# Edging slabs



## poleframer (Jul 23, 2006)

Carvingmark and I both use carridge type CSMs, others do too. So far I've used a worm drive skilsaw to rip my slabs into boards. Without a clean edge to work off of a tablesaw is kind of a PITA.
I'm thinking of making another carridge or adapting my saw carridge to mount a circular saw in (with an adjustable mount) so I can edge and rip my slabs. Whatcha think?


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## dustytools (Jul 23, 2006)

*Cool idea.*

Its always fun for me when I try to make stuff and then it actually works when I am done. If you figure something out I would like to see a picture. But in the meantime how about rolling thelog 90 degrees after making your first pass then slab the log? This should give you a flat edge for ripping lumber on the tablesaw.


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## woodshop (Jul 23, 2006)

Like dusty, I try and mill so at least one side is slabbed, thus I have one good relatively strait edge to work with after it's dry. On small logs or those with natural edges, I throw the board on a pair of horses, and either use a jigsaw with a very coarse tooth blade or more often my skillsaw to knock off the edge (bark and or sapwood) before stickering. As for taking that rough board to S4S lumber, the routine is board on jointer one side, thickness planer for other side, back on jointer for one strait edge, then tablesaw to get the other edge. You now have a board that is flat, same thickness and width end to end. A true 1 x 6 or whatever.


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## poleframer (Jul 24, 2006)

I'm off grid. Can't run a tablesaw fer long ,unless I fab a engine powered one. Cheap as I am w/my setup seems to me I can arrange the saw to cut the wood easier than the wood to the saw (didnt really plan on chunks this big when I put it together- they just keep commin!)
Rolling the log 90 degrees would be a PITA on my rig, I think makin another carridge to run the same rails (vertically) might be easier than movin the logs. Could be wrong (I was once-haha). Thanks fer the input.


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## CaseyForrest (Jul 24, 2006)

Although time consuming, I use a piece of Uni-Strut, 10' long as a fence to run the circular saw down both sides.


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## carvinmark (Jul 24, 2006)

poleframer said:


> Carvingmark and I both use carridge type CSMs, others do too. So far I've used a worm drive skilsaw to rip my slabs into boards. Without a clean edge to work off of a tablesaw is kind of a PITA.
> I'm thinking of making another carridge or adapting my saw carridge to mount a circular saw in (with an adjustable mount) so I can edge and rip my slabs. Whatcha think?



Darn it!!!! Now you got me thinking.That would be so easy to build. Well,now I have another project 
Most of what I mill I want live edges for rustic furniture. Sometimes I still need to have a straight edge.I use a guide and a circular saw or my table saw,then the jointer.You should see four guys trying to joint a bar top that is 4"X28"x12'long.Good thing I use pine for these!


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## aggiewoodbutchr (Jul 24, 2006)

You might be able to rig a second small chain saw to your existing carrage to cut vertically and make both cuts in the same pass. You would want to make it adaptable as possible, though. It could be a lot of effort for little benefit if it's not well designed.


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## aggiewoodbutchr (Jul 24, 2006)

These scribbles might help to explain what I said. With your mechanical ability it should be a snap to attach it to your elevating mechanism some how.


You could also straight line a stack of live edge slabs with a beam machine type guide. Just throwing out ideas...

Keep us posted if you build anything.


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## poleframer (Jul 24, 2006)

aggiewoodbutchr said:


> It could be a lot of effort for little benefit if it's not well designed.


HAW HAW HAW! If you saw my scrap pile of failed projects you would realize how many hours and pounds of welding rod I've wasted, to no benifit, drinkin beer in the shop, not doing what I'm supposed to be doing...


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## aggiewoodbutchr (Jul 24, 2006)

poleframer said:


> HAW HAW HAW! If you saw my scrap pile of failed projects you would realize how many hours and pounds of welding rod I've wasted, to no benifit, drinkin beer in the shop, not doing what I'm supposed to be doing...



Yup, that darn beer has cost me a few hours.


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## carvinmark (Jul 24, 2006)

What brand is that black saw?LOL:hmm3grin2orange:


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## aggiewoodbutchr (Jul 24, 2006)

carvinmark said:


> What brand is that black saw?LOL:hmm3grin2orange:



It's the new poulan- Night Rider!:biggrinbounce2:


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## TedChristiansen (Aug 8, 2006)

Poleframer,

It seems to me that it would be faster to make the first three cuts to get the barked slabs off. Then put the round side down and make boards that are already edged. This is what I do.

