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Milling Earl’s Fir

BobSmalser | Posted in General Discussion on December 5, 2003 10:36am

Earl Johnson is 85 and a retired shipwright out of the Bremerton Naval Shipyard…a gentleman who can tell ya about the days of coal-fired steam for sure.  Earl lives on Hood Canal and needs to redo his wharf, so he chose the big Doug Fir right next to the house… the one getting bigger and bigger and making the Missus nervous.

Problem is, the fir is in a tight spot…room to drop it but no room to handle it with most mills…and it wouldn’t be economical to hire a self-loading log truck to haul it just a couple miles to a sawyer with a local mill.  The local Woodmizer and Timberwolf guys didn’t want to do it because there was no room for the machine required to load logs on the carriage.  So Joe Emel, the friend and arborist who’s gonna fall it for Earl, shanghaied me to bring in my Lucas ‘cause he knows it can mill them where they lay on the ground…and easily move the mill to the next log.  I agree to do it because these men are friends and I can use some quartersawn doorjamb material and boat framing.

So Joe and I fall the tree late one morning so I can break down my mill and move it to Earl’s place before it gets too dark and begin milling the next day.

Joe making the Face Cut in the 44″ DBH fir….

Back Cut and Wedges Driven

Finishing the hinge …falling…

Exactly where I asked him to put it so there’d be room for the mill…as from here on out this wood can only be moved by hand.  The two top sections chunked down during the limbing/topping operation on the left are light enuf to peavey out of the way.

I mentally compute where the lumber requirements will come from within the tree based on where the crooks in the bole are, the ring count and what stock is required.  Generally, the rougher and knottier the log, the bigger the stock you should take from it.  In this tree, we decide before bucking that the 6X6’s will come from the upper logs, the 2X9’s will come from the second log and 4/4 and 5/4 stock will come from the clearer lower log.

Lay of the log

We buck them into the lengths Earl requires, move the tops and set up the mill…by the time this pic was taken one of the rough tops had been cut into bearers and stickers and the center log opposite to it had been jacked into the mill.

Mill Erected

Joe, like most fallers here, prefers light Husky saws with 36†bars.  As my use is primarily bucking for the mill where I don’t carry it or even use it much, I have a bigger Stihl 046 with an aftermarket hop-up kit installed.  Shortens engine life, but Stihl cylinder repair kits run only 50 bucks these days on Ebay, and I’m stocking up.  One heavy saw to tote, tho.  For where you have to move logs by hand that are too heavy for peavies, the trusty old 48†farm jack and the ancient 1950’s all-steel Homelite Zip with Lewis winch come out of war reserve…the Zip treated to new cable and anchor chain for the occasion.  If you can tunnel under that log, you can wrap a winch or come-along cable around it, drive the hook in with your falling axe, and cross-haul it to roll it around.

Gear

Rolling the logs instead of simply setting them on bearers with the backhoe is heavy labor…slow…and unprofitable…and another reason others turned it down was the slope that makes milling difficult.  We couldn’t get either the mill or the log level…only a shallow enuf slope to make the job workable but strenuous.

Note Blocking

Cross-hauling with a winch is fast but a bit of a chore working alone.  An easier but more strenuous method is rolling the log with the farm jack, kicking a wedge in as you jack to keep the 8-10,000-pound log from rolling back and breaking your leg.  But the farm jack doesn’t like that much weight so get a good one if you are gonna do this.

Jacking Into Position

Continued on Milling Earl’s Fir II

Preview of the next installment…but will have to wait for this weekend’s severe windstorm  to blow over….working in the woods during high winds isn’t conducive to longevity…hope the mill doesn’t take a hit:

 Next Time…

Copyright 2003 Bob Smalser, Sprague Pond Environmental Services, Camp Union, WA


Edited 12/7/2003 10:37:52 PM ET by Bob Smalser

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  1. jimblodgett | Dec 05, 2003 11:25pm | #1

    Sweet!

    Can I come over and play, Bob? I got some free time the next few days.  I carry my own insurance.  I'll sign any liability waivers you need.  Can I?  Can I?

    Do you ever get used to the "thummmmp" when those big mamma jammas hit the ground?

  2. DougU | Dec 06, 2003 03:24am | #2

    Bob

    That cool! Keep the pictures comming.

