I'm not sure why RUclips started recommending me your videos but, well, from the quality of the production to the information given, including the way you deliver jokes and all... it's just great.
I appreciate your efforts to saw good lumber- and your willingness to stay fully dressed unlike some on RUclips who think they have to wear spandex two sizes too small, and not much of that even! LOL There's a joke on the Forestry Forum about "spandex sawyers" who are only clickbait and NOT sawyers.
So far the channel is growing nicely. I haven’t had to resort to pulling out the spandex yet. Hopefully you all keep supporting the channel so it doesn’t have to come to that. 😁
I’ve found that if I cut out the “pith” of the log, I get less twist and deformation. I usually end up with an approximate 2”x2” pith post that I put in my firewood pile. It’s an old trick that I picked up from the “old timer” sawyers. Excellent video! Take care!
10:23 "Different situations are different." Goes into my words to live by. Along with "It depends" and "How does that work?"..."Oh, about how you'd figure."
Very good explanation...speaking as a carpenter and not a sawyer the 2by6 and 2by8 with the pyth in them are not very structural in typical framing because of the direction of growth rings (for the purpose of rafters and floor joist) but they make excellent deck boards because of the direction of the growth ring ...of course I'm speaking of maximum performance of the board and not all situations require maximum performance...cheers
Every time theres a new Wilson Forest Lands video, I have to watch it. Thanks for making fantastic content! I love the logging setup, its really unique and awesome to see how your system works. Thanks!
We have a wicked storm going on here right now, as I was trying to watch this video the power blinked off 3 times, after rebooting my computer 3 times the power went out again and stayed out. Now I have the generator running and was able to finish watching this video. The reason for my panic is that this subject is just what I needed as I just recently ordered a new Woodmizer mill(small homeowner dubber mill but a mill none the less) and I have no idea as to how to mill a log. Your explanation of your process was perfect and very helpful. I watch all your milling videos and find them fun, enjoyable and informative at the same time. Anyone out there considering a mill purchase, buy a woodmizer, they'll send you a nice little gift box with a couple hats, a pair of safety glasses, a sticker, a button, and even a pencil! Happy milling and take care
What? A pencil? I got gypped with mine, they didn’t send me a pencil with it. Thank you for the comment. It’s good to know when my videos are being helpful. Best of luck with the power outage and the milling.
You know, I've learned so much from my mistakes...that I think I will make some more!😂 I play around with my my LT35 hydraulic...never knew I had so many friends. 😮 I like your videos Sir.
Good explanation and walk through of your process. When I first started sawing I obsessed over quantity. Took me a while to realize the wood “lost” making quality lumber was still useful. Keeps the shop warm through the winter and the campfires burning in the summer. Enjoying your content, thank you.
Same here. I’d even look at getting short boards instead of slabbing thick on one end. With ‘throwaway’ wood like softwoods it’s just not worth wasting the time. Or wear and tear on blades. On mahogany or walnut it could be completely different.
That’s exactly the way I do it, from inside out. I agree about centering the pith being more important in hardwood. Even pine is more forgiving than oak, poplar, etc… Another great video!
It's good practice to center the pith to get the highest quality boards from you log. Keeping the grain as straight as possible with minimal run out makes for more stable boards.
5:05 “this tree is even more dead than the other one”. How does that work exactly?🤔😁 Excellent video! Great explanations as well as thoughts on wording and absolutes. Only two rules on pith, either center it or eliminate it. Just depends on your end goal.
I want more videos like this; you could explain the sawmill process with figured or spalted logs. In that case, you're going for the "prettiest" boards. As a woodworker, that's what interests me. I'm also excited to see very wide boards where you could glue 2 or 3 boards together for a table or other large furniture.
This was a good watch. I should take the time to explain the cuts in my videos. And those squiggly trees sure do make for a lot of waste. I just finished up my squigliest logs and left a quite a pile of off cuts. I like your technique.
