iDRY Vacuum Kilns

Sponsors:

Another logging season is under way and a question about trimming lumber

Started by Quebecnewf, January 25, 2017, 04:51:22 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Quebecnewf

Well winter is here and we are logging again. Good snow conditions and weather has been cold .

Dug our little temp lunch shed out from under the snow. We had it racked up in the woods but the snow had collapsed the rack . It's starting to get a bit long in the tooth and it will soon be time to make a new one

One hour later presto cabin built and stove in .

We have 184 logs cut so far . Logs are getting scarcer and harder to get in this region. Like my wife said as we were walking through the woods the other day were running out of places to cut logs and were running out of life as well. Pretty stiff and sore some ( most) mornings. You gotta love it.

My question ... I am now producing D4S   2x4 and 2x6 . I am looking into some method that I could use to trim the ends square and to the correct length. Something a little more robust than a chop saw. Thinking I would wear one of those out very quickly . I am leaning towards some type of pendulum saw. Have seen some info but not much . I am thinking something home built with maybe a 2 hp electric motor . Another option would be gas driven with a small gas motor. No power at mill site other than generator.

I saw one home built swing saw type on here a while back but can't find it now . Any ideas comments or pics would be a great help.

Here's another pic of the kiln that blew over last fall . We propped it up on its side and will attempt to put it back upright this spring


Happy logging

Quebecnewf







Kbeitz

Maybe it was the one I made that you seen... They are dangerous.



 
Collector and builder of many things.
Love machine shop work
and Wood work shop work
And now a saw mill work

sandsawmill14

if you are sawing alot of 2x material you might want to check into a pack saw they will trim the entire stack at one time saves alot of time :) but i doubt if they are cheap :(
hudson 228, lucky knuckleboom,stihl 038 064 441 magnum

fishfighter

Looks to cold there for me. ;D

Is that a solar kiln. Really thinking of building one for slabs.

ChugiakTinkerer

Sounds like a good start on the logging season.  Stay safe and as warm as you can.
Woodland Mills HM130

Peter Drouin

I sell lumber in log length. ;D
But I'm setting up my swing saw to trim the ends of the grade stakes only.


  

 
A&P saw Mill LLC.
45' of Wood Mizer, cutting since 1987.
License NH softwood grader.

WV Sawmiller

Quote from: Peter Drouin on January 25, 2017, 08:22:29 PM
I sell lumber in log length. ;D

   Ditto here. A guy ordered 30 - 12' 2X4s a couple weeks ago and my son took them home to let the guy pick them up there as closer and I was gone for the weekend. Customer brought a 12' trailer and commented they were longer than his trailer. My son reminded him it was typical to leave approximately 6" of trim. Once the guy understood that he was fine.

    I have a radial arm saw set up in the end of my lumber shed and I will cut small orders to whatever length the customer wants if he needs to put it in a car or shortbed truck or trailer.
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

Brucer

Several years ago I picked up a DeWalt DW705 chop saw (used) for trimming my 1" lumber. It's got a 12" blade and it pivots down (no sliding mechanism). I can set horizontal and vertical angles but I just set it up to cut the ends square. Everything on it is absolutely solid -- no play or looseness.

My helper trimmed about 40,000 BF of 1" lumber with it (both ends). That would be about 12,000 cuts. I bought it from a timber frame shop and I've no idea how much it was used.

I specifically wanted this model because it didn't use slides. The downside is that it doesn't have a huge capacity. It will cut up 8" wide straight across and 5-1/2" at 45°. If you want to trim anything wider it's a pain.

We set the saw up with homemade roller tables on the infeed and outfeed sides. The outfeed had 3 stops that we could raise for our 3 standard sizes.

No power at our site, so I bought a 3000 Watt Honda generator to run it. Theoretically a 2500 Watt should have been enough to power it, but I took the saw to the Honda dealer and tried it out. With the 2500 Watt generator the saw would never get up to full speed. With the bigger generator it behaved just at if it was plugged into a wall socket.
Bruce    LT40HDG28 bandsaw
"Complex problems have simple, easy to understand wrong answers."

Quebecnewf

Very interesting reply,s guys. The home built is the one I saw a while back and found again just after I posted my question. Would you have any plans on that baby . It seems to be what I would need . I think some thing like that with some automation added to it would be something everyone with  pile of slabs would buy. Add a feed wheel and a trigger stop and you could just throw a slab on the wheel would feed it until it hit the stop this would trigger a air clamp . The saw arm cycles and you cut of your section of slab and the process cycles again. Sounds so simple .

Where did that factory swing saw come from . Never saw one like that and are there any still around?

I might go with the Makita chop saw option as well . Not the best option but for sure the easiest to rig up . Still like the look of those swing saws though both the home built and the other one

Quebecnewf




Kbeitz

Collector and builder of many things.
Love machine shop work
and Wood work shop work
And now a saw mill work

Peter Drouin

I found it on CL, $200.00
There is a trim saw with 2 saw blades on each end that moves in and out while the your sawing wood. Maybe someone here has a pic of one.
I went to look at a sawmill where the old man died.
Has a debarker, trim saw, a vertical edger, 5' circular saw with a 3' top saw.
:o
A&P saw Mill LLC.
45' of Wood Mizer, cutting since 1987.
License NH softwood grader.

longtime lurker

I never did like swing saws. Just don't.

