I’ve watched hundreds of milling videos, but I’ve actually learned so much more about milling from your videos, especially about milling to get high grade boards. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
Tex Mex here and let me say, you are spot on with Mexican food. I live in Houston, almost 60 years now, and struggle to find good Mexican food every day. That said, enjoying your videos as we're getting info on our newest homesteading / chicken sign and logging adventure.
Robert, Thank you for your straightforward talk, you're very productive. We're running a Cooks MP-32 for hobby sake. Just want to have plenty 2x4's and 6x6's stacked up. We love running mature yellow poplar, awesome stuff. This is our 3rd year and just started kiln drying a little red oak. After watching your quarter sawn videos, that's what we're gonna attempt next and "go for the gold"....May God richly bless you, Chip and your familly! Sawing with Dad and brother, JJ from Lexington, TN. West TN
I own Heartpine Resharp in Athens, GA. Your videos are the best! Just so you you know, I really appreciate your video on the setter, it really got us in tune.
Glad it was helpful! I didn't give the backstory when I made the video, I called up WM and asked them some questions about why they did some obviously wrong things with the assembly of the setter that prevented a user like me from seeing all three positions, 1. preset, 2. push and 3. post set and they told me their setter wouldn't do that! So I said "Well sure it does, you didn't know that??" and they said "No, it won't" and then they got a little mad at me, because I laughed and said I'll make a video it so they could do it on all their new setters they ship. All I got back from WM was a "Thanks but No Thanks" response. So I made the video, called them up and said "Watch the video if you want to learn something about your setter." I'm pretty sure they never did, because they keep sending them out wrong. So now, the "after purchase" adjustments inn the video have become a standard practice for folks buying the setter to make it work the way it should despite WM claims it won't, and I have a good story to tell. I hope your Resharp business takes off with WM closing down their corporate sharpening centers!
This video blew our minds! Absolutely genius.Do you have a video on board treatment after milling? We are in upstate NY and are concerned with stinking bugs having a feast over the Winter in the wood house (not kiln) . Please and thank you in advance ✨
Thanks, for taking the time to video and post. Great job explaining getting the best out of a crappy looking log. Im just glad im not working for chip.
Love your show and your wisdom. Thanks for posting great videos. Question for you, what if you take those center boards that may will crack take them as soon as you Mill them and add bow ties to the area thats obviously going to crack.
Good comment, there are plastic products called “crack stoppers” that do as you suggest, and I tried them, but in the long run it was too much trouble and took too much time. It’s just better to anticipate the cuts and reduce the effects of the pith cracks to a minimum and isolate it in as few narrow boards s possible.
Thanks! That's why my buddy, Nathan Elliot of Out Of the Woods Sawmill, nicknamed me the "Wood Yoda." Or he thinks I may look like Yoda I'd like to think I look more like Harrison Ford, but at least I don't look like Chewbacca.
Glad you enjoy it! I'm never sure how much "Real Me" to put in the videos, I have people tell me to go "Whole Robert" but I'm not sure that's a good idea!
Excellent video!!!! I'm interested in a sawdust collection system like yours. How's it working out? Maybe do a video on the type and installing one. Thanks
I’m in the market for a mill. I’ve been watching sawmill videos and you have offered more information in the 2 videos I’ve than most others! Thank you sir! BTW, what’s your thoughts on Linn Lumbers sawmill kits? I’m on a strict budget but I have welding and fabrication equipment and experience.
Thanks, they have a good reputation. I would suggest that it's a toss up between building a mill and sawing wood. Even the least expensive manual mill that has been assembled and ready to use would speed things up. There are a lot of them, such as Hudson and even Harbor Freight, which has a decent copy of the WM LT 10.
Morning Robert. What is your thought on "cutting off the end with the rott inclusion and cutting shorts out of the rest of it, or is it not worth your time?"
You are correct, there was some good shorts left on the cant that remained, however, since our kilns are set up for 8' and longer boards, it's very difficult for us to dry boards that are shorter than that so for us, it's not worth it. Good question and thanks for watching!
Neither, and not a silly question at all. It's a very fundamental question. Hardwood lumber, green off the mill, is almost always commercially sawn to produce a board at 1 -1/8" thick. It will kiln dry to 1-1/16", then is "hit and miss" or "skip planed" to 15/16." It can be slightly thicker, but generally that is the industry minimum. After that, it goes to a secondary processor for further thicknesseing, molding, etc.
