OldJarheads Milling Thread...

[rjwoelk]

May make Moses Lake wed night Thursday morning. Will let you know as my days progress

[OlJarhead]

Ordered a box of 4 degree bands today  8)  I will report my finding after this weekend :D

Also got a band gauge coming :D

[OlJarhead]

Back on the job site this time I am MILLING for the local lumber yard a lot of custom beans full Dimension 2 Byes and one bye stock.  Going to be at it for several weekends it sound like

EDIT:  don't use a cell phone and speech to text at night! lol

[grouch]

Back on the job site this time I am kneeling for the local lumber yard a lot of custom beans full Dimension 2 Byes and one bye stock.  Going to be at it for several weekends it sound like

You know you can buy knee pads for when you're kneeling for a lot of custom beans. Are those anything like bush beans or are they some kind of pole bean?

Methinks you talked to a smartphone with listening issues to post that.  ;D

[4x4American]

1 
2.   

[paul case]

Kneeling for beans?

Begging?

Glad to hear of such steady work for you!
I sure feel a lot better about using my saw when I have orders to fill and a few that will buy all I can cut.

PC

[OlJarhead]

Darn cell phones!

This guy is selling 2x and bigger stuff to the lumber yard for $500/Mbf and 1x's for $550/Mbf -- he did the math and figures with my milling rate ($85/hr) and production rate (400-450bf/hr at least with 2x's and above) he will be making decent money though he got the logs cheap.

He's also talking about buying more logs!  Said he knows a guy who will sell him a 'long load' of load for $1000 (32 footers) and can get him all 18" tops.  He also showed me two BIG pine logs he acquired.  One was 42" at the big end, the other is 36".  Both monsters.  I told him we could do those but they will take longer than the stuff we're doing in an hour

Going to mill with 4's and 7's today and see how that goes.

[OlJarhead]

On a side note, I do not have Turbo 7's!

I was sent a couple back a year ago or so by a great guy who thought I might like to try them.  I was excited to try them out and report back on how they worked on my 26hp mill but I never noticed much difference.

Well after keeping them on the wall for the rest of the year I finally pulled them down to try out again a few weeks ago and again, didn't notice any difference.  Then having sent them off to resharp with the rest of my bands (10's and a couple 4's) I asked the question here about identifying bands.......

It became clear the Turbo's would be easy to see...and Rus kept telling me I had 2 9's, 2 4's and a bunch of tens......I ordered 4's and waited for the 32 bands I'd sent off to return from resharp with my new gauge...and whaddaya know, the 7's are 9's.  Not sure how that happened???  But I don't have Turbo 7's and the mystery of why they seemed to be about the same as the 10's is now solved ;)

So I'm starting this weekend with 17 4 degree bands and two 7's.  I plan to run about half the day on 4's before testing the 7's out and then I'll run the weekend on 4's.

I'm milling big logs again so should be able to knock out about 3500 bf/day and that ought to give me a real good feel of how the 4's differ from the 10's ;)

[Magicman]

I found that the 4° blades saw a bit slower and dull quicker but saw flatter in hard logs than 10° blades.

[Mt406]

What a diff 500 miles makes the last two loads of logs I got I paid 2400 at 95 a ton.
If my calcs are right that is about .48 cents bd ft. That's for DF I pay 60-70 ton for pine.
My logs are not as nice as the ones your sawing.
I work alone so by the time I figure handling, bucking to length, sawing and stacking and dealing with slabs and clean up.
I have another 50-55 cents per br ft. Add profit  I am over 1$ bd ft  that's not adding in the tire kickers, and those that order and never come back.
I am the little mill so the loggers take advantage of that. As far as I can tell they do that to all the small mills.

I got my mill about the same time as yours I was keeping pace with you last summer, You have blown away this year.
Congrads on how well your doing. I have family in Seattle so get by your area. though about stopping you are so busy you put me to work.

I have gone to the 4s found they work best for me all round. may be a little slower but cut well in pitchy knotty pine. I have not noticed dulling faster as MM said he has more miles than I do so he's probably right.
I also went to a diesel drip to cut pitch will use water to to keep blade cool. I built simple system I have pics if interested.

Keep on milling

Scott

Ps as I am typing this its starting to snow it was 75 yesterday.     

   

[OlJarhead]

Today's total was a paltry 2685 and that includes a 7x10 we tossed due to splitting and pitch pockets that were just too much as well as a stressed log we are going to resaw tomorrow to save it as the 6x10 just wouldn't cooperate and I told him best bet was to mill it to dimensional 2x8's and let them crown a little.

I went through SIX 4's and 2 7's on the day!!!  YIKES!  I managed only 336bf/hr and per band.

However I've come to the conclusion the problem is the wood itself.  It's too dry.  Sometimes I get into a dry log and a fresh 4 degree cuts at 47 seconds for an 18 foot cut!!!  It eats the bands too but this job will be worth it in the end anyway.