Theres a lot of OHSA rules and guidelines get stretched here around the docking saws, about "adequate guarding" and "safe operation under all conditions"  Most mills have swung to using pop up dockers with full guarding and two buttons that need to be simultaneously pressed: and they're a good thing but there are limitations around sizes they can handle. Most of them will do the bulk of the work for dimension lumber though. One thing about them big old swing saws is they can handle the big stuff that nothing else can.
I havent got a pop up myself, but I want one. A new docking line for the green mill is 2 down from the top of my upgrades list. I want/need a pop up with a full set of air length stops to 20' either way of the saw (that is I need the pop up docker and really want the push button length stops)

I've also got a pair of radial arms. Ones electric and lives in the drymill. The other is a trailer mounted unit... got a set of 10' rollers either side of it, and the electric motor has been replaced by a little gas engine. It does a job. Problem with the radial arms is you're back in the same "adequate guarding" deficiencies as a swing saw - for the saw to work properly some of the sawblade must be exposed during cutting.

The quickest way to make a million dollars with a sawmill is to start with two million.

Kbeitz

Collector and builder of many things.
Love machine shop work
and Wood work shop work
And now a saw mill work

Don P

We used whirlwind's in several shops I worked in;
(ebay link removed by Admin)
We made one that simply rocked from a pivot under the table when you stepped on the lever. I did have one jury rigged knockoff get me. We had a loose foot pedal that cycled the pop up cylinder. I bumped it while rolling an oak board, my hand was around the board and it was away from the fence when I hit the pedal. It slammed the board against the fence with my hand in the gap, that sent a bone out the side. Dumb accident, well I've never had a particularly bright accident, but keep those kinds of things in mind as you build and use one.

DGK

I have been looking at different trim saw options as well. The pop-up or up-cut saw with roller tables seems to be a good set up. My Makita compound sliding miter saw is on its last legs from too much cutting. I think that if you are going to be doing any type of volume, a saw designed for industrial use is the way to go.
Doug
Yukon, Canada

LT40G38 modified to dual pumped hydraulic plus, HR120 Resaw, EG200 Edger, Bobcat S185,Bobcat S590, Logosol PH260M3, Sthil MS660's, MS460,MS362's MS260, Trailtech dump trailer, F350, F700 Tilt-Deck log/Lumber Hauler, JD440B Skidder, Naarva S23C Processor

Quebecnewf

I have found some conveyor rollers on eBay and am in the process of getting them ordered. I am thinking I will build a roller table setup with stops at 8/10/12 ft . Most likely I will have to use a Makita chop saw as the cut of saw but I really like the swing saw or pop up option. My problem I do not weld or do metal fabrication so I am kind of limited.

I will have to run the chop saw with my generator and the steady power on power off with a chop saw is not the best way to go. A better way ( I think) would be a blade that's running steady and you cycle it into the wood .

Still poking around and checking every idea out . Thanks for all the input guys. We're busy in the woods now at the logs. Snow conditions are good. Lots of rabbits to catch so we spend a bit of time at that. Soon have enough so most of our snares are up now. Cold forecast for the next few days -25 and the like .
Nothing like it . We had 15 nights at our winter logging cabin in Jan . So that's not to bad.

Quebecnewf

Quebecnewf



Winter is moving forward and we are still at the logging. 400 cut so far so that is not too bad for us. Lots of snow this winter.

Here are a few of the logs we cut piled near our shoreline staging area. Just got an order for 120 4x4x12 so back in the woods on Monday I hope

Quebecnewf

Magicman

Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

thecfarm

Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

paul case

I am not sure how wide that your ;umber cut off saw needs to be, but we use a 14'' Dewalt metal cut off saw with a 12'' wood blade. It sure works for stuff that is 8'' or less wide. Pretty reasonable to buy too and can be had from Lowes. I think if you build a frame, wood or steel, for your rollers then set the saw between them works pretty nicely.

We have had one of these saws set up and running that has cut more than 1500 1x4-4' a week for the last 3 years.

PC
life is too short to be too serious. (some idiot)
2013 LT40SHE25 and Riehl edger,  WM 94 LT40 hd E15. Cut my sawing ''teeth'' on an EZ Boardwalk
sawing oak.hickory,ERC,walnut and almost anything else that shows up.
Don't get phylosophical with me. you will loose me for sure.
pc

Quebecnewf

That's the way I am going to go . Have rollers coming ( I hope). Going to use Makita cutoff saw.

Not ready to start sawing here yet


We are still cutting logs . Hope to finish this week . Cutting an order of 12 ft logs for 2x4 and 4x4. Need around 200 of those . Should end up around 600 logs for this season.


We will then, by the looks of it have no choice but to dig out the mill if we want to start sawing anytime soon


Quebecnewf

Magicman

So you are able to skid your logs across the ice and to the sawmill this year?  Does that mean that you will not have to float any logs?
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

Quebecnewf

We're hauling some and will float the rest. Too much gas and expense to haul them all by snowmobile.

Quebecnewf

ChugiakTinkerer

Hope the ice bridge lasts as long as you need it to.

I'm looking at the Portable Winch you recommended a few years back.  I'm curious which model you have, and did you need to do anything to it for winter operation? 
Woodland Mills HM130

Quebecnewf

I have the bigger model . 2500 lbs line pull. For winter operation not much different than summer operation. We use a skidding cone. We only log in winter although we did cut 75 last fall and stacked them in the woods and moved them with skidoo after the snow came.

Logs slip better in winter. On real real cold days we warm the winch by the stove a bit before starting. Most of the time this is not necessary. We just use regular " fishing rope " 3/8 poly. It works fine for us and is cheap in this region. We wear out a rope each winter so we don't bother using the expensive braided rope that is sold by the winch company. Our rope gets wet on mild days and we. Must dry it at night to use again the next day. The proper winch rope would not have this problem .

Great little machine and very tough .

Quebecnewf

Thank You Sponsors!