What species are those stickers? Nice video! I do a lot of live edge here in NW New Jersey. 14 walnut, cherry and maple yesterday for a many time repeat customer. Most of the time I am mobile with a LT 40 Wide. See you on the Forestry Forum (I am John S there).
There are major errors in this video. At 3:23 he says the area outside of the defect will produce the highest grade boards. He then proceeds NOT to cut these best boards first! At 6:23, he points to the SAME area outside of the defect saying it's the worst. As a beginner, I find this very confusing as he is contradicting himself on major issues.
NOPE, you are wrong, there are no "errors" however I can understand your confusion. I have covered some of this in other videos and I although I try to avoid "rehashing" repetitious content of my other videos, it does sometimes cause gaps of knowledge to viewers. I appreciate you paying attention and watching the videos in detail. The strategy and sawing pattern on that log was correct. Let me explain further. I said at 3:23 - the area outside the defect will produce the highest grade boards but to clarify, I meant "the area outside the defect will produce the highest grade boards on the worst face of this log." Since it was the worst face, it should be sawn last, which is what I meant at 6:23. So basically, the defective side had the worst face but still had potentially high grade boards, and the general tendency of most sawyers I've seen and worked with is to mentally focus and concentrate on the worst face and fight it for the best boards, when in reality, the Sawyer should identify the best face and start there, and then come back and pick up the best possible boards of the worst face. The main problem is that if a Sawyer starts on the worst face, they may recover those high quality jacket boards, but may disrupt the high quality side side wood on the two adjoining higher grade faces, if not the entire log. To explain further, sidewood, which is a generic term used for the outer jacket boards on all four faces of a hardwood cant are all considered the best lumber in the log. Sidewood will always have the fewest knots, generally the lowest levels of stress, and the widest boards. As boards are taken off any of the the faces, going toward the center of the log, on any hardwood log, the knot and defect count will go up. Always. So the face with the major defect in the video appeared to have much of it's high grade sidewood intact, several boards worth, simply because the defect was toward the center, and more toward in the intrinsically lower value heart of the log. So although that face still had a potential for high value sidewood, which was proved to be true during the sawing process, that was by far the worst face of the four of that cant and should be sawn last. Does this clarify? Also, feel free to call me Robert, and thank's for your comments.
I watched you cut that log. Those are the fun ones. Do you can the center chunk or cut it down for skids? I can understand the confusion. And i know the plan might be best left fluid until you get it on the deck. Thanks
Your channel is awesome. Thank you so much for showing your wisdom, techniques and helping us, well at least me, understand how to cut good wood and bad wood as well. And like you said, not all wood is pretty, so to know how to cut ugly wood to make it pretty is a talent. Quick question though, would it be a good idea to cut your left over cant into stickers (can never have enough stickers) and use a little more of that ugly wood for good purposes. I only ask because you didn’t mention it. I do understand you are a business and might already have enough so was just curious. Keep up the great work and wonderful knowledge. Thanks a bunch.
Excellent observation and question, and one that every hobby or business needs to address in detail. Yes, the left over wood could be salvaged to make other products, stickers, for example and even tomato stakes and pen turning blanks, and we used to do that, by the tens of thousands. However, I don't use solid stickers anymore, I use fluted ones, and can't make them form these pieces. Also, "scrap" is a relative term, we don't sell any non kiln dried wood, due to bugs and quality control, and for me to spend the effort to make this wood into a stackable thickness, sticker it, kiln dry it, dead stack it, plane it, and then sell it would be a loss of money. We used to save and sell everything including the sawdust and bark, but now we have to look at it from a profit and loss perspective and have done years worth of financial analysis on our waste streams. If it doesn't make money, and that includes our salary, they we don't do it. When our mill is running, our goal is to make $250 per hour which covers our costs and allows profit, including our salary, reinvestment capital, energy for the dust collectors, diesel, labor, and time. So if a process isn't making a high percentage of that, then we need to focus on things that do not make us money, and just eliminate it. For example, the wider boards in these videos, once kiln dried and ready to be sold may go for as much as $100 each, most go for $50 and I can saw a board in about 10 to 15 seconds. Of course, they still need to under go the whole drying process, but anything that gets in the way of that has to be evaluated as making profit or cutting into profit, or worse yet, costing money. So for me to concentrate on the scraps and not saw a board can really cost me a lot of money even though it looks like I should be making money, I'm actually costing money. We do however, give the scraps away to our customers, and sometimes giving things away for free is the best way to not lose money on them. It's also a perk for our customers, for example, in the winter they use our scraps as firewood, and while they are here, they also buy our product. Yes, I could sell the scraps as firewood and a lot of people do, but I can't make $250 an hour doing it without a major upgrade in specific equipment and hiring employees. This is an excellent subject for a video, I have seen so many business go out of business because they they don't properly evaluate where their profit is coming from and maximize it.
