More lessons - longer logs

WV Sawmiller · March 18, 2015, 10:15:09 PM

Was shut down by snow and ice for 4 weeks. Last tree I cut was a big tulip poplar. I cut one log 20'6" because I am building a shed with some 17' openings in the front and needed long framing for my rafters to rest on.

Finally dried out enough today I could get my P/U out there to move the log the last 10' to line up with my mill. My 4 wheeler I use with my log arch is in the shop. The P/U worked fine moving the log. The mills hydraulic arms lifted the log easily and the hydraulic turners worked fine rotating the log/cant. Heart check angle prevented me from getting as wide a beam as I wanted so I made them a little thicker. At one point while turning the cant it was too close to the back end of the mill and walked just enough the blade would not pass completely through. The hydraulic rollers worked great. Lifted the back end higher and the front roller just enough to get the cant off the deck. It rolled easily the few inches needed for the blade to clear the cant on both ends. Hydraulics are definitely the way to go.

My mill is supposed to cut a 21' log so only a few inches on each end. Not sure I'd every want to cut longer wood than that even though I know I could add extensions.

Among the other things I learned is that green poplar 2.5"X12"X20'6" boards/beams are heavy!

fishfighter · March 19, 2015, 06:04:21 AM

Just think what a wet red oak weights in at that is 8x8x16.5'. Dealing with a manual mill is not easy. ;D

bandmiller2 · March 19, 2015, 07:07:10 AM

Hydraulics make you feel like a teenager again, its really folly for older guys to cheap out and not get hydraulics theirs so much at stake. If you hurt your back, or other stuff, it makes life miserable. My log pile is just starting to peek above the snow. Frank C.

Magicman · March 19, 2015, 07:19:21 AM

@fishfighter, Yup, heavy. Look to the left and click on the red toolbox to find the weight of logs, etc. The Tool Box is also found above under Extras

millwright · March 19, 2015, 02:17:56 PM

You can cut 21-1/2 ft on your lt35. I have done a lot of them, just be sure to run the head down to the end to make sure it is centered.

Foxtrapper · March 19, 2015, 08:43:11 PM

Quote from: millwright on March 19, 2015, 02:17:56 PM
You can cut 21-1/2 ft on your lt35. I have done a lot of them, just be sure to run the head down to the end to make sure it is centered.

Can on the LT28 as well, but i'm not sure I would try it without the hydro's, I have a hard enough time rolling 16's...

ncsawyer · March 19, 2015, 09:42:27 PM

Quote from: Magicman on March 19, 2015, 07:19:21 AM
@fishfighter, Yup, heavy. Look to the left and click on the red toolbox to find the weight of logs, etc. The Tool Box is also found above under Extras

I didn't know that was there. That is very useful and user friendly. I had been using a spreadsheet I made to calculate the volume of a log and then the weight based on published weights per cubic foot.

ncsawyer · March 19, 2015, 09:49:01 PM

Speaking of log weights, how do you guys load logs on your hydraulic mills that are too heavy for the hydraulics to lift? In the past, on my manual mill, I have cut logs in excess of 6,000lbs that the tractor would not pick up. When this was the case I could easily roll the log up the ramps with the tractor and use the winch to hold the log in place while the tractor got another "bite". The Wood-Mizer site list a hydraulic lift capacity of 4,400lbs. Is this what you guys see in the field or can the hydraulics handle more than that?

Magicman · March 19, 2015, 10:01:43 PM

I'll have to admit that I have exceeded the loader limit many times. I use the log clamp in conjunction with the loader and proceed slowly.

The "end tong" in buried into the log and chained to the clamp.

I raise the loaded and tighten the clamp together. I am sure that the dual hydraulics in the SuperHydraulic helps.

4x4American · March 19, 2015, 10:04:33 PM

Does it get sketchy when you have to retighten the chain to the clamp?

ncsawyer · March 19, 2015, 10:12:06 PM

What was the approximate weight of that white oak?

Magicman · March 19, 2015, 10:18:27 PM

I do not remember the dimensions, but that is it in my avatar.

Of course that was before Jeff did some art work on the butt end. ;D

ncsawyer · March 20, 2015, 09:50:33 PM

Thanks for the info and the pictures. I am supposed to pick up my new LT40 hydraulic next week. I just sold my old LT40 Manual a few days ago. With my old mill I sawed 6K plus pound logs occasionally. The last ones I milled were huge SYP logs that a 416 Cat backhoe had a hard time setting on my mill. Its hard for me to believe that the lift (running off of an electric hydro pump) could lift that large of a log. But after seeing your pictures, it seems like it might could handle that large of a log. If not, I guess you could always help out the lift on the mill by picking up on the log with a tractor while loading it with the lift on the mill.

Magicman, does your mill have any trouble turning large logs, like the one in the picture, with the log turner?

Magicman · March 20, 2015, 10:05:27 PM

Sure, it sometimes takes a combination of the log clamp and log turner working together to gradually inch those biguns over.

Raise it with the clamp, move the turner claw under the raised log, and then lower the clamp. The log's weight against the turner claw will turn it a bit, then do it again. Oak logs are by far the heaviest.

shakebone · March 22, 2015, 09:29:58 PM

Be carful also turning those big ones if I have your loader arms up as to catch flitches ,them big logs could overpower the claw and roll off and turn mill over make sure clamp is up or raise loader arms all the way up until u get it positioned then lower .

Magicman · March 22, 2015, 09:50:24 PM

Listen to the man. The loader arms need to be completely raised when you are handling/turning big logs. Always!!

POSTON WIDEHEAD · March 22, 2015, 09:52:49 PM

Quote from: Magicman on March 22, 2015, 09:50:24 PM
Listen to the man. The loader arms need to be completely raised when you are handling/turning big logs. Always!!

If NOT.....it could get NASTY!

customsawyer · March 24, 2015, 07:55:02 PM

How do you guys know? :D

Magicman · March 24, 2015, 08:09:44 PM

This guy knows because he has had logs to roll back onto the loader arms. Now Jake is correct, I do not know what would happen if the loader arms were not up......and do not want to know.

Peter Drouin · March 24, 2015, 08:15:59 PM

Well, my arms were up and it did not help. :D

Magicman · March 24, 2015, 08:23:46 PM

Oops, where is John?? ???

Peter Drouin · March 24, 2015, 10:09:45 PM

John did put the log back on the arms. :D :D

4x4American · March 24, 2015, 10:31:08 PM

John is a good guy

5quarter · March 24, 2015, 11:52:58 PM

Peter...now yer just showin off. throwin logs around like they were nuthin... ;) ;D

BBTom · March 25, 2015, 12:09:36 AM

I do know from experience that if the loader arms are halfway down when a big white Oak ( 36" dia. x 18' long)gets away from you, that it can make the mill jump into the air a bit and lean away from the log some. It can also straighten out the loader arms a tad.

The mill sits up straight again when you get the log back on the deck, but the arms are forever curved less than they used to be. Yep, I know better than to roll a big'un with the arms not fully raised, but for some reason just didn't do it that day.

Now I have to raise the head up an inch or two over the normal 24" to move it to travel position at the end of the job or it catches on the end of the arms. Life keeps teaching, I keep learning.