I started this madness with a Logosol TimberJig and Husqvarna 385XP in April 2005 and cut quite a bit of wood with it (walnut, cherry, ash, red oak, maple, elm). I just upgraded to the Logosol Woodworkers Mill and really like it. The biggest benefits are its lightweight, not having to push the saw through the wood, and being able to stand up while milling (not on the knees). I live in a subdivision so all of my milling must be done on site.

This is a great forum, I have enjoyed reading these threads immensly! The problem solving creativity is really impressive!

Ted


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## carvinmark (Aug 8, 2006)

TedChristiansen said:


> Poleframer,
> 
> It seems to me that it would be faster to make the first three cuts to get the barked slabs off. Then put the round side down and make boards that are already edged. This is what I do.
> 
> ...


Thanks for posting and welcome to AS Ted,
Mark


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## poleframer (Aug 8, 2006)

Hi Ted. my scene is pretty primative, rotating the logs in it would be difficult. 'Course a bandmill with hydraulics would be tits, just a few grand out of my boardmaking budget.
Considering how much bend I see in a typical log I work with, I've found that if I put the bow up or down, slab the log, then rip one edge of each slab, then tablesaw to dimension I end up with two cants and a bunch of thin bark strips.
My hippie shack and shed are board and batt, got lots of batts and exterior trim to do so I'm using the top and bottom slabs for that, savin the better center cuts for other work.
I am getting some logs too big to fit (I max at 24") and will probably have to put a big alaskan together to rip them into chunks that will fit, and hopefully get quartersawn wood with straight edges. 
Russell


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## brian660 (Aug 10, 2006)

hey poleframer how bout a cheap lister engine and a generator, their cheap, simple and run forever, mine puts out an honest 10k watts and cost about 700$ to build.


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## olyman (Aug 10, 2006)

hteres a site www.utterpower.com he sells listers--and the cost of the engine is waayyyyyyyy more than 700--where did you get the gene and engine for that amount--??


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## poleframer (Aug 10, 2006)

brian660 said:


> hey poleframer how bout a cheap lister engine and a generator, their cheap, simple and run forever, mine puts out an honest 10k watts and cost about 700$ to build.


??? I'm off-grid to boot, run a small hydro for house power, a Miller Legend welder/generator in the shop fer power. Guess where I'm coming from on this is wanting to keep my milling bug inexpensive. Buying too many toys cuts into my beer money. And I just HAVE to use up these piles of junk...er VALUABLE PARTS I've been saving.


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## Lakeside53 (Aug 10, 2006)

Straight-edging in a table saw is really simple. 

I just lay in an 8, 10 or 12 foot section of 2x6 cedar that is dead straight, then attach the wood to be cut to it with a tab at each end (screwed, clamped, whatever) from the 2x6 to the wood to be cut. Sometimes if the crook or bow is too bad I'll trim it off the bad part by eye with a skill saw. For 8 foot or less, a 6 inch strip of 3/4 ply works great

I do the entire stack one edge first, then I have an edge to work with for the other side for for cutting to width.


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## clearance (Aug 10, 2006)

So you are using a worm drive, they are cool for framing. Can you not just snap a chalk line on the board and cut it, I can cut using a chalkline pretty good, like never out an 1/8, not even a 1/16 if I take my time. Chalkline, like $10 with chalk, try it.


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## poleframer (Aug 10, 2006)

clearance said:


> So you are using a worm drive, they are cool for framing. Can you not just snap a chalk line on the board and cut it, I can cut using a chalkline pretty good, like never out an 1/8, not even a 1/16 if I take my time. Chalkline, like $10 with chalk, try it.


Thats what I do, then to the tablesaw. Nice thing about this method is when I snap the line I follow a grain on the best edge and the rest of the rips avoid any diagonal-grain boards.
Russell
PS Did that make any sense?


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## clearance (Aug 10, 2006)

No it didn't make any sense, a skilsaw is just a table saw with a tiny table, why the table saw as well?


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## aggiewoodbutchr (Aug 10, 2006)

clearance said:


> No it didn't make any sense, a skilsaw is just a table saw with a tiny table, why the table saw as well?




He's talking about ripping the boards to final width on a table saw after he straight-lines them with the skilsaw.


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## poleframer (Aug 10, 2006)

aggiewoodbutchr said:


> He's talking about ripping the boards to final width on a table saw after he straight-lines them with the skilsaw.


