On the road again

[backwoods sawyer]

Spring has sprung the last of the daffodils are all but gone and the ground is soft, very soft and spring break is here, every time the weatherman shows rain customers were postponing so the back log was growing.  

Been working a large timber frame project down south 160 mile round trip, he took a break to get caught up on stacking the timbers and lumber, and the weather turned good, had three boys as helpers for the week so I scheduled a full week. First up was a trip to the coast to mill a log truck load of decent Myrtle wood with an over night camp out. Then we headed north for a short day of Doug fir, then west to mill up a nice batch of Port orford cedar. We took a day off for a family get together BBQ.
Then we headed north 120+ miles with two jobs scheduled for the same day, both site unseen. First one was an over sized oak in the small back yard that had a chipper stuck up to the axles in the black clay a week ago, he has spread chips around to firm up but the ground was still soft from having standing water earlier in the week. In backing the mill into the back yard a right and left turn needed to be made. I stopped when it got tight and moved the mill the additional 25' with man power. We set the mill up on 12x12x1 oak pads, the first log up was more then the mill wanted to lift at 14' and 38", with assistance of the 13 hp tractor with loader a chain to the clamp and three pee-vees the log was loaded, octagoned and quarter sawn, finished the rest of the tree hooked on with the truck and headed 35 miles further north to more soft black clay. A 4' cedar with three tops, butt log needed split in half and some trimming, dozen logs need moved and turned 90* so the truck was need to assist, we finished up using headlights and made the 150 mile drive home.
Moving a bit slower this morning but still have a batch of saws to get sharpened up before hitting the road again all jobs on the list until Friday are outside the county (the size of Connecticut) Friday will be resawing more timbers from the Rainier brewery built in the late 1800's (need lots of saws)
 

[4x4American]

Sounds good!  You sure do put some miles on!  What are you towing the mill with and how does it treat you/how do you treat it?

Mud season just getting started over here.  Still snow on the ground, and where it isn't the topsoil is thawing.  We are working in the shop at my regular job just pulling in all the machinery giving whatever they need for the new year.  Trucks, excavators, dozers, skidsteer, backhoe, roller, chipper...all the bull crap associated with an excavation company!

How many miles you put on in a given year?

[backwoods sawyer]

98 Chevy, half ton, extra cab, 4x4, short bed, with the V-6, and manual trany with over 300,000 miles on it.
I use my trucks to get the job done, try not to abuse them and keep up on the maintenance as needed mileage per year has gone up the last couple years since going 100% portable. (read that as divorce, x got log yard, lumber yard and wood shop.

The truck is a bit lite for towing the mill over the mountains, many times I wish it was a 3/4 ton but I can't complain as this truck has put the mill in a lot of tight spots and handles the goat trails and get 20ish mpg.

[furu]

Sounds like you have been keeping very busy.  Busy is good.

[4x4American]

Good!  That divorce thing sounds awful sorry to hear that.  That's taking away your livelihood!

[backwoods sawyer]

Going on three years and still not done, looking forward to May 19th.
Bought the place 7 years before I met her, was together 15 years never even a late payment, 20 min to vacate, judge granted her temporary possession, now the bank owns the four bedroom home, shop, barn, detached office, complete self sustaining mini farm and the X continues to defy court orders to stop selling assets


I got the sawmill truck and a trailer load of automotive tools, the rest of the tools stayed.
So I hit the road and went 100% portable then met Little Jo while harvesting Juniper in the snow on the high desert. She had been operating potato harvesting and processing equipment for 15 year and took right to sawing and we have been traveling the state since...
 


  

[4x4American]

That is a rough deal.    They say everything happens for a reason but sometimes it's hard to see why.  Little Jo sounds like a great find!

Side note:
Is your name by any chance Bill?  If so, there's a theme song for you two by Charlie Daniels- Little Jo and Big Bill  (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDSwmIiSBwE)

[4x4American]

Did she get your other mill?

[furu]

So I hit the road and went 100% portable then met Little Jo while harvesting Juniper in the snow on the high desert. She had been operating potato harvesting and processing equipment for 15 year and took right to sawing and we have been traveling the state since...
 

