Thanks for all the info mike bayerl. You got me thinking about the work flow. The mill can't hardly get any closer to where I'll be stacking the lumber, so I was planning to sticker and stack right away. But in the interests of keeping the saw cutting as fast as possible, perhaps ill offload to my wood trailers and pickup if I can't stack fast enough. In any case I'm sure I'll adapt to the workload quickly. I think Paul is only a year or two older than me but it sounds like he's been doing it for a while. This is his 2nd mill - his old one is for sale and it's a lot more manual he said. He doesn't run his machine as fast as they recommend for the same reasons and because he'll get a better surface. He charges by the board foot anyway.
Deerfield is Sept. 28th to Oct. 1st, and Fryeburg is October 1st to the 8th. Just two of many great fairs. Info is online for more details and directions. I Hope you get a chance to stop in and check them out Mike.
A little planning ahead of time can really help. The first time I did a big job (1250 bd-ft of red oak), I pulled everything off and dead stacked it. Just by coincidence, we did the longest board first, so I wound up having to "reshuffle" the whole dead stack before I put it up on stickers. So I had to handle the boards 3 times each. That sucked!!! Try to see if you can take the boards off and stack directly onto stickers if you can. Obviously, you'll have to figure that out ahead of time so you can get your logs in the right order. In the end, there's no wrong way to work, just some times you get more "exercise."
That's what I call a cut list...I think I referred to it in another thread. Logs stacked in order...stickers first(oak hemlock). Then I go by dry time or project needs. I like to put nice stuff indoors under cover. Having cinder blocks level and ready to go for outside. There is book matching, quarter sawing. Wich one is which? Where did I stack it? If stacking indoors you might have two or three rows deep which is a huge pain for accessing and requires thought.... More shorter stacks so you can get to stuff easier, or taller stacks for less real estate? I like to put wide stuff on the bottom for flatness, but it's a pain digging it out if you need or want it! I've been using ribbon written with a sharpie stapled on so I can I'd stuff.(date species etc) I would have a second offbearer. Especially if the mill will do 20-21 footers. Or since you are talking barn building material. Wet 2x6s 4x4s in any length get heavy....then live edge hardwood is heavier...I know I can't effectively move a 12+ foot 1 inch hardwood slab much over 15 inches in width...the fancy guys use pallet forks and just slide them around..... A good sawer will let you know in advance his suggestions. Depending on how much you saw, picking one log for stickers can help. Some guys like to take more time and try to get stickers from waste, so the species matches and you minimize sticker stain. Oak and hemlock have a bunch of tannin, that I've had good luck with even on hard maple. A cut list with an order and dimensions can really simplify and save time and effort before and after. Thinking ahead of (where and how)flat stacking helps too. The space required to flat stack 4/4 is half that of stickered 4/4. Sometimes life gets in the way and you just gotta saw!
I have always been a bit gun shy with working by the hour because many times the quality turns out not so good (I'm speaking of anything and not just sawing) because hurrying takes a front seat and sometimes quality ends up a bit short.
Having some help offbearing will go a long ways and might allow you to do the stickering right away. Anything to cut down on handling of the lumber is nice as this is not easy work at all. But putting the lumber on trailers can work nicely too as then you can move it if needed.
I have severe questions about going hourly or not going hourly. On the one hand I may try to hurry a guy who is working by the hour but on the other hand a fixed price means the guy can do better by hurrying himself to get that money. I'm just not sure if it is better for me to be pushing or the worker trying to finish early and go home. Actually, I don't think there is a "best" way. A lot depends on the pride the worker takes in his work.
Thanks for all the great advise Boomstick. Got any plans for this Friday? I've been cutting stickers from my scraps for a while but it will surely not be enough. I think I will pull another red pine log up to the yard and have him cut that up for stickers first. It sounds like you haven't figured out a way to avoid endlessly rummaging thru the stacks either. I don't know how many times I've had to restack my current stacks. I think indoor storage is definitely going to be tight, so I don't think I have much of a choice on spacing or height. Great idea about the labeling system. Another thing I'd like to keep track of is which boards came from which log so I can match them back up when a project finally comes along.
If you have red pine logs, go for it. Another neat trick, if you are in a pinch, you can buy a bunch of 1x3x8' plastering lathe boards (very cheap) and then rip them down the center and cross cut in half. Each board will yield 4 stickers at 1 1/4 x 3/4 x 4'. I learned that one from a local sawmill. It works great.
Hit the nail on the head. I've done it both ways now and it the final product completely depends on the pride and the integrity of the sawyer. I've had great success both ways. Honestly, the bd-ft sawyer was probably the most concerned about quality. He explicitly told me to keep an eye on the boards as I was taking them off the mill to check for quality. He didn't want anyone to think he would produce anything but the very best.
I might be able to spare one... Paul definitely strikes me as a fellow who takes pride in his work. I grew up on a farm, so I grant him a lot of respect for taking it up as basically his hobby. That's a lot of physical labor of love. It's basically the same kind of respect I have for all of you guys. There's much easier hobbies out there.
With the band sawmill, you can make them or..... https://www.menards.com/main/buildi...0-c-13115.htm?tid=-8931913978958747869&ipos=2
Good. I didn't know anyone still sold lathe. walt is right on the stickers. Just a little point but sometimes little things count big time.
Plans for friday I'd love to help and see the lt40 hog some wood! My dad actually just let me know of a few big oaks his tree guy took down! He's been hauling wood all day in the rain I'm in the same boat as you! Inundated! Stack rummaging is a constant. That's why I just flitch and pile separately most the time. Don't have the time or patience! That pile of pine looks like a good pile of dimensional lumber already! Those Mills make fast work of it.
