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Started by woeboy, February 26, 2010, 10:12:23 AM

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woeboy

 



Got all ready to saw my first log and my stupid butt loaded the log BACKWARDS!!
So an hour and a half later after I got it turned the right way, too late to start the mill

Chuck White


Seems to make it a lot easier/quicker to get the cutting started when that small end is pointed towards the blade!  ;)

Just think, now you'll have all day to do the precise cutting!  ;D

And again, congrats on the new mill!  8)
~Chuck~  Cooks Cat Claw sharpener and single tooth setter.  2018 Chevy Silverado and 2021 Subaru Ascent.
With basic mechanical skills and the ability to read you can maintain a Woodmizer  LT40!

Qweaver

Ya Know, I saw them both ways and I don't see much difference.  I actually think I prefer the big end toward the blade but I can't say why.  Maybe one of the pros here can explain why one way is better than another.  Have fun with the new mill.
Quinton
So Many Toys...So Little Time  WM LT28 , 15 trailers, Case 450 Dozer, John Deere 110 TLB, Peterson WPF 10",  AIM Grapple, Kubota 2501 :D

Jeff

There is nothing wrong with sawing a log from the big end other then making it more difficult to judge where to make your opening face, but that's a whole lot easier then trying to turn the log around.  I saw em both ways. What ever the easiest way is to get them on the mill.

On the big circle milll, I liked the big butts first. That way I knew right away before I entered the cut if everything was going to clear the vertical edgers and the off-bearing parts of the husk.  It sucks to be almost through the log and find out you can't finish the cut on those mills.
Just call me the midget doctor.
Forestry Forum Founder and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
Ezekiel 22:30

Tom

The argument for sawing the butt end first is that the operator can off-bear thin slabs without having to walk to the other end of the mill.

Since the butt end is the largest, you are assured of being able to pass the entire log or else you find out before you enter the log.

The argument for sawing the top end first is that the log is only as big as its little end and it makes it easier to read the log.

When targeting your opening face, it's easier to do by placing the band at the height of entry on the small end, than guessing where the band will exit on the far end if the little end is down there.

When leveling the pith of the log (split taper sawing), the jack being used is closer to the operator.

Bands seem to not be affected by following the grain as much when they are cutting against it, rather than falling off of the cathedral  shape when cutting downhill.  The grain in limbs or knots seem to cut more accurately without band deviation when the band is entering from the top.

Dragbacks work better, especially with remote controls, when there is something there for the dragback to contact.


Perhaps, much of it is sawyer preference.

There is also the fact that it is easier for a sawyer to judge logs when they are all facing the same way, regardless of the direction.  

ErikC

  I would have sawed it "backwards", I do them either way with no real problems, but the circle blade isn't inclined to wander so that may be why. It isn't very often you pull up to a log deck some homeowner put together with his neighbors borrowed tractor and the logs are all pointed the same way :D, so a guy just has to take them as they come.
Peterson 8" with 33' tracks, JCB 1550 4x4 loader backhoe, several stihl chainsaws

coastlogger

I like butt first best,for the above reasons. 2 More also. If I set my feed to a reasonable rate then go move a slab etc I pretty well know mill is not going to power out as cut is getting smaller.Also, pretty well 100% of the time I only clamp once and this is right where my closest backstop to start of cut is.Other end seems to stay there ok, and on a tapered piece whether it be log or slab, the far end  is the wedged up end which would be harder to clamp.I do sometimes saw top first too like when I forget and load log backward.
clgr
clgr

DanG

There is also an easy way to turn a log around by hand...just one of the many tricks I have learned here on the Forestry Forum.  Just roll the log up onto a board you have placed near the balance point, push down on the high end of it and twirl it around.  On level ground, a 2x4 is usually enough to do it on a straight log.  Placing the board at a 45 degree angle to the log will help the log find its own balance point as you roll it.
"I don't feel like an old man.  I feel like a young man who has something wrong with him."  Dick Cavett
"Beat not thy sword into a plowshare, rather beat the sword of thine enemy into a plowshare."

dovetails

I was gonna ask why it took so long to turn the log?
Roll it back off, spin it around and load back on the mill.
Of course myself,I'd have just cut it like it was,
wanting to see how the mill works!  :D
1984 wm lt30,ford 3000 w/frt lift,several chain saws, 1953 model 30 Vermeer stump grinder,full wood working shop, log home in the woods what more ya need?

Magicman

I have customers worry and apologize about the way logs are facing.  It doesn't really matter.  On small and medium, 8"-30", I prefer to enter the small end.  It's a bit easier to set the log up.  On big stuff, 30+", I'd rather enter the large end because I know that mill will clear the log.  But even then, I just carry the mill head to the other end, let it down, be sure that it will clear.  I've sawed both ways, and it's no big deal.
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

Chuck White


Along the lines of what Jeff said!
It just helps to know where your blade is going to exit the other end of the log!
I saw either way, but prefer the small end towards the blade!
Comes down to personal preference.
~Chuck~  Cooks Cat Claw sharpener and single tooth setter.  2018 Chevy Silverado and 2021 Subaru Ascent.
With basic mechanical skills and the ability to read you can maintain a Woodmizer  LT40!

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