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Since several folks seemed to enjoy seeing the equipment I use to move logs around, I thought I'd show some more photos, focusing more on the mill. After bringing a log to the mill with the log arch and ATV, it gets rolled up the ramps using a cable and winch by a technique known as parbuckling. That simply means that the cable goes over the top of the log, then under it and back to the mill. Here's another walnut log with the cable over it, ready to roll up the ramps. The ramps rest on the side rail and index into the bunks; no other attachment.
![[Image: AP1GczNiPuO2hW_A6hwrMuFLPd8H_Iq68dyGOs1N...authuser=1]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczNiPuO2hW_A6hwrMuFLPd8H_Iq68dyGOs1NuZoH8_zntapsY0avVyS0noaiJ2ZRDzluRUoLr_DtQ1ntYTj0xlTHnmyfJxOcR-kqa0GDV_YAF87PHdczVTyr62UONT3SIuTR1k_a8OxGzYrKt4AfF8w_gQ=w1460-h821-s-no?authuser=1)
The ramps are rated for 4000 lbs, as is the mill, but I see some bow in them and haven't had a log over maybe 3000 lbs on them. Still, they are pretty strong for their size. I have a remote for operating the winch, and that's important because with only one cable the log can and does often walk sideways as it goes up the ramps, in which case I have to steer it back on track. Often, this means using a 2 x 4, etc. to lever one end of the log up, or blocking the low end and then letting out some cable so the high end slips back down to straighten out the log. With even, round logs, it's an easy process, but with bent logs, or ones with big knobs on them, it can often be quite an ordeal. Worst case, the log slides off one of the ramps. I've had that happen a couple of times. Of course, two winches and two cables would solve that problem, but I haven't done it yet.
![[Image: AP1GczMw-yI2o7lDiIcd6_Y6tkfy_vGSx4dc4tU5...authuser=1]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczMw-yI2o7lDiIcd6_Y6tkfy_vGSx4dc4tU5OfGB5luQabDjEx_JWJ_Fz3GMEb4rc0YyAFpTRYH6No4EjtS8n-C-bxOqKWdT2wfEn4pMW5EAq8VE5zStDH9BRYryVt0AV_9RbkxDQKWei4E45t8ZyyzjPg=w1460-h821-s-no?authuser=1)
This log was nice a round and went up the ramps w/o issue.
![[Image: AP1GczOTNX35VanhxwpXFrBJjLO1rKrexBwXHeP-...authuser=1]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczOTNX35VanhxwpXFrBJjLO1rKrexBwXHeP-fk2Q6xfXMlsiop0UXQ7a51RJF4E4FrYOX8RLLhK-RQuS5bTyh8DBGjZaCrerNs10SHH0PV1UPn0dHJUwLuKA5-E8xz0zmDfCvqQVGmEBloNWuE273JdT2Q=w1460-h821-s-no?authuser=1)
If the log has a large difference in diameter from one end to the other, I lever up the small end and slide a block of wood underneath so that the centerline of the log is parallel with the bunks. You'd be surprised how large a log you can handle with just a 4 x 4 lever, easily 800 lbs if you are 6 to 8 ft beyond the fulcrum, with 2 ft going under the log. To check if the top of the log is parallel with the bunks, I raise the mill head up until the blade is on top and then roll it down the rails to see how large the gap is. If you want to get the centerline of the log parallel with the bunks, you just measure down from the blade to the center at both ends. There's a debate as to the best approach. You will get the greatest lumber yield if you put the centerline parallel with the bunks. But if the log has defects on one side, for example, but is clear on the other, then you will get the most high-quality lumber by putting that face parallel with the bunks.
Dirt is the enemy of saw blade life, and logs almost always have some dirt in the bark. I use a small spud to remove the bulk of the embedded dirt on the front side of the log, where the blade enters the cut. I don't worry about it much on the back side.
![[Image: AP1GczPAUOI8Vxwi026IZHsTTdPUmswZokbOq4Yi...authuser=1]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczPAUOI8Vxwi026IZHsTTdPUmswZokbOq4Yi1PkZYUamp1GMWosssZsTUr3BRQC-ohDWPYowuY-21GLgI3L1js4dO0OxyZjt-YvI_KwvnNycGtsKS2ED__jlne7ILldwMlv280ZOgBcDibjOE4ug6Jg4XA=w1460-h821-s-no?authuser=1)
The mill itself is from Woodland Mills, a Canadian company, bought before we suddenly got the notion to treat them like something other than a friend. It's a kit with literally 1000 nuts and bolts to assemble, but the well written assembly manual is easy to follow, and the mill has given me essentially no trouble in the 5 or 6 years I've owned it. I've cut 10's of thousands of BF with it. It is a horizontal bandsaw that rides on a vertical carriage, and the carriage rolls along the rails on wheels.
