gonna have to get more automated

[lyle niemi]

Because I hurt my back again this week >:( Working a mill by yourself is not an easy job when you do it every day. I think I'll start hunting for a more modern circle mill with more bells and whistles :new_year:

[beenthere]

lyle
Sorry to hear that.
Did you do something specific to hurt the back, or just everything in general creeping up on you?

[lyle niemi]

lyle
Sorry to hear that.
Did you do something specific to hurt the back, or just everything in general creeping up on you?

thot I had a strong back and weak mind, now I have a weak back and a weak mind..lol I think every thing in general crept up on me, prolly be good to go again in a few days. Tomorrow I'll go run cat to give my body a rest

[Ron Wenrich]

Get an automatic, maybe with a vertical edger.  Then, run everything onto a green chain and sort it out when it gets full.  I know one guy that was going to do it that way, and he was around mills all his life. 

[Bibbyman]

It'll be pretty DanG hard for one person to automate his way out of lifting and labor.   What we've found is that the more lagor saving devices we've installed ends up being more production and more production ends up creating more manual labor.  Say you're sawing 1mbf a day on your total manual mill.  Add decks,  green chains, dust blower,  an edger or better edger. Now you saw 2mbf a day.  You still have to sort it, rack it and stack it.

[lyle niemi]

It'll be pretty DanG hard for one person to automate his way out of lifting and labor.   What we've found is that the more lagor saving devices we've installed ends up being more production and more production ends up creating more manual labor.  Say you're sawing 1mbf a day on your total manual mill.  Add decks,  green chains, dust blower,  an edger or better edger. Now you saw 2mbf a day.  You still have to sort it, rack it and stack it.

That is very true, Im using a lot of muscle power on the sawyers side so Im thinking ...log turner, air dogs and live roll way and a good seat...

[backwoods sawyer]

I like the seat idea 8)

There are things that can be done to make everthing more efficiant down stream. Both live rolls and dead rolls saves lifting.

[Cypress Man]

I say Bibbyman hit the head on the nail. I totally agree!!!

[woodworker9]

Lyle

I know how you feel.  I've been working hard and lifting heavy my whole life, and now, just few days shy of my 50th trip around the sun, I feel it every morning when I wake up.  Sitting is the worst, as everything just stiffens up.

I try to ward off evil aging by doing a lot of good stretching every day.  It helps, but so does the bottle of advil.

Hope you feel better soon.  I like your circle mill setup.

[dgdrls]

Because I hurt my back again this week >:( Working a mill by yourself is not an easy job when you do it every day. I think I'll start hunting for a more modern circle mill with more bells and whistles :new_year:

Sorry to hear about your back,  any particular mills your considering?

Best
DGDrls

[bandmiller2]

Lyle, if you can see your business expanding and larger future demands by all means modernize. If you don't want to expand, work smarter, and think before you do something. Your a handy lad and I'am sure you can ease the load with some hydraulic helpers. With age we are supposed to work smarter and protect our assets. Frank C.

[Bert]

Depending on what you are sawing I would think about it longer. If your in big and long wood most of the time then automatic is the way to go. If its short 5' to 10' wood and less than 20" diameter stay with the  frick. We run both a frick and a cmc automatic and the frick will shame the automatic on smaller stuff. One flip by hand is way faster than flipping the log stop, raising the turner advancing the chain etc. If you had a big crew then automatic is nice, but for a one or two guy show I say stay in the action. Sitting is nice, but so is moving after awhile.

[Dave Shepard]

I haven't seen Lyle saw anything small. A lot of really heavy looking planks and timbers. Eliminating any handling at the saw is going to save you a lot of back ache. A green chain on the outflow will also be great. I see you are getting rid of your slabs without handling them. When I did that at my mill, it greatly extended my sawing time. Having your lumber on a green chain will save having to pick it up off the ground. That's another back breaker. I agree that going with an automatic mill gives you more production, but that doesn't mean you have to produce it. If you can do your days sawing in four hours and take the rest of the day to handle your products and waste, that is easier on your back than taking six hours to saw, and only having two to clean up.

[backwoods sawyer]

log turner, air dogs and live roll way and a good seat sound like good back savers ;)

I agree with a long green chain and rolls for sorting and bin at the end for those you don't want to handle.

What are your thoughts on a log turner? Just a set of "Bull pins", a "Flipper" or a "Chain turner" or??

[lyle niemi]

log turner, air dogs and live roll way and a good seat sound like good back savers ;)

I agree with a long green chain and rolls for sorting and bin at the end for those you don't want to handle.

What are your thoughts on a log turner? Just a set of "Bull pins", a "Flipper" or a "Chain turner" or??

I am thinking a chain turner, I have some 100 chain out of a new Holland baler that would work great. I just got to get back into the building mode again

[lyle niemi]

I haven't seen Lyle saw anything small. A lot of really heavy looking planks and timbers. Eliminating any handling at the saw is going to save you a lot of back ache. A green chain on the outflow will also be great. I see you are getting rid of your slabs without handling them. When I did that at my mill, it greatly extended my sawing time. Having your lumber on a green chain will save having to pick it up off the ground. That's another back breaker. I agree that going with an automatic mill gives you more production, but that doesn't mean you have to produce it. If you can do your days sawing in four hours and take the rest of the day to handle your products and waste, that is easier on your back than taking six hours to saw, and only having two to clean up.

BINGO !!!

[lyle niemi]

Depending on what you are sawing I would think about it longer. If your in big and long wood most of the time then automatic is the way to go. If its short 5' to 10' wood and less than 20" diameter stay with the  frick. We run both a frick and a cmc automatic and the frick will shame the automatic on smaller stuff. One flip by hand is way faster than flipping the log stop, raising the turner advancing the chain etc. If you had a big crew then automatic is nice, but for a one or two guy show I say stay in the action. Sitting is nice, but so is moving after awhile.

I saw everything but Im finding that the 2x4s arnt selling very good, at least this summer they didn't ???

[lyle niemi]

Because I hurt my back again this week >:( Working a mill by yourself is not an easy job when you do it every day. I think I'll start hunting for a more modern circle mill with more bells and whistles :new_year:

Sorry to hear about your back,  any particular mills your considering?

Best
DGDrls

I don't have a clue on what kind of mill to find???

[Ianab]

I don't have a clue on what kind of mill to find???

Seen these mills?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fkCs_zh9Us

No log handling, board drag back to the operator position etc. So they are actually practical to operate alone.

[dgdrls]

I don't have a clue on what kind of mill to find???

Seen these mills?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fkCs_zh9Us

No log handling, board drag back to the operator position etc. So they are actually practical to operate alone.

Exactly what I was thinking ;)

DGDrls

[BCsaw]

You don't need a new saw, you need to do YOGA! :D :D