    1. xMikeSmith | Dec 06, 2003 04:42am | #3

      damn, bob... i've never seen an operation like that.. makes my 16" husky feel a little inadequate..

      how 'bout some closeups of your mill... it look like a big rotary with a swivel for vertical or horizontal  (?)Mike Smith   Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore

      1. User avater
        BobSmalser | Dec 06, 2003 08:57am | #4

        More to follow soon as the weather lets me back out there.

        I was gonna explain that later but these are swing-blade circle (circular saw) mills...blade mounted to a transmission that swings from horizontal to vertical, taking and L-shaped cut out of a log in two passes:

        http://www.baileys-online.com/images/biglog.jpg

        The advantages over a band mill are general speed, log size, no need to make a cant first, ease of quartersawing (above) and ease of sharpening the carbide-tipped blades.  The disadvantage is it only takes a 8.5" bite on any one pass...to cut a 12" - 17" board, the powerhead carriage must be swung around to come at the log from the other side...much slower for wide boards than a band mill.

        It's an Australian invention by the Lucas family of Wooragee, Victoria originally designed to be packed in to remote areas in the pacific Islands.

        http://www.lucasmill.com.au/%5Dhttp://www.lucasmill.com.au

        http://www.baileys-online.com/Mill.htm]http://www.baileys-online.com/Mill.htm

        And these are simple little 1000lb winches (3/16" wire rope) that run off a chainsaw powerhead....either capstan or drum winches.  They are still made today.  The "Homelite Zip" is an old make of chain saw from the 1950's...all steel and very heavy.

        http://www.baileys-online.com/store/USA.htm]http://www.baileys-online.com/store/USA.htm

        http://onlinestore.forestindustry.com/baileys/images/items/lewiswinch.jpg

        http://pic3.picturetrail.com/VOL12/1104763/3075040/39636112.jpg

        Edited 12/6/2003 8:37:40 AM ET by Bob Smalser

        1. xMikeSmith | Dec 06, 2003 03:06pm | #5

          very interesting..

          had a Homelite XL from '69  to '90... one of the dockworkers threw it away on  a job..

           took a lot of abuse from non-chainsaw carpenters.. finally burned a cyclinder

          BTW.. one of the links to baileys and the Lucas Mill didn't work..

          here's another..

          http://www.baileys-online.com/Mill-2.htmMike Smith   Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore

        2. DavidxDoud | Dec 06, 2003 09:29pm | #10

          The "Homelite Zip" is an old make of chain saw from the 1950's...all steel and very heavy.

          ya - I learnt to saw with one back in the 60's - - recognized the power head in the picture - the one dad had was equipped with a 'bow' bar,  the chain routed around a big nose that could be rested on a limb while the chain chewed thru it - - manual oiling,  heavy and LOUD...

          I've been trying to get to the woods for 3 weeks now,  other things have been interfering - - you're torturing me...

  3. gdavis62 | Dec 06, 2003 04:00pm | #6

    Please, Bob, tell us more stories like that one.  Or, do us one better, and write some for Fine Homebuilding or Fine Woodworking if they will take them.  I've got a Fine Woodworking from way back in the black and white days that has a great article about chainsaw lumbering, but not written with the wonderful style that you have.

    My sheetrock sub just offered me a used-two-weeks Stihl 046 Mag.  For slabbing out small stuff (probably 24" dia.) here in the Adirondacks, will it drive a rip chain through a log using an Alaskan mill?

    1. User avater
      BobSmalser | Dec 06, 2003 04:39pm | #7

      046 and a rip chain mill a log alone in an Alaskan Mill?

      You betcha. 

      Helps to put a handle on the bar tip and have a helper, tho.

      Serious ear protection too, eh?

      “When we build, let us think that we build forever. Let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone. Let it be such work as our descendants will thank us for; and let us think...that a time is to come when those (heirlooms) will be held sacred because our hands have touched them, and that men will say, as they look upon the labor and wrought substance of them, ‘See! This our father did for us.’ “ --John Ruskin.

