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OldJarheads Milling Thread...

Started by OlJarhead, April 06, 2016, 02:06:53 PM

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OlJarhead

Getting close!

Just received a call and my customer is meeting with the lumber yard owner tonight.  He's thinking of asking for $600Mbf for 1x12x17.5' (milled, stacked, stickered and ready to haul off -- he will deal with all waste etc).

Not sure if his price is fair or not since I don't sell lumber (or buy it) but I've given him a MM type arrangement:  My hourly rate or $350Mbf to mill whichever is LOWER.

That way if I can't produce 242BF/HR then he will get his lumber at $350Mbf but if I can produce at or above that (which I should have no problem doing) then I'll make my hourly rate.  It's about 100 logs all 17.5' long and typically 20-24" SED
2016 LT40HD26 and Mahindra 5010 W/FEL WM Hundred Thousand BF Club Member

Deese

Get After It OldJarhead!!!   smiley_whip smiley_whip smiley_whip smiley_whip
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

4x4American

That is way low.  He must be getting the logs for real cheap?  And to get alot of 1x12's you need a good sized log.   Especially with stickering it.  As long as you get your $ I guess.  Make sure you tell him it's log run and not like d-sel/btr
Boy, back in my day..

OlJarhead

He bought the first 118 logs for $1500
2016 LT40HD26 and Mahindra 5010 W/FEL WM Hundred Thousand BF Club Member

OlJarhead


Meanwhile I'm off to do this Walnut on Saturday....about a 98 mile drive to get there, mill these 3 'logs' and then pack up and head back.
2016 LT40HD26 and Mahindra 5010 W/FEL WM Hundred Thousand BF Club Member

newoodguy78

I hope for your sake they have a piece of equipment there,they don't look like they're gonna roll to easy  :D. I'm sure there will be nice looking lumber in them and plenty of it. Gotta love walnut

OlJarhead

Two guys and two cant hooks is all we have but I'll have a chainsaw too if that's what it takes ;)
2016 LT40HD26 and Mahindra 5010 W/FEL WM Hundred Thousand BF Club Member

newoodguy78

Two guys with simple tools and a desire to make stuff happen can do amazing things. I commend your positive get er done attitude.

OlJarhead

We got it done!  A bit sore today but one happy customer and a few bucks in my pocket makes it all worth it :)


Customer posing with the last log.  This 6 foot log weighs about 2700 lbs (maybe more since it was pretty wet) and scaled in over 300bf


Love it when a customer posts this on Facebook :D

 
Most of what the day produced (I calculated 1043bf but there were slabs and cookies I didn't count (just forgot them) so I'm sure it's over 1200bf.


Seemed like I had to run no faster than 9 on the clock/throttle to keep the cuts flat.  Had to adjust my break at lunch as it was suddenly not working and doubled checked my drive belt tension which I've decided is a little high.  When I set it I thought I'd gotten it to 14lbs but when I checked it at lunch it was between 15 and 16lbs.  Seems the Wood-Mizer way to adjust doesn't mention the bar they placed in front of the top pully and I just rest my 18" rule against it and measure at 9" but when I measure with a tape it looks like 9 1/2" (from the bottom) would be closer to center.  Anyone that can advise there would be great.


Some days you just want to take some home :)



I'm up to over 68kbf on this mill in just over a year :)

I'm off to mill a mixed bag of orders for the lumber yard and the customer who owns all the logs next weekend and possibly the one after that too...and in June I'm going to the Forest Owners Field Day again :)  (June 24th in Dayton WA)  Forester tells me I get first right of refusal.  Truth is I usually get a mill job out of these shows so while I spend money going to them it usually means I'll earn money from them later :) and it's fun to visit with all the folks there and just enjoy the day.  Though this time my wife's not coming so it won't be quite the same (she's gone to the last ones so I had someone to chit chat with between groups of people).  I'll manage of course ;)

And so the adventure continues :)
2016 LT40HD26 and Mahindra 5010 W/FEL WM Hundred Thousand BF Club Member

OlJarhead

https://www.facebook.com/kate.ruffing.7/videos/1519354021408665/
Not sure this video will work but my customer made it of me working a big (fat) log.
2016 LT40HD26 and Mahindra 5010 W/FEL WM Hundred Thousand BF Club Member

YellowHammer

Good job.  Looks like the it's all coming together. 
YellowHammerisms:

Take steps to save steps.

If it won't roll, its not a log; it's still a tree.  Sawmills cut logs, not trees.