Thanks-jeeze I havent even had any beer yet. Though the tablesaw gives a truer cut,at 12'-16' some of the planks are kinda heavy to manhandle on the tablesaw, so I rip with a skilsaw (actually a bosch tophandle wormdrive-love it) somewhere in the middle, ie- if I'm making 6" boards and my slab is 19" at one end and 23" at the other I'll measure 3" from the center of each end, and rip that with the hand saw, then tablesaw the other cuts. Better?
Russell


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## clearance (Aug 10, 2006)

Maybe I'm missing something but why can't you cut them to final width with a skilsaw? Its a board and batt hippie shack, what is the big deal? Not being a knob here, framed many houses, used table saws, skilsaws, radial arm saws, but a skilsaw will do it all, maybe not as nice or fast but still.


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## poleframer (Aug 10, 2006)

Still rattling the carridge idea. For my gig I'm thinking I might be better off to set up a gas engine tablesaw(homebrew one) where I have my mill and do the ripping while I wait for the 090 to do its job on the log (in 20" softwood its 10-15 min for a 16' pass). As it is I haul the slabs to the shop- bout 500' down the driveway.


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## aggiewoodbutchr (Aug 10, 2006)

poleframer said:


> Still rattling the carridge idea. For my gig I'm thinking I might be better off to set up a gas engine tablesaw(homebrew one) where I have my mill and do the ripping while I wait for the 090 to do its job on the log (in 20" softwood its 10-15 min for a 16' pass). As it is I haul the slabs to the shop- bout 500' down the driveway.



Yikes! 15 min.! Man you slow! My 084 blows through 40" softwood faster than that!  (well not right now):bang: 

:hmm3grin2orange:


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## poleframer (Aug 10, 2006)

It is less than that, I timed one a couple logs ago at 6.5 min, I'm dont time my work at home (that would be depressing). Seems like I could edge the slab while the mill is running and still be close enough to adjust the carridge speed, or deal with the saw if I need to. 
Whats  about? aint here to:sword:


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## Jim Shockey (Aug 10, 2006)

I square up into a cant and turn often to get the best grade of lumber. It takes a little longer but the finshed boards are alot liter to move than a full slab.


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## olyman (Aug 10, 2006)

brian 660--no response?????


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## aggiewoodbutchr (Aug 11, 2006)

poleframer said:


> It is less than that, I timed one a couple logs ago at 6.5 min, I'm dont time my work at home (that would be depressing). Seems like I could edge the slab while the mill is running and still be close enough to adjust the carridge speed, or deal with the saw if I need to.
> Whats  about? aint here to:sword:



Just razzin' ya' man. The should have been a :bang: .(fixed) In reality my 084 ain't doing a darn thing for now. Dr. Dean should be fixin' her up real good though.


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## poleframer (Aug 12, 2006)

Thanx mang, plenty of :bang: here (property lawsuit, etc.) Would like to upgrade the mill, and I will, but fer now watchin the sawdust fly is sure enough soothing to me!:yoyo:


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## coveredinsap (Aug 14, 2006)

For the cedar grapestake slats the plan was to run the 2" thick slabs thru a tablesaw to make 2"x2" board that could then be run thru the tablesaw again on a 45 degree angle to make the triangular grapestakes. Bad idea. Not only was it unruly to handle the slabs, but it was threatening to burn up my tablesaw.

What I ended up doing was using a straightedge to layout the 2" wide cuts on the slabs and ripping them freehand with a reconditioned Skilsaw (wormdrive). (You can't hardly beat a wormdrive saw for low-end ripping torque and control.) Once they were ripped with the wormdrive into 2"x2", then they could be run thru the tablesaw to split them on the 45. The final step was to cut them to length and dogear (sharpen) the grapestakes using a chopsaw.

So the sequence to go from a cedar log to a finished 2"x2"x6' triangular grapestake ready to nail as a fenceboard was as follows:

1) quarter log with sledge and splitting wedges (I needed to do this to move the big logs to where I could work on them)
2) slab to thickness with chainsaw mill
3) rip to width with wormdrive saw
4) 45 with tablesaw
5) cut to length with chopsaw
6) dogear(sharpen) with chopsaw


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## Sawyer Rob (Aug 19, 2006)

Here's how i do it, no electricity needed...  












And it sure works good!

"Ok", go ahead and beat up on me now, because i spent my money on something that MAKES ME MONEY....

Rob

My Sawmill Pictures: http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/AlbumList?u=4378744


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## carvinmark (Aug 19, 2006)

Thatis sure a fine lookin piece of equiptment.
Mark


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## dustytools (Aug 19, 2006)

About how much would that piece set a man back?


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## poleframer (Aug 19, 2006)

Sawyer Rob said:


> Ok", go ahead and beat up on me now, because i spent my money on something that MAKES ME MONEY....


