Sawmill and bandmill blog

Albino redwood cedar tree

2007-01-18T12:53:00.000-08:00

These photos are of a redwood tree in the California redwood forest. The exact location is a secret as we came upon this tree by fluke. We were asked and promised not to disclose the location as people have taken cuttings from this tree. The tree is incapable of photosynthesis and feeds off a host tree for nutrients, explaining the pure white needles. (The second photo shows the host with the mutant redwood.) There are few trees of this type in existence in the redwood family. This is truly a once in a lifetime experience.

Death to trees and teddy bears.wmv

2007-01-06T20:15:00.000-08:00


Feller buncher working in BC

I wonder if Woodmizer settled the suit filed in the 90's

2005-11-28T14:03:00.000-08:00

Quoted

Three-year-old plaintiff Lorena Davis was injured when she wandered off her grandparents’ porch to a portable sawmill and put her hand in the sprocket gear of the sawmill. Through her guardian ad litem, plaintiff brought suit against Wood-Mizer Products, Inc., the manufacturer of the sawmill, for defective design, and against her grandparents, Glenn H. and Dorothie Davis, for negligent supervision. These defendants filed cross-complaints for indemnity against each other. Before trial, the grandparents’ homeowners’ insurance carrier settled with plaintiff for $300,000 and assignment of the cross-complaint for indemnity against Wood-Mizer. The jury found for plaintiff and awarded damages of $420,100. It apportioned liability 99 percent to Wood-Mizer and 1 percent to Dorothie Davis. The court entered judgment of $415,899 against Wood-Mizer (99 percent of $420,100).

Anyone head about this?

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Homemade kiln that everyone would like to own

2005-05-27T10:27:00.000-07:00

Bob damstrom has built what is arguably the finest homemade kiln I have ever seen, the sheer genius of his system makes it look simple to build your own kiln.

Click on the images to enlarge

Bob’s opreation

Bob’s system uses the wood waste generated by his sawmilling business to heat the kiln, he can dry 6000 BF of lumber in about 100 hours using only the waste from his woodmizer, the system was cheap to build and most of the lumber for it was cut on his sawmill, the basis for the system is a non pressurized boiler.

The boiler

This boiler consists of a firebox and water jacket, the fire heats the water which is circulated through a very large radiator 36 inches wide by almost 40 feet long

Heating radiator

The radiator is made out of heat tube which is easily available at many heating and plumbing suppliers

Heat tube

The hot water is circulated through the radiator with a small pump

Circulating pump

As you can see the boiler that powers this system is quite small so Bob intends to replace the boiler with a new one

New boiler

This boiler will be used to heat Bob’s house his kiln and his hot tub, the capacity is larger than his old one.

Fire box of Bob's new boiler

The kiln has a set of tracks just like the big kilns do

Tracks and door

The kiln can hold up to 7000 BF of lumber depending on the thickness of the boards

Inside the kiln

The kiln is fed air by 2 furnace blowers mounted to the wall

Furnace blower

Several circulating fans keep the air moving

Circulating fans

The walls are 8 inches thick made from laminated 2x8 cut on bobs woodmizer

Laminated wall

Over all this kiln represents the finest in ingenuity and craftsmanship, cheaply made and smartly designed, the kiln dries wood almost every day including the winter months when it often gets to 30 below.

Have a look at bobs site www.damstrom.com

Click here to view a thumbnail gallery and more pictures of Bob's kiln and his operation

Clean equiptment leads to longer equipment life

2005-05-27T09:36:00.000-07:00

You may wonder how clean equipment can last longer when it is cleaned regularly, well we have the best cleaning crew around and let me tell you it is a fact!

We have had a cleaning crew for about a year now and let me tell you it is a pleasure to come to work on monday to a spotless machine with clean windows and a new air freshener.

Mallory and her buddy Becky both 18yrs old come in on the weekend to clean our equiptment, they clean the interiors completely, vacuming every square inch, then follow up with a complete clean of all the surfaces inside the machine, windows are left spotless and streak free and when they are done the equiptment interiors are almost like new, when you sit in one that has just been cleaned it feels like you are sitting in a new machine, this is why I believe the equipment is treated better by everyone and lasts longer.

This buncher is one of the 6 machines that our cleaning girls do every weekend, when they get back to town they usually clean 3 crew cabs as well.

