Big J

Depends. If I'm cutting by myself, I tend to cut a whole stack and then wiggle them onto the forks to avoid the lifting. If I've got a lackey in, I usually remove after each cut so that it's scraped, treated and ready to be stacked after each cut. With heavy boards, I cut a few and then wiggle onto forks and off. I was cutting waney edge larch fencing yesterday (180 square metre at 18mm) from logs at about 14" in diameter. I would cut to one board shy of the heart, lift the stack off, flip the log and cut to the bed.

Good point about the safety around the bandwheel housings. I've had at least one band explode dramatically on me, with a 4" long section of band ending up rattling around the housings. That said, the doors are at least 4mm thick on mine, so they seem to be effectively bullet proof! Building a shelter over the mill is vital, and it's always a trade off between access and weather proofing. On bandmills, use diesel on all your chains at least once a week to keep them lubricated. Ideally every other if you are busy. Shavey - I find I very very occasionally get stuck if I have a large weight above the band (I can cut a depth of about 18", so could conceivably have 9 2" boards on top of the cut I'm making) and the tension is such in the log that all the weight is on the end (the exit) of the cut. This has happened about 3 or 4 times, the band gets stuck and I have wedge to finish the cut.

We're a cooperative bunch (of sawmills) up here. Whilst obviously everyone looks after their own business, I believe that sharing things that have made your job easier is well worth doing. Like with anything else, you can regard yourself as being quite proficient (or indeed expert!) and still not know the half of it. I'm pretty sure that's me, and I look forward to other contributions! When I've got a moment over the Christmas period, I'll do post on what to look out for when buying and sawing logs, what sells and what doesn't and guide prices for butts.

I thought it would be useful to start a thread sharing our personal experiences in sawmilling and the things we have learned along the way. There are all manner of little things that we all probably do, without realising that many of them are quite novel, and others might be uniquely ingenious. Anyway, I shall get the ball rolling with a list of vital kit: Forklift: This is the single most important piece of kit in any yard. Before you invest in a bandsawmill, buy a forklift. A second hand 4x4 masted forklift will set you back about half what a second hand Lumbermate or similar will cost. For me, everything stops the moment the forklift breaks down - I'm unable to do anything. If the bandsawmill were to break down, I'd load a kiln, do some firewood, tidy the yard, chainsawmill something - you get the picture. Pressure washer: Every log that goes on the bandmill gets washed, regardless of how clean it looks. Debarkers on higher end hydraulic mills are usually rubbish - when I had one on my Woodmizer it was sometimes unreliable at actually working (though more reliable than anyone else's I know of) and wouldn't reach the mud on some deep fissured bark logs (like E. Larch). I have mine mounted to a pallet with an IBC tank. It means it's fully mobile, I can take it to any log in the yard (though I now always wash them in the same place, on a concrete pad as it's easier to clean) and get the logs clean. 5 minutes spent cleaning a log will save you twice as long on band changes/slow cutting, will save you hundreds each year in sharpening costs and means much more accurate cuts. My bands typically just blunten though heavy use - there is no waving around and I think that is because the logs are spotless when they go on the mill. Floor scraper: I use this for cleaning the boards of sawdust, and as far as I know I was the only person in ASHS (Association of Scottish Hardwood Sawmills) using one. Scrapes sawdust off in one pass - better and quicker than a brush and less than £20 from a builder's supply. This is what I mean: Cant hook: Not a large felling lever but a cant hook intended for sawmilling. About £50-90 depending on what you buy but invaluable, even with a hydraulic mill. I was cutting double waney edge larch cladding today and the hydraulics on the mill always struggle to turn half a log (I cut down to one board shy on the heart and then flip). It was the same on the Woodmizer. You can fanny around for a minute or two and flip it with the hydraulics or take 15 seconds and do it with the cant hook. Wykabor: Borate based anti fungal and anti insect treatment. Makes a very large difference to the amount of mould that will grow on your timber once stacked, especially in warmer conditions. Every board that goes into the kiln or onto the air drying stacks is treated and it costs pennies per board. Work lighting: It sounds patronisingly basic, but get yourself some proper work lights so that you can work into darkness at this time of year. This is the first year where I'm pretty well sorted and what a difference it makes. If you have good quality hardwood butts, you want to be milling them in December, January or February. Daylight and good weather is at a premium, so make the best use of those cold, clear and pleasant days and mill for as long as you can. Then take summer off! Chainsaw mills: If you run a band mill and don't have a chainsaw mill, get one. They are hard work, unpleasant and I hate chainsaw milling, but they are worth their weight in gold. This is mainly for breaking down larger logs for the band mill, or getting those inaccessible trees that would otherwise be cut up for firewood. Or even supplying extra wide boards for a special order. Infact, I've used mine on more than one occasion for chainsaw milling very large butts in half on site so that the available machinery can lift it. If your budget only stretches to a small bandsawmill or a larger chainsaw mill, get the chainsawmill. This list is by no means exhaustive, but in my exhausted state, is all I can think of at the moment. I really look forward to hearing everyone else's tips and hints

Me too! What a day for it as well.