![[Image: AP1GczO5yUFkahO9PijQQMx4T9_7zpra1rImI1V_...authuser=1]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczO5yUFkahO9PijQQMx4T9_7zpra1rImI1V_1nhYz-eTXlNxpkp1dXf3Y7C8hKO98-EQ8lZnc9IlQLsAaIL2lCO_oY-2hBlcQwwwbyBMd6PQ48V307C0-zLubNBhooavIpwm8j4wBxMwL2FdiVkpVgs-1A=w498-h885-s-no?authuser=1)
You can see the water tank on top, which provides lubricant for cutting. I never use it while cutting because it will leave black streaks in the wood, especially oak. But I do use it to clean the blade after a cut if I see junk sticking to the blade. Because the blade on my mill rides on rubber tires, and one is the drive belt, you can only use water with dish soap in it for lubricant. On some mills, the blade rides on the metal wheel directly, and they can use petroleum based lubricant, often diesel fuel. You also see a torque wrench hanging on the end of the blade tension mechanism. With my mill, you set the tension to 25 lb-ft of torque. I measured what that means in actual blade tension, and found it was 24 ksi. That's the same as I run on my large shop bandsaw for resawing. The blade on the mill is a 1-1/4" x 144" x 0.042" blade with 7/8 inch/tooth, or about 1.1 teeth/inch.
Here you can see the throttle handle and elevation crank. You can just see the battery box, too, next to the 14 hp Kohler motor. I bought the model with an electric start motor; glad I did. On the green metal plate on the back of the mill you can see a valve. That controls lubricant flow to the blade. The lube flows out of a small tube fixed to the right side blade guides, where it falls onto the blade. It works OK, but only puts lube on the inside of the blade, which is the most important side. But some other companies have systems that apply lube to both sides of the blade, which takes care of buildup on the outside of the blade, too, which makes cutting more efficient. The elevation crank turns a screw mechanism that wraps or unwraps the cable you see going up over the pulley, on both sides, to raise or lower the mill head.
![[Image: AP1GczPzIG5Z46a_k9JsAMLY2irCf635PX3oMBuU...authuser=1]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczPzIG5Z46a_k9JsAMLY2irCf635PX3oMBuUSalJKv1-mOWi5cVOJsxY2YiTOL39AfyckWXIi9FtFiRwUBGZjdlgpo4KYEGcJvenmkypX6IXjO3MrXcszdi0kbdFaHkEpD_mj8ehV5HuInEAIXup3IzJuQ=w1460-h821-s-no?authuser=1)
Here you can see where the lube hose connects to the back of the right hand guides. On the left you see my kitty litter bucket, used to catch sawdust. It's much easier to deal with it straight off the mill, than to shovel buckets of it later. One large log will easily fill a 40 gal garbage can with sawdust. On the left side of the mill head you can see four bolts going into a piece of square tubing. Those are used to adjust the drive wheel to be coplaner with the driven wheel. If the wheels aren't coplaner the blade will not stay on. It might be OK on some bandsaws, but not on this one. Also on the back of the mill, you can see the taillights on the trailer. The trailer is street legal and, surprisingly, needs no license plate to take down the road in NYS.
Running a sawmill involves adjustments every time you use it and some sort of maintenance at short intervals. As such, you need a fairly well-equipped tool bag.
![[Image: AP1GczNEuhRumb8o7oMHsowJNkSTFwRgHaHCZfN1...authuser=1]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczNEuhRumb8o7oMHsowJNkSTFwRgHaHCZfN1eyyuNTz6i3JTCX0Tp-5i3ubNER06rB_f0qGfi36ey8G5i9SCU6dFXciwLvp0QTi4FF35WQ8lGXc7NFrRcOQ1HJw1cWQvtaPT3vLm7p-delCXjRFCAQwBQA=w1460-h821-s-no?authuser=1)
The business side of the saw head shows the blade running over the 19" cast iron wheels. The drive belt also serves as the tire for the blade on the drive wheel, which is darned clever. The engine has a centrifugal clutch and there is an idler wheel to tension the belt. The driven wheel has a polyurethane tire on it for the blade to ride on.
