Interesting log lifting arrangement

[BobL]

I did a search on AS and couldn't find a link to it so I thought I'd post it here.

http://woodgears.ca/chainsaw_mill/index.html

The lift mechanism is based on a scissors action pedal powered hydraulic jack used to lift motorcycles. The weight limit is 1500 lbs so two would lift a 1 ton log OK.

Actually you only really need one jack and then you can mill on a slope.

It also looks like he's using progressive raker setting - here's another quote from that page -

The process is not overly fast. Walter says it takes about a minute to cut a board 1 ft wide by 8 foot long. He sharpens the chain to have .040" of cut on each tooth, increasing it to .060" as the chain gets worn. Although there are specialized chainsaw chains for this kind of work, a regular chain will do just fine.

 

[Daninvan]

What I also found interesting on that page was the "angled" jig he uses for cutting clapboard siding. I had been thinking of something like that for cutting QS boards out of a quartered log. Of course there will be more waste as you plane them later to get rid of the angle, but they will be true quartersawn and longer than if you use the usual method of keeping flipping the cant around?

Dan

 

[BobL]

What I also found interesting on that page was the "angled" jig he uses for cutting clapboard siding. I had been thinking of something like that for cutting QS boards out of a quartered log. Of course there will be more waste as you plane them later to get rid of the angle, but they will be true quartersawn and longer than if you use the usual method of keeping flipping the cant around?

Dan

It's possible to do this with a standard bar clamped alaskan.
One way to do it is using a set of plates milled or filed to the right angle that slip or clip over the clamps. A big of grade 9 geometry will enable the right angle to be worked out relative to the bar length. Then the mill verticals are adjusted to suit - milling one way down the log and the the other will make consistent angles for siding.
Different angle plates can be made for different angles.

 

[DaltonPaull]

Thanks for the great link Bob! I'd been trying to think of a scissor system so I really like what I see here. The weight limit is a little low but larger logs are already at an ergonamic height to begin with so it would just be a matter of getting them up on the jacks once they are lighter but no longer round.

1'X8' cut in 1 minute - that seams pretty fast.

 

[BobL]

Thanks for the great link Bob! I'd been trying to think of a scissor system so I really like what I see here. The weight limit is a little low but larger logs are already at an ergonamic height to begin with so it would just be a matter of getting them up on the jacks once they are lighter but no longer round.
Cheers DP - my thoughts exactly. My log lifter is cheaper and the log doesn't need rolling but the fact that the log can be left permanently on the jacks is very handy/

1'X8' cut in 1 minute - that seams pretty fast.

Take a look at his raker settings - that would translate to a cutting angle of around 9.5º. That's pretty savage!

 

[jnl502]

thanks for the link Bob. you are always comming up with great ideas and info on here to share. You really are an asset to AS. Are you still in the states or have you headed back home yet? Hope you are or had a great time. If you were to ever get over near TN you would be welcome at my home.
jnl

 

[Can8ianTimber]

There are also some good links at the bottom of that page to other sawmill photos. I just never get tired of looking at sawmill pics.

 

[mtngun]

96 inches in one minute would be 1.6 inch/second, double what my 066BB can do in a pine cant of the same size, with lo-pro chain, and never mind pausing to insert wedges.

I'm skeptical. The key word is "about one minute." That leaves a lot of wiggle room. Folks, watches that display the seconds are not that scarce.

I can't see hauling those heavy log lifters around in the woods, nor would they be safe to use on a hillside.

I was more interested in his guide board. I'm always wishing I had a lighter yet sturdier guide board, so I wish the article would have explained the guide board better.

I also like the phrase "eco-logger." Yeah, we are eco-loggers. Maybe I should add that to my signature ?

 

[smokinj]

96 inches in one minute would be 1.6 inch/second, double what my 066BB can do in a pine cant of the same size, with lo-pro chain, and never mind pausing to insert wedges.

I'm skeptical. The key word is "about one minute." That leaves a lot of wiggle room. Folks, watches that display the seconds are not that scarce.

I can't see hauling those heavy log lifters around in the woods, nor would they be safe to use on a hillside.

I was more interested in his guide board. I'm always wishing I had a lighter yet sturdier guide board, so I wish the article would have explained the guide board better.

