iDRY Vacuum Kilns

Sponsors:

Wood-Mizer RS2 resaw attachment

Started by John_Haylow, June 24, 2012, 12:08:34 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

John_Haylow

I'm thinking of purchasing the RS2 attachment for my LT40 and would like to hear what people have to say about them.
John
2004 Wood-Mizer LT40HDG28

customsawyer

I am not sure if mine is the RS2. Mine mounts to the mill and the power feed wires on the mill hook up to the resaw and power the feed belt. It works pretty well and have used it many times. It will not compare to a actual resaw but it will serve the purpose on a small scale.
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

RMay

I got one to make siding & it paid for it self on one job. It works good if you saw your lumber and resaw it within a day or two.
RMay in Okolona Arkansas  Sawing since 2001 with a 2012 Wood-Miser LT40HDSD35-RA  with Command Control and Accuset .

John_Haylow

Quote from: RMay on June 24, 2012, 10:49:02 PM
I got one to make siding & it paid for it self on one job. It works good if you saw your lumber and resaw it within a day or two.

I wonder if I could get you elaborate a little on resawing within a day or two. Does it not work as well with dry lumber or cants?

Thanks,
John
2004 Wood-Mizer LT40HDG28

RMay

If the lumber has dryed with a cup or worped . The siding will be off.
RMay in Okolona Arkansas  Sawing since 2001 with a 2012 Wood-Miser LT40HDSD35-RA  with Command Control and Accuset .

4x4American

looking at getting into one of these resaw attachments possibly.  The pallet shop down road has a decent price on buying stringers cut to length from me and they always pay within a week or so.  Problem is, it's taking too long for me to cut them out to make it worth it.  My idea- after I cut a truckload of grade lumber, I take all the pallet cants that I sawed down to, and cut them to length, then run them through the resaw to make the stringers.  When I'm doing the stringers, I can get my neighbor or my friend to come in on a saturday to help speed things along.  I was also considering a Baker A Model or the WM HR130.  But it's a much heftier investment, but, I have steady work for pallet parts from two different local pallet shops, so I believe it would pay for itself.  Also, I could run my slabs through edger and then resaw to reclaim a board.  I don't usually leave much meat in my slabs though, as I only have to open a 3" x 42" face to get a usable stringer
Boy, back in my day..

barbender

Dug ;D Check out the arky resaw. It takes 2 people to make it sing but the resaw attachment probably does too. The thing that would have to be changed is the hold down. The Arky Resaw uses featherboards, which I find to be a pain. If you nade a weighted or tensioned wheel like a resaw has, I think it would work really well. Maybe worth a shot before you sink money into anything else.
Too many irons in the fire

Percy

I have owned  the old ladder style resaw attachment from WM as well as the newer belt style one. MY preference was the older ladder type. Regardless, the newer belt type works well but the board  hold down is a tad wimpy so be prepared to mod a little unless they have improved it already. Also longer stuff will need support rollers at both ends to keep things accurate unless you wanna hold on to the board till it balances out on the belt(unproductive). I have built rollers at the correct height  for infeed and out feed that make 16 footers a breeze.  We split 18,000 bdft of 2x6 into 1x6 in a 9 hour shift using this contraption....I wouldnt be scared of it but it may need a little loving to get it to do whatever you want it to....
GOLDEN RULE : The guy with the gold, makes the rules.

4x4American

Wow 18,000 bdft in a shift, that's the kind of production I'm looking for! 


For the most part, I'll be sending through 42" cants.  I would probably just set a roller table or a treadmill to the side of it so my tail man can pass them back to me.  What I like about the attachment, is that it also gives me the possibility to cut shingles and clapboards.  What I don't like about the attachment is having to spend the time to set it up and then take it apart. 


I think it's a good, less expensive (compared to an HR 130 or Baker A model) way to get a feel for how a resaw will aid my operation.  But...I'm not sure I want to gear up for sawing pallet stock.  It's steady work and the log quality don't matter are the two pluses it has.  If I could make


I think that Arky Resaw would be better suited for long stuff, not necessarily 42" cants.  I wouldn't want to be that close to the blade and then have to feed it too!
Boy, back in my day..

