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Custom Sawyers

Started by etkoehn, April 15, 2010, 10:46:30 AM

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backwoods sawyer

I got ahold of a log the other day that would have most of use scratching our heads and wondering if the customer was going to get what he wanted out of it. It was a 23" (small end) butt cut Doug fir log that had some large canker knots with black pitch seams and plenty of soft wood, along with ring shake. It graded as a #3 saw log on the verge of being a cull. The customer wanted three sound 3"x 12"s for lowboy decking. I found five 3"x 12"s in the log for him to choose from. Some logs just do not make good wood and these marginal logs can give you many headaches. Keep in mind the better the log, the better the lumber. Not to mention that a good log is a lot nicer to work with then a junk log.
Backwoods Custom Milling Inc.
100% portable. . Oregons largest portable sawmill service, serving all of Oregon, from our Backwoods to yours..sawing since 1991

captain_crunch

B_K_W_S
All I cut is what we get raped by mill for. Sometimes I see why  ;D ;D ;D They don't pay S^^t fer anything under 36'X12 "(2 mill or better) so I been fighting 18' X30" long butts thru mill and am amaized at how well tht little Bellsaw does with em
M-14 Belsaw circle mill,HD-11 Log Loader,TD-14 Crawler,TD-9 Crawler and Ford 2910 Loader Tractor

customsawyer

I have learned not to turn my nose up at ugly logs as some of them make very pretty lumber. The lumber may not have strength for some jobs but they can have some great grain patterns.
Two LT70s, Nyle L200 kiln, 4 head Pinheiro planer, 30" double surface Cantek planer, Lucas dedicated slabber, Slabmizer, and enough rolling stock and chainsaws to keep it all running.
www.thecustomsawyer.com

Bro. Noble

Quote from: Hilltop366 on April 18, 2010, 07:01:01 PM
I don't know about that Tom , I've heard that guys arn't very good at using body parts for estimating length...it seems that they are always over estimating. :D

I overestimated the length of my legs one time when crossing an electric fence :o :( :'(
milking and logging and sawing and milking

backwoods sawyer

I over estimated how far in the blade on a lawn mower was while unplugging it. Now I have three fingers that are shorter, so which finger do I use for estimating Tom?  ;D
Backwoods Custom Milling Inc.
100% portable. . Oregons largest portable sawmill service, serving all of Oregon, from our Backwoods to yours..sawing since 1991

ljmathias

Backwoods: why would you want to be measuring Tom?  I think that might be a job better left for family... :D :D

Nice thing about cutting out on my land is that there's no one around but family. Not unusual to see a couple of the grandsons (3 and 4) go whizzing by totally naked- I'd try it but then the body parts would certainly get caught somewhere in the mill and I'd hate to lose any of an already too short .... well, body part. :'(

I've tried the body part measuring idea, but the only one that  works reliably for me is the step-out: I've learned to adjust my stride so that one step is pretty much one yard.  Sure handy for bucking logs when I'm out cutting and didn't bring my tape (which I would lose anyway and just have to buy another one).  Does look real funny though walking up a tree to get heights so I can plan the fall better. :)

Lj
LT40, Long tractor with FEL and backhoe, lots of TF tools, beautiful wife of 50 years plus 4 kids, 5 grandsons AND TWO GRANDDAUGHTERS all healthy plus too many ideas and plans and not enough time and energy

Magicman

Quote from: ljmathias on April 20, 2010, 07:05:34 AM
Does look real funny though walking up a tree to get heights so I can plan the fall better. :)  Lj 

It'd be easier if you ate more grits.  Makes your feet stick better..... ;D
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

ljmathias

Ah ha!  At last a use for grits that I can identify with: use them for glue!  Would they work as well on wood?  Maybe we could start a little business on the side: Grits Glue: beats the Gorilla kind sticky side down! ;D

Lj
LT40, Long tractor with FEL and backhoe, lots of TF tools, beautiful wife of 50 years plus 4 kids, 5 grandsons AND TWO GRANDDAUGHTERS all healthy plus too many ideas and plans and not enough time and energy

etkoehn

Haha. This has turned into a funny crazy post. Been kinda busy to comment on here past couple of days one of them i worked 24 hours. I started to fall asleep standing up. That scared me :o :D.

As far as using body parts for measuring, my boots are real close to 1 foot. Which is good because i can only stick on foot in at a time anyway. :) The past few years as I'm working with more measurements is i try to train my eyes to have better judgment.

Question.
How much better are electric mills(up/down forward reverse) instead of manual mills?
I would love hydraulic but i think it is out of my price range for the time being.
Farm Boy

Magicman

One thing that you will find to be generally true.  Well maintained mills tend to hold their values.  There is nothing economically wrong with buying and using what you can afford.  Then as you grow your business, trade up.  I bought "used" as did many other sawyers.  My mill today (8 years later) is easily worth what I paid for it.

There is a For Sale board down below and these folks list many types of mills for sale.
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

nas

Personally I wouldn't pay extra for electric feed and head up down.  The real killer is trying to turn huge logs by hand, and that is solved with hydraulics. 

Nick
Better to sit in silence and have everyone think me a fool, than to open my mouth and remove all doubt - Napoleon.

