 1 1/8" board.  You may not get as much product, but what you do produce will be a lot better and not sag.

I also try to talk the owner into an 8" board.  6" fencing looks wimpy to me, expecially in a three board fence.

Bibbyman

Quote from: Tom on June 12, 2007, 04:29:53 PM
I'd lean toward through and through.  Cut boards from each side until you reach your target 6" or 8" cant.  Then turn it up and cut boards.  Try to shoot for 16' lengths if you can.  It means less log handling and makes a better fence too.  He can span three posts and alternate joints.

When I cut fence, I offer some wane too.  At 60 miles an hour nobody will ever see it. 

I also cut a good hefty 1 1/8" board.  You may not get as much product, but what you do produce will be a lot better and not sag.

I also try to talk the owner into an 8" board.  6" fencing looks wimpy to me, expecially in a three board fence.

We saw a lot of fencing boards and that's how we do it.  Saw off the opposite sides down to target width with the heart centered as much as possible and then saw up the cant "through and through".   

Many sawyers will square out a cant and then split it into board widths - usually down the heart.  The problem with this is,  all the boards will have a lot of bow to them. 

We saw most all of our oak full 1" x full 6".   While we do some 14' and 16', but 12' is the most common followed by 8'.  You have to deal with a lot of stress in the longer lengths.
Wood-Mizer LT40HDE25 Super 25hp 3ph with Command Control and Accuset.
Sawing since '94

flip

Tom, it's like you're in my head :o  Like most people that call they want a "quote" over the phone.  Since I've got burned once I refuse to do that over the phone again so before I go there and they ask again, "how much".  I will base my bf price based on where logs are and how much grunt I have to do.  The last job we had to roll all 10,000bf to the mill since the guy failed to mention his business partner had the loader and there weren't getting along.  Thanks for the confirmation.
Timberking B-20, Hydraulics make me board quick

Ron Wenrich

What I've been doing on dimension stock is basically the same thing.  I will only saw down to a 2" dog board, since that's about all my limit switches will allow.  Also running a circle saw.

I will saw to box the heart, like Bibbyman says.  You can turn a 180° and saw the other side to you're desired thickness.  I just skim cut my back side which will become my dog board, then flip over and saw through and through.  By skimming the one side, it gives me more of the desired boards.  It works real good when you want a pile of 1x12s from a log.  The dog board gets edged to a 2x4 .

My headblocks will hold DanG near any log without any movement.
Never under estimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

ARKANSAWYER


  Next thing to remember is you are not sawing grade but like softwood sawing.  You want to center knots in boards and not put them in the edge.  Avoid spike knots and crooked logs as the lumber will warp.   When all else fails saw by the hour so if they are not organized or have alot of crap you do not loose your religion before you head home.
ARKANSAWYER

Bibbyman

About every log will have some sweep (curve) to it.  On logs that the sweep is enough to notice to quite a bit,  I tend to take flitches off the "flat" sides down to target width and then saw the cant down through and through so the heart is centered in the width. 

(It's to hard to explain in words,  it'd take a video or series of pictures to explain.)

This tends to produce the most good quality boards that has the best chance of staying straight.  The semi bad part is that the heart saw is now distributed in a couple of boards.  In logs with good tight hearts (pith for Tom),  the boards are of acceptable quality.   In older logs, especially red oak, you may loose some boards due to junk in the heart/pith area.

Unlike Arky,  I still tend to put the knots on the corners because if they're not real big, they will edge out.  If the knot is big,  that board won't be any good full length anyway.  You (or the customer) may be able to cut it back to some shorter length and save most of it.
Wood-Mizer LT40HDE25 Super 25hp 3ph with Command Control and Accuset.
Sawing since '94

flip

I talked to guy last night and he has about 80 trees down all 20-30 ft so probably 150-175 logs from 8-10 footers.  He wants to build a cabin and wants a couple hundred 2x4s and a bunch of 1X.  Logs are from 6"-20" mostly the smaller variety ::)  WO, BO, Cherry, gum, locust.  Trees are all piled, not bucked and not seperated yet.  I suggested he sell some of the small cherry to a local guy that saws cants for a casket company.  He wants to get the other stuff cut up and haul it to Michigan to get it dried and processed to sell ::)  I feel a headache comming on.  On the flip side I may have found a new market opening up.  Supposedly (Farron you listening)  there is a wood shop looking to get large slabs to make tables from but they want 35" and wider and are paying grande $$.  So where are the pics. of homemade dedicated slabbers???
Timberking B-20, Hydraulics make me board quick

OneWithWood

Why does he want to haul all the way to Michigan for drying and finishing? 
One With Wood
LT40HDG25, Woodmizer DH4000 Kiln

flip

He has a "buddy" up there....I didn't ask.  I refuse to try and grade saw a 8" cherry ::)  Sounds like a lot of handling and low grade stuff.  I shot him $3,000 to see if he was serious, the momentary silence answered my question.  I still have to go look at the logs to see if it's worth it to either of us.
Timberking B-20, Hydraulics make me board quick

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