Mallory used to be a waitress at Dairy Queen and hated it, the best she could hope for working there was to be promoted to fry girl, she did silk screening for a while then moved on to hanging out at the beach for a while, she finally ended up working for M&H logging and we love having her, so thanks Mallory for the excellent job you and Becky do, everyone appreciates it.

To get Mallory and Becky to clean your equipment or just ask a question or leave a comment, send Mallory an Email (hippystonergirl_420@hotmail.com)

Bandmill blade guide

2005-02-12T22:27:00.000-08:00

There has been lots of talk over the years about what works good for the guide system on a bandmill, the fact is simple is better

A simple arm to hold the guide, must be able to slide in and out freely
I think bearings are better than rollers with bearing inserts
Must be adjustable in 3 dimensions
Needs to be easy to fix and take apart
Uses standard over the shelf parts

If you can find a guide arm system that fits these criteria you will have good guide arms

More info...

Sawmill belts and Pulleys explained Part 1

2005-01-19T19:14:00.000-08:00

FLEXIBLE BELTS AND SHEAVES

Flexible belt drives are used in industrial power transmission applications, especially when the speeds of the driver and driven shafts must be different or when shafts must be widely separated. The trend toward higher speed prime movers and the need to achieve a slower, useful driven speed are additional factors favoring the use of belts. Belts have numerous advantages over other means of power transmission; these advantages include overall economy, cleanliness, no need for lubrication, lower maintenance costs, easy installation, dampening of shock loads, and the abilities to be used for clutching and vari-able speed power transmission between widely spaced shafts.

Power Transmitted By Belts.

With belt drives, the force that produces work acts on the rim of a pulley or sheave and causes it to rotate. Since a belt on a drive must be tight enough to prevent slip, there is a belt pull on both sides of a driven wheel. When a drive is stationary or operating with no power transmitted, the pulls on both sides of the driven wheel are equal. When the drive is transmitting power, however, the pulls are not the same. There is a tight side tension T T and a slack side tension, T S . The difference between these two pulls
(T T .T S ) is called effective pull or net pull. This effective pull is applied at the rim of the pulley and is the force that produces work.

More tomorrow---

Tree facts you may not know

2005-01-01T20:38:00.000-08:00

Forest planting is one of the most cost-effective ways of reducing CO2. To remove 1 pound of CO2, planting tree costs less than 1 cent, developing more energy efficient appliances costs about 2 1/2 cents, and developing more fuel-efficient cars costs about 10 cents
Well placed trees help cut energy costs and consumption by decreasing air conditioning costs 10-50% & reducing heating costs as much as 4-22%.
Trees are the longest living and largest living organisms on Earth.
One person causes about 10 tons of carbon dioxide to be emitted a year. One tree removes about 1 ton of CO2 per year. Planting 30 trees per person will remove each that person's carbon debt for the year.

Find out more...

Plant a tree today with Tree In a Box!

Strange new tree found in Canada!

2005-01-01T10:46:00.000-08:00

Its been a while since I last posted an article, but its been a busy couple of months for me, I hope to start posting again soon. Anyhow I have lived in the east kootenays all my life and worked in every corner of the valley, for 25 years I have been driving past this tree on the side of the hiway, it looks different than all of the trees around it, I remember when I was a kid my dad told me " Thats the cauliflower tree, its the only one left" well I finally stoped and took a few pictures of it to try to identify it, I spent a good amount of time trying to find it on the internet but have not turned up a single tree that looks like it, Im not shure if its a special tree or not but here are the pictures, if anyone can identify it post here and let the rest of us know what it is.

Click to enlarge

The tree as it stands in the middle of a Xmas tree patch

The bark of the tree

Sawmill plans, are a waste of money?

2004-09-30T13:30:00.000-07:00

Some have said on other websites, that building a bandmill is a simple task to anyone with the skill to take on the job, what they never say is that it is much more efficient to build from a set of plans than to build from the plan in your head. Dont be fooled into thinking you are better off gathering your parts and whipping up a sawmill, buying a set of plans and then buying the materials required in the plans is a much more efficient way to handle such a large task, you will save time and money. Dont get me wrong home built is a great way to go just make shure you you have at least a few sketches to build from.

More info....

