# My Sawmill Shed Build



## Sawyer Rob

I thought i'd start a new thread of my sawmill shed build... So, i got started by pushing the sod off the spot where i'm going to put up a roof over my sawmill... It won't go up real fast, but at least i'm getting a started on it!












Next, will be putting some sand down to bring it up to the grade i want, so i got started digging sand with my loader tractor,






I have my own sand pit, but the sand is "fine" sand, my friend up the road a ways, has "course" sand, and that's what you need under a slab...






Once i had some sand hauled, i compacted it in, using the tractor tires for the "packing". I'll put water on it when i'm done, to settle the sand even more...











And, with all the sand in place, i once again used my tractor to "pack it", one more time.






I'll let this "pad" sit a while, before giving it it's final "leveling", adding more sand where needed...


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## Sawyer Rob

OK, now it's time to mill some lumber to build with! I even found myself a "helper", to make my day more productive than usual!

So, i got started by loading a really nice white pine, a friend gave me,






Boy, this was a nice log, and i didn't need it as long as it was, so i chainsawed off the crooked end, and milled this log into 2x12's, as i need headers!





 
Next log on the mill, was a soft maple,






And this log became 2x6's for the rafters i'll need!






With those two logs out of the way, it was time to get started on a pile of old red pine logs, that my neighbor gave me. These logs came out of a powerline, that the utility guys sawed out. So, i started loading them TWO at a time, and got to sawing,






Some of them i milled into 5/4 x 4" lumber,






And some of the better ones,






I sawed into 2x6's,


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## Sawyer Rob

I split some of the logs, and then lay all the pieces on the bunks, to saw out, four 5/4 x 4" boards at a time,






Until we FINALLY ended up with a nice pile of "construction" lumber,







Today i hired two of my nephues to help me get the post in, lucky for them i have a post hole auger for my tractor... lol So, all they had to do is make the bottom of the hole a bit bigger for the cement post pad.






The auger makes a nice 12" hole, here's what the hole looks like with a cement post pad in the bottom for the post to sit on,






I used 4x6 PT post, 10' on center, so the back wall is 30' long.






With the back wall post in place and braced, we got started on the front three post,






Until we had all seven post in place,






So, i cut some 2x12's that i milled last week, to length.


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## Sawyer Rob

And we got started nailing them up on the back wall, for the back wall header.






Until we had them all in place,






Then i cut some 2x6's to length that i also milled last week, for side and front braceing.






Next i'll have to cut those front post to length, build the header to go over the 26' door opening, and get more sand in place to level the floor, but that's not going to happen for at least a few days yet!

Rob


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## Ted J

Rob,
That's looking good.
When you mentioned 7 posts, I was confused at first as to where the 7th post was going. Why the step back recess, are you making a 4 foot storeroom on the end of the shed?

Ted


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## irishcountry

Is that a loader/bucket on that tractor??? Seems they do have some purpose.


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## mtngun

Thanks for the detailed milling pics. I like the way you saw two logs simultaneously.


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## MotorSeven

Looking good Rob. I'm doing the same thing except I need a 28' opening in the front. I have a 29' poplar sitting on my mill that I have squared to an 11x11", but the guys on the Forestry forum say that even with knee braces at each end it will sag. Any suggestions?


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## dustytools

Looks good Rob. The only thing that I would have done differently is to pitch the roof away from the open side, however if you have gutters when you are finished I reckon it wont matter. Looking forward to more pictures.


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## BobL

Looks like an excellent project - :rockn: - I'm dead jealous of the space you have to play with.


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## Sawyer Rob

Ted J said:


> Rob,
> That's looking good.
> When you mentioned 7 posts, I was confused at first as to where the 7th post was going. Why the step back recess, are you making a 4 foot storeroom on the end of the shed?
> 
> Ted



That's where the mill head will sit, and having a post there shortens the span over the door a bit. Also if i choose, i can close that area in to give more weather protection...




irishcountry said:


> Is that a loader/bucket on that tractor??? Seems they do have some purpose.