      Edited 12/7/2003 5:31:42 AM ET by Bob Smalser

    2. jimblodgett | Dec 06, 2003 05:23pm | #8

      Mr Micro - I ran across these guys at a recent woodworking show.  They sell a bunch of different tools for chainsaw lumber making, including bars for most chainsaws and chains filed to 10 degrees, which they claim is the optimum angle. 

      http://www.logosol.com

      1. User avater
        BobSmalser | Dec 07, 2003 01:47pm | #14

        I've milled a bit of remote wood with an Alaskan Mill and the 046 Stihl...

        ....better for beams and big stuff, eh?  Not the best choice for many 4/4 boards.

        You'll go deaf even with double ear protection.

        It's strenuous labor.

        Tediously and painfully slow, even with a proper ripping chain and a serious saw.

        A couple 2X4 rafters as a top guide for the cheap hundred-dollar Granberg Alaskan works just fine to make straight boards...your problem with these is the rough, large kerf, not straightness...and that's so for all of the chainsaw mills.

        That and you'll get real weary of making boards this way real quick.

        It's hard enuf on those 800-dollar saws designed for more intermittant than continuous duty that you might be better off financially to buy a real but used sawmill.

        http://www.sawmill-exchange.com/index.htm“When we build, let us think that we build forever. Let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone. Let it be such work as our descendants will thank us for; and let us think...that a time is to come when those (heirlooms) will be held sacred because our hands have touched them, and that men will say, as they look upon the labor and wrought substance of them, ‘See! This our father did for us.’ “ --John Ruskin.

        1. jimblodgett | Dec 07, 2003 06:37pm | #15

          I agree with what you say, Bob.  Saw mills have long been an interest of mine, don't seem to ever get tired of them.  Mobile Dimension, Woodmizer, big bandsaws with teeth that cut as the carriage comes and goes, over and under circular blades...I'm just fascinated with them.  Part of my fascination with the logging industry in general, I guess.

          But hey, seriously, when are you gonna go back out and cut that log up?  Any chance I could come over and watch that thing in action?  Maybe take a few pictures?  Please?  I'd love to get a closer look at those little winches and your other tools, too.  What do you say?

          1. xMikeSmith | Dec 07, 2003 07:13pm | #16

            bob... don't do it unless kathy comes to keep tabs on him and do the heavy liftingMike Smith   Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore

          2. User avater
            BobSmalser | Dec 07, 2003 08:09pm | #17

            Sorry, Jim...didn't realize you were close and thought you were kidding.

            Will be out there for a little while this afternoon after church....and a 6-hour day Mon and Tues....probably 8-3.

            Send me an email: [email protected]“When we build, let us think that we build forever. Let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone. Let it be such work as our descendants will thank us for; and let us think...that a time is to come when those (heirlooms) will be held sacred because our hands have touched them, and that men will say, as they look upon the labor and wrought substance of them, ‘See! This our father did for us.’ “ --John Ruskin.

  4. FastEddie1 | Dec 06, 2003 08:22pm | #9

    Don't know if it was in this thread or the other one...said something about topping the tree the hard way.  What way is that?

    Also said something about a falling bed...?

    How long did it take from the first cut until a slab came off the mill?

    Do it right, or do it twice.

    1. gdavis62 | Dec 06, 2003 10:06pm | #11

      I'm going to take a stab, but Bob should jump in here if I'm wrong.  The hard way is probably to climb in and whack it, versus sending a man up in a bucket on a tall boom. 

      The falling bed must be the location of the landing of the bole when felled.  All the trees in the way of the landing are probably cut to ease access when working on the logs later.

      1. FastEddie1 | Dec 07, 2003 02:34am | #12

        Is the falling bed actually prepared, or is it just an area where the tree lands?  I assume 'bole' is the word for the tree during the transition between a living, standing tree and a log.

        Do it right, or do it twice.

        1. User avater
          BobSmalser | Dec 07, 2003 03:12am | #13

          Forest trees are dropped and skidded to the landings whole.....slash then is piled and burned after limbing there instead of in the woods so's ya leave minimum fuel in the woods for uncontrolled, premature wildfire.

          That's the most dangerous way to do it, tho, when you consider falling limbs are probably the greatest hazard to fallers.

          Danger trees like this one are often limbed and topped first....you then know exactly how tall it is....with that knowledge you can rig a line onto it to a winch to help insure it falls exactly where you need it to and you can just park the winch truck straight in line with it w/o the extra trouble of an anchored block to keep the truck out of the way.