Great video on explaining How you do it …. Boy am I glad you cleared that up. I was beginning to think I need to think on how I’m milling. I’m not milling like you do and maybe that’s a problem. Ok taking notes appreciate you sharing. 😂😂😂
There are few absolutes I agree. But one absolute, for sure, is don’t do it the way I’ve been doing it. lol I’m gonna hot the mill today and try this out. Thank you for the info!
The longer I play with milling the more I find myself saying ‘I used to think…’. The only absolute is always make sure the blade clears the dogs and backstops!
Might be one dumb Q, but are you cutting them on the inch scale or the 4 quarter scale, so the 1X6 and 2X6 are a full 1 inch and full 2" board ? Not 1" less the cut for the blade ? said it might be a dumb Q. All your video are very well done. Have to fire up my LT-15 GO and start cutting tons or cherry's that blew down last Sept, I'm putting a scissors jack for a toe board, and use my Bat. impact wrench to adjust it up or down. Bolted a cross member and attached the lift to it, works outstanding, Keep more video coming , great videos,👍👍👍👍
Pretty soon I'm going to be selling my bandsaw mill (I now use a Lucas swing blade). This method you're using is the way that I used to use my bandsaw, and I've never seen anybody else on youtube show this. I'm a perfectionist, and I used to love working from the centre, like you're demonstrating here. It's the one thing I miss about my bandsaw.
I haven’t tried to sell lumber since early summer. Just under $7 for 8 foot last I looked at the big box stores. I would likely need to discount it lower than that to motivate people to deal with the inconvenience of scheduling a time and place to buy it from me.
I log and mill here in Colorado….Doug fir and Pondo. I like to mark the butt with a cabinet makers triangle on my grade A logs for easy book matching boards. Bsafe
Great video mate, as usual. Just a quick question.. do you allow for the thickness of the blade or is it not significant.?.. as you said, you ain't making a Mars rover. Keep the videos coming, also any hints on controlling the weather? I'm in the southern hemisphere so it may be opposite 😅
The extra care taken when milling just makes for better end product - should get you a better price (I hope) If I weren’t on the opposite coast I’d be adding you to my supplier list. Nicely explained. The other option, at least on a larger log , is to cut a 4x4 6x6 with the pith boxed in the center - theory goes you get a stable beam as the shrinking is equal (ish) on all four faces for all the reasons you listed. You get some QS (ish) boards clear of pith - never a bad thing, and then your normal yield above and below. Options, options options - the log will tell you if you ask it. Nice vid !
Well done sir, a video version of what you 'splained to me during your visit. I've been putting your sage milling acumen to work for me -- only I don't have "Turbo-Mode" on my Timbery M100 E. Gotta order me that after-market conversion like you and North-West Sawyer have. Cheers from (a foggy) Linn County
You seem to be only cutting 2 inch or 1 inch boards, what about some 1 1/2 inch fence rails, or even some 7/8 floor boards. From what I remember from woodwork classes 60 years ago, some mills would cut some at 60 degrees radial angle, to make boards that had a better grain structure ( maybe for furniture.)
OSHA says that any log with 1 milled surface is a cant. USDA says a cant has at least 2 surfaces at 90 degrees. EVERYBODY else says 4 milled sides. Remember that this is your channel and you can call it anything you want; like "Gloria".
That sounds like OSHA and the USDA. Coming up with something completely ridiculous. I like the part about calling it whatever I want. Gloria could be a good name for it. Either way, Gloria sounds interesting. I will have to check her out. I wonder if she wears spandex
I find its faster to cut bug wood , because I am not trying to get every last scrap out of a log . We get grubs or chew bugs in white pine and also spruce if it is left in the pile to long , here in Nova Scotia Canada .
Hi- I love your content, thank you. Why do you mostly do full dimensional 2" thick lumber, instead of 1.5" thick boards? Is that more of a western thing?