Let's hope that it's being used appropriately. It's not firewood grade, not even close.

There are obviously people with serious disabilities that are completely genuine. Obesity as a result of this is far more understandable, but is a result of a disability, not a disability in itself. For the 95% of obese people who have no one but themselves to blame, it's not something that happens overnight and it's something you are entirely in control of. Even if you are limited to cheap and possibly unhealthy supermarket food, you could always eat less of it.

As I said, my mistake. I looked over the new range of Makitas a little while ago (no longer DCS but EA) and saw stratofied charge engines and assumed electronics. I did have an MS361 for a while, that was a nice saw. If the 6100 is anything like it, it would be a winner.

Not bad at all really. It's just a big grunting lump, and on a 30" bar is ideal for cross cutting at the yard. I think the problem is that like any saw, it's only as good as the sharpening. Given that much of the timber is pretty gritty, the edge on it isn't as good as it would be if I was felling more often. I prefer the DCS7901, and rate it as a better saw, but if you need a simple and affordable 90cc saw, I'd recommend the 9010.

Floor boarding grade. I'd figure on about £2.50 a hoppus foot/£88 a cubic metre (or tonne, given that beech is near enough a tonne a cube). Sounds like lovely timber, but beech never attracts much of a premium sadly.

I stand corrected!

Very well said I can't tell you how much today's ruling has wound me up (the rest of this post might be quite hard to complete without profuse profanity! ). If you are fat, it is almost always your own fault. You either eat too much or don't move enough. It's a very simple equation - energy in and energy out. You only gain weight if there is an imbalance and fixing that imbalance is very easy. You either eat more/less or move more/less. I usually get a little bit tubbier over summer (though those of you who have met me will confirm I am a string bean). The reason for this is that I struggle to work very hard in heat, so shift my work load to the cooler months. So I move less, eat a bit less, but gain a few pounds. Come winter, work steps up a few gears and I get shredded (to use a bodybuilder term) again. Arghh! What the hell is wrong with people in this bloody country? When will they start to take responsibility for their own actions?

I'd be interested to see it, but the new generation of Makitas seem to have become heavier, less powerful and their vibration stats aren't that competitive. Plus they are also now electronic, so the argument for a simpler saw to maintain is gone as well. I can also only find it £32 cheaper than the 560xp.

No more than about 2-3mm on these trees.

I think it's quite underrated. I was given quite a bit of it about 2 years ago on the basis that I uplift it. Took the Woodmizer to site and milled about 8 tonnes. It's been used for all manner of things over the past few years including our bed at home. It is much denser than Sitka and takes a far better finish. Stronger too.

It's often been remarked upon that it's surprising that I do everything I do with a little counterbalance forklift, but it's a fantastic bit of kit. I have a little Nissan that is supposed to lift 2.5t, but infact lifts 3.8t (that was an oak log that came off the lorry with a weight ticket). It's massively maneuverable and it means I can stack sawn timber in tight barns. That said, I have expanded the yard, much of which is too soft for it's solid wheels, so I've got an old JCB Climax with 4wd coming in the New Year. On the topic of wood, I don't sell much firewood, but I keep it all outside and not under cover until September at which point it's sorted according to dryness and put in one of the barns (it's stored in crates). This dry stock stays very dry over winter and as I produce more over winter, it's left in crates stacked outside and not under cover. It's not going to dry quickly, but it will still start drying. Then, once I have space in the barn again, it gets put it. It's hard keeping up with the production from the mill sometimes - two days cutting this week (hardwood mantle pieces and douglas fir for cladding) has left me with a stack of offcuts that will produce 7-8 cubic metres of firewood.

I just popped some smaller LEDs on my forklift and they are excellent. Highly recommended

You don't think perhaps that it's a growing area of business and the government simply wants a bit more of the taxation pie?

Burning Cedar? Are you mad?!

I can easily see how it's possible to burn through 10ltr in a day. My MS880 whilst milling does about 15-16 minutes of cutting per tank. I think that's pretty much the same regardless of saw. So endless brashing and softwood snedding is likely to burn huge volumes of fuel as I doubt you'd get much more than 25 minutes per tank.

God, that's fast grown! £28 a tonne roadside, last I heard for pulp and chip wood. I doubt you'll get much else out of it. Jonathan

There is one next to the fire all the time and yet her forearms are covered in little scars!

Not a bad idea sir! It would have to be some sort of logging tape though, which would prove a very expensive business card!

Yes Everyone is prone to exaggerating the size of logs. I've even got to the point with some of the tree surgeons I buy timber from where I ask "Is that an actual 3ft or a tree surgeon 3ft (which is usually about 22" if I'm lucky)".

Not prone to chauvinistic outbursts, but it's honestly best if the women folk have no say in what stove is installed! My wife is now well trained on stoking the fire, and really needs no supervision. The only issue is that she seems to suffer 99% of the stove related burns for about 10% of the stove operation