Sharpening your chainsaw

2004-09-30T11:42:00.000-07:00

A well maintained saw will run for years, the most important thing to remember about a chainsaw is that you cannot do anything without a sharp saw, you will not be able to make even one straight cut into your wood without a sharp saw, I will outline the steps to creating a sharp saw with a round file. The chainsaw chain has a unique method of cutting wood the chain removes wood with the top of the chain(fig 1) and the hook(fig 2)

Fig 1

Fig 2

The hook must be low enough from the top of the tooth too curl the wood away from the cut. all this is accomplished with a stoke of the file, either a two handed stroke or a one handed stroke, stroke angle (fig 3) determines the hook size as well

Fig 3
Correct tilt
Correct angle

Place the saw on a solid surface or in a bench vise to begin, make sure you are using the correct size file for your chain, you can ask this when you purchase your saw, a file handle is also required so that the right pressure to the file can be applied, the file must be pressed hard enough to cut the tooth. Start with the correct position and file drawn back (Fig 4)

Fig 4

Push the file across the tooth while pushing down (fig 5)(black arrow) and back, (yellow arrow) also maintain the original angle of your chain

Fig 5

Start again from the beginning of the stroke and repeat until the top of the chain has a straight sharp edge (Fig 1), continue through all the teeth until the entire chain is sharp, if your tooth angles are not the same on both sides of your chain then the saw will not cut in a straight line, most chain has a small line at the back of the tooth (Fig 6) to help you maintain the proper angle

Fig 6

And thats it! easy as pie.

The worlds first sawmill was Canadian made!

2004-09-25T23:02:00.000-07:00

Worlds first sawmill

Another great canadian innovation!

Scientific American—November 18, 1876

There is on exhibition at the Centennial a machine commonly known as the Canada sawmill, which has attracted much favorable notice both on account of the simplicity of its construction and the speed and accuracy with which it accomplishes its work. It was designed by the Waterous Engine Company, of Brantford, Ontario, Canada, expressly for use in the extensive lumber districts of the Dominion, to saw up the timber in the localities where it is felled, and thus to save the trouble and the expense of the carriage or rafting of the logs to distant points; and being portable, it may readily be moved from an exhausted part of a forest to a new situation. The machine is also excellently adapted for employment in shipyards, in most of which establishments in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, we are informed, it has superseded whip sawing by hand.
In the annexed engravings, Fig. 1 represents the mill as it appeared at work while on exhibition at the Santiago (Chili) Exposition of 1875; and in Fig. 2 the portable boiler and engine are shown. The portable machine has a 20 horse power engine, which, together with its boiler, is of such weight and of such construction that both boiler and engine may easily be loaded on trucks, when changing the position of the mill, without any disconnection being necessary; so that the labor of a skillful machinist is not required to readjust the mechanism. The saw mandrel, feed, and gig work are compactly arranged in an iron frame, and can also be loaded and moved without being taken apart; so that, when resetting the mill, all that is necessary is to frame the foundation timbers previously used in the ground, set the mill on them, coupling the engine shaft and saw mandrel, lay the track, place the carriage on it, and the mill is then ready to start. The whole operation does not take more than from one to two days. The boiler is supplied with sawdust grates, by means of which it is enabled to keep up a full supply of steam with no other fuel than pine sawdust and refuse edgings. It is also covered with hair felting and lagged with wood or sheet iron. Its form is clearly shown in Fig. 2.

The plates are of the best English material, and the heads are Lowmoor iron. Each boiler is subjected to 120 lbs. cold water pressure before shipment. The 20 horse power engine drives a 56 inch saw, which will, it is claimed, cut from 6,000 to 10,000 feet of lumber per day, or 1,000 feet of one inch pine lumber in a single hour. The 25 horse power engine, which is usually employed in connection with a tubular stationary boiler, drives any size of saw up to 66 inches, and its capacity is said to be from 8,000 to 12,000 feet of lumber per day.
At the Chili Exposition, the 20 horse power mill, we are informed, sawed and edged 1,060 feet of lumber in 40 minutes, vanquishing all competitors and gaining a medal and diploma. It has received the first premiums at ten Canadian Provincial Exhibitions, besides a highly favorable report from the judges at the Centennial.

More info...

Im tired of bunching!

2004-08-18T20:50:00.000-07:00

Ive Been on graveyard shift for a month!

Im sorry I havent been able to come up with some good stuff for all you bloggers out there, Im just too tired to get to the puter and type, ive been going 12 hrs a day 7 days a week for a month now and its starting to catch up with me, we are on fire salvage in south eastern BC and we wont stop untill we cut down every last stick of burnt timber we can get to, im going camping this weekend to get some rest, it will probably be more work than working. Ill talk to you folks later.

