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Sawdust on lumber and cants

Started by woodsy, November 08, 2011, 06:43:49 AM

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woodsy

How do other folks go about removing sawdust on your lumber and cants as you're sawing?  I run a bandmill and there is always a degree of sawdust on the boards and cant after the cut.  Sometimes it's packed on and sometimes it's loose but it always requires some degree of manual removal by me either during sawing or prior to sticking the lumber.  I have just lived with this and it never really bothered me too much until recently.

I know feed rate and lube rate can have an effect on how saw dust is cleared through the cut. Just wondering how other people deal with the saw dust.  Any good ideas besides scraping and brushing with putty knifes, brushes, levels, compressed air, etc?  I would assume board returns and rollers help with removal. How about an air line that clears the cant of sawdust as the carriage head is returned?  Has anyone done this?
LT40HDG38, Logrite T36 log arch, 42 hp Kubota, 6 foot cross cut saw, lots of axes and not enough time

bandmiller2

Woodsy, we pretty much have to live with it.I use wick applied diesel/oil mix not enough to effect the sawdust just put the board on edge and bump it most dust falls off.Prehaps your using too much water.Air would work but then you'd have a cloud of fine sawdust in the air to get in your eyes or worse explosive.I'v never had a customer complain about it.There are things you can due to reduce it but not eliminate it. Frank C.
A man armed with common sense is packing a big piece

Chuck White

I agree with Frank!

The offbearer turns the board on edge and just bumps the board on one of the bunks and most of the sawdust falls off.

Another option would be to flip the board a couple of times while it's still on the bed.
~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!

paul case

That works for me as well, but I have learned not to do this on logs with shake. The bump may crack the board. If it is a customers log, it would ve my fault for ruining their highly valuable lumber.
However if it is mine, I would rather it crack or bust as close to the slab rack as possible. ;D  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

Kansas

We never really worried about it, outside of some crates we build for a company that want the boards swept off. We never have gone out of our way to get rid of sawdust on kiln dried lumber. I can't see where it hurts anything, but then we air dry everything before the kiln, and it has been known to be windy in Kansas. I know they make dedusting machines for pallet boards. I also know they aren't used often, at least as far as I can tell.

bull


ely

i sweep all my lumber because the sawdust slows drying and attracts insects. i reccomend all customers sweep their lumber before they sticker it.

T Welsh

I use bandmiller2 and Chuck White, method! Tim

OneWithWood

I use a rat tail brush to sweep the board as I am milling.  This helps me to see impending defect so I can turn before I hit it.  When I am not sawing for grade and sawing a cant through and throug I use a piece of braken blade as a scraper, scraping off the sawdust as I transfer the boards to the kiln cart.
One With Wood
LT40HDG25, Woodmizer DH4000 Kiln

YellowHammer

I nicely ask my wife to slam the board down harder on the mill rails before she stacks it.  Somewhat dangerous but it works. ;D


YellowHammerisms:

Take steps to save steps.

If it won't roll, its not a log; it's still a tree.  Sawmills cut logs, not trees.

Kiln drying wood: When the cookies are burned, they're burned, and you can't fix them.

Sawing is fun for the first couple million boards.

Be smarter than the sawdust

eastberkshirecustoms

I see that Cook's now offers a hydraulic rotary brush attachment to remove the sawdust. Might make for an interesting home brew mod, just remember the pics.

Piston

I've used a small stiff broom, but it's not really a great method  :D

I like the rotating brush idea
-Matt
"What the Lion is to the Cat the Mastiff is to the Dog, the noblest of the family; he stands alone, and all others sink before him. His courage does not exceed his temper and generosity, and in attachment he equals the kindest of his race."

