1 Board per Minute - How to make 1x6 Fence Pickets even with a semi-dull blade, Lucas Mill 7/23
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- čas přidán 5. 09. 2024
- My son and I work together as a team to make pickets for a customer's fence. My son inspects each board to determine if the quality is high enough to sell as is, or if it needs to have some cracks cut off of the ends. (We generally make boards 6 inches longer than required which gives us a nice margin to cut off any bad ends.) The boards that need processing are placed on the John Deere Diesel Gator you see in the video.
However, some boards have cracks that run too far and those are separated to be used for raised bed grow boxes or other farm / shed projects, or to be sold as Grade "B" lumber at a reduced cost. (Some boards are only good for firewood kindling. Nothing is wasted. We even use the sawdust for animal bedding or weed prevention around fruit trees.)
Good to see your boy earning his keep.
Thank you George, there are always fun little outdoor jobs to do in the country places and especially on a small farm.
For the record, I am glad for your son’s sake that he’s wearing his hearing protection because when I was a kid, my father was a small engine mechanic, and the number of chainsaw engines, weed trimmers, push mowers, and riding lawnmowers that we ran indoors inside a cinder block building when repairing them caused a lot of permanent damage to many sound ranges for me. It was bad enough that I almost couldn’t get into the military, and then even recruited a baked potato before passing my hearing exam. Safety first always. One body, one life. Love to see him out there with you. I would have been there with my dad just the same. Probably dressed about the same too as he was a Stihl dealer 😆 (then I see the Husky logo on his helmet)
We have all Stihl chainsaws, but yes, the Husky helmets were from Lowes. lol
Keep up the good work!!
Thanks, will do!
It is with logs like that and making dimensional lumber the Lucas Mill really shines. I can't wait for the weather to improve so I can pull my Lucas out and start making boards and sawdust again. I envy you having an extra pair of hands for offloading and stacking.
Thanks Torsten, yes I am starting to get spring fever here, waiting for the snow to melt, my favorite logs to mill are the large ones. Lots of cutting, very little log handling. Do you have any suggestions for the rails on which the logs rest, mine move and get out of alignment often? I had the thought the other day of driving some rebar stakes through them. What setup do you have for getting the log in place quickly? I feel that I spend too much time getting the log aligned.
My setup is two 6x6 each resting on/notched in to a short 4x4 in each end. The rails extend outside the frame and there I have two logs as a ramp. Just roll the logs up on the rails.
I have cut a 2" deep and ~6" wide notch in each rail for the log to sit in and aligned those so a straight log with little taper will sit pretty well aligned with the frame so I only have to align the frame height to the center/pith of the log.
For tapered or thinner logs I just drop a piece of 2x in the notch at the thin end and use some scrap 1x and screw it to the side of the rail to support the log once it is aligned.
I normally don’t use excavator or crane on the logging trailer to lift logs inside the frame. I just use a cant hook with long handle to roll logs in place and a steel bar to shift log sideways once in place. If log’s too heavy I have a farmers jack close to the mill.
Happy milling!
That was VERY helpful. Thanks for the detailed description. The insert for tapered logs sounds like a good idea to try. Yes, I am afraid to carry a log over those rails as well as occasionally a log will slip out of the thumb. Don't want them damaged and have to wait for months for a new one.
How far apart are your runners on which the logs rest? Do you adjust them for different length logs? Do you add a third runner for long logs, i.e. 16ft plus? I have had trouble with supporting long logs and then the log flexing after I start taking boards out of it. I have used bottle jacks to support the ends of the log, but it is not as quick as I would like.
My runners are approx 2 meters (~7’) apart. When milling longer logs (>14’) I just kick sawdust away and chuck a couple of large wedges cut from a 6x6 under under each overhanging ends. Works very well. Sometimes I put a screw through the wedges to prevent them from sliding. Two runners will always be (kind of) level and I think a 3rd runner will cause more problems especially if you’re not on a level surface/concrete pad and have completely straight log.
Yes, three runners are a problem for sure. I will try your wedges method. Bottle jacks are too slow. Do you have any tricks for aligning the mill to the log lengthwise? I just lower the mill to the log with the blade at the center of one end of the log, the blade in vertical position, then move it down the log and see if one side needs to raise or lower, then do it on the way back. Then lower 3/4 to 1 inch for first pass, it depends on how uniform the log is. In the Lucas Mill videos they showed a method using a tape measure, but I have only used that method a couple of times.
Your son certainly got a work out off loading the boards and walking all the way around the mill to stack them on the trailer. Wait until he finds out you could have milled the horizontal cut first then the vertical cut and he could of picked up the board from the end of the mill closest to the trailer. ;-)
Yes, I was trying to cut fast so he would be forced to hustle! lol Thanks for your comment!