@HobbyHardwoodAlabama wow, now that is a ton of info and right on point with my question. Oh yeah, I forgot about that, you mentioned In a previous video about your spiral stickers and reminds me why they look the way they do. So many things I didn't think of and probably would have drawn me down if I had a business because I would have tried to maximize every little piece. You sure have given me something to think about and yes, would love to see this topic in a video like you mentioned if you have time, I can see you are a busy man.
Can you tell me what the gray lumber racks in your retail shed is. Trying to find so for my space,Thank You O I really appreciate your videos being a new mill guy I’ve learned a lot from you!
Sure, we get the metal self units from Uline. Surprisingly strong and flat, and the main thing they don't have end braces so lumber can be loaded from the end, so make great racks. We have a lot of them. Thanks for watching!
Watching your videos is about all I can do right now not complaining maybe a little jealous, had surgery and not able to run my mill for a few months. Hope I can remember what I'm learning. I've been using the toe boards to center the pith, some of that thought process probably stemmed from working in high production mills with an Op[timil and then a gang saw that may still be the way to go when sawing pine into dimension lumber. What's your thoughts on that would I benefit to parallel bark sawing even on pine? Plus most of the other video's I've watched center the pith. Will definitely start parallel bark sawing any hardwood logs.
Pine is a pretty forgiving wood, but if I was making softwood furniture grade lumber I would parallel bark saw, at least the best face or two. For dimensional lumber, centering the pith is best. Thanks for watching!
I'm down below you, in Cold Springs. I have some decent cherry and Walnut logs to go pick up in TN. I have some large Black Walnut and persimmon that I believe that I need to get sometime this Winter. Is there anything useful to be gotten from the time of year the tree is cut? I figured you would know this probably better than most as you dry alot and sell the finished lumber. Does it actually benefit you in anyway?
Wayne, you bear a remarkable resemblance to Donald T, you could be twins! Yes, the time of year the tree is cut can make a significant difference on some species, not so much on others. Any tree cut in the cooler months will have a slightly less tendency to develop end splits, and certainly, any light or white wood, including maple, will have a significantly increased tendency to discolor quickly in the warmer months do to enzyme staining. Persimmon is very prone to enzyme stain and the white wood darkening, so if you cut it in the winter, you will have a couple months of cooler weather before you mill it, while in the summer, you better be milling it in a matter of a couple weeks or less, to maintain it's white color. Walnut bark will slip off much easier in the Spring if you have a mill that doesn't have a debarker. Cherry, three is no real advantage what month it is cut.
Yep. When we first brought him home at 5 weeks old, I had bought a whole yard full of puppy toys and when he got out of the truck and started running around, he totally ignored all the fancy and cute toys, and found a big bark chip and started playing with that! I still have that picture as the screen saver on my computer, him with his very first bark chip, half as big as he was. So I had a puppy that liked to play with bark chips more than rubber bones. Go figure. I thought "Bark" would be an odd name for a dog, so I named him "Chip" instead. To this day he still loves playing with bark chips, or hunks of wood, and you'll see in the videos he's almost always got one in his mouth.
After you got the first 6 boards off, one other option would have been, with the hollow smile still vertical, slab the rest having the hollow in each slab. Now it all depends on the slab demand there, and whether there were more defects down the remaining portion of the log. Ugly logs make good epoxy slabs. "el perfecto" I didn't know you spoke spanish?! You musta had a sudden rainstorm as your wood is all wet, either that or you're copying Matt Cremona. :)) Brad_bb
I could have slabbed them, but I’m running low on 4/4 and needed about four thousand bdft on this load before I run out. Who’s Matt Cremona? Isn’t he the guy who runs bulldozers? I haven’t watched enough of his videos to see him run a sawmill, although I have watched him run excavators. I have found that wetting walnut allows me to show the beauty of the wood to my customers, who watch my videos and if they like the wood, will reserve it right off the mill. Sold as soon as it’s sawn. I don’t make any money off RUclips but I sure sell a lot of wood using it! I genuinely enjoy filming and showing our techniques to other sawmillers to help them out, but it’s also to show and educate our customers as to how we do things so they know they are buying first class wood. I hope when the walnut in this video comes out of the kiln ready to sell there is a notepad full of names and phone numbers who are in line to buy it. Since I’m doing this RUclips stuff for free, I have to make money from it somehow, and it free advertising. The thing is, these other 100K subscriber RUclipsrs channels get heavily, and I mean heavily, paid by RUclips as well as sponsored by lots of other companies but I only get sponsored by my company, Hobby Hardwood, and I have to make sure I get my money’s worth, or Chip and Martha will take away my cameras and fire me.