Knute

I just use a broom also and sweep both sides as I sticker and stack.

backwoods sawyer

An unscrambler will do wonders for cleaning the saw dust off the boards.   
Backwoods Custom Milling Inc.
100% portable. . Oregons largest portable sawmill service, serving all of Oregon, from our Backwoods to yours..sawing since 1991

ljmathias

With fresh cut SYP, sawdust is full of sap and sticks to the boards bad.  I scape each surface with a piece of broken blade, otherwise there's sticky sawdust getting on everything (mostly me) while I move boards and sticker-stack them.  Plus after they're air dry and pick one up to use for something, all that sawdust left on gets on stuff worse than when it was first cut.  Knocking it off before drying just doesn't work, and I've tried a brush- just makes the bristles all stuck together with gooey sawdust.  I love pine!   ;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

Magicman

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

Radar67

I just stacked 1000 bdft that MM cut. I used a broom and wire brush like MM has pictured to remove all the dust before stacking. It adds a good bit of time to the job, but it sure beats mold and loose saw dust when you get ready to use the material.
"A man's time is the most valuable gift he can give another." TOM

If he can cling to his Blackberry, I can cling to my guns... Me

This will kill you, that will kill you, heck...life will kill you, but you got to live it!

"The man who can comprehend the why, can create the how." SFC J

Banjo picker

MM are you sure that middle brush works well?   :D  Tim
Never explain, your friends don't need it, and your enemies won't believe you any way.

WDH

I am a push broom guy too.  Sweep both sides.  I am with Ely about the improved sawdust and bug management.
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

Magicman

Quote from: Banjo picker on November 13, 2011, 07:25:58 PM
MM are you sure that middle brush works well?   :D  Tim

Just so you will know that my brushes get used.  You will also notice which scraper is the favorite.   ;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

stumpy

I use a 12" wide drywall paste knife.  It's just a large putty knife.  It's quick and works great.
Woodmizer LT30, NHL785 skidsteer, IH 444 tractor

Magicman

That is a very good idea.   :)  I have one in the shop that I will put in my truck.
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

Qweaver

This is only a problem for me when the temps are well below 32 and the saw dust just freezes to the cant.  I usually knock it off with the edge of my framing square.  I'm sure there is a better way but it's what I have on hand.
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

250quality

12" drywall knife is my kids favorite tool here as well. Barely even need to sweep after a scrape with it.

Banjo picker

That would be a good use for it, because I hope I never use it to finish sheet rock again. Tim
Never explain, your friends don't need it, and your enemies won't believe you any way.

Magicman

You gonna get WDH to mud your sheetrock  ???
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

WDH

Holey Moley!

I won't be able to sleep tonight......... :).  That is scary!
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

Banjo picker

I am just not planning on remodling any more...With all these new shows on TV I think I can convince my wife that the mudding is womens work...I have seen them do it.  Tim
Never explain, your friends don't need it, and your enemies won't believe you any way.

TimGA

Have a 8 inch and 12 inch square trowel w/handel, saw lot of syp takes sawdust right off very little sweeping.
TK2000, Kubota L3130GST, grapple, pallet forks, 2640 Massey w/loader (The Beast) Husky saws Logrites One man operation some portable most stationary.

PC-Urban-Sawyer

Quote from: Banjo picker on November 15, 2011, 08:39:38 PM
I am just not planning on remodling any more...With all these new shows on TV I think I can convince my wife that the mudding is womens work...I have seen them do it.  Tim

When I was a teen we built a house each summer. My Mother did all the sheetrock finishing on all those houses. My dad could build anything but he would touch mud for nothing.

But he did do his own ceramic tile setting, using traditional mud methods...

Herb

woodsy

Thanks for all the responses.  I'll take sawdust removal duty over sheet rock mudding any day.

It's really the sticking process that got to me the other day.  When stickering, I like to get as much dust off the boards as I can which equates to a lot of brushing and sweeping. When sawing onsite or for orders that will be picked up right away, I don't bother with the sawdust removal all that much. 
LT40HDG38, Logrite T36 log arch, 42 hp Kubota, 6 foot cross cut saw, lots of axes and not enough time

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