Whatcha Sawin' ???

[Magicman]

Log Rite should make a spud

I asked Kevin about adding one to their list of tools when I was at Logrite but he did not seem interested.  Probably would not be enough demand/sales to justify.

[grouch]

Blame fishfighter for this. I was happy just sitting out the heat wave and then he had to go telling about finding problems with his mill from sitting unused for a while. I couldn't stand it; had to go out this morning in spite of the muggy air being pushed ahead of the rain crawling this way from the Gulf.

Blackberry vines and weeds had tried to take over, but the machine was ok.


Tree tops that have been waiting a while, cluttering up an already cluttered mill.



This one could use that inch-an-hour downpour that Magicman told about. That's clay and sandstone.




Could've been pretty, but pretty useless.






Better.








Won't hurt for what I need out of it.




The wane won't hurt. I'm always needing short 6x6's to crib something up.


And even a couple of useful 6 ft 2x6's.

A little useful lumber out of what would otherwise just be firewood. And I got to make some sawdust (even if it did stick to me and my drenched shirt).

The icing on the cake is that it smelled like red oak should, instead of sour stinky oak.

[Jim_Rogers]

Yesterday, I traveled some 20 miles south east of me to a town named after someone, I don't know who, but someone long ago. The name of the town is Marblehead.

I had viewed the logs on Wednesday to see where they were in his yard.

And I managed to get the mill parked next to them:



 

They were black locust logs all from one tree. The longest one was 6' 8" long and was rotten up the middle.

When I went to unhook the mill from the truck I noticed this:



 

Do you see it?

I forgot to attach my safety chains from the mill to the truck. I think that town may have been named after me.

We worked up the "long one" and used the planks and slabs to create a log loading cradle to load the "short ones" and saw them up.

The one that had the crotch in it was suppose to make some nice wide figured grain but the piece was split and they all fell apart when he carried them off the mill.

Here is his pile when I left just after it stopped raining.



 

He was happy and gave me a $50 tip.

Out to lunch today on him.

Jim Rogers

[gww]

Jim
Don't feel too bad about the safety chain.  I forgot to lock the ball retainer and drove 65 mph from dads to my house with my 20 foot trailer. Luckily it is a bit front heavy.  I noticed it when I started to winch a shed up on to the trailer and the front came up in the air. 

What I hated even worse is how many times I have gassed up the chainsaw or other things with the tailgate down and then forgot to put the tailgate back up while the trailer was hooked up.  Now it takes two hands to open my tailgate.

Nothing would ever happen if you were never doing anything and so at least you are out there "getting it"
Cheers
gww

Ps  I have had my chainsaw ride all the way home with out falling off the tailgate but I have lost a couple of yellow deisel cans.  Yes, it has happened more then once :D :D.

[50 Acre Jim]

I quit laying my glasses on the truck bumper, got tired of buying new ones...  It's hell gettin old... 

[Kbeitz]

I once snapped the hitch shut and it was not down on the ball.
I drove around 3 miles to town. Nothing happened.
My trailer was also loaded heavy.

[Magicman]

I got up "before breakfast" this morning, traveled 80 miles, and was on the job site before 7:00am. 


 
Four pretty good Cherrybark Red Oak logs and one junker that I did not saw.


 
The problem was not with the logs but where they were.  Down in a hole.


 
The truck's incline gives an indication of the steepness.


 
Yes, the butt log had metal.....and a blade found it.  I tried to saw a 4X4 but that sucker was long.


 
My tailgunners rolling up the last log.  They were tired by day's end.


 
1118 bf of mostly 5/4 with a couple of 9/4's plus the 4X5's.  My first day back in the saddle and it was HOT today !!

[KirkD]

MM out here that is a speed bump :D

[grouch]

Magicman,
They rolled each of those big suckers up that hill? Those guys deserve a pizza or something. After the photo of your truck on the slope, I was expecting to see some parbuckling rig set up.

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

Magic works them then leaves them.  :D

[Magicman]

I rolled them with the sawmill log clamp and end tong.  Even the one pictured needed some help.


 


 
Not today's pictures, but I regularly use the end tong to adjust and roll logs.

Yup, I sawed um and left um.   ;D

[Peter Drouin]

Where there's a will there's a way. Jim & Magic, 

[Ianab]

Just putzing around today with some small "logs" again. Getting the mill aligned properly, and tuning up the double cutting.

But I picked a challenge, Sheoak or Australian Pine as it's called in the US. This stuff is dense and pretty hard.



Anyway, if the mill can slice that up, it will be OK with some smallish Port Orford Cedars tomorrow. Mill is all loaded up for an early start. Have a handful of decent size (2ft+) Sheoaks to mill in the near future, but I'm happy the mill can handle them.

A local guy I met on Facebook turned out to be friends with my sons, and the house he's renting has a heap of fresh cut logs out front. He asked his landlord if he could have a few, as he is an aspiring woodworker, and was told "no worries, you can have 6 of them, just don't cut them all up as I need some firewood". It's nothing special, but there are some good ~18" Port Orford logs in the stack, so I'll go and deal to them and share the lumber. He's also keen to come and off-load on the Sheoak mission, in exchange for a stash of lumber. That's the sort of deal I like 

[WV Sawmiller]

   My walnut stocks are getting low so I decided to saw up a little my son dropped off 5-6 months ago then move the mill to the front lot where I have 3 walnut logs a neighbor brought me a couple weeks ago. Besides Mildred needed a bath and the front lot has a well and faucet.

