New Member Introduction

[pnyberg]

Hello, my name is Peter Nyberg, and I have become a Forestry Forum addict.

Well, maybe not a full blown addict, but at least slightly obsessed.  (sp? does this thing have a spell checker?)

I live in Coventry, CT, on about 8 forested acres with my lovely wife of 26 years, Kim.  I'm a computer programmer by trade (at least for now).  My forestry background is clearing about an acre for the construction of our house 20 years ago, and cutting a few cords of firewood every year.  We burn 4-5 cords a year, but I'm always behind on my chores, so we end up buying the difference.  I'm also an amateur woodworking, still trying to finish the 20-year-old house (there's only a few rooms that still need trim).  And, my wife and I garden, which oddly has more to do with how I ended up here.

Our problem was shade.  Trees keep growing, and every year our gardens were getting less and less sunlight.  So we reached the painful decision that several large oaks would have to go.  A few of these were very nice specimens: 18" to 20" or more in diameter at the base, with no branches for 25 to 35 feet.  Over the years, I've turned my share of potential lumber into firewood, but I decided that this time would be different.

I'm not sure how I became aware of portable sawmills, but I knew they existed, so I set out to find one in my general area.  My weapon of choice for this endeavor was Google.  I found one guy pretty quickly; Dennis Hoover (dba Terrific Timbers) in Mystic, CT.  That's about an hour away, but I sent him an email, and he quickly replied that he would be willing to make the trip.  Since the trees were still standing, and I wasn't sure when the tree guys would arrive to take them down, we didn't finalize anything.  But, now I was hooked on the topic of portable sawmill businesses. Were there really none closer to me than an hour away?

I continue to Google away, finding many interesting sites in the process, including the Forestry Forum.  Lots of stuff to browse through here.  Most of what I found was interesting, but without any near-term practical impact, but then somebody mentioned a superior brand of peavy/cant hook.  I've had a crappy tree stand thing for a long time, but it's a bit bent, so I've been looking for a replacement.  It's been an item on my to-do list for many years, but Home Depot doesn't stock them, so it never got done.  But, there's this company called LogRite with really good stuff.  So I click, and come to find out that LogRite world headquarters is about 10 miles from my house.

So, I made the trip to my near-by LogRite dealer (Rockville Equipment, if you're in the area), and find a peavy and a cant hook on display.  I decided I want a cant hook (but I probably want a peavy too). I mentioned that I'd also like a log stand attachment, but he's out of stock.  He'll order one, and call me when it comes in.  I mentioned that I'm also thinking about one of the LogRite logging arches I'd seen on their web site.  I've got a small tractor, but it's going to need help moving the logs that I would soon have on my hands.

This happened on a Friday morning, and as it happened, Rockville Equipment, was going to be closed the following week for vacation, so I wasn't expecting to hear anything until sometime the week after that.  But, a couple of hours later, Jim (the dealer) called to say that he had the log stand, and he also has literature and a DVD about the logging arches.  Not a lot of moss grows on Kevin or Tammy I'll guess.  Back I go to pick up all of the above.

With Rockville Equipment closed for the following week, I had lots of time to review the DVD, and also to keep poking around the Forestry Forum.  I decided that the fetching arch is what I need to move my mill logs, and will also be useful for firewood production in the future.  I also discovered that Kevin had a sawmill business before starting LogRite, and it's still in operation under new ownership (New England Saw and Lumber).

Discovering the existence of NES&L was a bit of a good-news – bad-news situation.  It was nice that there was a sawmill service close by that might saw my logs, but by this point, the thought had entered my mind that I might want to start up a portable sawmill service of my own. 

Back in June, I was told that my job is being moved to Bangalore, and that I had until Dec 31 to find a new position within the company, or I would be laid off.  I'm well paid, so I'll be looking for a new internal job, and if I find one, I'll probably take it.  If nothing turns up internally, at 55, I'm not all that optimistic about finding a position in my field. 

But now the big dark cloud on the horizon starts to have a silver lining.  Buying a mill and starting a business sounds very enticing, and it would certainly be something new and different.  But much research is needed, so here I am.  Since my primary interest is sawmills, I've decided to introduce myself here.  I've also decided to go through the forum posts in chronological order.  I'm not reading every post, or even every thread, but I'm working my way forward, page by page, from May 21, 2001.  So far, I've made it through about 100 pages, and I'm up to June 2005.

So, that's why I'm here. 

This post is already way too long, but before I close, I want to thank Jeff and the other administrators for creating and maintaining this wonderful resource, and all the members who have shared their knowledge over the years, and of course, the sponsor businesses. 

There's more to the story of me and my unwanted shade trees, but that will have to wait for another day.  And I promise, I will learn how to post pictures.   ;D

[Jeff]

Well, its nice to meet you pnyberg 

[Bibbyman]

Welcome to the Forum.  8)

When you have more time, tell us more.  

BTW,  we like pictures too.  ;)

[Chuck White]

pnyberg
Welcome to the Forestry Forum!
I've been a member here for a while now, but still a relative newcomer!
There is a huge wealth of information here. 
Just jump in and dig around, there are some really great guy and gals here!

[nas]

Hi, I'm Nick and I'm a FF addict

Welcome to the forum Peter.  From your name it sounds like you are a fellow Dutchman.  It might be the wooden shoes and wooden head that attracts us to the wood business. ;) :D ;D

Nick

[Ron R.]

Peter, Welcome to the forum. You'll find a wealth of information on here and some great folks. New to the forum myself and have recieved a lot of valuable advice while setting up my mill.       Ron R.

[ladylake]

Welcome, I can tell your not typing with one finger.   Steve

[brdmkr]

Welcome to the forum.  I suspect you will find what you need here.