Back when I was selling lumber for a while, a lot of people appreciated the full dimension. It was something they were able to get from me that they weren’t able to get from Lowe’s and Home Depot. For myself I just like the looks of it. It doesn’t look as impotent as the 1.5 or 3/4 material. And maybe mostly it’s just easier to calculate when milling. I already have enough to think about while milling and doing video at the same time. Throwing in halves and 3/4 into the mix just complicates things. 😁
What's the market like for this kind of dimension lumber? Do you forward the cut boards onto someone with a kiln and planer, to make standard-sized dimension lumber? Is there just a secondary economy out there of builders who use true-to-size two-by's? Or is this just lumber for your own projects, where you don't answer to anybody but yourself?
I'd like to hear about what you do with the lumber after you saw it. Do you air dry it, then do you plane any, or other mill work to get higher quality finish and also to get it dimension of building lumber?
When the price of lumber shot up to ridiculous in the last couple years I was selling it green as it. Now I am just milling some for my own use to use as is. Not sure what I’m going to do with the rest.
Are you calculating for kerf loss or only using a scale on the mill? How does this scale allow for this when switching from 1” or 2”? You cut down to a 6x8 but with kerf loss wouldn’t your last cut not be less the kerf of the previous cuts?
Since the boards are going to shrink anyway and be smaller than the exact dimension, I don’t bother with factoring in the kerf. If I make a 2 inch board, it’s 2 inch minus shrinkage and the kerf. It saves a lot of calculations and potential misscuts and wasted wood. I have enough to think about while milling and doing video at the same time. So I keep it simple. 😁
To answer the other part of your question, the scale on the mill like this simply shows where the blade is in height above the bed. It cannot calculate kerf because you have different sizes of lumber, so different total kerfs on any log. All 1” will mean twice the kerfs of all 2”. Fancy mills have computers that will calculate the kerf if you program in what you want. On this mill the kerf is only 1/8” so kind of negligible. On a circle blade mill it’s 3/8” or even 1/4” so it adds up fast and you tend to calculate it more.
How exact are those measurements? does the machine do some automatic calibrating when you move it up or down 2 inches , or is it just the skill of the miller and handywork?
I don’t bother. Since the wood is going to shrink some as it dries, it’s not going to be exact dimension anyway. And I have too many things to think about as it is milling and making video at the same time. 😁
Great info! Question...Is the last board coming off the bed slightly thicker than your other boards? If not, I'm doing something wrong on my LT15. I don't know how to factor in the kerf.
Our lt15s just show the height of the blade above the deck. Adjust the pointer so that if it’s on 1”, the clear distance is 1”, meaning that last board’s thickness would be exactly whatever the pointer shows. You have to add/subtract 1/8” for each kerf and adjust accordingly. Let’s say you start at 9” on the cant and want all 1” boards. That’s 8 cuts/8 kerfs, so you will lose 1” to sawdust. Meaning you won’t get 9 boards but rather 8. But wait- now that means you only make 7 cuts, so your last board is 1/8” ‘heavy’ or slightly thicker. If you started with the top of the cant at 8 7/8” your last board should be exactly 1”. Now you just drop 11/8” per cut- first cut at 7 3/4”, next cut at 6 5/8”, etc. Hope that makes sense!
Looking further into your video, I see that is not the case always. I have the same sawmill as you have that I am getting ready to use for the first time on a 1500 sqft hickory floor project. I was concerned about bark and dirt dulling my blade too quickly.
I used to debark the whole logs in the spring when the bark was loose. I have a crowbar tool I used for that. I use the flat end of it like a bark spud.. Now I’m just using an ax to chop a clean line in the path of the blade. It’s not ideal but it’s what I’ve come up with at the moment.