4x4American

Percy,


Were you resawing that many 1x6s because you had 2x6s and needed 1x6s or is it because it's faster to saw out 2x6 and then split into 1x6?
Boy, back in my day..

killamplanes

I am kinda in the same boat. I do alot of pallet stock I just cut like 5/8 thick flitches  untill I get square cant do the math split it couple times roll it over cut 5-6 cants wide get alot of boards per cut. Then dead stack and cut to 40in or whatever length. Many downfalls to this but without a gang saw lead by a big chopsaw, i don't now much better way. But alot of the automated pallet machines won't except chainsaw spurs on end of boards.  You will learn in the pallet business there's always another piece of machinery to make the job easier and faster but there's a price. And in pallets you sometimes have to have sharp teeth to pick the meat of the bone. I know, I go from tree to pallet, semi load a week no automated machines. Hard work. But not complaining been good to me and 2 employees running air nailers.  I realize it's just a side gig for the grade and lower end logs. Just remember time is money, and money is important.
jd440 skidder, western star w/grapple,tk B-20 hyd, electric, stihl660,and 2X661. and other support Equipment, pallet manufacturing line

4x4American




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRc3_CHjdAA


I seen this A model with the turnarounds from Baker, and it would be perfect...but it's a one job machine.  They do have one that can do beveled stuff and whatever but then the price tag goes right up.  The guy who buys the stringers says that he uses 6,000 of them a week.  I can't come close to that many right now.  I delivered them a couple pallets of stringers yesterday and the manager said I came just at the right time cause they were just about out of stringers.  If I were to get a machine like this, I would think I might be more apt to buy pallet logs and just crank out production.  It's a hard decision. 

On Monday I am going to go meet with a manager of a concentration yard for a big sawmill that I have never bought from before,  We are going to talk numbers.  If their numbers aren't too high, and I can find a trucker to backhaul the logs to me, I should be able to get graded/scaled logs without worrying about being snookered or haggled on the price.  If that's the case, I will strive for more of a grade type setup, and keep it simple with the resaw, prolly go for the attachment.  But if they want ridiculous prices for their logs, and finding a trucker is hard, I will keep looking more into a machine like that Baker, as pallet logs are fairly easy to buy.  Plus, the pallet guy told me that if logs were my issue, he would send me his logs, and I could saw for him pretty near full time.  It's just a matter of do I want to do that and will I make money at it. 


Boy, back in my day..

paul case

4X4,
I make a lot of pallet cut stock, mainly stringers now.
I wouldn't buy a big ticket item to make only pallet stock with as I have been left holding a bunch of pallet material, buyer went bankrupt, and had to chop it again for less money. Not good.
My stringer buyer wants them to be 1 1/4 inch which is about the same as our 4/4 grade lumber. I can sell RO and WO fas and #1com for more than the stringers bring so we have been grading and seperating just as we edge. So some comes out as 3.5''wide for stringers and some come out as wide as possible for the better grades. The 3.5'' gets chopped by a dewalt 14'' metal cuttoff saw with a erwin 12'' $40 lowes wood blade. We arent settting the world on fire, but we make serveral products to recover the most $ per bdft.

I know that a resaw and chopsaw can cut stringers and deck boards faster than cutting them on the mill then cutting to length. I dont think you can do that with one person. It will take 2 to keep the thing fed. If one of them is the sawyer or keeps the mill from sawing logs it wont up your production that much.

We make as many ties as we can. Some logs wont produce that any grade and those sides make a lot of stringers. We still get some logs that wont make a tie and they get cut down into stringers on the mill as well.

IMO, if you add 1 man to your operation to do your edging(I cant remember if you have an edger?) and cut your stringers to length with a cheap cutoff saw like mine he will be able to keep up most of the time. I did this and he was offbearing some too. I had a 60yo man edging and choppin a while and he kept right up.

We try to make sure that we make a sellable product at each step at my mill. Adding equipment at any price will not make extra production without someone running it.

Yes you can run a lot of bdft through an resaw in a day. Not without help.

My 2 cents worth.

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

Percy

I know my figures sound a little exaggerated but they are not. We had to fill 3 -20 foot containers with cedar 1 x 6 x 12 foot. Approx 54,000 bdft. Took us 3 days. 18,000 per day. Of course we already had the 2x6 cut. Cutting with a resaw is so much faster than making them 1 at a time on a mill. If you are effecient at feeding and tailing, its like 1 long board. No giging back. At 1 foot per second feed rate(easy), splitting a 2x6 is 1 board foot per second. x 60 seconds = 60 bdft per miniute. x 60 miniutes =3600 bdft per hour. If the resaw didnt have  to stop for allsorts of things, 3600 bdft X 9 hours =32,400 bdft. We only managed 18,000 in that shift. With banding and shoveling all the sawdust that ends up in one spot, and it builds up fast. Keeping the feed guy supplied and clearing out finished product from tail guy,... and as Paul said, the mill is not producing anything, only remanufacturing, and you need people.....for short stuff, this attachment would work great IMO. Attach a piece of malamine(slippery plywood??) right beside the resaw attachment on the sawbunks and you have a low buck return if your pieces require more than one pass. The resaw sits high enough for this. You will be surprised ...once you get your ducks in a row....
GOLDEN RULE : The guy with the gold, makes the rules.