I also like the phrase "eco-logger." Yeah, we are eco-loggers. Maybe I should add that to my signature ?

I dont know how fast I am running but thought the whole process was much quickier than it was going to be.

 

[BobL]

thanks for the link Bob. you are always comming up with great ideas and info on here to share. You really are an asset to AS. Are you still in the states or have you headed back home yet? Hope you are or had a great time. If you were to ever get over near TN you would be welcome at my home.
jnl

Cheers JNL - I'm working in Calgary for the next two months - not many decent sized trees here

I really miss my mills and trees but I am getting a chance to see some amazing stuff compared to what we see in Oz. When I'm traveling and I can't play with saws and wood at least gives me time to work on my other hobby, photography. Have taken over 4000 photos in 4 weeks (2 of those weeks have been work)

Here's a few places we saw last weekend.

 

[BobL]

96 inches in one minute would be 1.6 inch/second, double what my 066BB can do in a pine cant of the same size, with lo-pro chain, and never mind pausing to insert wedges.

I'm skeptical. The key word is "about one minute." That leaves a lot of wiggle room. Folks, watches that display the seconds are not that scarce.

Agreed. Some would call 3 minutes about a minute. In the case of SWMBO, "I'll be there in a minute" translates to about ha;f an hour :0

I can't see hauling those heavy log lifters around in the woods, nor would they be safe to use on a hillside.

Not to mention on soft ground. I would consider using one or a similar on one end of the log to lift it after every few cuts but I would let it back down onto large cookies to actually do the cut.

I was more interested in his guide board. I'm always wishing I had a lighter yet sturdier guide board, so I wish the article would have explained the guide board better.

I also like the phrase "eco-logger." Yeah, we are eco-loggers. Maybe I should add that to my signature ?

YEah - I reckon prefixes like "eco" and "i" already look pretty lame and are just going to look lamer as the they get older.

 

[mtngun]

Beautiful pics, Bob. Looks similar to Glacier National Park on the Montana/Canada border.

Ready to take up residence in Western Canada yet ? Admittedly, you'd have to give up your exotic Aussie hardwoods, and learn to love douglas fir.

It's been 25 years since I did some camping and hiking in Glacier park, right along the border. Some of the glaciers that I saw then, no longer exist, even though global warming isn't real.

Enjoy those glaciers while you can, because they may not be around much longer.

 

[BobL]

Beautiful pics, Bob. Looks similar to Glacier National Park on the Montana/Canada border.

That's where we're going this weekend, well good as anyway. We're going to Waterton Lakes NP which abuts Glacier NP.

Ready to take up residence in Western Canada yet ? Admittedly, you'd have to give up your exotic Aussie hardwoods, and learn to love douglas fir.

There's no doubt about the scenery - I love it - it's stunning. My Dad is from the Italian alps and I am drawn to mountains like a magnet and would love to live on a terrain that has some variation to it, but I'd rather have our woods and our weather even though it gets too hot to mill in summer.

It's been 25 years since I did some camping and hiking in Glacier park, right along the border. Some of the glaciers that I saw then, no longer exist, even though global warming isn't real.

Enjoy those glaciers while you can, because they may not be around much longer.

The picture below is taken from the visitor centre of the Columbia Icefields.
The green dot on theLHSleft was where we caught a regular bus that drove us to the orange dot high up on the side of the Athabasca glacier.
Then a special ice bus drove us to the red dot on the glacier itself.
The blue dot on the right shows where the glacier face was in 1842 - kinda disturbing.

 

[huskyhank]

Nice panoramas, Bob!
Enjoy the cool weather up there.

 

[gemniii]

<snip>

I was more interested in his guide board. I'm always wishing I had a lighter yet sturdier guide board, so I wish the article would have explained the guide board better.

<snip>QUOTE]
I too am interested in his guide boards, it looks like he has two sets, one black, one yellow.

I've a pair of steel 10' unistrut, which are HEAVY. I recently found some box rail at TSC, 12 ft. Plain Box Rail, 450 Pound Capacity with 24 in. OC Brackets, Galvanized, $40.

http://www.tractorsupply.com/home-improvement/hardware/door-hardware/rails-hangers/12-ft-plain-box-rail-450-pound-capacity-with-24-in-oc-brackets-galvanized-3551872
It's galvanized steel, but seems much lighter than the unistrut.

