iDRY Vacuum Kilns

Sponsors:

Butt first

Started by bandmiller2, September 27, 2011, 06:51:35 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

bandmiller2

Do most of you sawyers cut from the butt of a log to the tip or tip to butt.I must fess up I never paid much attention and just tookem as they came,is there a differance?? Frank C.
A man armed with common sense is packing a big piece

paul case

i am not sure i qualify as a sawyer yet, i am probably still a greenhorn since i have only  been bandmilling for about 3 years. i prefer to cut them from the little end first, especially on butt cuts. the main reason for me is that my blocks for my toeboard jack work better on that end. i have noticed at times on the butt logs the blade wants to follow the grain worse on the butt end. i have found that it helps in edging to have all the flitches oriented the same way. i am not sure about if it would make a difference on the circle mill but on the band mill it can.   pc
life is too short to be too serious. (some idiot)
2013 LT40SHE25 and Riehl edger,  WM 94 LT40 hd E15. Cut my sawing ''teeth'' on an EZ Boardwalk
sawing oak.hickory,ERC,walnut and almost anything else that shows up.
Don't get phylosophical with me. you will loose me for sure.
pc

ladylake

 I take them as they come unless trying to get 2 x6 lumber out of a 7-1/2 log then the small end facing me.    steve
Timberking B20  18000  hours +  Case75xt grapple + forks+8" snow bucket + dirt bucket   770 Oliver   Lots(too many) of chainsaws, Like the Echo saws and the Stihl and Husky     W5  Case loader   1  trailers  Wright sharpener     Suffolk  setter Volvo MCT125c skid loader

Magicman

Of course I get them both ways, but I prefer to have the small end toward me.  As Paul mentioned, it's just simpler to set the log up, even with a fully hydraulic sawmill.
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

I prefer the small end towards me.

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

jason.weir

depending on how they were skidded the small end will usually have less dirt embedded in it - saves on blade life..

-J

Chuck White

I very much prefer the small end towards the blade.

It just makes it easier to align the log and also (sometimes) allows you to get a little more lumber from the log due to the alignment!
~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!

Bibbyman

Quote from: nas on September 27, 2011, 08:12:23 AM
I prefer the small end towards me.

Nick

Me too also...  ;)
Wood-Mizer LT40HDE25 Super 25hp 3ph with Command Control and Accuset.
Sawing since '94

Frickman

On my circle mill carriage I prefer to saw from small end toward the butt. I have taper adjustments on all my headblocks but it is much faster and easier to set taper on the front headblock as opposed to running the whole log past me and setting it on the rear headblock. Some larger oak with swelled butts seem to saw better from the small end to the butt end too.
If you're not broke down once in a while, you're not working hard enough

I'm not a hillbilly. I'm an "Appalachian American"

Retired  Conventional hand-felling logging operation with cable skidder and forwarder, Frick 01 handset sawmill

Pretend farmer when I have the time

Ron Wenrich

If you're setting tapers by hand, then the small end makes it a lot easier.  But, you get less carriage travel if you saw the butt end first, especially if you're cutting out short lumber off of long logs.  It doesn't sound like much, but in the course of a day you can save quite a bit of time. 

Dirt can be a problem, but so can pieces of wood left hanging on from bucking or felling.  If they're towards the back end, you're going to eat them on a circle mill. 

For me, its take them as they come.  I prefer defects to the front, where I can see them when I position the log on the carriage. 
Never under estimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

Jeff

When I was running the cmc circle mill, I took them as they came but preferred the big logs with butt flair butt first for one specific reason. We ran a vertical edger and you could only get 7.5 inch thick past it.  It really sucked if the butt flare was the other way, and you were part way through the cut, and you misjudged the thickness of the slab at the end and it would not go past. You would have to back out of the cut and take a smaller bite.  I hated it when they did not trim butt flares before they got to me.
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

Magicman

I also hate butt flairs.  With really big logs and you misjudge or don't carry the saw head to the far end and measure, you will be backing out.   :-\   This one is butt end first.




42" Butt.  I will chainsaw along the red lines to make it fit.



Bibby'ed down to fit.
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

sgschwend

Same reason as Jeff's for my swingmill.  The saw can only go 8 1/2 deep without the need for changing the setworks.

When I ran the bandmill I would set the very large softwood logs butt first to make sure the saw could pass.
Steve Gschwend

sjgschwend@gmail.com

Banjo picker

The fingers on the drag back system work best when the butt is on the far end on my mill...Tim
Never explain, your friends don't need it, and your enemies won't believe you any way.

