# Finally milled the logs!



## WdWkrCp (Jan 13, 2010)

I was finally able to get the logs to the sawyer. WOW!  Got some absolutely amazing wood in this deal and a lot more than I thought. I still have half the black walnut log, one cherry log and a red oak log to mill. I had the hickory, cherry, cedar and half the walnut log milled and had to make two trips to where I am storing the wood with the trailer. 

Total hours to mill the logs so far is at 8 hours and I bought the sawyer a blade because the walnut and hickory dulled one bad enough we had to change blades. The sawyer said it was not necessary but I felt compelled because he is being very fair with me in terms of price and his hours (he is not counting the time it takes to unload logs from my trailer and move them to the mill. This would have upped the total hours by at least 2). I am guessing there is still 5 hours of milling to go with what I have left, simply due to the size of the logs left. Only issue now is I am running out of room to store the milled lumber. I have almost filled up my uncle's corn crib and my dad says he has no more room to store wood in his basement shop. No worries though, I will figure something out. 

Here are some pictures from the day and a half of milling. Almost forgot, the sawyer showed me how to use the mill and then let me make a couple of passes with his mill...under his close eye. :thumbsup: My two daughters helped on the second day by moving wood and stacking it on the trailer. They both got a kick out of seeing the different grain patterns in the wood as each board came off the mill.


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## WdWkrCp (Jan 13, 2010)

Additional Pics:


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

That's some pretty lumber. How many BF did you end up with after 8 hours of milling?


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## WdWkrCp (Jan 13, 2010)

I do not have an exact amount, but using the online board feet calculator on Woodweb.com and counting only the logs I had milled, it is somewhere around 780 board feet. I was surprised at how exhausting it can be to mill all day, gives me a new respect for guys who make a living doing it for certain.


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

Well, I don't want to rain on your parade if you're happy with the deal, but that's very low production for 8 hours unless there's some factor/s I am not aware of. But as long as you're happy that's all that matters.


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## WdWkrCp (Jan 13, 2010)

No worries, not hurting my feelings at all. We were not set up for high production. We used up some time, turning the logs by hand with a log turner as we milled to try and get the best wood. The mill was not equipped with a way to turn the logs with hydraulics and it did not have a hydraulic lift, so a lot of time was actually spent this way. I believe the mill was a Woodmizer LT15, it was electric and to move the blade through the log, there was a hand crank attached to pulleys. Certainly not the fastest way to do it but with everything we milled, we are pleased. Also fortunate because we did not hit any metal except a lead bullet, but the blade was not phased by this or so it seemed. :smile:

I am curious what some of the sawyers here would consider a high output day at the mill....any thoughts?


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

WdWkrCp said:


> . . . I am curious what some of the sawyers here would consider a high output day at the mill....any thoughts?


Man that's hard to say with so many variables. You said it was an electric LT15 so I assume it's the 10HP version - I looked at their site to see what kind of volume they claim for it but I couldn't find any such claims. Maybe they've quit that finally. 

Used to, you could take the volume the manufacturer claimed the mill could produce per hour and divide it in half and be pretty close. What they base them on is having a pile of perfect logs, perfectly lined up, with the defensive line of a football team come in and tail for the sawyer who has a bazillion hours on the machine.

_"You can cut 10,000 BF per hour with our machine. Even at only 1$ per BF that's still $10,000 an hour. Multiply that times 8 hours a day times 6 days a week and that will cover your mill payment in like 5 seconds!"_ And somewhere in the fine print with invisible ink it says _"Using square logs and four Howey Long's tailing for you."_

That's an slight exaggeration, but the point is some of the manufacturers get really carried away. Daren would be a much better bet to help you figure a window of BF based on some established parameters i.e. just sawing decent sized logs with little to no taper, and no other factors to slow you down. I ran a manual mill for a while I forget how long now I think maybe a year and a half but I still never put it in full production like Daren has at times. 

There's others here who also have ran their manual mills at full production sawing grade orders who could give you better idea of what that mill is capable of. I said the production was very low because I thought the guy had a high HP hydraulic mill. That makes a difference inn log handling and loading/offloading, but not as much as you might think in actual sawing. Once the blade's peak performance speed has been reached, those extra horses are nice to have for extended engine life, sawing very dense (hard) species, and for cutting through knots etc, but peak bandspeed is peak bandspeed, and once you attain it whether with a 10HP or 100HP behind it, it doesn't make a lot of difference if you're sawing logs that allow the speed to be maintained.


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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

WdWkrCp said:


> I am curious what some of the sawyers here would consider a high output day at the mill....any thoughts?


