Cutting to 1 1/8" thickness?

[Glenn1]

I have a new sawyer who will be cutting my logs.  I asked him if he could cut at 9/8" thickness.  He said that he could only do 5/4.  He has an LT 40.  How do some of you cut to 9/8" using a WM sawmill?

[bkaimwood]

I could be wrong, but it either sounds like a gross misunderstanding in the communications department, or he's terrible with math...or doesn't hardly know his mill...

[Percy]

|f he has accuset, its a breeze....Im thinkin he doesnt and has no scale to use for kerf loss etc.....sounds like he doesnt want the work...heh..

[drobertson]

Yea you might just give him the numbers like 1-1/8" rather than the 9/8  just saying he may not know.  7/8" is as low as I go and the mill with boards flat on the deck.  Back stops are 3/4" so I give that much for clearance.  He may not want to work, who knows, I think he did not know what you were talking about.

[Magicman]

Yup, I doubt that he has Accuset or Setworks and is reluctant to try to "hit the mark" with only a scale.

[Glenn1]

I did use the 1 1/8" term just to be sure that he understood.  Does WM offer a scale that can be added to get to those measurements?

[drobertson]

I could be wrong won't be the first time, and will say I've never used my scale, but I was thinking that the 5/4 scale did not account for the kerf which in turn would give you the 1-1/8" board, maybe a manual operator can help me understand this.

[JB Griffin]

Yup they do, my 40 has one. Its not that hard I have my mill set to pull the kerf from the board not the cant so I just drop the head 1 1/4" a whack.

[LeeB]

I don't know about the scale either, but 1 1/4" drops will give you 1 1/8", or very near to it, lumber.

[JB Griffin]

I'll take a measuring device with and go look at mine, it is a 4/4 scale but I don't use it. Setworks is pretty nice when it works.

[JB Griffin]

I went and looked and mine has a combo 4/4, 5/4, 6/4, 8/4 scale along with an inch scale. the 4/4 is 1 1/4" apart, 5/4 is 1 1/2", 6/4 is 1 3/4", 8/4 is 2 1/4"

[Glenn1]

Thanks for taking a look at your scale.  I do know that he pushes the head so I don't think his mill is overly automated.

[customsawyer]

It has been a while since I have ran a LT40 but if memory serves it should have a quarter scale for soft wood on one side and if you take the scale off and turn it over it has the quarter scale for hardwood on the other side. ;)

[Ga Mtn Man]

Yep, and as I recall they are different by 1/8".

[WDH]

Exactly.

[Glenn1]

I am getting some very good information but I hope I can get a little clarification since I don't own a mill.  Does the hardwood scale cut the planks to 1 1/8" or 1 1/4"?  If the scale is set to 5/4",   what I will get as the final thickness?

Thank you for your assistance,

[customsawyer]

Hardwood scale will cut 1 1/8" thick at 4/4 and 1 3/8 thick at 5/4. On the 4/4 scale you will come down 1 1/4 but when you subtract the kerf the board will be 1 1/8"

[Kbeitz]

Fractions on the left 1/4s on the right....



 

[sandsawmill14]

Its not that hard I have my mill set to pull the kerf from the board not the cant so I just drop the head 1 1/4" a whack.

x2    thats the way i do it too

[WV Sawmiller]

Glenn,

   It is pretty clear the mill will do it. My mill is a little different and I have Simple Set which is less sophisticated than Accuset if I understand correctly or the manual scale works fine too but I am less accurate with it than the Simple set. WM tech support is only a phone call away if he needs to call them to talk him through it.

    If you want 1-1/8 and he can't or won't do it I'd find a different sawyer. Service is what we sell and you should get what you want within reason and this is a reasonable request/expectation.

[Glenn1]

He already has some of my logs and I will see how he does.  Until he proves me wrong, I will go with the information here that 5/4 will net me 1 1/8"

Thanks to all that have helped me.

Glenn

[Doug Wis]

  I sawed some white oak into 1 1/2" planks for barnyard fences on my TK 1600 with just a regular ruler type scale. Made up a cheat sheet listing at what  point on the scale each cut  was to be at. Not fancy like a computer setworks, but really came out quite well. Might work in your situation.

[Jim_Rogers]

I have a clipboard with a sheet scale on it next to me when I set my depth of cut.
As mentioned for 1 1/8" lumber drop or raise 1 1/4".
when starting out cutting a log try and pick a dimension on your ruler for the first opening cut that will be easy to work with. Don't cut at 12 3/8" drop a little to 12 and 1/4 so you can then drop to 11" and on and on down.

My sheet starts at 1 1/8" and then adds 1 1/4" to each one above that so that I can get 9/8 boards off the log.

Jim Rogers
PS I attached my scale sheet. print one out and give it to him.