Rough deal but sounds like you got a keeper now.

[backwoods sawyer]

Did she get your other mill?

No but she is still trying to get both of them

All four kids have taken right to little Jo, even both stepsons who call her mom, (they don't agree with their moms tactics)

yeah she is a keeper
 
We are working on building a road into a new sawmill site but that has been slow going as it is two miles of BLM land, only a 1/4 mile to go however getting an environmental impact study for a creek crossing has been a sticking point as the best crossing is not the best place for the road, and the best place for the road is not the best crossing point as we need to get log-lumber trucks in and out and would rather not have more then one bridge to build.

We will be doing a lot of traveling with the mill until we get the road all the way into the new place which has highway frontage for the sawmill site but no highway access.

[4x4American]

Well good luck!

[backwoods sawyer]

We made a trip up the coast 150 miles to mill cedar and redwood for a few days. Site unseen "Lots of room" When we arrived the loop driveway had different log sorts scattered around. Got the mill set up and the first log knocks the mill 18" out of position , reset mill and got started on the log piles. The space was tight to work in, handle logs and lumber.
The batch of "D" logs still had a dozen or so limbs attached so that was fun to untangle.
We found a yurt on the beach for the first night since it was late. Then tent camped the rest of the trip.
Then we dropped the mill off 90 miles out and milled up a batch of flooring and floating stair treads. She wanted counter tops as well however that log had three feet of fencing wrapped around it

[backwoods sawyer]

Oak

[mountainlake]

 Looks like you've been busy, good job  Steve

[furu]

You have definitely not been letting the moss grow.  Good job an staying busy.

[backwoods sawyer]

We have a full schedule taking care of some small local jobs then headed south for a few truck loads of Doug fir then up on top of the Cascades for a house package.

[4x4American]

How did the first log knock the mill out 18"? 

Love the pictures!

[backwoods sawyer]

It was still attached to the excavator when he gave it a shove

[backwoods sawyer]

While milling a small project we has a few visitors stroll by
some old times watched over us
an Indian stayed low in the grass
and two bull strutted around the fair lady

[4x4American]

vedy nice

[backwoods sawyer]

Milling up three decks of logs that were cleared for a write of way
First three pics are the first milling site and deck the last three are the next deck
No cell service and only a 120 mile commute, add in divorce trial is this week so trial prep has been a scramble.

[4x4American]

Looks good!

[mountainlake]

 

 Looks like you have a 3 bedroom house set up, how many pounds will that excavator lift.  I just got another skid loader that will pick up a 4500# stack of lumber vs  2500" for my other one. Not too many logs the new one won't lift.

[4x4American]

It amazes me how much weight a skid loader can handle.  They can also be easily towed by a 3/4 ton pickup.

[backwoods sawyer]

No idea what it is rated lift.
The owner has only had it for a couple weeks, weighs 11,000 lb, wished they had a one ton to tow with, happy as hell with the machine.

We have the mill set up on one side of the road and working off a deck of tree length logs on the other side of the road, every so often a heavy one will tip him up if he reaches to far.
Took the day off today so the trucks that have been hauling on the road in between mill and the logs can lay the rock thru that section of road.

We have been working with just two logs in front of the mill to keep the road open.
Being in timber the tailing pile grew up next to a sapling, sapling got cut down, tailing pile stood 9' tall, excavator got buried in tailings, and the pile builds again

Next stop is over 200 miles north over on the coast, taking a few maintenance days before heading out again, lost a hydraulic pump Tuesday, got the spare into the shop Wednesday, picked it up today and will have it installed before the logs are in front of the mill. Even running with just one pump little Jo and I have made our min board footage rate for each day.



  

[backwoods sawyer]

Almost a month on the road.
The first thing on the list was to give the mill a bath, wash radiator, change all five filters, and lube entire mill.
the maintenance list was long but it is getting whittled down now.
#23 was saw logs and I was ready to start with that one zzzzzzz...