Bodger

I have noticed, too, that sometimes sawing (especially pine) I get a rise in the blade.  Like it's trying to follow the grain on a flair.  Part of it I'm sure is the blade is reaching the end of it's cycle...getting a little dull and just about to be pulled off.
Work's fine for killing time but it's a shaky way to make a living.

rbarshaw

I've sawn mostly syp, on the bandmill it was always better to saw from small end to larger end, it made a great difference in blade tracking, esp. around knots, producing flat lumber vice wavy.
Been doing so much with so little for so long I can now do anything with nothing, except help from y'all!
By the way rbarshaw is short for Robert Barshaw.
My Second Mill Is Shopbuilt 64HP,37" wheels, still a work in progress.

Frickman

Ron,

You're right. I saw on a manual, handset circle mill, so it's easier for me to put the butt at the back end. I'm around alot of automatic mills too and they do what you say, they keep whittling away at the swelled butt until it's down to a size that is workable. If the loggers do their job right the swelled butt, hinge wood, and any other extra wood will be trimmed before the log leaves the landing. If it does make it to the mill yard it should be trimmed in the yard before the log gets put on the mill. No exceptions. Downtime is expensive, even for a small operation like mine. It is much more cost effective to trim extra wood in the woods or in the mill yard than deal with it on the mill itself.

I don't get much stuff thrown back at me while I'm sawing. I never have. I'm my own logger though so maybe that helps. I even make sure I orient a log properly when I unload it off the truck so that it enters the mill the way I want it to.
If you're not broke down once in a while, you're not working hard enough

I'm not a hillbilly. I'm an "Appalachian American"

Retired  Conventional hand-felling logging operation with cable skidder and forwarder, Frick 01 handset sawmill

Pretend farmer when I have the time

Bibbyman

One advantage to small end first on the WM (and I assume other hydraulic band mills) is that it's easier to judge the toe board adjustment when it's where you can see it.  And to remember to lower the toe board when you should - thus avoiding the embarrassing long wedge you have to make to get the cant back parallel. 

I'd bet that when I've forgot to lower the toe board it's been the one at the far end of the mill most of the time.
Wood-Mizer LT40HDE25 Super 25hp 3ph with Command Control and Accuset.
Sawing since '94

Magicman

What on earth is this forget to lower the toe board stuff that you are talking about Bibby  ???    :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

shelbycharger400

 I took in account for butt logs when i layed out my mill.   i have 11.5 inches clearance for a single pass
measured from the chain saw bar to the top bar.  the clutch is tucked another inch or so above that

Bandmill Bandit

I prefer the small end toward me especially now that I have a laser. measure bed to pith on the far end level by laser and it is the most accurate way to start. I think my yield per log has gon up about 10%. my Laser is green and will get a bit more tweaking in the form of a higher powered laser and a 60 degree balanced line laser module. as it is right now i can use it for leveling in day light.
Skilled Master Sawyer. "Skilled labour don't come cheap. Cheap labour dont come skilled!
2018 F150 FX4, Husqvarna 340, 2 Logright 36 inch cant hooks and a bunch of stuff I built myself

nas

Quote from: Magicman on September 27, 2011, 09:15:29 PM
What on earth is this forget to lower the toe board stuff that you are talking about Bibby  ???    :D
I was wondering the same thing :-X ::)
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

3Dog

I thought that I was the only one that cut those wedge shaped pieces of lumber.  It always seems to be when the customer is watching and from the piece that they "really" wanted.  Very embarrassing having to make a trim cut and um explaining....
2002 Woodmizer LT40DSuper Remote Accuset 2, 1952 Allis Chalmers CA, 2001 John Deere 240 skidsteer, Nyle L200, Ebac 800,  and a fulltime job.
Citywood Treecycling

terrifictimbersllc

Quote from: Magicman on September 27, 2011, 09:15:29 PM
What on earth is this forget to lower the toe board stuff that you are talking about Bibby  ???    :D
Should be a blinking light on the console when the rear roller is up.   ::)   ::)  One way to partly train oneself is to knock off some cash if it's the customer's board.
DJ Hoover, Terrific Timbers LLC,  Mystic CT Woodmizer Million Board Foot Club member. 2019 LT70 Super Wide 55 Yanmar,  LogRite fetching arch, WM BMS250 sharpener/BMT250 setter.  2001 F350 7.3L PSD 6 spd manual ZF 4x4 Crew Cab Long Bed

Magicman

Quote from: terrifictimbersllc on September 28, 2011, 07:06:24 AM
One way to partly train oneself

When I do it I think I need partly pottie training.   :-\
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

Thank You Sponsors!