I use the bucket on my tractor all the time. It's very useful for all kinds of things, from watering the garden, moving sand and gravel or moving some snow in the winter. With the quick attach, it comes off in seconds...




MotorSeven said:


> Looking good Rob. I'm doing the same thing except I need a 28' opening in the front. I have a 29' poplar sitting on my mill that I have squared to an 11x11", but the guys on the Forestry forum say that even with knee braces at each end it will sag. Any suggestions?



I agree, it WILL sag! For big spans you need to glue something up (AKA glulam) as it's MUCH stronger than a solid wood beam. I'll be making mine as soon as i get some time!




dustytools said:


> Looks good Rob. The only thing that I would have done differently is to pitch the roof away from the open side, however if you have gutters when you are finished I reckon it wont matter. Looking forward to more pictures.



I "pitched" the roof the way i did, so later if i want, i can expand the building by building the "other half". Also, i wanted southern exposure on the mill side, so this is what worked out with the least amount of work and money spent...

There won't be any water problems, as i'm going to extend the eves a bit, and the mill will sit back far enough under the roof. Also, the southern side of the building slopes away nicely...





BobL said:


> Looks like an excellent project - :rockn: - I'm dead jealous of the space you have to play with.



Thanks Bob, and yes i have plenty of room for anything i want to do...

I'm glad everyone likes the picts... I'll add more as time permits,

Rob


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## Ted J

MotorSeven said:


> Looking good Rob. I'm doing the same thing except I need a 28' opening in the front. I have a 29' poplar sitting on my mill that I have squared to an 11x11", but the guys on the Forestry forum say that even with knee braces at each end it will sag. Any suggestions?



The 24 foot beam I made for my shed from three staggered layers of 2x12's is up and there's no sag, of course there's no weight on it yet either. I don't think I will have a problem with it though.

Ted 
(I have half of the rafters up as of yesterday, haven't taken pics yet.)


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## Sawyer Rob

Hey Ted,

How much "snow load" do you figure you will get there in Texas? lol

I'm always amazed at how chinsey buildings are built in the south.

Rob


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## Metals406

MotorSeven said:


> Looking good Rob. I'm doing the same thing except I need a 28' opening in the front. I have a 29' poplar sitting on my mill that I have squared to an 11x11", but the guys on the Forestry forum say that even with knee braces at each end it will sag. Any suggestions?



Bolt a 3/8" X 8" Piece of Flat Bar steel to the face (or back) of your beam (Making a Flitch Beam of sorts). . . It will work to stiffen the beam for your span. The Flat Bar will add approx 200 pounds to your load, and cost between $160.00 and $190.00. You would also have to weld an 8' section on a 20' stick to achieve your 28' span.

According to a Flitch Chart I have. . . A beam made up of 2- no. 1 Fir/Larch 2" X 12's, with a 3/8" X 10" A-36 Flat Bar in the center -- can only support approximately 219 PLF (pounds per lineal foot) Uniform Load, and that's with only a 20' clear span. . . Also with three inches of bearing at each end of the beam. That should give you an idea of the span you're trying to accomplish, with such a small member. Usually such spans are taken up by very large, expensive beams.

Or make an inverted truss using 3/4" cold roll round, and some tubing, flat bar, or whatever for the king post. A much cheaper, simpler option to a Flitch Beam.


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## FJH

Yup it will sag!
I would build 3 or 4 30 ft trusses and run the roof lengthwise for the mill!4 posts and a 2 beams to carry the trusses at each end! just my opinion!Trusses are easy to build divide the bottom cord into thirds and the top cords
in 1/2 and make 3 /_w_ \ truss.


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## Ted J

Sawyer Rob said:


> Hey Ted,
> 
> How much "snow load" do you figure you will get there in Texas? lol
> 
> I'm always amazed at how chinsey buildings are built in the south.
> 
> Rob



SNOW LOAD, where I live... sheeeee !!!! I ain't worried about snow load, I'm more worried about my load, it better hold up my fat a$$ while I'm standing on it. Most just space the rafters three foot apart and screw R panels to the rafters. I like to put down 7/16 ply solar board down, it cuts down on the reflective heat under the shed.