Kiln drying wood: When the cookies are burned, they're burned, and you can't fix them.

Sawing is fun for the first couple million boards.

Be smarter than the sawdust

OlJarhead

Thanks.

I will say, the temper is out of several of my bands now (I have about 50 -- I actually have to think about that now as I bought 15 and one came with the mill, then I bought 10 BiMetals, then 15 more DH's and have 2 Turbo 7's and 2 4's and...well, didn't I just buy 15 more DH's? lol I'm losing track!).....and I am thinking I need some new ones.  7's or 4's and a new box or three to keep them all in and labelled....and I need to double, triple check the drive belt tension to make sure I'm not burning up bearings int he 26hp Kholer....if I do I'm going 28hp at least though ;)

Anyway, got some purple bands off this oak -- thought it was walnut but when I arrived customer said "ready for some oak?" and I looked and sure enough it wasn't walut!....the 10 degree bands worked ok but obviously were getting hot and dull fast!  Think I managed 200bf per band and I had to really back off on the throttle (I'll post a vid shortly) to keep the cut smooth.
2016 LT40HD26 and Mahindra 5010 W/FEL WM Hundred Thousand BF Club Member

OlJarhead

2016 LT40HD26 and Mahindra 5010 W/FEL WM Hundred Thousand BF Club Member

newoodguy78

Nice job on the walnut. How big was that 30 inchish diameter?

OlJarhead

The Walnut?  Hmmm...let me think.  It was over 32" at the small end and about 35" at the big end.
2016 LT40HD26 and Mahindra 5010 W/FEL WM Hundred Thousand BF Club Member

OlJarhead

Quote from: YellowHammer on April 23, 2017, 11:21:14 AM
Good job.  Looks like the it's all coming together.

This is with the mill at the 'STOP' sign which is 34 1/2" off the deck...so maybe it was more like 34" lol...it was BIG
2016 LT40HD26 and Mahindra 5010 W/FEL WM Hundred Thousand BF Club Member

trapper

At the the end of the end of the video Kate posted there is one my daughter susan posted of me from last tuesday
stihl ms241cm ms261cm  echo 310 400 suzuki  log arch made by stepson several logrite tools woodmizer LT30

OlJarhead

I'm confused.  I didn't see anything at the end of Kate's???
2016 LT40HD26 and Mahindra 5010 W/FEL WM Hundred Thousand BF Club Member

trapper

sorry it came up on my facebook page but apparently not on yours.
stihl ms241cm ms261cm  echo 310 400 suzuki  log arch made by stepson several logrite tools woodmizer LT30

OlJarhead


Cut list for this weekend.  Customer wants it all full dimension (nominal) and has a log he wants milled to 1 1/8" and as wide as I can get (so about another 400bf).

Tall order to get done in 3 days but the last line is for the lumber yard, the top 8 are for someone else and then the remaining three are the original customers last bit he needs.

Kinda nice though having a customer with all those logs who realizes he can make some money having me mill them up for him.
2016 LT40HD26 and Mahindra 5010 W/FEL WM Hundred Thousand BF Club Member

OlJarhead

Pulled up onsite last night around 8:20pm and disconnected the mill from the truck, grabbed a few things from the cab and unloaded the saw bands out of the back of the camper and then hopped up into my cabin on wheels and got settled in for the night :)  Gotta love camper milling :)

Met with the customer in my rolling home/office to discuss the weekend then did a little reading before crashing for the night.

Going to be an interesting day as a custom builder wants a couple 24" slabs milled 'out of the center' of a large pine.  My customer told him "fine but you will pay for the whole log" LOL ok, whatever, put it on the mill and let me see what I can do for you!  Then I guess it's some 18" flooring followed by the bulk of that cut list I posted earlier and who knows what else.

Gotta love a customer with lots of logs and the realization that my milling rates are very low (despite their sounding high to some).....
2016 LT40HD26 and Mahindra 5010 W/FEL WM Hundred Thousand BF Club Member

4x4American

Is this the job for the customer who's selling to the lumber yard guy?
That does sound nice having a camper onsite.  How'd it all pull?
Boy, back in my day..

OlJarhead

Yes and it's a done deal.  I mill all remaining logs :)

Camper is barely noticeable :)


2016 LT40HD26 and Mahindra 5010 W/FEL WM Hundred Thousand BF Club Member

ChugiakTinkerer

So how did the latte machine work out?   :D
Woodland Mills HM130

4x4American

Good deal.  Hope it works out fir ya
Boy, back in my day..

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