[backwoods sawyer]

On the road again.
This trip was well over 200 miles out, we had enough saws to saw up the log truck load of Doug fir 6,000 bft in two days with a few left over. and since our two weeks of maintenance turned into only two days due to back to back urgent milling jobs one of which wiped out 12 saws.
We ordered a box of fresh saws rather than take the time to sharpen saws between jobs.
Ordered the saws on Friday, should have them by Tuesday.
Wrong I ordered them on line after hours so the order defaulted to the Indy office rather then the Portland office they are due in on Friday and I am due to have another log truck load milled by Friday. Looks like like early mornings of sharpening saws in order to stay on track.

[mountainlake]

 

 I've been on the road a lot also but home every day as the jobs are only around 30 miles away. Mon and Tue cutting blocking for a big construction company, about 120 logs in 2days cutting 2, 3, 4, or 6 inches thick by how  ever  wide the log would allow up to 12" wide.  Wen picked up a load of white oak. Today cut 3500 square ft 3/4" thick random width of white pine, no edging as the customer has a edger in 6  1/2 hours.  Better than 500 ft a hour with the best off bearer one could have.  Tomorrow, only 20 smaller logs 5 miles away . Sat have to fill a couple of orders and I'm supposed to be retired.   Steve

[Tom the Sawyer]

Been busy here too, catching up on appointments delayed by a very wet month of May.  12 jobs in 15 days, almost all of them on the road but within 45 miles.  Yesterday, heat index of 110, 1800 bf of mostly 4/4 oak with a bit of walnut and cherry, kept me humping to get done in a single visit.  An inch of rain overnight but today was a bit of a break, milling demonstration at an art gallery opening in downtown Kansas City, Mo.  Two artists working with the products from urban trees - a nice change of pace.  Back on the road tomorrow. 

[backwoods sawyer]

Pulled up on a whole house package well off the beaten path 65 miles out, and they were not ready Still taking trees down and they had logs scattered amongst the trees, after changing their site lay out to where we were using the contour of the ground rather than having the back of the mill in the dirt and the front of the mill at chin high as the last mill they had out had done, then cleared brush on a goat that had been a challenge for their Subaru to get thru on. After a couple hours of site prep we were able to get the mill set. On the second day I broke the connecting rod for the side supports. The ends are cast and did not take to being welded and broke again this time well away from the weld on the first pull of the lever. It was late Friday by the time i got cell service but got the parts on order so we will be back at it Tuesday. This is a home for dinner type job
We were needing a break anyway with temps in the high nineties and triple digits all week.

[backwoods sawyer]

Finished up the timber frame home package and the heat was getting to the mill, fire level has gone 1,2,3 so pulled the radiator and gave it a thorough cleaning and flush. It was needed.

[4x4American]

How did you tell it was getting hot?

[backwoods sawyer]

The little red light started coming on and the over flow hose started dripping.
 
Gave it a good work out and went thru 33 logs yesterday without the light flickering on and no dripping.

That was an interesting day though.
On the drive to the milling site two deer were in the road as we came to a high long bridge that crosses the main Umpqua so I pulled the mill up along with the log truck that was following, the deer were headed across the bridge when this little white car passed us and started pushing the deer and they started getting antsy, then a diesel motor home came down off the hill from the other direction, by then the deer were 3/4 of the way across and rather then stopping he pulled onto the bridge blocking their path both deer exited stage left 200' to the rocks below
Just sad

We set the mill on a roman nose bluff with no turn around and had to weave thru an orchard to get there. Had to spin the mill around to get it off the bluff not the best site but not the worst either.   



 

[backwoods sawyer]

Milled up this pair of incense cedar trees to make way for a new home.
The but log with the split in it needed to be squared up a bit to fit on the mill.

[4x4American]

That is sad to hear about the deer.  Hopefully it was a quick death. 

Looks like you need some new handle material on your logrites!

I still like the green paint job alot.

Keep it up!

[backwoods sawyer]

kkk

[backwoods sawyer]

Just for reference I run 16" wheels on the mill. That is a lot of clam

Nice logs make nice beams!!!
This was a truck load of 20"-28", #1 Doug Fir saw logs we milled for a timber frame home.