Ted


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## Sawyer Rob

Well, today i went back to my friends house for more logs, as she had more white pine taken down, and asked if i would come get them, and make sure they go to good use! As i need more lumber for my building project, her timeing was perfect!! Anyway, i had stopped over there the other day, and saw that there was at least 7 saw logs, so for this trip i took my wagon that's rated for 10 ton MAX loads.

So, i got the tractor and wagon ready, and headed out for the 11 mile drive, and as it was a pretty nice day, i didn't mind the drive at all...






Once there, i started loading logs,






Some 3 at a time,






A couple of these logs are pretty big!






This bad boy at 34" in diameter, was a full load for my tractor/loader!






And kept after loading the trailor,






Until i had it all loaded,






And on the way home, i could feel just how heavy that load was, as my tractor would slow down on the hills... lol






Well, that's it for this "sawmill shed" update!

Rob


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## BobL

Nice pics Rob. 

You're lucky that's Wpine and you live where you do, in Oz it would be some sort of eucalypt and the bigun would have to be cut in half to be lifted with your tractor.


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## MotorSeven

M u s t .......... g e t .... a g r a p p le.................(said in a Shattner type voice)

Nice load of logs!


I use forks, it can get interesting when a big 20+ incher rolls back against the backstop. The good thing about forks is that when I have one that is little off balance, it falls off _before_ the tractor flips over. 
I have all the rafters up on my mill shed. Lathing for tin & knee braces today. Tin arrives on Wed! I decided to go with the beam I cut and put in a removable center pole. 

:arg:

















RD


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## gr8scott72

MotorSeven said:


> The good thing about forks is that when I have one that is little off balance, it falls off _before_ the tractor flips over.



If you leave the grapple low to the ground, the tractor won't flip even if the load shifts. The end of the log will just bump the ground and that's all.

Nice shed btw.


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## MotorSeven

Rob, I finished mine yesterday 20 min before the rain started

















RD


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## smokinj

Thats super nice job!


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## Sawyer Rob

gr8scott72 said:


> If you leave the grapple low to the ground, the tractor won't flip even if the load shifts. The end of the log will just bump the ground and that's all.
> 
> Nice shed btw.



You mean like this? lol






Good job motor 7, 

I've been too busy doing some other things to get back to my shed build...

Rob


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## MotorSeven

Yes, exactly like that! I know me, I would grappple something too big & be in trouble fast. I had mine up on 3 legs 2 days ago just forking 3 8' Jack pine logs, and on a 20 degree slope...yikes.

Rob, 'tis the season, so that shed needs doing.


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## Ted J

RD,
Seems to me your not going to need a center post on that cover, Looks just fine. It looks like you braced it far enough that it'll be okay.

Got out there this morning with the temp at 59*F, it was nice to have the cooler weather roll in... but the ground was still wet from the 3 inches of rain we had yesterday.
I finally got the other half of the rafters up today with the help of my stepson. I'll post some pics up tomorrow.

Later,
Ted


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## MNGuns

Man, I have GOT to hit the LOTTO.! I am way too far behind in toys compared to you guys....


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## MotorSeven

MNGuns said:


> Man, I have GOT to hit the LOTTO.! I am way too far behind in toys compared to you guys....



27 years, 2 months and 16 days as a "public servant".....benefits were hard earned! 

RD


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## matt9923

What kinda fork setup is that with the thumb?


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## Sawyer Rob

The forks and grabble were made by ALO, the same company that made the loader... They are very high quality, and have worked perfectly for me.

Rob


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## 820wards

RD,
Shed looks great.
jerry-


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## MotorSeven

We must propagate the hijack.....

Pic's Ted?


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## dustytools

Looks good MotorSeven!!