@@HobbyHardwoodAlabama I’ve hobby sawed since 2012 with a lt35 Manuel mill. Two weeks ago I got a new 40 super hydraulic with diesel. Lots to learn. So I’m watching saying this guy knows. A bunch of others are just for laughs. Thanks
I started with a full manual LT15, and try to tailor a lot of my videos toward both hydraulic and manual sawmillers, because a manual mill will a lot of time cut more accurately than a high end full hydraulic. That’s why I try to explain the hows and whys more than just showing off the equipment, because all sawmilling takes effort, but manual takes more so it’s worth making good cuts and not wasting time and effort making bad cuts. Very good question, I need to make a video on the subject.
![BLACK BAG - Official Trailer [HD] - Only in Theaters March 14](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Du0Xp8WX_7I/mqdefault.jpg)
By far, the best sawmilling channel on YT! As a new sawyer, I am learning a ton. Lots of gratitude to you, good sir !
Glad to help
Hard to impress ol’ Chip. He’s just about seen it all by now I’d imagine. Thanks for the great videos as always.
Thanks for watching!
You really made something from just about nothing. I would not have expected that much quality lumber out of that log. Very instructional, thank you!
Thanks 👍
Can't make up my mind as to which I appreciate more, the information or the humor. Both are excellent.
Great to hear!
I’ve watched hundreds of milling videos, but I’ve actually learned so much more about milling from your videos, especially about milling to get high grade boards. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
Thanks!
Tex Mex here and let me say, you are spot on with Mexican food. I live in Houston, almost 60 years now, and struggle to find good Mexican food every day. That said, enjoying your videos as we're getting info on our newest homesteading / chicken sign and logging adventure.
Thanks!
Robert,
Thank you for your straightforward talk, you're very productive. We're running a Cooks MP-32 for hobby sake. Just want to have plenty 2x4's and 6x6's stacked up. We love running mature yellow poplar, awesome stuff. This is our 3rd year and just started kiln drying a little red oak. After watching your quarter sawn videos, that's what we're gonna attempt next and "go for the gold"....May God richly bless you, Chip and your familly!
Sawing with Dad and brother,
JJ from Lexington, TN. West TN
Thank you!
I enjoy the video’s of the sawing and teaching more than the ranch upkeep videos. You explain things well.
Glad you like them! I need to pick my game up on the other videos, thanks for the feedback! I will do better.
Very real,very informative, a magisterial instruction on important topics,pure gold.
Thanks!
Dude, this was a great video. You can't find this level of instruction on sawmills anywhere else. I so appreciate you putting these out!
Thanks!
Good stuff! I really appreciate your explanations on how to get the best out of your logs.
I appreciate that!
Thanks as always. Always learn from your experience, and love the dry sense of humor!!😂😂
I'm glad somebody likes my humor! Chip just looks at me and thinks I'm crazy.
I’m glad to see you still appreciate the wood that is still there as opposed to trashing the whole thing. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, this was a fun one to saw up.
I own Heartpine Resharp in Athens, GA. Your videos are the best! Just so you you know, I really appreciate your video on the setter, it really got us in tune.
Glad it was helpful! I didn't give the backstory when I made the video, I called up WM and asked them some questions about why they did some obviously wrong things with the assembly of the setter that prevented a user like me from seeing all three positions, 1. preset, 2. push and 3. post set and they told me their setter wouldn't do that! So I said "Well sure it does, you didn't know that??" and they said "No, it won't" and then they got a little mad at me, because I laughed and said I'll make a video it so they could do it on all their new setters they ship. All I got back from WM was a "Thanks but No Thanks" response. So I made the video, called them up and said "Watch the video if you want to learn something about your setter." I'm pretty sure they never did, because they keep sending them out wrong. So now, the "after purchase" adjustments inn the video have become a standard practice for folks buying the setter to make it work the way it should despite WM claims it won't, and I have a good story to tell. I hope your Resharp business takes off with WM closing down their corporate sharpening centers!
