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Sawing a 22' Oak on a 21' Deck

Started by Sawdust Lover, February 10, 2013, 07:24:37 PM

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Sawdust Lover

Had a customer ask me to saw a 22' oak beam for a timberframe he is building. I thought my deck was 22' but I was wrong, it was only 21'. I was able to saw it by running the saw all the way to the end and lifting it with my toeboards and sliding it back 1 foot then continue the cut. I had to move the saw outside because my opening is only 16'. I'm sure some of you have done this before I just thought it was pretty cool. I dont think I would want to do many of them because it sure was slow. The beam was 8"x14" when I was done and was within a 1/16" and perfectly square. I was pretty happy with that but I give the saw a lot of credit.

  

  

  

  

  

  Now off to the timberframer.

Delawhere Jack

Did you cut directly to the beam dimensions or take boards off first? I've found on the LT40 that if I release the clamp or lower the stops before I've got at least two faces open, I can never get the face I'm cutting lined up to the blade again.

Roller toe boards.........one more feature I wish I had. :'(

samandothers

Where there is a will there is a way.  If you cut 21 and have the blade in the log how did you lift with the toe boards and back it up?  Did you back the blade out?

Nice job!

Sawdust Lover

I made a few cuts on each side to box the heart and keep it square. If I went straight to the dimensions I would have screwed it up for sure. :D

Sawdust Lover

Samandothers, I lifted the head and the toeboards at the same time. Then I cut the slab with the chainsaw right in front of the blade so the blade wouldn't get bind in the log. Took the slab off rolled the log back and finished sawing.

Delawhere Jack

Quote from: Sawdust Lover on February 10, 2013, 07:44:01 PM
Samandothers, I lifted the head and the toeboards at the same time. Then I cut the slab with the chainsaw right in front of the blade so the blade wouldn't get bind in the log. Took the slab off rolled the log back and finished sawing.

Clever!  ;) I was bragging that I nearly maxed out the LT40 last week cutting some 20' beams. I am now humbled.... :-[

mikeb1079

great pics sl.  looks like you did a good job, didn't even hit the metal that was in that log!   :)
that's why you must play di drum...to blow the big guys mind!
homebuilt 16hp mill
99 wm superhydraulic w/42hp kubota

losttheplot

DON'T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU THINK !

samandothers

Way to work out the problem!  Thanks for sharing.  Again great job!

customsawyer

Great job. It is one of the things that I enjoy about milling. Every time I think I have it about figured out, a customer shows up and ask for something I have never done.
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

millstead

Nice job. Wish I had a roller toe board

Magicman

Congrats for getting the job done in fine style.   smiley_thumbsup

I am able to do it a bit differently with the WM power strip.  I only saw a couple of feet, and then back the log and sawhead up.  That way, I can release the log clamp and back the sawhead and the log back together. I then lower the roller toe boards, re-clamp, and continue sawing through the log.
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

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

dboyt

I was thinking of building some extensions, but I can see that would just be a waste of time.  Losttheplot, & Magicman, I'd like to see photos of the process you use.  Seems like making the first two slabbing cuts that would be the most time consuming.
Norwood MX34 Pro portable sawmill, 8N Ford, Lewis Winch

terrifictimbersllc

More discussion of how to do it on an LT40 by PNyberg and Bibbyman: https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,43253.msg625112.html#msg625112

Process basically depends on cutting two flats for reference in moving the wood forward on cuts 3 and 4, and having sawmill head travel in excess of the fixed rail bed length, so that the uncut material can hang beneath the bed at the end of the mill on the first two cuts on faces 1 and 2 at 90 degrees apart. 

With a little practice one can raise the head while sawing to exit the jacket boards & avoid chain sawing/scoring the timber beneath.
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

Bibbyman

Years ago I posted a tutorial in the Knowledge Base that showed the step by step process we went through with pictures.  It's easier on Wood-Mizer with one side open to stick the small end behind the sawhead.  Also the newer model hydraulic mills with roller toe boards make it much easier.   Still,  it's not something you want to do.

https://forestryforum.com/cgi-bin/tips/tips.cgi?display:1061208316-32360.txt
Wood-Mizer LT40HDE25 Super 25hp 3ph with Command Control and Accuset.
Sawing since '94

Leigh Family Farm

Nice cut! Glad to see people looking for solutions instead of just looking at problems. I like MM's idea of cutting only a few feet and then backing the blade out. Depending on the command control setup, is that possible on the TK 2000 or the WM LT40? I'm just thinking how long of a beam could you safely saw without extensions. It would be nice to know that if you had another customer come in and ask for a 23' beam and you would know from the get go if you could do it. Obviously, these types of cuts would be one-off one time deals and not a regular staple of your cutting.
There are no problems; only solutions we haven't found yet.

losttheplot

Quote from: dboyt on February 11, 2013, 08:33:33 AM
I was thinking of building some extensions, but I can see that would just be a waste of time.  Losttheplot, & Magicman, I'd like to see photos of the process you use.  Seems like making the first two slabbing cuts that would be the most time consuming.

