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Jig/Cradle For Short Logs

Started by gfadvm, October 23, 2013, 10:41:42 AM

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gfadvm

Just joined this group and have a question: I recently purchased a Wood-Mizer LT15 and I'm trying to figure out how to mill logs that are24-30" long. I'm sure someone else here has solved this problem a long time ago and I'm hoping to learn from their experience. Thanks!

beenthere

Welcome to the Forestry Forum.
Yes, there are a variety of ways that have been posted on holding short logs.

Bridging that gap with a base board and having a 'fence" at the back to span the space so the clamp works are the basics.

A search may get those threads to come up, as well as several may see this and respond directly.

Do you get a lot of short logs to mill? And what is the product? 
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

dboyt

Welcome to the forum!  I routinely cut short logs.  The clamps on the Norwood are movable to accommodate different log lengths, but for really short logs I bridge across two bunks with a board, then use a sacrifice board to bridge between stops, so that I cut the sacrifice board as I go.  The first cut is a little iffy, but once you get a flat side down on the board bridging across the cross bunks, it goes pretty well.  Here's a photo.


  

 
Norwood MX34 Pro portable sawmill, 8N Ford, Lewis Winch

Magicman

Welcome to the Forestry Forum,  gfadvm.   :)
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

Deese

2004 LT40 Super 51hp w/6' bed extension
Cooks AE4P Edger
Cat Claw sharpener/Dual Tooth Setter
Kubota svl75-2 skidsteer w/grapple, forks, brushcutter
1977 Log Hog Knuckleboom loader/truck

Ga Mtn Man

"If the women don't find you handsome they should at least find you handy." - Red Green


2012 LT40HDG29 with "Superized" hydraulics,  2 LogRite cant hooks, home-built log arch.

Ga Mtn Man

"If the women don't find you handsome they should at least find you handy." - Red Green


2012 LT40HDG29 with "Superized" hydraulics,  2 LogRite cant hooks, home-built log arch.

Gasawyer

Woodmizer LT-40hdd super hyd.,Lucas 618,Lucas 823dsm,Alaskian chainsaw mill 6',many chainsaws large and small,NH L555 skidsteer, Int. TD-9,JD500 backhoe, and International grapple truck.

gfadvm

You guys are really helpful! those Links were the answer for me. I knew someone had been there, done that.

I really appreciate the help. I often get given short crotch cherry or walnut that people have cut for firewood and don't want to split it. I agree: burning cherry and walnut is a shame!

Thanks for the helpful responses. I'll probably be back with more questions.

thecfarm

gfadvm,what's the plan for lumber coming off the mill?
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

gfadvm

The short stuff will be for boxes and door panels for the most part.

The longer boards will become chairs, tables, or ?

I am a hobby woodworker that always wanted a mill and I found one on CL that seemed too good to pass up! Now I need to sell more chairs to pay for it!

As an FYI a buddy did a Sketch Up of a really cool short log jig on my Lumberjock's thread. Not sure if I'm allowed to post a link here.

delvis

gfadvm,  Welcome to the forum, these folks are great and always very helpful. 

All I can tell you about short stuff like that is I hope it is for something you want or need and not for a customer.  It is very hard to make any money with stuff that short because there is just so much work involved compared to the actual board feet you get out of it.

I tell all my customers to please make sure the logs are at least 8 feet long because it makes everything go easier from the turning to the tapering to the clamping to the sawing to the off bearing etc.

Good luck with whatever method you decide to use.
If I never saw another board I will at least die happy having spent the last few years working with my dad!

Tom the Sawyer

This topic is somewhat dated but a new topic would have been so similar that it might be better to keep them together.   say_what

A while back I had to split about 40 peeled posts for a special project for a cabinet shop.  I had a devil of a time keeping them steady with the clamping system on my mill, so I came up with something else.  Then it was quite some time before I needed to use it again... until today.

This was reportedly a 150 year old slab of eastern red cedar from a historic homestead.  A little over 3' long, about 3" thick and extremely uneven, apparently hand hewn originally.  Client needed two parallel faces.  Tried to skim off the high spots so the blade chattered a bit at the beginning but he was extremely happy with the results.  smiley_thumbsup



 
Closer view


 
Empty view (sorry for the shadows), it can hold any length up to 9'


 
Can clamp at an angle and an uneven surface


 
Attaches to the bunks using an existing bolt.


 
07 TK B-20, Custom log arch, 20' trailer w/log loading arch, F350 flatbed dually dump.  Piggy-back forklift.  LS tractor w/FEL, Bobcat S250 w/grapple, Stihl 025C 16", Husky 372XP 24/30" bars, Grizzly 20" planer, Nyle L200M DH kiln.
If you call and my wife says, "He's sawin logs", I ain't snoring.

Po-Jo

Tom I like that, going to have to save this one and build it.

justallan1

Nice work, Tom.
Looks like whatever you put on there, stays on there for sure.

Allan

Magicman

Tom, that is an excellent solution. 
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

POSTON WIDEHEAD

Look at Tom....gett'n jiggy with it. Nice tool!
The older I get I wish my body could Re-Gen.

gfadvm

Tom, Thanks so much for taking the time to post that! It is MUCH more secure than the one I cobbled together. And I have all the stuff I need to make yours.