I looked up the definition of cant to put a hypothetical question out there. Definition was all over the place from single cut to four sides cut. Sooo, I decided to leave that one alone😎
It's called a cant once two sides are cut. I know, I already said that. Regards today's video, Jan.17,2024, you can't do anything about "NitPickers". My wife is a NitPicker. I try to ignore it and just say "Yes Dear".It makes life so much easier. Less arguing. I don't try to change her mind. It's just the way she is. Same with some of the people that send you emails nit picking. Not telling you what to do. Just suggesting. Good Luck. I sure enjoy your vids.
I have no idea why i was leaving so much. Especially since i don't have a mill. As a non paid professional, youtube watcher have an understanding of why others do what they are doing
![The Biggest Log I've Ever Sawn [6' between the guides]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/3RUdsucXJB0/mqdefault.jpg)
I'm not sure why RUclips started recommending me your videos but, well, from the quality of the production to the information given, including the way you deliver jokes and all... it's just great.
Very informative.
I appreciate your efforts to saw good lumber- and your willingness to stay fully dressed unlike some on RUclips who think they have to wear spandex two sizes too small, and not much of that even! LOL
There's a joke on the Forestry Forum about "spandex sawyers" who are only clickbait and NOT sawyers.
So far the channel is growing nicely. I haven’t had to resort to pulling out the spandex yet. Hopefully you all keep supporting the channel so it doesn’t have to come to that. 😁
“For crying out loud” has been on the shelf too long.
Thanks for bringing it back, love it.
I’ve found that if I cut out the “pith” of the log, I get less twist and deformation. I usually end up with an approximate 2”x2” pith post that I put in my firewood pile. It’s an old trick that I picked up from the “old timer” sawyers.
Excellent video! Take care!
And if you cut that 2 x 2 out, I imagine you are getting a couple pieces of good quarter sawn on each side of it. It’s a good tip.
10:23 "Different situations are different." Goes into my words to live by. Along with "It depends" and "How does that work?"..."Oh, about how you'd figure."
Very good explanation...speaking as a carpenter and not a sawyer the 2by6 and 2by8 with the pyth in them are not very structural in typical framing because of the direction of growth rings (for the purpose of rafters and floor joist) but they make excellent deck boards because of the direction of the growth ring ...of course I'm speaking of maximum performance of the board and not all situations require maximum performance...cheers
Good information there. That would make a good video, explaining all of that. I might do one myself if I was more knowledgeable about that.
I can afford a mill but i can't afford the heavy equipment to move the logs. I guess that I can use a winch.
@@WilsonForestLands Hi, can You harvest aircraft graded spruce wood timber??? The cut pattern and ring pattern/density have specific rules...
I don’t have spruce on my forest lands.
@@WilsonForestLands I think essential craftsman said something similar in his "how to not buy crap lumber" video.
Every time theres a new Wilson Forest Lands video, I have to watch it. Thanks for making fantastic content! I love the logging setup, its really unique and awesome to see how your system works. Thanks!
And thank you for watching and your comment. People watching and enjoying them keeps me doing more.
So, picked up a nugget on this one - basing all cuts *from* the pith, rather than viewing the log from the outside > in. Good stuff!
It seems to be the way all the cool kids are doing it these days. Recently I thought I would give it a try and it works well.
We have a wicked storm going on here right now, as I was trying to watch this video the power blinked off 3 times, after rebooting my computer 3 times the power went out again and stayed out. Now I have the generator running and was able to finish watching this video. The reason for my panic is that this subject is just what I needed as I just recently ordered a new Woodmizer mill(small homeowner dubber mill but a mill none the less) and I have no idea as to how to mill a log. Your explanation of your process was perfect and very helpful. I watch all your milling videos and find them fun, enjoyable and informative at the same time. Anyone out there considering a mill purchase, buy a woodmizer, they'll send you a nice little gift box with a couple hats, a pair of safety glasses, a sticker, a button, and even a pencil! Happy milling and take care
What? A pencil? I got gypped with mine, they didn’t send me a pencil with it. Thank you for the comment. It’s good to know when my videos are being helpful. Best of luck with the power outage and the milling.