Billable for the day is down almost $200 from my hourly rate due to the lumber yard only wanting certain lumber and everything else I make is basically a freeby for the customer (made some 2x4's because I hated tossing that much wood away when cutting flitches, also made some 1x's and 2x4's for the same reason).

In the end though, the lumber yard owner came by and had a nice visit.  He told me "you are cutting very nice stuff!  Flattest I've seen on a band mill!"  He asked me how often I changed the band and said "I won't normally buy from a bandmill because those guys just get lazy and let the cuts get wavy and I want good straight flat lumber but you make nice stuff and I'll buy all you can make.

8) 8)  Thanks to you guys!!!  It is were not for FF and the great folks here I would have no idea how to do it but I've paid a LOT of attention to guys like Bandit, MM, American, Peter Druin, Chuck and so many others not to mention Tom (sorry I wasn't here when he was!) as I've read a lot of his stuff.  I still have a LOT to learn but I'm nearing in on 100,000BF on this mill so I'm starting to get it down I think ;)  Still, so much to learn though.  Maybe some day the mill will pay for me to go visit Peter and Lynn and see how they operate!  Man I've love that.

And I missed another FF member (sorry, was it Tom?  Can't remember your name now) who drove through Moses Lake but came through after I hit the hay (I'm an 'Early to Bed, Early to Rise' type).

Anyway, can't express how much I appreciate you guys and also Wood-Mizer!!!  Marty Parsen's is awesome (sorry Marty but you are!) and so too are the guys in Portland who always take my calls and answer my never ending questions.

Anyway, this customer is talking about bringing in logging truck loads of logs to keep going once we mill the rest of what he has and he has 30 long logs (32') still waiting to be hauled over!  He's a DOT Mechanic and works full time at it but has been trying to get into business making marble table tops.  I think he's starting to think he should just run a sawmill operation with me running the mill and him doing the rest.

Either way, I'll be back to mill a LOT more for him (this is my 4th visit this spring) and I'm 'A OK' with that! lol

I also have several more jobs in the works and admittedly can't wait to get back to milling GREEN logs!

OH and the camper?  Ya, major bonus!  Glad I decided to do it! ;) I'm in it now with heat (it's chilly out), and other comforts of home ;)

[4x4American]

I'm glad to hear it's working out for ya!  Sounds like a great gig.  James over in the Oregon WM has helped me countless times when the WM'ers on this coast were closed, he's very good. 




MT406 I guess I'm not sure how the prices are out there but $.48/bf for softwood logs at least over here is astronomical.  $.40/bf is the highest that I've heard for white pine around here and that's for clear logs (not very easy to make clear grade) and the going rate is $.25/bf,  but the Canadians buy pine logs for $.27/bf picked up at the header.   

[rjwoelk]

I came back through yesterday. Called to see if you had left and had a short chat with your wife. We will catch up one of these times. Got 2 gennie lifts going east. 3100 mile trip. Have a great week end milling.
Bob.

[OlJarhead]

I came back through yesterday. Called to see if you had left and had a short chat with your wife. We will catch up one of these times. Got 2 gennie lifts going east. 3100 mile trip. Have a great week end milling.
Bob.

sorry I missed ya Bob!  I realized 'Tom' is my customer who's been calling about me milling some Walnut for him!  DOH!

[OlJarhead]

Gotta adjust the head!  It's off 1/8" on the left and down about that on the outside

[OlJarhead]

Rough weekend on the mill with only 4500+ board feet produced but my total for the LT40 is now 83827 board feet

Details to follow

[OlJarhead]

Morning at the mill.  Hoping for a better day!  Day one was only around 2600bf and not all of that was what the customer is paying for (meaning I was given 17.5 foot logs to mill 14 and 16 foot lumber out of some flitches I milled into dimension under the mistaken assumption he wanted them for a friend but after a dozen or so he told me the guy hadn't paid and he didn't want them anymore -- though he'd originally given me them on the list -- and still more flitches I milled to 7/8" in hopes of sneaking out a 1x12 only to manage a 1x10 which his other customer wants 1x12's so those are just 1x's he'll give to his brother for the barn.....hmmm need to work on that.)


48 of the 93 2x8's I milled for the lumber yard who sold them to the City of Winthrop pictured here:

and

They ordered 80 but I was not happy with some of the ones coming off the mill (checks from pitch seams mostly) and advised we sent a few extra to make sure they got all 80.  Those will be dried and sent to a pressure treating plant that will treat them and make sure they are the right color, then they will go back to Winthrop and get used on the sidewalks.  The city has an ordinance on what you can build and how it must look so they keep that old west feel.


More of the 2x8's and some other stuff milled the day before

Starting to get serious around here ;) and a bunch is gone now too.