That was some fantastic work. You are a true craftsman.
Thank you very much!
Great lessons! A real how to sawmill video. Thanks.
👊🏼👍🏼🤙🏼
Glad you liked it!
You are too funny, thank you for another great video!
Glad you enjoyed!
This video blew our minds! Absolutely genius.Do you have a video on board treatment after milling?
We are in upstate NY and are concerned with stinking bugs having a feast over the Winter in the wood house (not kiln) .
Please and thank you in advance ✨
Not really, just haven't gotten to it yet. Timber or Boracare wok good and are very safe.
Thanks Robert, I learn something every time.
Glad to hear it!
Thanks, for taking the time to video and post. Great job explaining getting the best out of a crappy looking log. Im just glad im not working for chip.
You bet. Yeah, Chip is pretty tough to work for.
Totally agree about the Mexican food sir, even in Texas. My home made food being the exception. 😊
Right!
Love your show and your wisdom. Thanks for posting great videos. Question for you, what if you take those center boards that may will crack take them as soon as you Mill them and add bow ties to the area thats obviously going to crack.
Good comment, there are plastic products called “crack stoppers” that do as you suggest, and I tried them, but in the long run it was too much trouble and took too much time. It’s just better to anticipate the cuts and reduce the effects of the pith cracks to a minimum and isolate it in as few narrow boards s possible.
I like it. And I want a sawmill. I love this stuff.
Nice, get you one, it's a lot of fun.
What thickness are you cutting at? 4/4 or 5/4? Thanks for the videos I have learned a bunch from you.
4/4 at 1-1/8" and 8/4 at 2-3/8" thick
Truly a master of wood.
Thanks! That's why my buddy, Nathan Elliot of Out Of the Woods Sawmill, nicknamed me the "Wood Yoda." Or he thinks I may look like Yoda I'd like to think I look more like Harrison Ford, but at least I don't look like Chewbacca.
Thank you Mr. Robert.
My pleasure!
Hello from Ga. Good advice! New subber and love your vids and humor! I have owned 2 Woodys and now own a woodland mills just because i can😅
Good for you and welcome aboard!
Awesome explanation 👏 I have a clue now ,I have slab lx 250 but I enjoy cutting boards appreciate your expertise
Glad to help
good video and job really nice walnut out of a junk log. take care, be safe and well.
Thanks, you too!
no sapwood in the humor either! thanks for making these great videos
Glad you enjoy it! I'm never sure how much "Real Me" to put in the videos, I have people tell me to go "Whole Robert" but I'm not sure that's a good idea!
Thanks for another great video!
Thanks!
Excellent video!!!! I'm interested in a sawdust collection system like yours. How's it working out? Maybe do a video on the type and installing one.
Thanks
Will do!
Are those stickers AIR-O-FLOW KILN STICKS or Breeze Dried? Or maybe something different?
Please elaborate on the stickers you are using. Thanks for the video.
Yes, these are basically all the same. About $1 each, and well worth it.
I’m in the market for a mill. I’ve been watching sawmill videos and you have offered more information in the 2 videos I’ve than most others! Thank you sir!
BTW, what’s your thoughts on Linn Lumbers sawmill kits?
I’m on a strict budget but I have welding and fabrication equipment and experience.
Thanks, they have a good reputation. I would suggest that it's a toss up between building a mill and sawing wood. Even the least expensive manual mill that has been assembled and ready to use would speed things up. There are a lot of them, such as Hudson and even Harbor Freight, which has a decent copy of the WM LT 10.
First!!
Thanks for the video.
Good for you! Thanks for watching!
Nicely done Robert!
Thanks!
Morning Robert. What is your thought on "cutting off the end with the rott inclusion and cutting shorts out of the rest of it, or is it not worth your time?"
You are correct, there was some good shorts left on the cant that remained, however, since our kilns are set up for 8' and longer boards, it's very difficult for us to dry boards that are shorter than that so for us, it's not worth it. Good question and thanks for watching!
Beautiful walnut!
Thanks!
Good stuff
Thanks!
Great educational entertainment. Thanks
My pleasure!
Very fine instruction. Thank you
My pleasure, thanks for watching!
I'm really interested in those stickers!