I find cutting flitches very satisfying on my mill
Dang, I understand how cutting is done now. :)
Excellent vid. Well spoken and taught.
Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for the encouragement.
You know, I've learned so much from my mistakes...that I think I will make some more!😂 I play around with my my LT35 hydraulic...never knew I had so many friends. 😮 I like your videos Sir.
You may be like me, have several degrees from the university of hard knocks. 😁
Time to watch Mr. Wilson with my morning coffee and then head out to the barn.
It’s good that you have your priorities straight. 😁
@@WilsonForestLands Barely sir
Good explanation and walk through of your process. When I first started sawing I obsessed over quantity. Took me a while to realize the wood “lost” making quality lumber was still useful. Keeps the shop warm through the winter and the campfires burning in the summer. Enjoying your content, thank you.
Same here. I’d even look at getting short boards instead of slabbing thick on one end. With ‘throwaway’ wood like softwoods it’s just not worth wasting the time. Or wear and tear on blades. On mahogany or walnut it could be completely different.
That’s exactly the way I do it, from inside out. I agree about centering the pith being more important in hardwood. Even pine is more forgiving than oak, poplar, etc… Another great video!
Thank you,. I have milled very little hardwood but seems like it is more important with those.
It's good practice to center the pith to get the highest quality boards from you log. Keeping the grain as straight as possible with minimal run out makes for more stable boards.
Yes a good practice, well said.
5:05 “this tree is even more dead than the other one”. How does that work exactly?🤔😁
Excellent video! Great explanations as well as thoughts on wording and absolutes.
Only two rules on pith, either center it or eliminate it. Just depends on your end goal.
I'm building a house with doug fir and oak. So a sister video to this one with oak would be lovely!
I would be happy to do that if only I was milling oak. It’s the Douglas fir trees here that are dying and I am leaving my oaks standing.
Terrific presentation and explanation. If I had a mill and if I had trees, I'd do it your way!
Thank you. I suppose it’s the thoughts of doing it my way that counts?
I like the way that you use the blade as a visual . Another good video!
I want more videos like this; you could explain the sawmill process with figured or spalted logs. In that case, you're going for the "prettiest" boards. As a woodworker, that's what interests me. I'm also excited to see very wide boards where you could glue 2 or 3 boards together for a table or other large furniture.
thanks for splainin your approach, the centered pith makes perfect sense to me
Happy to do the splanin’, thanks for watching and commenting.
This was a good watch. I should take the time to explain the cuts in my videos. And those squiggly trees sure do make for a lot of waste. I just finished up my squigliest logs and left a quite a pile of off cuts. I like your technique.
Explaining my cuts in videos might be helpful but sure makes for a long day of video recording. 😁 Thanks for the comment.
This was a very much needed video for me to help determine where, why, and how to make the cuts. Well presented. Thank you!👍👌👏👀💪
Great video on explaining
How you do it …. Boy am I glad you cleared that up. I was beginning to think I need to think on how I’m milling. I’m not milling like you do and maybe that’s a problem. Ok taking notes appreciate you sharing.
😂😂😂
Thanks for your videos, enjoy them, everyday is an education.
excellent! thanks👍
Good old American quality!! 🤩Greetings from Poland!
There are few absolutes I agree. But one absolute, for sure, is don’t do it the way I’ve been doing it. lol
I’m gonna hot the mill today and try this out. Thank you for the info!
The longer I play with milling the more I find myself saying ‘I used to think…’. The only absolute is always make sure the blade clears the dogs and backstops!
@@brucea550 yes, I proved that that is an absolute a few times. 🤣
Interesting thanks for explaining.
Hmmm, what changes to the mill could be coming??? 🤔
And he drops another cliffhanger. 😁
Very interesting ones...