[Delawhere Jack]

My very first client requested the lumber be milled at 1 7/32". Being naive, I agreed. Worked out a drop chart on paper. Half way through the job I asked, "can we just cut to 1 1/4?". A wry smile came over his face, and he said, yeah, that'll be fine.  :-[

Besides some very nice cherry, he got some bonus amusement watching me try to set a manual mill to 1/32" accuracy.

On the up side, he gave me a nice tip, and sent me some other clients.

[JB Griffin]

Glenn, I hate to sound redundant but, 5/4 in hardwood is NOT 1 1/4" it's 1 3/8
in softwoods I only assume that its 1 1/4".  So if your having him cut grade hardwood for sale to flooring mill or broker etc. you need to make sure he cuts it right. I just don't you have a bunch of unsaleable lumber.

[4x4American]

He already has some of my logs and I will see how he does.  Until he proves me wrong, I will go with the information here that 5/4 will net me 1 1/8"

Thanks to all that have helped me.

Glenn

Could be wrong, but the scale on his mill should have two sides.  One side is for softwoods and the other for hardwoods.  5/4 drops on the softwood scale will get you 1-1/4" lumber, 5/4 drops on the hardwood scale should yield 1-3/8" thick lumber.  4/4 drops on the softwood scale = 1" thick, 4/4 drops on the hardwood scale= 1-1/8" thick.


Best way to see what's working and what's not it is to measure the lumber coming off the mill. 

[Kbeitz]

Three different scales...

There are three different scale types you can choose from:

•1" & 4/4 Scale - one side has a true scale measurement broken into 1/4" increments, next to that is a 4/4 scale where each line takes into account the blade thickness, so the 1" mark actually measures 1-3/16" and once you make your cut you are left with roughly a 1-1/8" board.
•5/4 & 6/4 Scale - the 1" mark on the 5/4 scale will measure 1-1/2" and on the 6/4 scale the 1" mark will measure 1-3/4"
•1" & 2" Scale - the 1" mark on 1" scale measures 1-1/16" and the 1" mark on the 2" scale measures 2-1/16"
•Cross Tie Scale - it is marked to make either a 6", 7", 8", or 9" cross tie cut.  Numbers start at the top

[isawlogs]

 I'll throw in my 2 pennies...  Not all mills have the two sided ruler.  ;)  My mill did not come with it, they where put on later models. Mine had the quarter scale on one side and the inche scale beside it side.
  Your sawer needs to use the 4/4 scale on his mill, if he has the older verson, what I don't get from your writings is that he needs to push the mill... or If he has centimeters, using 4 cm will get you 4/4 lumber.    :P

  What brand of mill does he own  ???

[Glenn1]

Thanks guys for all your input.  I sent him a text saying that I need the boards not less than 1 1/8" or more than 1 3/16".  I'll just have to wait until I get there on Friday and measure what he has cut so far.  He's a smart guy so I should be ok.

Thanks again,
Glenn

[Chuck White]

I'll throw in my 2 pennies...  Not all mills have the two sided ruler.  ;)  My mill did not come with it, they where put on later models. Mine had the quarter scale on one side and the inche scale beside it side.
  Your sawer needs to use the 4/4 scale on his mill, if he has the older verson, what I don't get from your writings is that he needs to push the mill... or If he has centimeters, using 4 cm will get you 4/4 lumber.    :P

  What brand of mill does he own  ???

Very true!

My FIL's 1992 LT40-G18 Manual Mill only has the scale on one side of the stick, while my 1995 LT40-HDG2425 Hydraulic has the 2-sided scale.

[dnalley]

The more I read these posts, the "behinder" I get.  My mill has four different scales, each side by side.  I never knew the difference in a softwood or a hardwood scale, but I know there's a reason for them.  Just because I don't know the difference doesn't change the facts.  My thinking is if I want to cut a specific size board, I just kiss the end of the can't and measure what I get.  A lot of trial and error sometimes but I can eventually get to what I'm looking for.  My question....since I don't think my mill knows the difference between a hardwood or a softwood, won't the cuts be the same if I use the same scale when I find what I'm looking for?  Hardwood and softwood both?  I know my mill sometimes has a mind of it's own, but I'm not convinced it's that smart.  Nor am I!!!  Why the hard and softwood scales?  I  guess it has something to do with industry standards but I'm thinking "a pints a  pound the world around", and so is an inch and an eighth.

[uler3161]

I'll throw in 2 cents too... We cut softwood 99% of the time. On my mill, assuming 1/8" kerf:

1" scale will result in 7/8" boards
4/4 scale will result in 1" boards
Don't do much 5/4, but I'm pretty the result would be 1 1/4" boards.

This is off of late 80s WM scales if that matters. Scale is only one sided too. If I were trying to get 1 1/8", I'd probably be setting at 1 1/4" increments on my 1" scale. That puts be between 4/4 and 5/4, so the quarter scale won't work. But from other posts in this thread, there must be a different quarter scale for hardwood. I've never heard of one, but that might be because we hardly ever need to cut hardwood. Though I am quite curious why the scale is different. Maybe shrinkage differences?