Indecision is the key to flexibility.
2002 WM LT40HDG25
stihl 066
Husky 365
1 wife
6 Kids

laffs

i used to saw on the road but no more. most of the people i sawed for  never had an ideal setup. they piled logs on hills if they piled them at all. they didnt use skids. they drug them through the dirt at least once sometimes twice.if it used to be a tree they thought everything was a log. most were pine and they held onto them 2 yrs
most everyone was pleased with what i sawed at .20 a ft , i only avrage about 800 sq ft a day mostly due to poor logs and poor stacking of the logs. if you saw on the road figure only sawing 3 days a week. 2 days of estimates moving and setup of the mill. now il let the mill sit idle before il saw cruddy logs on the road and beat the crap out of my mill for little return.
i  work by myself and sticker and stacked it also.
in my opinion you have to be stern with people and tell them exactly what needs to be done before you take on the job. most of the people didnt have the means to set things up right. and i couldnt realy take my excavator and my tractor over and set it up on my dime.just my 2 cents. it was a real horror show so il just stay home and see if i can find a niche right here for now.
brent
timber harvester,tinberjack230,34hp kubota,job ace excavator carpenter tools up the yingyang,

Magicman

Unless sawing on the road is what you want to do.  I just let the "hide go with the hair".  Don't worry about it.  Sometimes the logs are a real mess.  Folks just don't know.  Since so many of my customers are repeats, they know what to do "next time"..... :)



A mess.



Another mess.



But sometimes, really nice.
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

laffs

the best repeat customers i have are the ones i work for free .
seems like everyones is venting lately.
i let this one guy take advantage of me. i had an old dump truck worth maybe 4 thousand,gave it to him. sawed 2 thousand ft for him and had to work my regular job the guy says he sawed bofore. so i tell him if he pays to sharpen blades he can use the mill while im gone(i know big mistake)2 weeks when i get back he sawed 8 thousand mill hasnt run right since . then he used my trailer to move 100 round hay bales.and thats not the best part. never returned the trailer.someone else wanted to use it and i said sure,you go get it and return it to me when done. comes back with no lights no ramps and no jack.
so il just keep my equipment to home and they can bring me their logs.and even thats not a sure bet of being taken advantage of .
brent
timber harvester,tinberjack230,34hp kubota,job ace excavator carpenter tools up the yingyang,

etkoehn

Nas why do you say that you wouldn't pay extra for electric?

Magic man, i have been looking for used mills closer to me but haven't seen any in my price range that looked decent. I don't really want to buy used if i can't go look at it. Did that with a old truck once and just once. :D I'm not buying today so i'm keeping my eyes and ears open and have been to that website many times:). Do you know much about the electric up/down forward/reverse? My plans are to buy something a little more manual with a little power options and if things go well sell and buy one with hydraulics. But plans change and so do circumstances so we will see.

Laffs that is pretty scary. I don't like dealing with people much but this will be good for me. Help me get out of my box. I want a nice sawmill and have to justify it somehow :D :D :D Don't let anymore people jip you.
Farm Boy

nas

I just don't think that electric feed will increase your production rates at all.  The big things you need are engine HP and log handling ability.  If you can find a Norwood or an LT15 or 28 or some other manual mill, the cut speed will be the same as the same HP mill with electric feed.  I went from a Norwood to my LT40HD and the biggest difference for the production rate is the log handling speed with the hydraulics.  For a manual mill I would definitely recommend the Norwood.  Best bang for your buck. :)

Nick
Better to sit in silence and have everyone think me a fool, than to open my mouth and remove all doubt - Napoleon.

Indecision is the key to flexibility.
2002 WM LT40HDG25
stihl 066
Husky 365
1 wife
6 Kids

etkoehn

Pushing buttons seems a lot easier then pushing it back and forth. least to me anyways :D :D
Farm Boy

Dan_Shade

Woodmizer LT40HDG25 / Stihl 066 alaskan
lots of dull bands and chains

There's a fine line between turning firewood into beautiful things and beautiful things into firewood.

Chuck White

Power feed will definately make your back feel better at the end of the day.

I would think that the "push-through" mills would cost both time and comfort, thus decreasing production.
~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!

nas

Quote from: etkoehn on April 22, 2010, 08:17:17 PM
Pushing buttons seems a lot easier then pushing it back and forth. least to me anyways :D :D
yebbit if you are on a budget I would take HP over power feed any day.
Quote from: Chuck White on April 23, 2010, 09:00:29 AM
Power feed will definately make your back feel better at the end of the day.

I would think that the "push-through" mills would cost both time and comfort, thus decreasing production.
Actually Chuck, the one thing my old Norwood would beat my LT40 on is the head raising and lowering, and head return.  As to how much work it is to push it, it is not much more than walking along with the head on my LT40.  It is less work than the Woodmizer manual clutch. :)

Nick
Better to sit in silence and have everyone think me a fool, than to open my mouth and remove all doubt - Napoleon.

Indecision is the key to flexibility.
2002 WM LT40HDG25
stihl 066
Husky 365
1 wife
6 Kids

Chuck White

Hmmm...... Didn't realize that NAS.

I helped a BIL saw with a push-through and it seemed like a lot of work to me.

Don't remember what brand of mill he had, but it was painted brown.

I know my mill outshines his.
~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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