Might be one dumb Q, but are you cutting them on the inch scale or the 4 quarter scale, so the 1X6 and 2X6 are a full 1 inch and full 2" board ? Not 1" less the cut for the blade ? said it might be a dumb Q. All your video are very well done. Have to fire up my LT-15 GO and start cutting tons or cherry's that blew down last Sept, I'm putting a scissors jack for a toe board, and use my Bat. impact wrench to adjust it up or down. Bolted a cross member and attached the lift to it, works outstanding, Keep more video coming , great videos,👍👍👍👍
Thank you. A very informative and well explained video.
Awesome video for folks wanting to cut to grade. Thanks for sharing!
Your splainin was clear as mud! Love it, great job. You cut some beautiful boards. Thanks for all you do. Stay safe, and God bless
Pretty soon I'm going to be selling my bandsaw mill (I now use a Lucas swing blade). This method you're using is the way that I used to use my bandsaw, and I've never seen anybody else on youtube show this. I'm a perfectionist, and I used to love working from the centre, like you're demonstrating here. It's the one thing I miss about my bandsaw.
a "precant" with half of the sides necessary for a full cant might be considered to be a "half Cant"
What's the 2 x 8 rough sawm selling for today ? Very informative video, as always. Thanks.
I haven’t tried to sell lumber since early summer. Just under $7 for 8 foot last I looked at the big box stores. I would likely need to discount it lower than that to motivate people to deal with the inconvenience of scheduling a time and place to buy it from me.
I log and mill here in Colorado….Doug fir and Pondo. I like to mark the butt with a cabinet makers triangle on my grade A logs for easy book matching boards. Bsafe
It's a great video, I always have trouble cutting the log, knowing where to start, very well explained..
Great video mate, as usual. Just a quick question.. do you allow for the thickness of the blade or is it not significant.?.. as you said, you ain't making a Mars rover. Keep the videos coming, also any hints on controlling the weather? I'm in the southern hemisphere so it may be opposite 😅
what you using all that awesome sawdust for?! Mulch-lover here, really enjoy your videos, cheers!
Thanks, Mr. Wilson; good watchin'.
Very good tutorial, Never will have a band saw but it never hurts to dream😊
The extra care taken when milling just makes for better end product - should get you a better price (I hope)
If I weren’t on the opposite coast I’d be adding you to my supplier list.
Nicely explained.
The other option, at least on a larger log , is to cut a 4x4 6x6 with the pith boxed in the center - theory goes you get a stable beam as the shrinking is equal (ish) on all four faces for all the reasons you listed.
You get some QS (ish) boards clear of pith - never a bad thing, and then your normal yield above and below.
Options, options options - the log will tell you if you ask it.
Nice vid !
Spoke to soon. Just watched your video on how you deal with kerf.Thanks again
Thanks much for an outstandingly informative video. I would say you have done a through job of 'splainin good pointers for milling.
Thank you for the feedback. I wasn’t sure if that was all going to be clear or not.
Hello I like your video I think you really know what you talking about. Can you show how you sharpen blades
Well done sir, a video version of what you 'splained to me during your visit.
I've been putting your sage milling acumen to work for me -- only I don't have "Turbo-Mode" on my Timbery M100 E.
Gotta order me that after-market conversion like you and North-West Sawyer have.
Cheers from (a foggy) Linn County
good job with explanation of this method, merry christmas and a happy new year to you and yours
Thank you, I appreciate the comment and same to you.
I want to mill just like you, Benton County 😊😊
That really explained that well. Keep it up.
Thank you, I wasn’t sure how clear that would be.
Btw. Nice story channel in some of the parts i can see a sawmilling.
You seem to be only cutting 2 inch or 1 inch boards, what about some 1 1/2 inch fence rails, or even some 7/8 floor boards. From what I remember from woodwork classes 60 years ago, some mills would cut some at 60 degrees radial angle, to make boards that had a better grain structure ( maybe for furniture.)
Another great video, so much for me to learn, thanks for sharing
OSHA says that any log with 1 milled surface is a cant. USDA says a cant has at least 2 surfaces at 90 degrees. EVERYBODY else says 4 milled sides.