I like 4x4Americans advice: measure the lumber.

[Ga Mtn Man]

The more I read these posts, the "behinder" I get.  My mill has four different scales, each side by side.  I never knew the difference in a softwood or a hardwood scale, but I know there's a reason for them.  Just because I don't know the difference doesn't change the facts.  My thinking is if I want to cut a specific size board, I just kiss the end of the can't and measure what I get.  A lot of trial and error sometimes but I can eventually get to what I'm looking for.  My question....since I don't think my mill knows the difference between a hardwood or a softwood, won't the cuts be the same if I use the same scale when I find what I'm looking for?  Hardwood and softwood both?  I know my mill sometimes has a mind of it's own, but I'm not convinced it's that smart.  Nor am I!!!  Why the hard and softwood scales?  I  guess it has something to do with industry standards but I'm thinking "a pints a  pound the world around", and so is an inch and an eighth.

The hardwood scale is setup to give you an extra 1/8", which is industry standard for dimensioning hardwood.  So 5/4 on the hardwood scale will yield a board that is 1-3/8" thick.

I suggest you learn to use the scales (assuming you don't have any setworks).  I think you would find your sawing will go a lot faster. ;)

[gww]

Because of this thread and somebodys gally pictures, (I can't remember whos now but thanks)  I took a real thin board to the table saw and made some templets.  I am cutting between a 1/16 under an inch for my one inch boards and 1 and 9/16 to 3/4 inch for my 1 and a half inches.  I clamp it to my bar that the head is on with a weld clamp.  I only dud it yesterday so the jury is still out.  I was measuring before each cut before which is ok if the log end is square enough.  I am not sure if this will be an improvement from what I was doing but believe it will be.  With the table saw and a piece of board you can come up with any measurement for a manual mill.  Mostly I want to say thanks for the question and the ideal that have come from it.
gww

[Glenn1]

I went to visit the sawyer who is cutting my first load of hardwood.  He has made me a "Glenn Scale" so all the cuts will be 1 1/8" as requested.  He'll be measuring all the boards in the initial cuttings to be sure that he is on track.  It is nice when someone is willing to work with you. 

[4x4American]

haha "Glenn Scale" that's good!  :D

[gww]

My name is Glenn, does that mean the scales I made are no longer any good?
gww

[Glenn1]

I think that they'd be Glenn Scales too.   8)

[roger 4400]

HI. on my Baker mill, the scales are , 4/4, 4/4 hwd ( I guess for hardwood and gives 1 1/8 inch boards) 6/4 and 8/4. 

[Larry]

Because of this thread and somebodys gally pictures, (I can't remember whos now but thanks)  I took a real thin board to the table saw and made some templets.

Probably my pictures.  In lieu of a royalty payment you can send me a nice cherry log, quilted would be  nice. ;D

Even though I have setworks I made scale sticks for three reasons.  The first is in case the setworks quits (it never has) in the middle of a portable job.  The second reason is because my setworks is pretty dumb and I can do some things similar to what the WM Acuraset can do with my sticks.  The third reason is so I can validate my setworks is working correctly and making accurate drops.

Some may question why I don't just use the inch scale if the setworks should quit.  Its because the head is so fast its hard to see the marks and harder still to stop on one.  My scale sticks have a nice big easy to see mark.

[gww]

Larry
I can't send you a cherry log cause I can't tell my trees apart.  I just consider everything oak.  Who knows what I am really cutting.  I do know when I get a cedar though, how bout one of those logs? :laugh:
gww

[YellowHammer]

Larry
I can't send you a cherry log cause I can't tell my trees apart.  I just consider everything oak.  Who knows what I am really cutting.  I do know when I get a cedar though, how bout one of those logs? :laugh:
gww

Maybe offer up a hickory or sweet gum? Those are pretty easy to identify :D :D

[Larry]

Cedar would be alright....so long as I can make 12" wide clear boards with a lot of curl.

[gww]

larry

Cedar would be alright....so long as I can make 12" wide clear boards with a lot of curl.

Uht oh,  around here they grow to about 6 inches with lots of knots.

I'm starting to like the hickory ideal, Iv'e been afraid to tackle one of those.

If I saw a sweet gum with my current knowlage, I believe I would still call it an oak ;)
gww

[WDH]

You wouldn't call it "oak" after you tried to dry it.  You would call it with some very bad words. 

[gww]

WDH

You wouldn't call it "oak" after you tried to dry it.  You would call it with some very bad words.

I have a feeling I may have quite a bit of "oak" stickerred in my lean to that will call for the above sentiments and some of it might even be oak. :laugh:
Cheers
gww