[4x4American]

Love the pictures, good work!  What do you gain with 16" wheels?  I would guess that you get more torque to the blade?

[backwoods sawyer]

Love the pictures, good work!  What do you gain with 16" wheels?  I would guess that you get more torque to the blade?

wrong wheels
The fender is large enough to fit a 16" tire

band wheels are 24"

[backwoods sawyer]

Hitting the road means early mornings and this was a family working trip.
 
This trip was to Oregon's south coast, the first 35 miles was winding down thru the canyon, then we follow the rivers windy course thru the coastal grass land all the way to the coast then headed south another hour along the coast line.
The customer had postponed a day to allow a rain front thru before we got started and we were catching the tail end of the weather on the drive.
When we arrived the customer had three log decks with a mix a Port orford cedar, Myrtlewood and Alder with fresh lawn everywhere. The ground was real soft in getting to the two bigger piles, so got started with the one that had the best path to it. By the time we moved the mill the ground had dried out some but was soft enough that when a leg shifted off a foundation board (a 1x8x8) while setting the mill up it sunk about 8".
This was one of those jobs where three generations are involved and everything flowed smoothly. To the customer big surprise we were able to finish their whole project in a 10 hr.
The best part was when the oldest member of the family came to watch and talk about sawmills from years gone by and the kids took a break explore the creek lined with Myrtlewood and full of aquatic life.


Note all the trees in the grove are Myrtlewood.

[backwoods sawyer]

triple digits again
this is part of the morning line up

Table tops were high on the cut list no mater the quality of cut with the chainsaw.

[mountainlake]

 Looks good, did you leave the natural edge on the slabs on the loader arms.  Looks like you really gave your chainsaw a workout and you.  Steve

[bradley bryan]

now that is a pile of shavings!!!

[backwoods sawyer]

They both ended up with on square side and one natural side.

I am liking this chainsaw but was glad to put it down and get back to milling for the rest of the day

[backwoods sawyer]

We are finally getting a break from the fire season.
This week it dropped from ex-4 to moderate-2 so I got started on a deck of oversized Doug fir logs that needed bucked to length so they could be positioned above the mill rather than below the mill which turned out to be a big chore for the old case 580 c backhoe. in two hours two logs had been moved so he opted to have a neighbor with a track hoe position the logs.

It was a good day to have the chainsaw in the tall grass/brush as it rained heavy before getting started and as I was finishing up.
The largest log is 48" and they averaged in the high 30's with some nice tight grain.
 
Bridge decking, and shed project
 

[furu]

Yes the rain has certainly helped on the IFPL levels up here in WA as well.  Lots of nice stuff you had to work with.

[4x4American]

wrong wheels
The fender is large enough to fit a 16" tire

band wheels are 24"

I completely missed that!   

That clam is huge!!

Talk about a hotdog in a hallway...

[backwoods sawyer]

This time I was running solo, grand-baby on the way so little Jo was staying close to home
GPS said 2 1/2 hours, I added another 1/2 since I was headed north on 101 to Florance. GPS said I never left home and my glasses were at home so that was useless    Add in multiple roads with the same name and the dead end the ended with cr and no turn around on a side hill is not the same as the one that ends with lake

when I pulled in it was obvious I needed to back in and how the logs were going to be moved was not so obvious as I was looking at a 48" Bull fir with 24" limb stobs laying on a 3' raised peninsula left after excavating and building the house and shop and no equipment available.
I set to work ripping the first log and rounding up the next then used the truck to work the halves down to the level the mill was set up on. As I worked the butt logs down the same route a road was made so I could get the truck up to the rest.

About mid day the coastal rain settled in, the glasses were sitting on the rain gear long day

The target was enough 1x8 to cover 200' of 8' fence out of 9' and 15' logs so 300 pieces Target reached

It was late when I pulled in.