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## Ted J

MotorSeven said:


> We must propagate the hijack.....
> 
> Pic's Ted?



That means I could double my post count because I started the other post for a sawmill shed:
Looking for a Sawmill Shed Design

I do need to finish this thing up, I got some stuff I had ordered from Penofin, the Pro-Tech Wood Brightener and Ultra Premium Red Label transparent western red cedar stain. That should brighten it up and help preserve it for a good while. Hopefully the weather will cooperate, at least the cooler weather blew in last weekend making it more enjoyable, hope it lasts.

PS: Although I have no new pics of the shed cover to post, I do have pics of the chicken coop / dog kennel......
The three doors on the left is the chicken coop side, the other two are the dog kennel side. It's about 15 years old.....?













But I hab no chikens.....


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## MotorSeven

Pay for stain???

I let thesun and rain stain mine for free...I call it...

Rustic Lazyness Grey


RD


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## Backwoods

Rob, when I first saw a picture of your roof slope my concern was that with it sloping down to the side that you will load logs from. That it may be a bit on the low side for setting logs inside with your tractor. Have you had a chance to make sure that you can lift the forks all the way up under the roofline? Hate to see a hole in your new roof.

Motor seven, about the only time you should need to put in the removable center post is when there is snow in the forecast. 

All three projects are looking good. However, Rob is cheating by milling them logs two at a time.


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## johncinco

You can tell the northern fellas... "What about snow load?" ha ha, exactly what I was thinking looking at those pics too. And the water shedding onto the side you'd be loading from. Looks like a great way top get out of the hot sun. 

That yard bird coop would be flat by spring around here.


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## Sawyer Rob

Backwoods said:


> Rob, when I first saw a picture of your roof slope my concern was that with it sloping down to the side that you will load logs from. That it may be a bit on the low side for setting logs inside with your tractor. Have you had a chance to make sure that you can lift the forks all the way up under the roofline? Hate to see a hole in your new roof.
> 
> Motor seven, about the only time you should need to put in the removable center post is when there is snow in the forecast.
> 
> All three projects are looking good. However, Rob is cheating by milling them logs two at a time.



The door opening will be over 8' high, so there's no problem with the door height. And i don't have a problem with the water running off on the side i load on, it doesn't rain here EVERY day, so the rain water is no big deal with the slope i have for the water to run away from the bld...

I designed the bld so i can add onto the other side if i want to, and also with the slope the way it is now, i can add a pretty good shelf on the back wall to put a compressor and other tools on to get them off the floor...

Yeaaa, those boys in the south, they build their buildings scarey light!!

Rob


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## gr8scott72

What's snow? :greenchainsaw:


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## Ted J

johncinco said:


> That yard bird coop would be flat by spring around here.



I don't know, it's one hefty built chicken coop. Like I said earlier, it's been here for about 15 years. Whoever built it made it to last.


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## Brownpot Deaton

awesome work and pics! location and style thus far reminds me of the one aggiewoodbutcher built back when he moved. 

I know i wish i had one close to here, i have to finish milling this pecan that's probably about 150 yrs old then haul it back home another hr in the other direction( im in college...)


ted. j. - Howdy!...i see you live near hempstead, im up here in college station.


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## Ted J

Brownpot Deaton said:


> awesome work and pics! location and style thus far reminds me of the one aggiewoodbutcher built back when he moved.
> 
> I know i wish i had one close to here, i have to finish milling this pecan that's probably about 150 yrs old then haul it back home another hr in the other direction( im in college...)
> 
> 
> ted. j. - Howdy!...i see you live near hempstead, im up here in college station.



Yep, just down the road about 45 miles. We met at Jared's GTG a few years back in '07, if my memory is right. I didn't stay long but took alot of pics of Jared milling the big cypress.

How big is that pecan and how long?

Ted


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## Ted J

MotorSeven said:


> We must propagate the hijack.....
> 
> Pic's Ted?



OKAY....
I got the top deck screwed down, so now I have shade!