Bill Gaiche

Welcome aboard. Glad you found the solution to your needs. You almost always will get the help you need on the FF. Post some photos of your latest jig and other projects. bg

gfadvm

Thanks Bill. Posting pics here has proved an insurmountable task for me. I have read all the pic posting threads but just not smart enough to "get er done". I can post pics on Lumberjocks with no problem but haven't figured FF out yet.

Computer skills are my "short suit".

giant splinter

Tom,
Solid design, looks very practical and with a few clamping options you should be able to mill just about anything that wanted.
roll with it

shelbycharger400

ive done something similar to what tom has,   with a chain slabber, you need a REAL agressive spike on the bolts due to the additional bite of a chainsaw chain, it will tear it out of the clamp system if it dosnt dig in a bit.

redbeard

I have a whole pile of channel even boxes of mounting hardware, Never occured to me to incorprate it with the mill.  And have scratched my head several times on jigs. Yours is the cats pajamas Tom nice work!. My head is spinning. Sometimes I will lay a sacrifice board on top with a heavy can't for weight and let it hang over the entry cut and it helps eliminate the chatter marks when skinning a face.
Whidbey Woodworks and Custom Milling  2019 Cooks AC 3662T High production band mill and a Hud-son 60 Diesel wide cut bandmill  JD 2240 50hp Tractor with 145 loader IR 1044 all terrain fork lift  Cooks sharp

Tom the Sawyer

I have tried a piece of 'hold down' wood but in this case the top side of the slab was uneven.  The depth of cut varied from 1/8" to about an inch.  I made two passes to get the first side flat and deep enough to get a clean surface.  He was hoping to preserve as much thickness as possible so I flipped the flat face down and shaved it as closely as possible.

The jig was built of 2 - 10' sticks of unistrut, 4 short pieces of angle iron, 8 carriage bolts, assorted bolts, nuts and washers.  I used large wing nuts to tighten the moveable clamp bases.  The wing nuts are large enough to keep them from turning within the channel.  Probably the longest task in the project was grinding a 45° point on each carriage bolt. 

I considered building it shorter (like two pieces from one 10' unistrut) but the mounting points for the toeboards and clamping system made that inconvenient.  It only takes about 5 minutes to mount it on the bed of the mill.  Would have preferred hex head bolts rather than carriage bolts (so I could use a small ratchet) but couldn't find any that length that were fully threaded.  Paid for itself the first time I used it.
07 TK B-20, Custom log arch, 20' trailer w/log loading arch, F350 flatbed dually dump.  Piggy-back forklift.  LS tractor w/FEL, Bobcat S250 w/grapple, Stihl 025C 16", Husky 372XP 24/30" bars, Grizzly 20" planer, Nyle L200M DH kiln.
If you call and my wife says, "He's sawin logs", I ain't snoring.

xlogger

Tom. do you have a hard time spinning the log? I need something like that but work alone about all the time.
Timberking 2000, Turbo slabber Mill, 584 Case, Bobcat 773, solar kiln, Nyle L-53 DH kiln

Wick

That's slick there. Now we're cookin !! (old saying)
Timber Harvester 30HT25

Wallys World

Wood-Mizer LT28G25, Wood-Mizer EG10 Edger, Wallenstein Timber Talon log loader trailer, Wallenstein GX640 wood splitter, Wallenstein WP835 Fire Wood Processor, Kubota BX 22 TLB, JD 445, JD Gator, Home made arch, Stihl 024 Super, MS251, MS311, MS440 Magnum & MS660.

Tom the Sawyer

xlogger - I haven't had any problem turning the logs but they are either short (3' or less) or small diameter so they don't weigh that much.  The jig is independent of the stops and the clamp so you could raise the stops and tip a large piece with the clamp but if they are that large I wouldn't be using the jig.  I do all the pieces that might need the jig first, or last, so I only put it on once per job.

Wally's World - I started with a jig using pipe clamps, similar to yours.  I had trouble with movement when the blade entered the log.  My mill has a 30 hp engine and that is a lot of torque to resist.  I also drilled through the faces of the clamp and put in some small lag screws but I just wasn't comfortable with its stability.

There are a lot of different types of stock to hold and a lot of ways to hold them successfully.  This one has worked very well for me in the situations where I have used it but every design is a series of trade offs.
07 TK B-20, Custom log arch, 20' trailer w/log loading arch, F350 flatbed dually dump.  Piggy-back forklift.  LS tractor w/FEL, Bobcat S250 w/grapple, Stihl 025C 16", Husky 372XP 24/30" bars, Grizzly 20" planer, Nyle L200M DH kiln.
If you call and my wife says, "He's sawin logs", I ain't snoring.

JSwigga

Great looking jig Tom!  I'm thinking I can build something similar for the dedicated slabber.  Attach to piece of strut to each of the my main support timbers and make sliding log spikes to hold the log still.  Right now I just wedge it all into place with 2 x 4s and nails.  Sometimes I spend more time securing the log than I do slabbing it. 
60" Lucas Dedicated Slabber, TimberKing 2200 , 5 ton Nissan forklift, John Deere FEL

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