[Tripp]

Pnyberg,

Welcome, enjoy the ride!

Tripp

[Magicman]

I'm new myself, but these folks surely know how to make you feel welcome..... ;D

[raycon]

Welcome Peter.
There is always room for another mill. Portable definitely fills a nitch.

Ray

[farmboy1tn]

welcome your in great company 8)

[Banjo picker]

Welcome from down south...and no need to be in-d-Nile....you are probably hooked and i would bet your wife has already told you so... ;) 8) 8)  Mine has several times...Tim

[customsawyer]

Welcome, none of us are to old to learn a new trick.

[bandmiller2]

Good intro Peter we all kinda feel like we know you.Remember though it takes a good job to support a sawmill.The hardest part of milling for a living is the sales end of it and finding your nitch,many here have traveled the same road.Frank C.

[WDH]

Welcome!

You sound like a reasonable and sane man. So why are you considering buying a sawmill?

Just kidding  :D.  But, you don't have to be sane to frequent this place ;D.

[Dodgy Loner]

Welcome! Sawmilling and everything that goes with it (like the Forestry Forum) can be rather addictive. You'll start seeing sawlogs in the trees every time you drive down the road before long (if you haven't already ;))

[ErikC]

  Welcome. That was a pretty thorough introduction, but we look forward to the part you left out. You know, about the actual sawmilling. :D Sawmills, logrite, gardens all seem to be popular subjects here, so you ought to feel right at home.

[pineywoods]

Welcome Peter. You'll find that computers and sawmills mix quite well. There's several old computer nerds on here, me included. (mainframe operating systems and hardware ). I run a woodmizer lt40 that has some home-made electronics added. Take the time to learn how to upload pics and use them in your posts. It fairly straight forward once you get the big picture. We like pics  pc_smiley

[beenthere]

..........
Just kidding  :D.  But, you don't have to be sane to frequent this place ;D.

Just where do you find any evidence of that ?? ??   ;D ;D ;D   8)

Look forward to hearing more out of Peter.  Welcome from here too.

[apm]

Welcome Peter! Before you go over the cliff of "band-saw-itis" make sure you check out circle saw options. Some people say they're the real sawmills....................... ;D ;D

Greg

[pnyberg]

My thanks to all for the warm welcome to the newbie.

So, I left a couple of threads hanging on my first post.  I'll pick up on the LogRite fetching arch story first.

After viewing the LogRite DVD, I was sold on the versatility of the fetching arch.  In its basic configuration, it can be used with a winch or come-along to pull logs out of the woods.  There's a tow tongue and winch option, which turns it into a ATV or tractor arch. There's also a two-man handle for manual fetching, which together with the turf-tire option could be really useful in a low-impact situation.  If I never go pro, the two-man handle may never get used (by me), and the turf tires may never really matter, but the rest of the functionality is useful to me either way.

Rockville Equipment was still on vacation, but by this time I've read enough posts by Kevin and Tammy to know they're friendly folks, so I didn't hesitate to send an email to LogRite to introduce myself, and to  let them know that I'd be placing an order with Jim the following Monday.  I also suggested that when the arch was ready to go, I'd be more than happy to swing by LogRite world headquarters and pick it up myself.  Tammy answered right away, saying that an on-site pickup was fine with them, and they would start working on getting my arch ready right away.

And so, a few days later, I drove to the industrial park in Vernon, CT, where LogRite has its operations.  Tammy came out to greet me, and gave me a quick tour.  I saw the famous messy desk, which is really no messier than mine, but that's not necessarily a good thing.  Then we stepped into the "plant".  I know nothing about manufacturing, but I expected something somewhat larger.  I'm not much at estimating distances, but I'll guess the room was about 100 feet on a side.  I don't want to give the impression that I found this disappointing.  Rather, I was impressed that they could do so much within that space. 

There were several large rack systems that divided up the area.  There was dimensional steel that I think would be cut and shaped and welded to become logging arches.  There was a rack that looked to be holding a large number of cant hooks and peaveys.  There was a rack full of parts, and bins for smaller parts.  And there were open areas where one assumes that stuff got done, though there wasn't much going on at the moment.  There was a guy who seemed to be busy setting up for the fabrication of something, and a young apprentice helping out, who I'm guessing was Noah.  I really should have paid more attention, but I was distracted by this beautiful fetching arch just sitting there waiting for me.

Kevin showed up at about this time.  We talked some about the features of the arch.  I mentioned my potential interest in buying a mill and doing custom sawing.  He confirmed that New England Saw & Lumber and Terrific Timbers would be my closest competitors, but offered neither encouragement or discouragement beyond that.  This was not really surprising, since he doesn't know me from Adam, and he has no idea whether or not I have the aptitude to be a successful sawyer .  His strategy didn't work though, as I took his lack of discouragement as a sign of encouragement. ;)

Anyway, after the pleasant chit-chat, we attached the arch with the tow tongue to my truck's hitch, loaded up the rest of the ancillary parts, and I drove off into the sunset (more or less). 

The trip home was about 10 miles over back-roads, and was uneventful. 

Stories yet-to-come include using the arch to actually move logs, and the milling of the logs.  The first story has already happened; the trees are down, bucked, end-sealed, and staged on 4x4's waiting for the sawyer.  The second story has not happened yet because – well – we're still waiting for the sawyer.  Both stories will be told, and both should include pictures!

Peter

[Magicman]

We're waiting.  You are certainly starting out with "quality" equipment..... 8)

[WDH]

This is all shaping up real nice as they say "down" here.

[Don K]

Welcome Peter. You are are really coming along for a newbie. ;D

Don