          Once limbed, the bole hits much harder...this one weighed somewhere between 20-30 tons.  To keep from breaking board feet you arrange the slash into a padded bed.

          Ps...oops...wrong tree....my previous post on the 52-incher weighed 30 tons and a bed was prepared.  The tree in this post weighed only 15 tons and the trail we dropped it on was soft and flat so no bed was made.

          "How long did it take from the first cut until a slab came off the mill?"  We dropped that tree and bucked it at 10-11am...took me til 3pm to break the mill down and drive to Earls, then another hour before we made the first cut.  But on flat ground, I can unload and erect the machine in 30 minutes alone, and 15 with a helper.

          And thanks for your interest....finally found a group that understands that to make things out of wood like boats and homes, one must not merely plant trees, but kill the occasional one...amazing, but I can actually direct you to "woodworking" folks who seem to think these efforts are acts bordering on depraved violence.

          “When we build, let us think that we build forever. Let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone. Let it be such work as our descendants will thank us for; and let us think...that a time is to come when those (heirlooms) will be held sacred because our hands have touched them, and that men will say, as they look upon the labor and wrought substance of them, ‘See! This our father did for us.’ “ --John Ruskin.

          Edited 12/6/2003 7:19:36 PM ET by Bob Smalser

          Edited 12/6/2003 8:44:56 PM ET by Bob Smalser

  5. User avater
    BobSmalser | Dec 08, 2003 05:12am | #18

    Continued from Milling Earl’s Fir Part One.

     

    Six by six Bearers cut from the rough tops are laid and leveled in preparation for receiving milled stock…green boards are heavy and you only want to handle them once.

     

    Bearers   

     

    With the mill and log as level as we can get them, we align the mill’s tracks with the top of the log for the first cuts.  Earl asks me to idle the mill so he can see how it works…a swing blade circle mill can cut on either side of the log with either the vertical or the horizontal cut made on each pass…on this mill, maximum vertical cut is 8 ½ inches and maximum horizontal cut is 8 ½ inches, but reversing the powerhead frame and attacking the log on the same plane from the opposite direction will give a total horizontal cut or 17 inches.  It is ideal for quartersawing by the “one square edge” method as seen in the pic.

     

    Earl  

     

     To better demonstrate, I complete that board and move the mill to the head of the tracks for resharpening, as it’s time…the shaving noodles flying from the mill are getting shorter in length.  With the blade guard and water tank removed, you can see the blade, hub and transmission in the vertical position as son Jake moves to the operator position to control the swing mechanism.

     

    Tranny in Vertical   

     

    Jake moves the swing handle a tad and you can see the sawblade begin to drop toward horizontal.

     

    Tranny Moving To Horizontal

     

     Jake moves the sawblade back to vertical, I attach the chainsaw sharpener with diamond wheel to the jig built into the mill and touch up the carbide tips…the sawguard is replaced, the water tank that cools the sawblade is filled and we are ready to go again in 5 minutes.

     

    Sharpening

     

    Vertical milling continues using the One Square Edge method until near the pith…

     

    Vertical Milling

     

     At the pith the technique changes to flatsawing to maximize vertical grain…

    notice I will make this 8 ½” horizontal cut in two passes instead of one…the tradeoff for a thin-kerf 3/16” blade is that it is flexible, and you can warp it easily with too big a horizontal bite.

     

    Flatsawing

     

     And the log is completed using a combination of vertical and flatsawing all the way to the bottom bark.  This 2d log had no taper…when we mill the first log, we’ll have to adjust the mill when we reach the pith to get parallel to the bottom bark, taking the waste produced by the taper out of the pith instead of making a cant like we would to with a band mill.

     

    Finishing

     

     Continued on Milling Earl’s Fir Part 3.

     

     

     

    “When we build, let us think that we build forever. Let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone. Let it be such work as our descendants will thank us for; and let us think...that a time is to come when those (heirlooms) will be held sacred because our hands have touched them, and that men will say, as they look upon the labor and wrought substance of them, ‘See! This our father did for us.’ “ --John Ruskin.





    Edited 12/7/2003 10:58:22 PM ET by Bob Smalser

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