Email me at HobbyHarsdwoodAlabama@gmail.com and I'll pass on the info.
very enjoyable. what is it you put on the boards to make them shiny?
I hit them with a little water.
Videos are great! I'm new to sawing lumber and I know this changes per customer but what thickness are you cutting the walnut?
4/4 is sawn at 1-1/8"
silly question, Are you cutting your lumber at 1" after the kerf or 7/8 after the kerf?
Neither, and not a silly question at all. It's a very fundamental question. Hardwood lumber, green off the mill, is almost always commercially sawn to produce a board at 1 -1/8" thick. It will kiln dry to 1-1/16", then is "hit and miss" or "skip planed" to 15/16." It can be slightly thicker, but generally that is the industry minimum. After that, it goes to a secondary processor for further thicknesseing, molding, etc.
What species are those stickers? Nice video! I do a lot of live edge here in NW New Jersey. 14 walnut, cherry and maple yesterday for a many time repeat customer. Most of the time I am mobile with a LT 40 Wide. See you on the Forestry Forum (I am John S there).
Good to hear from you! Sounds like you are staying busy. The stickers are just a general hardwood, everything from oak to ash. Thanks for watching!
There are major errors in this video. At 3:23 he says the area outside of the defect will produce the highest grade boards. He then proceeds NOT to cut these best boards first! At 6:23, he points to the SAME area outside of the defect saying it's the worst. As a beginner, I find this very confusing as he is contradicting himself on major issues.
NOPE, you are wrong, there are no "errors" however I can understand your confusion. I have covered some of this in other videos and I although I try to avoid "rehashing" repetitious content of my other videos, it does sometimes cause gaps of knowledge to viewers. I appreciate you paying attention and watching the videos in detail. The strategy and sawing pattern on that log was correct. Let me explain further. I said at 3:23 - the area outside the defect will produce the highest grade boards but to clarify, I meant "the area outside the defect will produce the highest grade boards on the worst face of this log." Since it was the worst face, it should be sawn last, which is what I meant at 6:23. So basically, the defective side had the worst face but still had potentially high grade boards, and the general tendency of most sawyers I've seen and worked with is to mentally focus and concentrate on the worst face and fight it for the best boards, when in reality, the Sawyer should identify the best face and start there, and then come back and pick up the best possible boards of the worst face. The main problem is that if a Sawyer starts on the worst face, they may recover those high quality jacket boards, but may disrupt the high quality side side wood on the two adjoining higher grade faces, if not the entire log. To explain further, sidewood, which is a generic term used for the outer jacket boards on all four faces of a hardwood cant are all considered the best lumber in the log. Sidewood will always have the fewest knots, generally the lowest levels of stress, and the widest boards. As boards are taken off any of the the faces, going toward the center of the log, on any hardwood log, the knot and defect count will go up. Always. So the face with the major defect in the video appeared to have much of it's high grade sidewood intact, several boards worth, simply because the defect was toward the center, and more toward in the intrinsically lower value heart of the log. So although that face still had a potential for high value sidewood, which was proved to be true during the sawing process, that was by far the worst face of the four of that cant and should be sawn last. Does this clarify? Also, feel free to call me Robert, and thank's for your comments.
I watched you cut that log. Those are the fun ones. Do you can the center chunk or cut it down for skids? I can understand the confusion. And i know the plan might be best left fluid until you get it on the deck. Thanks
Your channel is awesome. Thank you so much for showing your wisdom, techniques and helping us, well at least me, understand how to cut good wood and bad wood as well. And like you said, not all wood is pretty, so to know how to cut ugly wood to make it pretty is a talent. Quick question though, would it be a good idea to cut your left over cant into stickers (can never have enough stickers) and use a little more of that ugly wood for good purposes. I only ask because you didn’t mention it. I do understand you are a business and might already have enough so was just curious.
Keep up the great work and wonderful knowledge. Thanks a bunch.