Some of these logs are old and dry and make me wonder if I shouldn't get some carbide bands and open the faces with a 4 degree, take it off and mill the cant with a carbide to save my 4's and 7's and not have to change a band ever 400bf!


Customers brother brought these two monster pines over....the little one is 34" inside the bark at the small end....the big one is over 40!


Camper is working out nicely and the customer here provides me power and heat  8)

Gotta have coffee! and an FF mug   But I need a new FF sticker (or two)...



So I was squaring up a cant and it just wouldn't. I stopped, looked at my customer and said "something aint right" and took out my tape and measured the band at the near and far end of the bunk...hmmm....doesn't look right so I got out my 18" rule and measured more accurately and sure enough it was out!  Way out.  Not sure what happened or how but at 330hrs I figured it was due and so out came the books and tools and thanks to my customer being a mechanic and understanding these kinds of things we were able to set the band left to right and front to back and adjust the scale, put it all back together and get back to milling.


Casey, my customers nieces BF became the 'ruler holder' for a while.  He's a great off-bearer and an all around good kid from what I can tell (anyone who off-bears for free more than once must be a good kid)


So we get back to milling, I split a cant into two and split it again to make 4 8x8's and I notice something is off.  We check the scale and it's off so we reset the scale and make sure it's right (scratching our heads wondering how that happened) and then put the 8x8's back on the deck only one came crashing into the deck and hit the swing out bunk....except it had a cushion, my finger, to absorb the impact of the falling 8x8.  So ya, I wasn't happy but I put my glove back on and went back to work #@#@ it. right?

[Kbeitz]

Ouch...

[paul case]

I guess I was mistaken to think that sort of thing only happens with a 7x9. :( :-[ :-\ :embarassed:


PC

[OlJarhead]

OK I bit the bullet.  It's going to hurt but I think it will pay off in the long run.  I'm having James come out from Portland to service the mill for me.  After a pretty good discussion about this weekend and some of the issues I've had I decided it would be best to have him come out and completely go through the mill for me.  Sure it only has about 340 hours on it but I've abused it pretty well and towed it ALL over the country side (over 9800 miles last year alone and more than a few thousand this year already).

I figure it will cost me a minimum of $1300-$1400 due to the distance he has to travel (some 300 miles) but having him go through the mill and make sure everything is factory aligned etc should make a difference moving forward and I want it perfect!  The debarker seems to track down when moving inward, my alignment was out (not sure if it was too many off-road excursions or some other bump, knock, slam or oldjardhead bump it took), blade tilt was off 3/32" and I think we got it pretty good but then he told me you really need to take the rollers off to do it right (hmmm missed that part in the book ;) ), the scale was off and a myriad of other minor things I figure it's just time to have them service it and make sure it's all good and ready to impress again ;)  (oh and the drive belts jumped off one track on me a few weeks back after the head was stopped by bark in the chain (I think that was it) and so on and so on....84,000 board feet and it's time.

But with luck, and not a lot more experience behind me, I won't need it again for a while ;)

How often do you ahve them give the mill the once over?  Or do it yourself (and yes I will pay VERY close attention and learn everything I can when he is here).

[Ljohnsaw]

I figure it will cost me a minimum of $1300-$1400 due to the distance he has to travel (some 300 miles) ...

Well, it is a good write off on your business.  You seem to like to drive ;) - why not take it to him?  Not worth your drive time?

[OlJarhead]

I figure it will cost me a minimum of $1300-$1400 due to the distance he has to travel (some 300 miles) ...

Well, it is a good write off on your business.  You seem to like to drive ;) - why not take it to him?  Not worth your drive time?

I considered it seriously but I drive so much now I decided it would be better to make them come to me and it is a right off. ;)

[nativewolf]

I will make a confession here, I know my forest pretty well.  I know forest products pretty well.  I don't know machines, learning late in life.  So I video tape everything.  I buy a new SD card for a project, I catalog them.  Really good stuff I'll save off somewhere else.  I believe if you video it, setup on a tripod with Audio ON! (have I forgotten to do that?  well there is no proof-I deleted it :D).  Borrow a cheap tripod or buy one, I find it invaluable.  Lets you see what is happening while recording.  If you can record 2 versions, one from the tripod and one hand held.  Talk to him the whole time so he has to explain it all and that is captured on the video. 

[OlJarhead]

Hmmm interesting...might be worth it if he doesn't mind ;)

[OlJarhead]

When you bill by the board foot do you still charge delivery/setup fees?

Do you charge for actual board footage milled, or what the customers wants despite the logs they provide (i.e. they want 16 foot lumber and provide 18 foot logs).

What if you make what they ask but can't help to make something else in the process (like 2x4's from flitches that yielded 2x8's and 2x4's but they only wanted 2x8's)?

What if the logs are all badly checked?  Lots of pitch pockets? 

I'm trying to understand the billing because so far, I don't see an advantage unless there are all good, green, big logs so I can produce at a good rate.