Remember that this is your channel and you can call it anything you want; like "Gloria".
That sounds like OSHA and the USDA. Coming up with something completely ridiculous. I like the part about calling it whatever I want. Gloria could be a good name for it. Either way, Gloria sounds interesting. I will have to check her out. I wonder if she wears spandex
Good explanation! Nice vid. Im sawing today using your method.
Thank you, hopefully it works out well for you.
Great knowledge of your work.superb
I find its faster to cut bug wood , because I am not trying to get every last scrap out of a log .
We get grubs or chew bugs in white pine and also spruce if it is left in the pile to long , here in Nova Scotia Canada .
How about some quartersawing?
Jiminy Christmas (do people still say that) I think I recently asked you the very question this video answered. Oops 🤦🏻♂️👍🏼👍🏼
Thanks for the lessons.
You are welcome and thanks for watching and commenting.
Great video! Makes perfect sense to me!
Thank you, I like your RUclips name.
I was curious: Do you have to turn off the saw between cuts? Can you show the action whereby you return the saw to the ready position?
Very well done!
Thank you Andy.
Excellent explanation!!!
Hi- I love your content, thank you. Why do you mostly do full dimensional 2" thick lumber, instead of 1.5" thick boards? Is that more of a western thing?
Back when I was selling lumber for a while, a lot of people appreciated the full dimension. It was something they were able to get from me that they weren’t able to get from Lowe’s and Home Depot. For myself I just like the looks of it. It doesn’t look as impotent as the 1.5 or 3/4 material. And maybe mostly it’s just easier to calculate when milling. I already have enough to think about while milling and doing video at the same time. Throwing in halves and 3/4 into the mix just complicates things. 😁
Quite informative.
👍
If the leftovers where a bit larger you could talk quarter sawn but that just might add to the confusion 😃
If the logs in general were bigger I could do more quarter sawn. 😁
Thanks for the info..
👍
Which end is at the beginning of the cut? The butt end of the log or the tapered higher part of the trunk
Is there still larvae in the out portion with the bug wholes, if so does it render the outer boards useless or is there other uses for them?
How are you accounting for the blade thickness? Thanks.
Enjoy your videos, however I have a question. When you move your saw height and talk of 2x’s, is your scale set up to allow for the blade kerf? Thanks
What's the market like for this kind of dimension lumber? Do you forward the cut boards onto someone with a kiln and planer, to make standard-sized dimension lumber? Is there just a secondary economy out there of builders who use true-to-size two-by's? Or is this just lumber for your own projects, where you don't answer to anybody but yourself?
I'd like to hear about what you do with the lumber after you saw it. Do you air dry it, then do you plane any, or other mill work to get higher quality finish and also to get it dimension of building lumber?
When the price of lumber shot up to ridiculous in the last couple years I was selling it green as it. Now I am just milling some for my own use to use as is. Not sure what I’m going to do with the rest.
About how much shrinkage from the true dimensions you saw do you have in your final product after drying?
Are you calculating for kerf loss or only using a scale on the mill? How does this scale allow for this when switching from 1” or 2”?
You cut down to a 6x8 but with kerf loss wouldn’t your last cut not be less the kerf of the previous cuts?
Since the boards are going to shrink anyway and be smaller than the exact dimension, I don’t bother with factoring in the kerf. If I make a 2 inch board, it’s 2 inch minus shrinkage and the kerf. It saves a lot of calculations and potential misscuts and wasted wood. I have enough to think about while milling and doing video at the same time. So I keep it simple. 😁
To answer the other part of your question, the scale on the mill like this simply shows where the blade is in height above the bed. It cannot calculate kerf because you have different sizes of lumber, so different total kerfs on any log. All 1” will mean twice the kerfs of all 2”. Fancy mills have computers that will calculate the kerf if you program in what you want.