[mountainlake]

 How the heck do you get in all those jobs where you have to buck up the logs and cut them in half or quarters, over here I might have to trim a log once in a while. Yesterday I 2 sided around 60 logs in 4-1/2 hours for a log house. Mill has been running great with no hiccups for a long time besides a mouse getting into one electrical box , the only one on my mill.  Steve

[backwoods sawyer]

There are a lot of "Over sized" logs and under sized chainsaws out here

[backwoods sawyer]

This particular job came thru my add on this site

[Kirk Allen]

Now wait a minute.  If the job was a result of advertising on this site doesn't that mean the site gets  a piece of the action? 

Sorry, couldn't resist considering some history on another site. 

[furu]

Oh yes it costs so much to run a site.  What with all the free moderators time that you are not paying for and the fact that you get all the revenue from advertising and a significant percentage of any sale that might have been connected to your site.  Go Kirk I think you are missing out on a big revenue stream.

Oh yeah I forgot, you are trying to provide a site where people are free to be normal and do not have to cower and pay homage to their fief.
Sorry I could not help myself.

[backwoods sawyer]

This last customer had done his research and was well informed on every detail of of the process.

The job I am on now, was to be 50 beams resawn into dimensional lumber and had been postponed twice so he could get a tractor on site.
What we found after digging out the GOOD map was grab 4 low and get a run at it kind of driveway that winds up the side hill still working on an exit strategy that does not involve additional rotatory style equipment, as we are boxing our selves in at this point. Several log decks below the road but have yet to see a beam. A Case 580K is called a tractor. Might add he only counted 50% 0f the logs  The tailing pile is growing to the point that we need to move the mill to to the opposite side of the road. Looks like we will be making the 98 mile commute all week. This site has steep mountains on all the routes into it except one and it is an extra 30 miles but that is the route we will bring the mill out of there.
 

[backwoods sawyer]

After finishing the log decks that were above the road the mill needed to be set up on a grass hill side well below the road. In the time it took to mill up three log truck loads, the tail end of the mill shifted 6' down the hill and the front end shifted a couple feet. Mainly from log bumps and loose wedges due to soft ground. on the last day I loaded the winch and recovery tools as the route out was up hill over grass and slick mud from the backhoe running around in the soaking rain.
 
The first tug slung mud but did not budge the mill. Some more digging and the mill started rocking loose then I gained enough traction to get the truck on the road. A quick setup of the winch, cable and block and the mill was on the road pointed in the right direction.

 

[backwoods sawyer]

Took the mill on a 200 mile road trip to Lincoln city for a truck load of Doug fir some over sized.
When we arrived two more truck loads of western red cedar some over sized were on the cut list.
Second day in we lost a hydraulic pump and had to return home for the spare, finished up all the cedar and half way thru fir when the drive shaft on the feed motor sheared off. Woodmizer does not stock this part and will have to have the part made. Portland indicated 3-5 weeks so I got a hold of Indy and talked with the engineer that was involved in designing this prototype mill back in 1999 (very first LT-70 they built) He indicated that with a rush on it they could have it ready in 3-5 business days.
November has been WET over on the coast so the brake gave us time to dry out all our camping gear get the family Christmas tree farm harvested and shipped also allowing the customer time to bring in two more truck loads of logs. Down side is next customer had to be bumped out a bit farther then he wanted as he did not have enough milled to finish his project on the first go around

[backwoods sawyer]

20 days of down time, woodmizer was holding off on building the shaft until a gear came in The gear was fine I just needed the shaft. Shaft arrived but the machinist had gone to lunch before doing the final step so shaft did not fit, rattled more then one shop door to find a machinist to finish the shaft on a Sunday, cost me $20 and twenty 2x12x12 for a bridge deck and we were back to making sawdust in the freezing rain on the norther coast. As the high winds came in we headed to west Portland and milled out 8,000 bft of fencing as the city was flooding, More high winds found us a 100 miles south setting the mill up in the dark on a small side hill landing with limbs snapping off from trees all around.
log owner needed more time to get equipment on site and we needed to take trip up north so we will give it just enough time for the next storm to roll thru and then get to making sawdust.   

Side note when driving in Portland traffic with heavy rain even the navigator should not be texting while you are driving or you will be taking ANOTHER scenic route giving even more people that have a tree to mill up a chance to call you giving you the opportunity to miss the next turn leading you on yet another flooded scenic route.