No argue there, I've said it before, say it again- context. I've spent thousands on equipment that lasted one season (case in point, several $500 measuring rods for Forest Service EP measurment contracts-on an average day we cleared 5 bills each for two guys, other contracts have required expensive software). 
If its what ya do for a living, ya gotta spend $ to make $.
On the other hand, beer and fun costs too, go figure.
Milling and fab is a hobby (kind of) for me. I'm just the sort who would look at pics (more please) and bust out the torches and welder in the evening for fun.:hmm3grin2orange:


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## aggiewoodbutchr (Aug 20, 2006)

Sawyer Rob said:


> "Ok", go ahead and beat up on me now,


as requested...

I think that machine is a total waste of money and you are a complete moron for buying it! Your only salvation is to immediate cease any use of this machine, place it in a large crate and freight it to me! Only then will you regain any respect amongst the members here at AS.:hmm3grin2orange:


Seriously- nice machine. If you are serious about doing something, you got to have the right tools to do the job.
 

If you were to make a guess, how much did it increase your productivity? Any idea how long it will take to pay for itself?


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## coveredinsap (Aug 20, 2006)

Sawyer Rob said:


> Here's how i do it, no electricity needed...
> 
> And it sure works good!
> 
> ...




Um, that still wouldn't give you 2"x2" ripped on the diagonal into triangular grapestakes and 'sharpened' on one end....no matter _how_ much you paid for it. All it gives you is boards.

Here's what you're going for...one of these:


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## CaseyForrest (Aug 20, 2006)

coveredinsap said:


> Um, that still wouldn't give you 2"x2" ripped on the diagonal into triangular grapestakes and 'sharpened' on one end....no matter _how_ much you paid for it. All it gives you is boards.
> 
> Here's what you're going for...one of these:



I dont think he was replying to you. He was replying to the thread.


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## poleframer (Aug 20, 2006)

Sooo... how many boards will it rip out of how wide a slab? How many blades, do they adjust independently? I suppose it power feeds like a planer, how do you line up the rips, eyeball it? (I expect it has guages tho). Can ya pop the cover and take a couple a pics??? 
I pretty much mill for my use. Do you sell your wood, or make products with it?
If ya feel like talkin up yer sawmilling routine, this is the place.
Russell


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## woodshop (Aug 20, 2006)

Sawyer Rob said:


> "Ok", go ahead and beat up on me now, because i spent my money on something that MAKES ME MONEY....


Nice piece of equipment, I too would like to know as poleframer how the thing works as far as lining up the edges of your boards etc. As for spending money to make money, sheeeeesh... take a look in my woodshop. Thats the ONLY way I can justify all those chrome and steel toys, they gotta pay for themselves eventually. In my case, since I am only doing the woodworking business part time until I can retire and go full bore, it will take a while. But unlike 5 star hotels and fancy dinners, money spent on machinery is a bit more permenent. And hey, I get to play with them in the meantime


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## Sawyer Rob (Aug 21, 2006)

The way the edger works is, there is one fixed and one movable blade in it. You decide what you want out of your flitch, reach down and move an arm to move the blade to the scale that gives that. Then eyeball down the flitch to a mark on the houseing, and push the flitch into the machine. It both pulls and pushes the flitch through, sawing the left edge off and also a board the width you set it. To the right, whats left over will come out and you can pass it back over to run it through again. It has a flip over fence for the second or more cuts.

It will saw out 2" to 16" wide and will accept up to a 24" wide by 2-3/8" thick flitch, and has plenty of power even in oak.

It's pretty handy to saw out 2x4's or 2x6's that i saw quite a few of. I set it on 6", and they all come out the same, 6" wide. 

With a jig, it will saw out octagionals or what ever, but i have table saws and shapers for that....

It saves you money by being fast, and by makeing the bandsaw bands last a lot longer, by not haveing to use them as much.

Rob


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## woodshop (Aug 22, 2006)

thanks for that Sawyer bob... interesting. If I had a bandsaw and a market, I'd be lookin' at one of these too.


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## poleframer (Aug 23, 2006)

Thanks for the post Rob, sounds like a useful machine, how 'bout some er,uh,...uncovered,intimate pics of it,maybe from underneath? Unless you feel I'm a wanton design copier and copyright infringer.:jester:


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## Sawyer Rob (Aug 23, 2006)

No secret to it at all, i've posted this pict. on line before....