Excellent observation and question, and one that every hobby or business needs to address in detail. Yes, the left over wood could be salvaged to make other products, stickers, for example and even tomato stakes and pen turning blanks, and we used to do that, by the tens of thousands. However, I don't use solid stickers anymore, I use fluted ones, and can't make them form these pieces. Also, "scrap" is a relative term, we don't sell any non kiln dried wood, due to bugs and quality control, and for me to spend the effort to make this wood into a stackable thickness, sticker it, kiln dry it, dead stack it, plane it, and then sell it would be a loss of money. We used to save and sell everything including the sawdust and bark, but now we have to look at it from a profit and loss perspective and have done years worth of financial analysis on our waste streams. If it doesn't make money, and that includes our salary, they we don't do it. When our mill is running, our goal is to make $250 per hour which covers our costs and allows profit, including our salary, reinvestment capital, energy for the dust collectors, diesel, labor, and time. So if a process isn't making a high percentage of that, then we need to focus on things that do not make us money, and just eliminate it. For example, the wider boards in these videos, once kiln dried and ready to be sold may go for as much as $100 each, most go for $50 and I can saw a board in about 10 to 15 seconds. Of course, they still need to under go the whole drying process, but anything that gets in the way of that has to be evaluated as making profit or cutting into profit, or worse yet, costing money. So for me to concentrate on the scraps and not saw a board can really cost me a lot of money even though it looks like I should be making money, I'm actually costing money. We do however, give the scraps away to our customers, and sometimes giving things away for free is the best way to not lose money on them. It's also a perk for our customers, for example, in the winter they use our scraps as firewood, and while they are here, they also buy our product. Yes, I could sell the scraps as firewood and a lot of people do, but I can't make $250 an hour doing it without a major upgrade in specific equipment and hiring employees. This is an excellent subject for a video, I have seen so many business go out of business because they they don't properly evaluate where their profit is coming from and maximize it.
@HobbyHardwoodAlabama wow, now that is a ton of info and right on point with my question. Oh yeah, I forgot about that, you mentioned In a previous video about your spiral stickers and reminds me why they look the way they do. So many things I didn't think of and probably would have drawn me down if I had a business because I would have tried to maximize every little piece. You sure have given me something to think about and yes, would love to see this topic in a video like you mentioned if you have time, I can see you are a busy man.
Golden
Thanks!
I would bet there are some bowl blanks in the far end of the left over cant also.
Probably. Thanks for watching!
Can you tell me what the gray lumber racks in your retail shed is. Trying to find so for my space,Thank You O I really appreciate your videos being a new mill guy I’ve learned a lot from you!
Sure, we get the metal self units from Uline. Surprisingly strong and flat, and the main thing they don't have end braces so lumber can be loaded from the end, so make great racks. We have a lot of them. Thanks for watching!
@@HobbyHardwoodAlabama TKANK YOU FOR YOUR REPLY WILL CHECK THEM OUT
Chip is quite the critic! 😜
Yes he is, and he's smarter then I am, also.
Watching your videos is about all I can do right now not complaining maybe a little jealous, had surgery and not able to run my mill for a few months. Hope I can remember what I'm learning. I've been using the toe boards to center the pith, some of that thought process probably stemmed from working in high production mills with an Op[timil and then a gang saw that may still be the way to go when sawing pine into dimension lumber. What's your thoughts on that would I benefit to parallel bark sawing even on pine? Plus most of the other video's I've watched center the pith. Will definitely start parallel bark sawing any hardwood logs.
Pine is a pretty forgiving wood, but if I was making softwood furniture grade lumber I would parallel bark saw, at least the best face or two. For dimensional lumber, centering the pith is best. Thanks for watching!
I'm down below you, in Cold Springs.
I have some decent cherry and Walnut logs to go pick up in TN.
I have some large Black Walnut and persimmon that I believe that I need to get sometime this Winter.
Is there anything useful to be gotten from the time of year the tree is cut?
I figured you would know this probably better than most as you dry alot and sell the finished lumber.
Does it actually benefit you in anyway?
Wayne, you bear a remarkable resemblance to Donald T, you could be twins! Yes, the time of year the tree is cut can make a significant difference on some species, not so much on others. Any tree cut in the cooler months will have a slightly less tendency to develop end splits, and certainly, any light or white wood, including maple, will have a significantly increased tendency to discolor quickly in the warmer months do to enzyme staining. Persimmon is very prone to enzyme stain and the white wood darkening, so if you cut it in the winter, you will have a couple months of cooler weather before you mill it, while in the summer, you better be milling it in a matter of a couple weeks or less, to maintain it's white color. Walnut bark will slip off much easier in the Spring if you have a mill that doesn't have a debarker. Cherry, three is no real advantage what month it is cut.
@@HobbyHardwoodAlabama thank you, I like to hear the cry babies squealing some. But thanks a lot. Your up around Jones chapel?
What thickness are you milling those boards ? And thanks for all that you teach.