Ted


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## MotorSeven

Geeze Ted, are you parking cars up there? Wow!

RD


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## matt9923

MotorSeven said:


> Geeze Ted, are you parking cars up there? Wow!
> 
> RD



LOL, looks pretty sturdy.


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## Ted J

Well, just as long as it's not "scary light", as Rob says!!! 
but I'm still not concerned about "snow load" either!

I posted more pics in my shed building post....... HERE 

Ted







Sawyer Rob said:


> ......................
> 
> Yeaaa, those boys in the south, they build their buildings scarey light!!
> 
> Rob


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## Sawyer Rob

*A Small Update*

I needed some 2x4's for my sawmill shed build, so today i "finally" got to milling some out. Here's a few white pine logs i milled today, that i had set aside just for this purpose,






First i took the slabs off, and then i milled each log, getting the "cants" down to where i could mill them down the center. Then flipping them "up" and side by side, so i could mill off two 2x4's with each pass,






And, here's the 2x2's, 2x4's and even a few 2x6's that i milled today...






Now, i need to find some time to nail that lumber up!!

Rob


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## MotorSeven

Your using white oak for you mill shed???? Good god man, your quite insane.

Looking good!


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## Richard C

That looks like fun.


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## Sawyer Rob

WOW, I long ago forgot about this thread!! I need to up date as I've been in my sawmill shed for quite some time now!! LOL

See the bigger log, on the right, in this pict.?






It was left over from a materials list that i was milling out, for a customer/friend of mine. Anyway, i needed to build a strong "beam", so i milled that big log "mostly" into 2x14/16's - 16 feet long, and then put them on stickers. Later when i had the time, i loaded them back on the BSM and re-sawed them all at the same time, to get some really NICE 2x12's...






Then i put ratchet straps around them and moved them to a long trailor that i have,






I bought several sheets of 3/4" CDX plywood on sale some time ago, and brought them out of the shop two at a time, to re-saw them into 12" widths,






Now it's time to get started building the 30 foot beam that i need! So i put down two 2x12's, adding plenty of "liquid nails", and put a layer of CDX on top, using LOT'S of nails to nail them together!






and kept adding layers, making sure to alternate the joints,






With the beam getting pretty thick, i changed to longer and longer nails, so this "palm nailer" really saved my old wore out joints!!






Until i FINALLY had my 9"x12" - 30 foot beam!






Gluing and nailing layers of ply between the layers of solid wood, GREATLY increases the strength of a beam, it makes it MUCH stronger, enabling it to carry much greater loads!

So, there's how I used the lumber from that big log in the pict., to build a big beam that i needed for the sawmill door header.

SR


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## Sawyer Rob

I thought I'd add on to this, this morning...

With the beam built, I picked it with my tractor and moved it to the shed,






and with some wiggling, I got it close enough to put ratchet straps on both ends, pulling into place so I could get some lag bolts into it...






So, I had milled out some rafters earlier, and I started setting and nailing them into place,






until I had them all up,






Now it's time to get it ready for the metal roof,






and with my FREE tin cut to length,






I got a helper to help me install it,






and then moved my sawmill into place,






and here it is, all in place and level,






I'm not sure what I'm going to do for a floor yet, but until I make that decision, it works just fine!






Hope you liked the picts...

SR


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## rwthom279

That's a nice facility... floor or not!! 

The over hang looks low enough that nothing is going to blow in and keep you in the shade all day.


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## Sawyer Rob

rwthom279 said:


> That's a nice facility... floor or not!!
> 
> The over hang looks low enough that nothing is going to blow in and keep you in the shade all day.



Thanks! It has worked out well and I'm happy with the door size too, is plenty big enough for the logs I saw...






I'll again, be doing a little more work on it this summer...

SR


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## Richard C

Sawyer Rob said:


> Thanks! It has worked out well and I'm happy with the door size too, is plenty big enough for the logs I saw...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> You've got a lot to show, Looks great.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I'll again, be doing a little more work on it this summer...
> 
> SR


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