 

[BobL]

<snip>

I was more interested in his guide board. I'm always wishing I had a lighter yet sturdier guide board, so I wish the article would have explained the guide board better.

<snip>QUOTE]
I too am interested in his guide boards, it looks like he has two sets, one black, one yellow.

I've a pair of steel 10' unistrut, which are HEAVY. I recently found some box rail at TSC, 12 ft. Plain Box Rail, 450 Pound Capacity with 24 in. OC Brackets, Galvanized, $40.

http://www.tractorsupply.com/home-improvement/hardware/door-hardware/rails-hangers/12-ft-plain-box-rail-450-pound-capacity-with-24-in-oc-brackets-galvanized-3551872
It's galvanized steel, but seems much lighter than the unistrut.

Do you know they gauge of this stuff? The problem with stuff thinner than the Unistrut is it needs more support per unit length and it cannot do things like this.

 

[mtngun]

Do you know they gauge of this stuff?

2.25" tall x 1.75" wide. Tractor Supply claims 1.6 pounds per foot, for a single rail. They are used for hanging sliding barn doors.

Unistrut is 1.63" x 1.63", one source claims 1.82 pounds per foot.

If you believe the numbers, the box rail material must be thinner than unistrut.

The larger cross section should make it stiffer than unistrut, but the thinner gage may be more apt to twist.

 

[DaltonPaull]

I take some pride in being able to take some salvageable wood without disturbing nature with heavy equipment. I think Will Malloff said the same in the opening of his 30 year old book - he just didn't have the buzz words we use now. It's all just marketing but if words like 'eco' and 'sustainability' can help a guy get business doing one of the worlds oldest and most sustainable crafts I don't have a problem with it.

It's a coincidence that BobL just went to glacier - I grew up in north Idaho not all that far from there but have never been to the park so I've been planing to spend a few nights there when I drive up to visit next week. The photos posted here are making me even more excited.

If you are still in the area Bob and want to see some big trees, stop by Ross creek Montana near the Idaho border, where there is a grove of the largest ceder trees I've ever seen.

I stopped by a local plumbing supply the other day to ask about uni-strut. They have the square stuff for $30 for 10 feet which is fairly reasonable so I'll probably use it for my next set of rails. Plumbers use tons of the stuff to hang pipes so a plumbing supply might be a good place to look.

 

[BobL]

I take some pride in being able to take some salvageable wood without disturbing nature with heavy equipment. I think Will Malloff said the same in the opening of his 30 year old book - he just didn't have the buzz words we use now. It's all just marketing but if words like 'eco' and 'sustainability' can help a guy get business doing one of the worlds oldest and most sustainable crafts I don't have a problem with it.

Sure, I have no problem with the term "sustainable" - it's a real word, but "eco" as a prefix just kinda rubs me the wrong way.

It's a coincidence that BobL just went to glacier - I grew up in north Idaho not all that far from there but have never been to the park so I've been planing to spend a few nights there when I drive up to visit next week. The photos posted here are making me even more excited.

If you are still in the area Bob and want to see some big trees, stop by Ross creek Montana near the Idaho border, where there is a grove of the largest ceder trees I've ever seen.

Thanks for the info DP, I'd love to that but it will have to be another time as we are all booked out for places to go etc

I stopped by a local plumbing supply the other day to ask about uni-strut. They have the square stuff for $30 for 10 feet which is fairly reasonable so I'll probably use it for my next set of rails. Plumbers use tons of the stuff to hang pipes so a plumbing supply might be a good place to look.

I bought mine as 2 x 20 ft lengths and cut them in half. My plan was to use them as two 10 ft lengths and join them together if required.

Since then I have decided that was not a good decision as I find 10 ft lengths are too short for even 8 ft long logs. I like to have 18" or so of overhang at the start and 12" of over hang at the end so that I can start and stop the mill on the log rails.

Next time I am going to cut them at something like 12' and 8'.

 

[betterbuilt]

I'm kinda excited. I've had this pile of unistrut I've been trying to figure out what I should use it for. I'm gonna try to do something similar to the one you made BobL. I like the way it connects to the end of the log. What do you use to put the two sections together with to make it longer? I usually use a ladder but I find they sag under the weight of the mill. Thanks for the idea.