I can saw 20ft.
There is 4ft between the bunks.
For a 24ft timber.
Saw 20ft on all four sides of a 24ft log, cutting the slabs and flitches off with a chain saw.
Slide the log 4ft back, so the part of the log that has not been cut falls down between the last two bunks.
Cut off the remaining wood, rotate to cut all four sides.

Trust me , build the extensions  ;)
DON'T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU THINK !

Brucer

When I had 21' of mill, I'd end up sawing a couple of longer timbers each year. Longest I did was 24'.

Then I got an order for a bunch of  24' timbers. That same job included two 30' timbers but I'd never got a request for stuff that long before so I decided to buy a 6' extension and do the old "shuffle the log" trick for the two longer ones.

The next year I got a huge order that included 40 pieces of 4x12 30' long. So I bought a second 6' extension. That gave me 33' of mill in total. Wasn't long after that I got an order for two 35' timbers.

It never ends :D.
Bruce    LT40HDG28 bandsaw
"Complex problems have simple, easy to understand wrong answers."

dboyt

Extensions sound like the way to go.  I'm thinking of a "docking station" so I can keep the mill portable, then line it up with the extension for the long stuff.  Anybody doing that?
Norwood MX34 Pro portable sawmill, 8N Ford, Lewis Winch

beenthere

Not knowing how this idea might work, but would it be reasonable to make a "table" of sorts for a long log to rest on, which in turn rests on the mill bunk supports?

I'm thinking this "table" to maybe be two 24' 2x10's laying face down on the bunks spaced/lashed 4-6" apart, with the long log rolled onto on them and clamped.
Saw as far as possible, and then slide the "table" with log down the bunks to saw the remaining distance.

I'd think this table would keep the long log in correct reference to the blade if moved this way, and be a bit cheaper for the total times needed.
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

pineywoods

I once sawed 2 30 foot 12X12 on a manual lt40. No rollers, no hydraulics. I had 2 big brawny redneck helpers and a for lift, but still not exactly fun. Been thinking about building a 10 ft extension..
1995 Wood Mizer LT 40, Liquid cooled kawasaki,homebuilt hydraulics. Homebuilt solar dry kiln.  Woodmaster 718 planner, Kubota M4700 with homemade forks and winch, stihl  028, 029, Ms390
100k bd ft club.Charter member of The Grumpy old Men

Woodkiller

Nice to see how others "fix" problems. On my timberking before you get much over 22-23' you would definitely need to swing the control board to the side. By the way, nice setup.

hackberry jake

I can saw 22'. I have milled two 22' logs. It sure is a pain dealing with logs that long! I can't imagine handling a log big enough to get a 30' 12x12 pineywoods!
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EZ Boardwalk Jr. With 20hp Honda, 25' of track, and homemade setworks. 32x18 sawshed. 24x40 insulated shop. 30hp kubota with fel. 1978 Massey ferguson 230.

WDH

I like the 8 and 10 footers best  :).  If cutting for furniture grade, not much reason to cut hardwood longer than that.  But, in the specialty timbers, that is another game altogether.
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

Dave Shepard

Sawdust Lover, that timber looks great. Is that white oak?


I handle over length logs similar to what Losttheplot does. I like to slide the log on a sawn surface, this makes it much easier to align the log to the bed.

1- I level the log to the bed and make my opening cuts. I saw as far as I can and then cut the slab/board with a chainsaw. We got an electric after the first couple of logs. It was high '90's when we cut these and the gas saw wouldn't start the second cut of the day.

2- Turn 180° and repeat to desired thickness. Once you have something like the hammer head in the first pic, you slide the log back a couple of feet and cut the hammer head off in one chunk.

3- Slide the log back to the original position, and rotate it up 90° repeat.


47' log on an LT40 with a 24' bed extension:





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