How much did you cut today?

[spencerhenry]

let me know how it goes, im curious how other types of woods cut. one thing that really got me was when the logs were partially frozen, i was cutting 30 to 36" dia blue spruce into big beams. with 23" of blade in the wood, i would get wavy cuts up to 1/4". but when they froze completely they cut better. those logs were probably about 25%mc. most of the stuff i cut is around 14%mc i think the mills are made to cut smaller stuff like logs around 16". my blades dont like cutting maximum capacity, feed rate is slow and the cuts arent always perfect. but have fun with your new toy and good luck.

 

[Newfie]

Spencerhenry,

I'm new to the woodmizer scene, but your waviness might fix it itself if you try slowing down your feed rate even more in the really knotty wood. Those knots can be like rocks especially if they are deadwood. The waviness probably went away in frozen wood because it became similar in hardness to the knots. Just my thoughts, not the gospel or anything.

 

[spencerhenry]

i think you are correct that the frozen wood makes the hardness more consistent. however, if i were to slow the feed rate down anymore, i could eat lunch while making a 20 foot cut. i have tried blades with 4,9,10,13 degrees. 9 and 10 seem to be ok for most things, but the 13 are 1.5" .055 blades and are suppose to be good for big cuts, but not in frozen wood. still learning.

 

[user 2993]

Spencer, welcome to Arboristsite! I don't know too much about the woodmizer mills, but over at www.***************** , there is a sawmilling board where I bet you can get some answers. There are a lot of WM operators there, some very experienced. Do stick around here, though. As you can see, the discussions and info on logging, chainsaws, and other aspects of forestry are top notch!
Ryan, sounds like you have an interesting new enterprise ahead, hope it does well for you! My Peterson mill is a '98, refurbished ( mostly ) by myself

 

[Newfie]

Well Spencer, it certainly seems like you have tried all the different approaches to the issue, I was gonna suggest a different tooth pitch and band thickness and width, but you "been there done that".

Have you tried Woodmizer tech support? They might have some suggestions.(probably all those different blades,right?)

 

[max2cam]

I didn't cut yesterday. I split wood by hand where it was lined up down in the woods. I split and then I split some more. Jack pine. Monster maul. I sat down and rested then split again. It was cold and windy so I never worked up a sweat. After that workout I sure felt limbered up and fit this morning. A guy should do that every day. Only I'm not that ambitious.

http://www.atthecreation.com/

 

[spencerhenry]

hand splitting

splitting firewood by hand is a good workout. i sell firewood to get rid of my non sawable logs. mostly aspen and engelman spruce. this last season i sold 116 face cords. about 85 of those were split. all my splitting is done by me with a double bit axe. i can split a face cord of aspen in about 20 minutes if it is frozen. not bad for a 150# skinny white guy. think i need to get a splitter though, i did some wildfire thinning and have about 15 full cords of pinyon pine to split. i split some by hand but it sucks
thanks for the suggestions on the sawmill, will keep trying. going outside right now, i have about 2000bdft to mill by monday. 8x8's and 8x10's and 1x8.

 

[max2cam]

Yeah, splitting hard work but fun. Today I started out by splitting more jack pine. But the big pieces will need wedges. Big chunks are all that's left now.

Then I went down to the river and finished milling down there. Cut a few 2x4s and some 1x4s. Got one last wide 1" board too out of a plank that was frozen solid upright in a packed snow fixture. That really worked slick!

I could saw up one last 8-foot section but it's knotty and not worth the effort so forget it. I'll start hauling my stuff out of there tomorrow. Nice stacks of boards. Lots of hauling.

On the way back up I split some more. Lots of fresh deer tracks around. They like green jack pine needles. Air very calm and nice with the sun going down thru the trees. Nice late winter day.

http://www.atthecreation.com/