   The first log was a scant 5' and slipped out of my loader arms and was a general pain to load and so rotten I ended up cutting it into 2.5 X 2.5 strips for bench leg stock. The next one was about same length and another pain to load. Also poor quality and only got a couple of 4/4 and a couple of 8/4 live edge pieces. I may make a couple of benches out of the 8/4 slabs. Last log was about 9' long. Will salvage a few short slabs. Got down to 4-1/8" cut before I found the obligatory 3 spikes, one nail and a wire. I cut off about 2' of the butt and sawed the rest. Had one 30" limb I cut for bench legs too. All total about a whopping 108 bf and 1.1 hours on the mill engine. Oh well, at least the lot is a little cleaner and Mildred got a good bath, is sparkling, and ready for her next sawing assignment.

[Sixacresand]

The metal roof man said he needed to strip my 10/12 pitch roof with 2 x 4's so the crew could stand on them.  So i began a campaign to mill store size 2 by 4's.   In this heat, a 25" pine log will last me all day.   But with being blessed with a hydraulic mill, at least there is no straining.😅

[stanwelch]

Great morning to be in the woods today. 54 degrees and 44% humidity at 7am. Dropped this walnut with the kink. 30 feet to the first limb. 

  

  

 
Ready to move 3 walnut logs and a 17foot cherry to the sawmill. I'm looking forward to seeing the grain in the walnut bend

[redprospector]

Whatcha sawin? Nuttin right now.



 
The old Kohler laid down yesterday. Some might say that it was a bad day, but I'm trying to look on the bright side. I'm replacing it with the 35 horse Briggs that was on my firewood processor. Almost a direct replacement.  ;D



 

[WV Sawmiller]

Stanwelch,

   I hope that kink survived the fall intact and that you cut on either side of it to make some bench slabs. I love unique stuff like that. I'd love to see how it turns out.

[Jim_Rogers]

Friday, I traveled east to the town of Rockport to see a customer whom I have milled for in the past. He is a cabinet maker and he gets some logs from time to time and saves the lumber to work on some of his projects.
When I got to his shop he was working with his son to laminate up some poplar strips to make some curved crown moldings.
In his shop was one of the cabinets he made for the curved room in the house he was making the curved moldings for:



 

back side:



 

On the floor is some of the strips of poplar he is using to make the curved moldings. Out the door you can see the butt log of a big ash tree he cut down in his own yard.

In his shop standing up on the wall behind him and under his hand where he is pointing is some lumber that I cut for him before:



 

To the right side of the above picture you can see part of his curved jig that he uses to hold the strips as the glue dries.

Here are some of the walnut logs he wants me to mill up:



 

note the wire hanging out of the bottom of the log.....

next section up the tree:



 

Also in that picture is one of the many short sections that the tree service guy cut, just to move the tree. I suggested he sell these for "coffee table" stumps. The are all the rage now in my area.

We have scheduled the milling for 8/12.

Jim Rogers

[Jim_Rogers]

Saturday, I traveled some 22 miles to the south west of me to a customer's yard to saw up 5 red oak logs from several trees cut in his yard.

He intends to make a table out of the 2x14" planks.

When I got there this is the pile of logs:



 

I asked him my usual questions about what he wanted out of the logs. Then I cut the first log. I set aside, onto the log loader, all the "round edge" 2" thick pieces that I was going to edge back to lumber for him.
After finishing up the first cant, I started to stand the pieces up to edge them. He asked me what I was doing.
I told him that I was going to trim them to square edge pieces for him.
He told me that I didn't have to do that and he dragged them off the mill loader.

Here is one of the nice pieces:



 

That one was 2x14x11' 2" and I had to help him move it off the mill.

here is the pile of other pieces at the end of the job:



 

Before I could make the last cut on the longest and widest cant he stopped me and said he'd take it as it was. It was 4 1/8" thick 14" wide and 11' 2" long. And heavy.
We use a roller to get it onto the pile.
And we saved the last piece of the last log as I hit nails in it. That piece was also 4" thick:



 

But only 10" wide and 8' long.

Jim Rogers

[Ianab]

An old school mate of my Sons is a beginner wood worker, and asked if I had any wood to sell, but I don't think he has much spare cash. Anyway I said if he came and helped mill one day, he could take some wood home with him, or if he found some logs I would saw them on shares. Anyway turns out his landlord had been cutting down some small Lawson Cypress (Port Orford Cedar) around his house. "Is that any good for woodworking". As he's into Japanese hand tools, it's very similar to the Japanese Cypress or Hinoki, so I'm sure he can use it for something. Checked with his landlord, and he was happy to give him some logs.





Not big, but worth sawing.

Hit the road semi-early, waited a while for the temp to get above freezing, It was +1C when I pulled over before the main road to check the tire downs.



It was up to 3C when I got to his place.  :D


At least we had a view while we worked.


Eventually it warmed up enough for short sleeves

[fishfighter]

For some reason, you are driving on the wrong side of the road. :D

[Magicman]

What is your procedure for getting the "next" log between the rails?

[mad murdock]

Ianab, port orford cedar has a very pleasant (to me) aroma, it has a better anti rot characteristic than WRC, and is usually really straight grained with very small knots. I have never worked it with hand tools but I would bet it is a wood workers dream. I like the color too, it is i think, same group as Alaska yellow cedar. Would make awesome canoe paddles and cedar strip canoe/boat. That is a pretty cool mill!  Which model is it?

[50 Acre Jim]

My first actual production job!  Cut 30 2X4 (PDC) White Oak to frame up my new chicken coop.   8)