Today was a good day of sawing.

DR Buck · November 22, 2009, 07:42:05 PM

Actually any day sawing is a good day compared to my "day job" in the office behind a computer. ;D

When the stars align, the logs are good, the help is prepared and ready, the mill works perfect and no foreign objects are in the logs it makes for a really good day.

The customer had 6 logs. 5 red and 1 white. All 9 ft length. Diameter was 22" to 34". They were straight and clean and were stacked neatly waiting for me to arrive. I cut 3/4 of the lumber to 4/4 and the remainder to 5/4 in random widths between 6 and 10 inches. 4 1/2 hours from start to finish. Over 1800 bf total with 1 blade change. If I convert my bf rate to hourly, I managed over $100 per hour after expenses, including drive time to and from the customers. 8) 8) 8) 8)

Yes it was a good day of sawing.

Magicman · November 22, 2009, 07:51:09 PM

Quote from: DR_Buck on November 22, 2009, 07:42:05 PM
Actually any day sawing is a good day.

You stole my thunder. When I saw the title, that was going to be my response. 1800BF in 4 1/2 hrs. with one blade....WOW Yes, you had a very good day..... 8)

paul case · November 22, 2009, 11:38:56 PM

thats a good day alright . lots of lumber, no breakdowns and 1 blade change? too good maybe you should write a instruction manual so we could follow suit. pc

WDH · November 22, 2009, 11:46:15 PM

Way to go Dave!

That would almost be a good week on the LT15 :D.

GF · November 23, 2009, 08:46:21 AM

Quote from: DR_Buck on November 22, 2009, 07:42:05 PM
Actually any day sawing is a good day compared to my "day job" in the office behind a computer. ;D

I fully agree with that.

GF

backwoods sawyer · November 23, 2009, 09:20:34 AM

Having good logs to start with can sure make a difference. Having the mill and sawyer in tune also makes a big difference. Handling over 1,800 bft in 4 ½ hours you should be feeling that in the morning. When the customer is smiling from ear to ear when you leave you know you had a good day.

pigman · November 23, 2009, 09:38:06 AM

Now Dave, I just don't believe that whole story. :

The part about the 1800 ft and one blade change in 4.5 hrs is believable, but the customer having straight clean medium sized neatly stacked logs is hard for me to believe.

;D

southpaw · November 23, 2009, 10:57:22 AM

I agree Dr. yesterday was good day.

Yes sir a real good day.

moonhill · November 23, 2009, 04:45:25 PM

Quote from: Magicman on November 22, 2009, 07:51:09 PM
Quote from: DR_Buck on November 22, 2009, 07:42:05 PM
Actually any day sawing is a good day.

You stole my thunder. When I saw the title, that was going to be my response. 1800BF in 4 1/2 hrs. with one blade....WOW Yes, you had a very good day..... 8)

I think that may be two bands at 900 BF per band.

Tim

John Bartley · November 23, 2009, 04:58:12 PM

Evan at 900 ft per band, it was a good day ..... that must have been cedar or pine. The best I can manage before I can feel the band starting to work harder in things like Oak and Maple is 200 to 300 feet.

cheers

John

Bibbyman · November 23, 2009, 06:19:17 PM

We've had good days like that. Kind of nice to have one once in a while to offset all of the days that turn out to be a struggle.

Today was ok. But for sure not a "good day". We had been putting off sawing up some crap logs people had brought in to custom saw. Four fence-row cedars that had been pushed out. They were somewhat damaged and now sap rotten. I scanned them and sure enough found metal in two of them. I butted them off and sawed them. Even if they hadn't been so defective, they were still junky fence row cedars – not going to make good lumber.

He also had brought 8 small, rotten, crooked and otherwise junk white oak logs. They were also sap rotten. We sawed them. As long as they pay, the customer is always right. I could have sold him better lumber and he could have left the junk at home.

In all, I expect we spent an extra hour handling, sorting, scanning these little junk logs. We didn't make a $100/hr this morning.

paul case · November 23, 2009, 08:48:29 PM

southpaw,
that looked like some mighty purdy cedar ,a wonderful day ? pc

pnyberg · November 23, 2009, 09:10:50 PM

Quote from: DR_Buck on November 22, 2009, 07:42:05 PM
4 1/2 hours from start to finish. Over 1800 bf total with 1 blade change.

Dave,

It's easy to see why you're pleased with that. That's 400 bdft an hour, which is the "up to" production limit that WM puts on the LT40HD. That's also about the production that Scy and Jane Montgomery got out of their LT40HD Super when they milled my logs. The average diameter of my logs was a bit smaller, but they were 12' long, and there were always two of us working as off-bearers.

Personally, between my logs and Kevin's, I'm approaching 1000 bdft in total milling experience. I milled three of Kevin's pine logs on Sunday, and working alone averaged just a bit over 100 bdft/hr. And I was happy with that, because it's a significant improvement. I hardly ever move the clamp in when I wanted it to move out anymore. I've set a goal for myself to double that figure. I can't begin to imagine what it would take to quadruple it.

You are an inspiration.

--Peter

Magicman · November 23, 2009, 09:23:16 PM

My day today was OK, but not necessarily "Good". 2K BF of SYP and 3 bands. All were good logs 12' & 16' in the 16"-24" range. Finished up with a 20'X26" little end. Dark caught me, so I'll have to go back Wed. AM to move the mill. Two new jobs on the answering machine when I got home.

paul case · November 23, 2009, 10:05:59 PM

no matter how the sawin went it is a good day when theres 2(TWO) ,(a couple), (dos) calls for more work when you get home. it dont hurt when supper is ready as you get home either! MM 2 calls can realy make my week if their the right kind. pc

davemartin88 · November 25, 2009, 06:54:15 AM

That was a good day, amazing how sometimes it just seems like there is no reason to change blades and on other days, seems like it's all I do!

bandmiller2 · November 25, 2009, 07:21:56 AM

Buck,savor that day,its just a tease.Its so important how logs are selected ,handled and stored.Frank C.

WoodMiller · November 25, 2009, 08:37:26 AM

It's always great when your customer has good logs, a great set-up, and some help that's willing and able.

We spent about the same amount of time sawing only 3 logs. 30 to 36 inch in diameter, only seven feet long (about 1300 bdft), and used 2 blades. The logs were cherry, several years old, had metal flitch savers and were lined up, not stacked. Had to move them with the truck, dig out the flitch savers, whittle a little/lot with the chain saw to clear the idlers, adjust feed rates for the drier ends and used two blades.

It was still a great day sawing, especially seeing the look on the customer's face as he stacked 20+ inch wide Select cherry boards with absolutely beautiful grain.

It's for sawing situations like this that we made the decision to charge by the hour, since we spent as much time handling logs and whittling, as we did sawing for grade.

By the way, this was the first time we used the 7 degree blades and they did a beautiful job on this stuff. 8)