Milling in the woodlot

[HandLogger]

Your photos reminded me of ...

... something I meant to ask, Rodney. Do you get some fairly large logs up on your M7 or, conversely, do you ordinarily "prepare" them prior to putting them on the Logosol? Another way to put this is to ask what size logs you've put on your M7 without reducing them (say with a chain saw mill of some sort). By the way, I attempted to contact our friend down in CT, but I haven't heard back yet.

Have a great one ... opcorn:

 

[Sawyer Rob]

It cost me about $.40 cents ea. to sharpen a band, (figureing the wear on the sharpening stone) and nothing to set it...(not includeing my time)

I don't get the grinding wheels for my chainsaw grinder free either, so sharpening them cost me something too.

As for how long they last, it depends a lot on what your cutting, how much dirt ect. ect... But, 300 bd. ft. of 5/4 boards isn't uncommon at all, and lots of guys do better than that...

It really starts at the tree, drag them through the mud, and just like a chain saw chain, dirty logs will dull bands fast...

Every 5th board is FREE, and at $1.00 per bd. ft. you do the math...

Rob

 

[woodshop]

It cost me about $.40 cents ea. to sharpen a band, (figureing the wear on the sharpening stone) and nothing to set it...(not includeing my time)

I don't get the grinding wheels for my chainsaw grinder free either, so sharpening them cost me something too.

As for how long they last, it depends a lot on what your cutting, how much dirt ect. ect... But, 300 bd. ft. of 5/4 boards isn't uncommon at all, and lots of guys do better than that...

It really starts at the tree, drag them through the mud, and just like a chain saw chain, dirty logs will dull bands fast...

Every 5th board is FREE, and at $1.00 per bd. ft. you do the math...

Rob

ditto just about everything he said above... other than my time, only cost for sharpening my blades is $4 for a diamond coated stone to fit in my dremel. It lasts many blades before it's toast itself. No shipping, no handling, no paying somebody else to do it... certainly don't see $100 into a blade... ever.

How long a blade lasts has many variables. I'm talking about the smaller Ripsaw bandsaw blades now, but seems like larger blades about the same from what I am reading here. I can get anywhere from 200 bd ft of 5/4 to more than 400 ft of 5/4 depending on species and whether I am milling bark or not. I do most of the dirty work with my csm, so when I'm milling with my little bandmill I'm milling wood only, no bark (and it's embedded dirt even if it looks clean) at all. This seems to double or more the life of my blades. Also, certain woods like redcedar and white pine I have gotten 600 bd ft of 5/4 from one blade, they seem to mill all day and not dull the saw blade hardly at all. Others like locust, or pecan, or butternut and I'm lucky to get that 200 ft.

One thing not mentioned yet though... if I hit metal with my csm, I can usually resharpen the chain and use it again. If I hit metal with my bandsaw blade, it's usually toast... gone with the wind. Grab a fresh blade... that's why I always take at least 4 with me milling.

 

[Rodney Sinclair]

OK, now I've got a question. If the chain costs the same as a band, and the cost for sharpening is the same, and the band lasts as long as the chain, and the band saw is so much faster than the chain,Just what is the big deal about cutting thru bark?

Rodney

 

[Ianab]

Just what is the big deal about cutting thru bark?

Doesn't matter what saw you are using, bark usually contains dirt and grit, blunts the saw faster then clean wood. So if a log has dirty bark, removing as much as possible before sawing will greatly improve your blade life.

Cheers

Ian

 

[BobL]

Doesn't matter what saw you are using, bark usually contains dirt and grit, blunts the saw faster then clean wood. So if a log has dirty bark, removing as much as possible before sawing will greatly improve your blade life.

Cheers

Ian

+1 . In the yard where I've been millin there's a hose right next to my milling spot. Any log that looks like its been rolled around in the dirt and I can't get the bark off easily, gets a long (10 -15 minute) wash, so far it seems to really pay off.

 

[Matildasmate]

Fire hose

Yeah I wash me logs with the fire fighter and fire hose , does a good job . Cheers MM

 

[woodshop]

Doesn't matter what saw you are using, bark usually contains dirt and grit, blunts the saw faster then clean wood. So if a log has dirty bark, removing as much as possible before sawing will greatly improve your blade life.

Cheers

Ian

ya know... I know this doesn't sound right, but I'm just going by my experience. Even when the bark is "clean", my blades just get dull faster when going through it. I don't think it contains more silicates than the wood... but my blades last the longest when they don't have to slice through any bark, even clean bark.

btw... after all my milling with both my csm and my little bandmill, I'm still not sure which (chain or blade) is cheaper per bd ft if you're just talking about the cost of the band or chain only. There are just too many variables. I guess if you are ONLY taking into consideration how many bd ft milled before either has to be thrown out, and ONLY going through solid wood for example, no bark or dirt, then I guess the chain would win in the long run. Kinda like that story about the rabbit and the turtle. It is slower and wastes more wood, but can be sharpened many more times before it's toast. If there are dirty logs involved, or something embedded in the log, then the chain wins hands down. As I said earlier, trash a chain and it can be resharpened. Hit metal with a bandsaw blade and you're in need of another blade.