Rob


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## brian660 (Aug 24, 2006)

olyman said:


> brian 660--no response?????





some of us have to work :deadhorse: 

my lister was 300$ and the generator 350$ at a surplus store, i`ve seen brand new listers including shipping for 800$ for sale on the internet, after 1000 hours its dead and needs a 30$ rebuild kit, their about the most simple engine to work on.


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## poleframer (Aug 24, 2006)

Thanks Rob. One blade fixed, the other slides on a splined shaft. I like it. Hmm, small engine driven splined shaft, multiple blades. OK guys, how bout that on a carridge, hight adjusts like the chainsaw does.The trick would be dogging the flitch,or flitches.


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## aggiewoodbutchr (Aug 24, 2006)

poleframer said:


> Thanks Rob. One blade fixed, the other slides on a splined shaft. I like it. Hmm, small engine driven splined shaft, multiple blades. OK guys, how bout that on a carridge, hight adjusts like the chainsaw does.The trick would be dogging the flitch,or flitches.



I thought I'd throw this in here...

What about those chainsaw attachments for wormdrive skillsaws?


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## poleframer (Aug 24, 2006)

aggiewoodbutchr said:


> What about those chainsaw attachments for wormdrive skillsaws?


Those are interesting,never used one. I'd rather not use a big generator along with the saws tho. My little 600w runs the drill on very little gas.
I'm thinking about my kit in the cheapest way possible. The BCIs are cheap and replaceable (2 26' @ $76) I've done over 4k bf and their holding up well, havent flipped them to use the other 2x2 edge yet. Wouldnt take much to make sturdier,shorter sawhorses with better log leveling and dogging abilities. Two carridges light enough to mount and dismount by one person, one for slabbing, one for ripping boards. All made from stuff a guy can get at a small town hardware store, and sawshop, or in my case have sitting around.
Got enough steel for another carridge, mounting some 10" tablesaw blades on a shaft with a v-belt to a motor would be doable. My 026 might be the power for it.
Even with another carridge, I could load it all on my pickup in a few minutes, or put it away in my shed.


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## aggiewoodbutchr (Aug 24, 2006)

poleframer said:


> shaft with a v-belt to a motor would be doable.



...or chain drive using a sawchain with cutters removed and a second rim sprocket. Might take less modification to the saw to pull it off.


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## poleframer (Aug 24, 2006)

Good thought. I tend to design in my head and in a notebook for a while before anything happens in the shop. Just added a cyl. to the tractor for extenda-hoe action. Been wanting that for a while, got the cyl. today for $25.:rockn:


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## Marco (Aug 26, 2006)

That edger a few posts back does look like a nice machine. I have one that you have to crawl under and move a hub to change sizes of boards. have never moved it though. It takes 6" down the middle with both blades and it's arranged so that you can take 4 or 6 inch off one side along the edge of the table. Have about $500 in it.


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## poleframer (Aug 27, 2006)

Here's the wacky tractor with the extend-a-boom function (added the yellow cyl on top). Aint a big machine, but sure is a back saver, a few more feet of reach helps.:rockn:


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## carvinmark (Aug 27, 2006)

poleframer said:


> Here's the wacky tractor with the extend-a-boom function (added the yellow cyl on top). Aint a big machine, but sure is a back saver, a few more feet of reach helps.:rockn:



That is an interesting tractor. Looks like a lot of thought went into it.
Mark


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## coveredinsap (Aug 27, 2006)

Can the boom of that tractor come back and strike the operator in the head? It sure looks like it can....hardhat area regardless.


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## aggiewoodbutchr (Aug 27, 2006)

poleframer said:


> wacky tractor



  

Pretty cool rig.

How much can it pick up at full extension?


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## carvinmark (Aug 27, 2006)

coveredinsap said:


> Can the boom of that tractor come back and strike the operator in the head? It sure looks like it can....hardhat area regardless.




Hopefully the builder is the only one who runs it, but I'm sure OSHA has been up his rear checking it out,come on, give him some slack!
Mark


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## poleframer (Aug 27, 2006)

I've moved V-8 engines around, set 2-300 lb poles to 14'. We wont EVEN talk about my ms200t handling, or my old saws w/out chainbrakes.


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## aggiewoodbutchr (Aug 28, 2006)

poleframer said:


> I've moved V-8 engines around, set 2-300 lb poles to 14'. We wont EVEN talk about my ms200t handling, or my old saws w/out chainbrake.



Impressive.


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## poleframer (Aug 28, 2006)

With quick connects it runs a wood splitter, shop press, hyd. winch,the boom comes off for a dump bed, couple other things. 10hp one banger diesel aint much power, but will work for a day on less than a gal. of fuel.


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