![[Image: AP1GczNkt9rGmvmB-7C3vlGzrrQ40P7PAAYT3E_y...authuser=1]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczNkt9rGmvmB-7C3vlGzrrQ40P7PAAYT3E_yv453nokWtjTMpmTZfX_ZGHDKARFR0Iwmc5dAUKu7TS4kL77jBWIeUJmEoonX7gnqKxikQVuRi-cjZrF0H0e5Edvq84hW6LLeQYRPpT78vXDsAMPQmqgbSA=w1460-h821-s-no?authuser=1)
When either tire wears too much, the blade will start to contact the cast iron wheel itself and jump off the wheels. That, as well as when a blade breaks, makes quite a noise and often ends up as a twisted mess inside the blade covers. You can see the blade guides, too. They are similar to what's on a cast iron Delta bandsaw. There are steel blocks on each side of the blade, and a trust bearing behind the blade. You also can see the lube tube on the left side, on top of the right guides.
Blades last anywhere for one cut, if you hit metal, to maybe 500 bf of lumber before they get dull. It's easy to tell when they are getting dull, as it takes more effort to push the sawhead through the cut. You can feel that a tooth doesn't catch your fingernail anymore either. I sharpen my own blades; the subject of another post.
Milling lumber means racking lumber to dry, unless you put it directly into a kiln. I use simple drying racks made of 4 x 4's on top of cinder blocks or larger blocks of wood. You want the racks to be high enough so the bottom row of lumber is far enough above the ground so that air can circulate underneath to dry, and you want the cross beams to be in the same plane so the lumber stays flat. I shim the main beams or cross beams, as needed, to get the cross beams aligned.
![[Image: AP1GczMTlDaqEaqflWVtJz4wvuFqiHWaKPdgGlLW...authuser=1]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczMTlDaqEaqflWVtJz4wvuFqiHWaKPdgGlLWb5E-fHBEAQcEPNCQs1kAOPBTBGzt9Lc1oo5pE8PrwiV3xuhwYuBLQoFn-mf9PE8quZzh2ap1aR0LcuYoZaCrmvyrzEScn7yPZjfZK8brs1buLzrXjlu9Cw=w498-h885-s-no?authuser=1)
The lumber sits on narrow stickers. I used to use wooden ones that I made, but then I found a guy who makes all things PVC, and he made me a bunch of stickers for $0.50 each from his off cuts. It seemed like a lot of money at the time, I think I bought at least 1000 of them, but they can sit outside in the weather year-round w/o a problem. With wooden ones you have to keep them dry between uses.
![[Image: AP1GczMyGWVZB04C2VA4tZlyareXHuVjqWyf15w-...authuser=1]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczMyGWVZB04C2VA4tZlyareXHuVjqWyf15w--c4aLInICK5MUjx0_SvG8vC2s_jxiWRAJmcaui3Fh_OoTqpyjtSmZyHbF0NMzBZmekVEGC7SA-ReQYINrNxxP0gE6wL_noDbmZBJ2TTNgVMgMtxqQtWUlw=w498-h885-s-no?authuser=1)
![[Image: AP1GczN3tFDUJhk98S1AasjvLUiwPlacZZQNOqMP...authuser=1]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczN3tFDUJhk98S1AasjvLUiwPlacZZQNOqMPvn7AhDj4tJEfwiXN7OB5RFqSQgTo4YjQnWx82MfAf53JyBNUTaHBnLOiiOCS0YMRJ1TLd-v0goTNM6kpPSumDXRLEXFo6QinqJE_hhJwwXxTf8nCRKcF7Q=w498-h885-s-no?authuser=1)
You place a sticker close to the ends to help prevent splitting, and every 18 to 24" in between, depending upon how thick the boards are. Once you have a stack built up as high as you care to lift the boards, you cover it to keep the rain off. I use 12 ft long corrugated metal roofing, as you can see on the stacks in the background. When I have gaps between the boards, like in the photo above, the red squirrels will get in there and build a nest. Last year in the Spring, I opened up a stack to find a family of babies in one of those gaps. I had to wait a couple of weeks until they had grown up enough to leave the nest before dismantling the stack.
John
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