LT-15 bf day

[mad dog]

                                                                                                                                                  How many bf are You sawing per day? After you saw the top do you rotate the log 90 degrees or 180?

[WDH]

By myself, with the logs prepared for sawing, I can saw 500 BF if I hump it.  That includes the stickering too.  With a good partner, I can saw 1000 BF if the logs are prepared for sawing.  However, these rates mean that you have to stay at it hard for 8 hours.  With premium logs, you can do better than this.  My best day was Saturday a week ago where Dodgyloner and his dad and I sawed 1460 BF, but there were 3 people.  With just two people, my best day was 1300 BF, but the logs were prime.  So, I would say that about 500 BF per person is doable with good logs from my experience.  I keep records of every day that I saw, so that after a while, I can see trends developing.

On really big logs, I rotate 90°'s after the opening cut to make it easier to edge the flitches (one side will already be edged).  Edging is a real chore, so anything to reduce the effort is a plus.  On small logs, I choose the worst faces to open and flip 180°'s since there are fewer edger boards and they don't each weigh a ton .

A real drag is when you let the edger boards build up and it kills you to get the edging done.  I usually try to edge boards after no more than 8 have been produced to keep it under control.  With a manual mill, edging is the most labor intensive step, and at 95° F and high humidity, edging will test your resolve to be a manual sawyer and it will make you yearn for hydraulics :D.

[Dan_Shade]

and for the sake of clarity, edging on a hydraulic mill isn't much fun either

[zopi]

Edging sucks...I >try< to get logs big enough to minimise edging, or at least be getting some decent sized boards out of the flitches...

Never figured out what I can saw a day, as I usually only do a couple logs at a time...hang out in the evening and cut a log or two, maybe sticker and stack the next day...

[Dan_Shade]

dont' toss those flitches, there is a lot of really good lumber in the flitches, many times clear

[thecfarm]

mad dog,sawing OK now?You was having some stalling problems?I rotate 90 too,but I don't really know what I'm doing.Putting the flitches back on is a killer.I feel I can just about saw out another log by the time I cut them up.I usally don't let no more than 2 logs worth build up before I saw them up.

[Dave Shepard]

When I first started at my last job there was a huge pile of flitches on top of some big orange machine. After I got to the bottom of the pile I found a three blade edger.  I was told it wouldn't work right.  ??? I had to adjust one blade in, and I never edged on the mill again. 8)

I flip 90 after the first cut too, unless it is a small log, then I will flip 180 and saw down to the width boards I want, say six inches, then I stand it up and make the six inch boards.

Dave

[mad dog]

                                                                                                                                                       Millie is running good now(its what the people I bought my mill from called it) Today I sawed through a bullet and on another I hit 3 nails,it was an 8 ft hemlock about 26 inces in diameter,Only made it through about half way though the first cut, then I took it off the mill thinking ther is probaly more nails. Still a good day. except for production :D

[zopi]

yup..firewood...

you shoulda bought jeff's sharpener...lol

[mad dog]

                                                                                                                                                  and a mill with with hydrolics, I think tororrow I'll give my back a break and go check out the fiddleheads  8)

[adrean louis]

I like to rotate my logs 180 if they are smaller than 18 inch and i have a rule about boards its my 6, 9, 12, 15, 18 inch rule 3 inch incriments

[Firebass]

I'm confused, Is a "slab" a board with two rough edges or the piece from the first opening cut,   and a "flitch" a board with one rough edge?

[beenthere]

If referring to sawing a log, I've learned the slab is the first piece after making one cut. If making a second cut without turning the log, then the second piece is the flitch.

Variations of "slab" and "flitch" occur, as large flitches used for table tops get called "slabs" too. Such is where the slabber saw is nicknamed.

[Firebass]

Thanks Beenthere,
So then would it be proper to call a slab a flitch and a flitch a slab but a slab isn't a flitch... Or is it..  Must be one of those confusing English language words with multiple meaning deals.  I'll just keep at it using my "imaginary custom personal dictionary" and if you all catch me using the wrong terminology please correct me. ;D

Firebass

[Dan_Shade]

a slab is a flitch with a boatload of wane  :D

[Toolman]

 ??? :-\ :-\ ???

[Dan_Shade]

a few definitions for the folks who are confused on the terminology:

flitch - a peice of wood with two parallel faces but wane on one or both edges.  This peice of wood can be edged to yield a board.

slab - a peice of wood yeilded from the opening cut of a log with a flat face on one side, but covered on bark on the other side.  sometimes large flitches are refered to as slabs.

wane - the absence of wood in a board

[zopi]

Slabs have also been called slats...lol

[beenthere]

Slabs have also been called slats...lol

..like poplar gets called popular...and 'tree tops' get called 'tree laps'...and 'lath' gets called 'lathe'...and on and on... ;D ;D ;D

it makes life interesting, and I don't think anything is cast in stone. 

One that interests me is the use of "sale" in place of "sell"...seems we see that a lot on the forum. Not sure if it is just written that way, or pronounced that way as well. Don't mean any offence, just find it interesting.