These were 1-1/8" thick off the mill.
Love it!
Thanks!
Mining Gold!!!
Thanks for watching!
Such an intelligent/smart Sawyer from the Bible belt. Personally waiting for the following clip. "What would Jesus Carpenter do, how would he saw?".
Thanks!
I'm with Chip. Tighten up. LOL
He is a tough one. Always watching and telling me how to do things.
Go chip! It just occurred to me, is it "chip" as in wood chip? Did you name your dog after a wood byproduct?
Yep. When we first brought him home at 5 weeks old, I had bought a whole yard full of puppy toys and when he got out of the truck and started running around, he totally ignored all the fancy and cute toys, and found a big bark chip and started playing with that! I still have that picture as the screen saver on my computer, him with his very first bark chip, half as big as he was. So I had a puppy that liked to play with bark chips more than rubber bones. Go figure. I thought "Bark" would be an odd name for a dog, so I named him "Chip" instead. To this day he still loves playing with bark chips, or hunks of wood, and you'll see in the videos he's almost always got one in his mouth.
How thick
To NHLA standards, hardwood scale 4/4 is cut to 1-1/8" and 8/4 is cut to 2-3/8" thick.
👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Thanks!
Is their any value in cutting the defect away then cutting a couple shorter boards after the original cuts?
Messes up the stack for drying with different length boards.
That is correct! Short or non standard thickness boards will mess up the drying stacks and cause real problems later.
@@HobbyHardwoodAlabama
No demand for the shorter ones as you cut them?
After you got the first 6 boards off, one other option would have been, with the hollow smile still vertical, slab the rest having the hollow in each slab. Now it all depends on the slab demand there, and whether there were more defects down the remaining portion of the log. Ugly logs make good epoxy slabs. "el perfecto" I didn't know you spoke spanish?! You musta had a sudden rainstorm as your wood is all wet, either that or you're copying Matt Cremona. :)) Brad_bb
I could have slabbed them, but I’m running low on 4/4 and needed about four thousand bdft on this load before I run out. Who’s Matt Cremona? Isn’t he the guy who runs bulldozers? I haven’t watched enough of his videos to see him run a sawmill, although I have watched him run excavators. I have found that wetting walnut allows me to show the beauty of the wood to my customers, who watch my videos and if they like the wood, will reserve it right off the mill. Sold as soon as it’s sawn. I don’t make any money off RUclips but I sure sell a lot of wood using it! I genuinely enjoy filming and showing our techniques to other sawmillers to help them out, but it’s also to show and educate our customers as to how we do things so they know they are buying first class wood. I hope when the walnut in this video comes out of the kiln ready to sell there is a notepad full of names and phone numbers who are in line to buy it. Since I’m doing this RUclips stuff for free, I have to make money from it somehow, and it free advertising. The thing is, these other 100K subscriber RUclipsrs channels get heavily, and I mean heavily, paid by RUclips as well as sponsored by lots of other companies but I only get sponsored by my company, Hobby Hardwood, and I have to make sure I get my money’s worth, or Chip and Martha will take away my cameras and fire me.
No spandex and usable wisdom!! Hard to believe it’s free.
It's not all free, you have to spend time and try to stay awake while you watch them! Thanks for watching a Spandex Free sawmill video.
@@HobbyHardwoodAlabama I’ve hobby sawed since 2012 with a lt35 Manuel mill. Two weeks ago I got a new 40 super hydraulic with diesel. Lots to learn. So I’m watching saying this guy knows. A bunch of others are just for laughs. Thanks
Not too shabby for a firewood log, ain’t that what he called it?
I henceforth dub thee
The Sawfather.
Thanks!
I'm more impressed than Chip was.
Chip is a pretty tough audience. I appreciate you watching!
Is that hat spandex 😂
You caught me!
What do you suggest for poor bastards like me that don’t have hydraulics? Besides making more money to buy a mill with hydraulics?
I started with a full manual LT15, and try to tailor a lot of my videos toward both hydraulic and manual sawmillers, because a manual mill will a lot of time cut more accurately than a high end full hydraulic. That’s why I try to explain the hows and whys more than just showing off the equipment, because all sawmilling takes effort, but manual takes more so it’s worth making good cuts and not wasting time and effort making bad cuts. Very good question, I need to make a video on the subject.
Didn't know a sawmill video could be cringy but too shay...
I know! I will tell Chip to tone it down. He gets that way sometimes! Thanks for watching!