On this mill the kerf is only 1/8” so kind of negligible. On a circle blade mill it’s 3/8” or even 1/4” so it adds up fast and you tend to calculate it more.
How exact are those measurements? does the machine do some automatic calibrating when you move it up or down 2 inches , or is it just the skill of the miller and handywork?
How do you, or do you account for the kerf in dimensional lumber?
Since the wood is going to shrink anyway as it dries, it’s not going to be exact anyway so I ignore the kerf.
A video worth watching multiple times.
How do you account for blade kerf, or do you bother
I don’t bother. Since the wood is going to shrink some as it dries, it’s not going to be exact dimension anyway. And I have too many things to think about as it is milling and making video at the same time. 😁
Looking for a good 2x6 to build a mars rover,got anything on hand?Lol .Marry Christmas
Not out of this batch. We will see if I can get some Mars Rover grade material out of the next one. 😁
Cool video Wilson
Thank you as always Wheelloader.
Great info! Question...Is the last board coming off the bed slightly thicker than your other boards? If not, I'm doing something wrong on my LT15. I don't know how to factor in the kerf.
Our lt15s just show the height of the blade above the deck. Adjust the pointer so that if it’s on 1”, the clear distance is 1”, meaning that last board’s thickness would be exactly whatever the pointer shows.
You have to add/subtract 1/8” for each kerf and adjust accordingly. Let’s say you start at 9” on the cant and want all 1” boards. That’s 8 cuts/8 kerfs, so you will lose 1” to sawdust. Meaning you won’t get 9 boards but rather 8. But wait- now that means you only make 7 cuts, so your last board is 1/8” ‘heavy’ or slightly thicker. If you started with the top of the cant at 8 7/8” your last board should be exactly 1”. Now you just drop 11/8” per cut- first cut at 7 3/4”, next cut at 6 5/8”, etc.
Hope that makes sense!
A LOG BECOMES A CANT AFTER ANY TWO SIDES OF IT ARE CUT. HELPFUL?
I see that you are debarking your logs before cutting. What tool are you using?
Looking further into your video, I see that is not the case always. I have the same sawmill as you have that I am getting ready to use for the first time on a 1500 sqft hickory floor project. I was concerned about bark and dirt dulling my blade too quickly.
I used to debark the whole logs in the spring when the bark was loose. I have a crowbar tool I used for that. I use the flat end of it like a bark spud.. Now I’m just using an ax to chop a clean line in the path of the blade. It’s not ideal but it’s what I’ve come up with at the moment.
Awesome video because: 1. Weather magic. 2. If it's not a cant it must be a can. Which you obviously can do. 3. A small helping of pithy philosophy.
what about kref ?
meanwhile, commercial mills are selling boards with as few as one corner.
For the love of Pete (and i don't even know a pete!)
I don’t either but I think my grandma may have known one. It may have been a different one though because she used to say “for Pete’s sake”.
Yes, you do! Your neighbour to the North.@@WilsonForestLands
I looked up the definition of cant to put a hypothetical question out there. Definition was all over the place from single cut to four sides cut. Sooo, I decided to leave that one alone😎
For cryin' out loud--- heavens ta Betsy.
For Pete’s sake and suffering succotash.
@@WilsonForestLands You can say that again
It's called a cant once two sides are cut. I know, I already said that.
Regards today's video, Jan.17,2024, you can't do anything about "NitPickers". My wife is a NitPicker. I try to ignore it and just say "Yes Dear".It makes life so much easier. Less arguing. I don't try to change her mind. It's just the way she is. Same with some of the people that send you emails nit picking. Not telling you what to do. Just suggesting. Good Luck. I sure enjoy your vids.
It’s a good suggestion. Hopefully you don’t mind I had to laugh about the part about your wife. 😂
not a problem. I have a similar sense of humour as you.
I have no idea why i was leaving so much. Especially since i don't have a mill. As a non paid professional, youtube watcher have an understanding of why others do what they are doing