What a rat race

[backwoods sawyer]

We had one stubborn log, so parked the excavator on the sawdust mound and reached over. This was a flat lading with a fresh layer of rock the day we set up. After milling a few stacks of lumber (whole house project) it took a bit to dig out the mill.
 
On the next job take note of how well the logs line up with the mill, and no hydraulics on site, customer rolled all the logs to the mill.

[furu]

You have been doing some sawing.

[lauztuvass]

Nice work.

[backwoods sawyer]

We finished up this trip with a good soaking rain
We pulled in, parked the mill and got everything drip drying.
The last "NEW" saw that broke took out the main 3 V drive belt. I carry a spare and made a not so quick belt swap and was back up and running. Had enough spare parts to keep everything running but it is time to do some maintenance and up grades.

[backwoods sawyer]

45 days on the road starting at the beginning of November into mid December, 100-225 miles out, with a 800 mile r.t. side trip , tent camping the first half and these short days meant early starts and work till dark, then through in "Winter arrived" with an elninio push resulting in near record rainfall, flooding, along with some snow, ice and lots of wind so I can understand little Jo's vote to not work in December and since she makes more sawdust then I do, I agreed to take some maintenance time until at least after Christmas. Well kinda, we still have a day or two of milling to do for ourselves. 
I got to say little Jo puts in as much effort as I do on these trips... On the controls in all weather, keeping the whole operation running smoothly and well organized, and not to bad of a camp cook to boot
 In all our travels a little donut shop on our morning route was the best find, so we brought the donuts and with the cold rain the last customer found the coffee pot to be just what was needed.


 
The biggest thing on the maintenance list is rewiring from the battery to the hydraulic box with heavier wire and up grading from the lead fuses to the brass fuses. This may involve replacing the little fuse box with a larger one that I can work in without the use of ship in the bottle tools.

[furu]

I have marveled as I follow your work schedule the fact that you seem to be tent camping for days and weeks on end in the most abysmal weather here in the PNW.  Hard core and a hard core gal you have in that woman.  How do you keep the sawdust out of the sleeping bags day after day?

[mountainlake]

 

 Nice pics again, some of others should post some, I cant even get them from my phone to the computer right now.  I sawed about 1200 bf or really nice black walnut  yesterday morning. It was 10 above but real nice out of the wind and sunny, I just about took my winter coat off for a lighter one.   Steve

[backwoods sawyer]

We have not perfected the art of keeping the sawdust out of the sleeping bags, or the air in the air mattress, but we did figure out how to stay warm and dry.
Half the challenge of being on the road is carrying everything you need for camping and working and still having enough room to work out of the truck. When we pulled out the truck was loaded over bed high and the cab was packed even higher.

once we established camp with a dried in kitchen area we were able focus on milling. The pop up shelter with a tarp over kept the back of the truck and control panel dry. We each had two sets of rain gear and needed both sets.

This was the longest that we have had the mill on the road in one stretch. It took a lot to make a trip like this to all come together, along with customers that were flexible enough to work around others schedule.

Nice pics again, some of others should post some, I cant even get them from my phone to the computer right now.  I sawed about 1200 bf or really nice black walnut  yesterday morning. It was 10 above but real nice out of the wind and sunny, I just about took my winter coat off for a lighter one.   Steve

Sounds like a nice day of milling, Haven't had any walnut to mill for a while.

[Kirk Allen]

My hats off to you!  What a great adventure to share with your grandkids one day! 

[backwoods sawyer]

The new year has us making more sawdust
first was more POC

next came the hill side job

now we are working on a good Mix of local hardwoods, Walnut, Oak, yew, maple

[backwoods sawyer]

Three large WRC came down.
Little Jo had to run over the mountain to help family so I took the boys on this trip.
Tight quarters so set the mill up three times.
Two logs needed split in half.

[backwoods sawyer]

Project is non structural
He built a wood version of a Yurt and will sheet the inside with cedar.

[Kirk Allen]

Wow!  Nice project! Thanks for the pics!

[furu]

Definitely some nice work you have there.