Percy

GOLDEN RULE : The guy with the gold, makes the rules.

killamplanes

But other than the loss of kerf. I would think a 5 blade gang saw or somethin would be the cats meeooww. For throwing cants threw and comes out the other end in finish product. My neighboring mill has a circle followed by chop saw then gang it's pretty slick. Alot of operating cost but a production machine of a setup..
jd440 skidder, western star w/grapple,tk B-20 hyd, electric, stihl660,and 2X661. and other support Equipment, pallet manufacturing line

Percy

Quote from: killamplanes on October 01, 2016, 04:13:03 PM
But other than the loss of kerf. I would think a 5 blade gang saw or somethin would be the cats meeooww. For throwing cants threw and comes out the other end in finish product. My neighboring mill has a circle followed by chop saw then gang it's pretty slick. Alot of operating cost but a production machine of a setup..
A 5 head band resaw would be awesome. You would increase production on the sawmill as well . Id love to have that for our fencing market but for me, its too seasonal. A pallet guy with a more steady market might see things differntly.
GOLDEN RULE : The guy with the gold, makes the rules.

4x4American

Thanks Paul, that is great advice, and I think you're right.


Percy, now you make 18,000 sound like it's a small number  :D   So I guess a sawdust handling system could pay for itself in a hurry?  Wood Mizer makes a sawdust conveyor thing, it's like $4k.


I think that the attachment could be a good, money making investment.  I like that it is so versatile, and it's not going to depreciate that much in value if I take good care of it (like not dropping it from Mars onto my sawmill bed lol)


Now that Kplanes mentioned it, the pallet guy does have a Wood Mizer 4 or 5 head resaw that needs work that he'd be willing to sell to me.  He also has a sawdust blower system, roller tables, big chop saws, etc.  He has bought out other sawmills.  I am sure he would give me a good deal on them.
Boy, back in my day..

4x4American

That 5 head resaw could potentially help my grade sawing production too, except for the fact that it don't see grade and the pith is going to be in there....hmmm...
Boy, back in my day..

paul case

Quote from: 4x4American on October 01, 2016, 06:15:37 PM
Percy, now you make 18,000 sound like it's a small number  :D   So I guess a sawdust handling system could pay for itself in a hurry?  Wood Mizer makes a sawdust conveyor thing, it's like $4k.

I have 2, 220v 2hp electric blowers for sawdust removal that work great. 1 for each mill. They cost about $250 or so new from grizzly.

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

4x4American

Thanks Paul, that's what I'm gonna look into.  I was laughing when I read how the woodmizer conveyors were supposedly inexpensive.  I was thinking, well dang, I'm pretty sure a blower setup would be cheaper.  But maybe not in an industrial type application.  Oh and by the way, yes I do have an edger, a Cook's AE4P.  I need to get that thing under cover and then hook it up to sawdust handling somehow.  It fills up with sawdust underneath it fast and then will get into the chains and sprockets and starting hopping them.  The pallet guy has a big cyclone with all the piping and everything, he is willing to sell it to me but wants me to name my price, and I have no idea what a fair price would be.
Boy, back in my day..

4x4American

Quote from: paul case on October 01, 2016, 07:37:58 PM
Quote from: 4x4American on October 01, 2016, 06:15:37 PM
Percy, now you make 18,000 sound like it's a small number  :D   So I guess a sawdust handling system could pay for itself in a hurry?  Wood Mizer makes a sawdust conveyor thing, it's like $4k.

I have 2, 220v 2hp electric blowers for sawdust removal that work great. 1 for each mill. They cost about $250 or so new from grizzly.

PC


What do they have them under, I can only find sawdust collectors
Boy, back in my day..

Percy

Quote from: 4x4American on October 01, 2016, 09:19:00 PM
Quote from: paul case on October 01, 2016, 07:37:58 PM
Quote from: 4x4American on October 01, 2016, 06:15:37 PM
Percy, now you make 18,000 sound like it's a small number  :D   So I guess a sawdust handling system could pay for itself in a hurry?  Wood Mizer makes a sawdust conveyor thing, it's like $4k.

I have 2, 220v 2hp electric blowers for sawdust removal that work great. 1 for each mill. They cost about $250 or so new from grizzly.

PC


What do they have them under, I can only find sawdust collectors

I'd go with Paul's suggestion if I were you. 250 bucks is no more costly than a outta control night at the local watering hole. See how it works for you. Try building a plywood box under your edger and stick a blower hose on it as well or get a second one for it if one don't have enuff hormones. That's like 500 bucks plus hoses and you are in biddness. Or offer the guy with the blower equipment a little less than 500 cause we know Paul's suggestion will work as it has for him.
Anyhow that's my Ukrainian logic. 😄
GOLDEN RULE : The guy with the gold, makes the rules.

4x4American

I think the first plan is to get that edger under cover.  I haven't had any luck finding the blower online, hoping they still make it.  The blower that the guy has down the road may be a 3 phase one, it is huge.  I like the grizzly idea one. 
Boy, back in my day..

barbender

4x4, I always use a push stick or the next piece of material to feed the Arky. Still got all muh finguhs ;)
Too many irons in the fire

Thank You Sponsors!