Like TT said...MANY variables. Log size is the biggest one for me since I run a little manual like your sawyer. For example lets take a 24'' x 8' log. From setting on the trailer to sawn out and back on the trailer, that is less than one hours work for me. That log should yield 200 bft. I just recently milled some small diameter/short cherry logs for a buddy.(was not thrilled about it) The average log was 14" x 6'...or 38 bft. So with the loading/flipping/general messing around trying to keep them on the mill once I got them there... I was very lucky to get 3 logs done in an hour, it was more like 2 really. So I was well under 100 bft/hr.

And these examples are nice straight logs, that did yield what they should. Crooked logs just give less "lumber''.

I work by myself. With a guy taking the lumber off the mill obviously on bigger logs the number would go up quite abit. On smaller logs it would go up some, but that other guy would be doing a lot of standing around watching me get them situated on the mill too. Log handling is a time killer. Get a big straight one on the mill that you can pull lumber=a nice pile in an hour, get some little crooked ones...just a bunch of log wrestling for me.

To answer your question...I have milled anywhere from 30-300 bft an hour...it just depends on the logs. At the end of the day if the sawyer does a good job and is happy with his pay and the customer gets the wood he wants and feels the price was fair. Well, then that is a good day of milling.


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## JohnK007 (Nov 14, 2009)

That's some nice looking Walnut! I'd be happy to "store" a few of those for you :shifty:


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## Kirk Allen (Nov 7, 2006)

TexasTimbers said:


> I looked at their site to see what kind of volume they claim for it but I couldn't find any such claims. Maybe they've quit that finally.
> 
> Used to, you could take the volume the manufacturer claimed the mill could produce per hour and divide it in half and be pretty close. What they base them on is having a pile of perfect logs, perfectly lined up, with the defensive line of a football team come in and tail for the sawyer who has a bazillion hours on the machine.


Under the Specifications it outlines "up to" 125 bf per hour which is conservative in my opinion. I have watched numerous saw mill shootouts and their numbers actually cut far exceed the claim on their literature. I dont know about other sawmill manufactures but I know Woodmizer has been very conservative with there numbers. 

The list up to 300bf an hour with the LT40 hydraulic and with my limited experience and a customer tailing we banged out 2600bf in one 8hr day taking a lunch break for an hour. That put us at 371 bf an hour. Again, dont know about other manufactures but Woodmizer is conservative with their numbers. I think the annual Sawmill shoot out reflects that as well. 

Like others have said, if your happy with what you got then you did good! You got some great looking lumber their that Im sure will make some great projects.


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## woody woodturner (Jul 9, 2010)

at the sawmill i worked at 3800squ metres per day was normal on my bench and 11,000 squ metres on the main bench


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

Kirk Allen said:


> . . . we banged out 2600bf in one 8hr day taking a lunch break for an hour. That put us at 371 bf an hour.


371 BF an hour is not an exaggeration for a hydraulic, and you don't have to "bang it" to get it out, even cutting 4/4. I don't like to, but with a big enough carrot I can do it with no tail. But I appreciate the fact that you have probably "banged out" that much by yourself also and are just being humble. 

But the idea that we can give him a realistic answer to his original question, based on sawmill shootouts, doesn't take real world factors into consideration IMO.


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## Kirk Allen (Nov 7, 2006)

TexasTimbers said:


> 371 BF an hour is not an exaggeration for a hydraulic, and you don't have to "bang it" to get it out, even cutting 4/4. I don't like to, but with a big enough carrot I can do it with no tail. But I appreciate the fact that you have probably "banged out" that much by yourself also and are just being humble.
> 
> But the idea that we can give him a realistic answer to his original question, based on sawmill shootouts, doesn't take real world factors into consideration IMO.


I was not trying to give him an answer to his question. 
I was addressing your comment pertaining to manufactures and their claims, which is why I quoted your words. 

My real world expereince shows in fact their numbers are very easily abtained and the reference to the sawmill shoot out was nothing more than additional reference that the mills can do even more than the manfucature claims, in this case Wood Mizer.

I based my comment on MY experience with MY mill. Hydraulic may play a role to a small degree but HP plays a bigger role, which I am only using 25hp. I dont care to, nor do I think I could ever cut that much in 8 hours by myself assuming were cutting 4/4. 

Now, to answer his specific question, I consider any day I cut 1000 bf by myself a great day of production. Keeping in mind that is cut lumber, stacked and stickered in the barn for drying. That is based on a hydraulic mill with 25hp and common #1 and #2 sawlogs. I can "bang" that out without killing myself and needing days to recover. With the right logs and softwood Im sure I could do more but then the variables are changing from the norm. 

If you just want to know how much you can cut and have in a dead stack that needs to be stickered at a later time, safe to increase that number by 500bf, utilizing my old bones and equipment. 

Im sure you could do much more Kevin considering you have the deisel operation that clearly has more power.


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

Kirk Allen said:


> . . . I was not trying to give him an answer to his question. . .


Okay I understand your position now. My bad.


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## MrPulldown (Jul 27, 2010)

Wow that looks awesome.


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