Arborsculpture trees from your wildest dreams!!

2004-07-26T23:35:00.000-07:00

The Circus Trees were originally grown and created by Axel Erlandson, son of a Swedish immigrant. Inspired by observing a natural graft between two sycamore trees, Erlandson began to shape trees using intricate techniques. His techniques resulted in woven wonders made from living wood. The branches were carefully bent rather than cut and became complex and compound designs.This botanical adventure began in Hilmar, CA in the 1920s. Erlandson planted the "Four Legged Giant," surprising his family when he brought the four trees together into one. In 1946, Erlandson moved his family and his trees to Scotts Valley, CA. A year later he opened "The Tree Circus" for locals and tourists to experience the wonder of the "World's Strangest Trees." By 1957 Erlandson had created more than 70 Circus Trees. Ripley's Believe It Or Not featured the trees in the 40s and 50s. In 1957 a Life magazine article gave the trees notoriety. After Erlandson's death in 1964, the trees became part of a Scotts Valley attraction know as "The Lost World." In 1977 the property was sold with only 40 trees surviving.A local Santa Cruz architect, Mark Primack, led a valient effort to save the trees, even risking arrest for trespassing in order to water and feed the trees. Keeping as many alive as he could, Primack's efforts finally took root when they attracted the attention of tree lover Michael Bonfante. In 1985, Bonfante rescued the surviving 29 Circus Trees and gave them a home in Gilroy, CA.There are 25 Circus Trees still alive today.

The basket tree                 Chain link tree


Figure 8 with face             Emblem


Revolving door

More info...

The ripping chain myth!

2004-07-24T21:26:00.000-07:00

Your trying to find a ripping chain for your chainsaw mill and you realize they are hard to find, well let me tell you that you dont need to go out and look for a special chain. Ripping chains are over rated, just a way to get some extra money out of the average joe.

Ive have run chainsaws as a hand faller on a helicopter logging operation for many years of my life, ive split logs in 2 in the bush many times because the helicopter couldn't lift a full size log, in all that time I have never needed a ripping chain to do the job, I file my saw 3 times a day and it cuts like cheese weather I cut against the grain or with the grain, some times the long string like slivers of sawdust get piled up in the dogs of the saw but its never been a problem.

I say ripping chain is a scam to get more money out of everyone who thinks they need one,"hey are you an idiot, trying to cut that log with regular chain" tell them they are idiots to pay extra for a ripping chain. all you need to do is file the chan with less angle on the tooth

Normal chain

Ripping chain

And keep the raker as high as possible to prevent the chain from cutting too fast and stalling the saw

Just my two cents

Wooden computer real not a joke!

2004-07-24T12:45:00.000-07:00

Mahogany computer peripherals $5,450.00

Wood Contour Inc., proudly presents an exquisite line of solid wood and stone PC peripherals, executive gifts and corporate logo products specifically designed for the non-compromising among us. Our company's extensive experience in the demanding field of luxury executive gifts and corporate logo programs ensures that you will receive the highest quality products available. The products offered by Wood Contour display a unique quality in that each item is crafted from one piece of solid wood and is not made from the wood veneer offered by other companies with similar products.

Wood Contour offers a wide range and variety of hardwoods from which each device is constructed including cherry, mahogany, beech, oak, ash, and maple. Other woods are also available upon request

Taken from...

Am I on the right track here??

2004-07-21T22:37:00.000-07:00

Ok ive been at this blog for almost a month now with very few comments on the articles, what am I doing wrong? are you people bored with the articles I post, do you people even know you can post your comments, what do I have to do to get some friendly conversation going here, does anyone ever return here after they have seen it once? what the hell do you people need to stimulate your interest? if you have been here before just post a comment on an article, let me know if the article is crap point me in the right direction, something anything JUST POST...

1 log builds a house its true!!

2004-07-21T22:14:00.000-07:00

Yes a House made from 1 log

The inside

This famous Northern California attraction was the result of a three month search for the perfect specimen Sequoia Sempervirens, which was finally located near the town of Orick, in Humboldt County, California. After felling this 13 foot diameter forest giant, Art Schmock and a helper needed 8 months of hard labor to hollow out the log into a room 7 ft. high and 32 ft. long, weighing about 42 tons. His plan was to take it on a cross country tour to promote the redwoods. However its excess size caused problems. Its first permanent home was at Clam Beach, in Northern Humboldt County. It then became a redwood knick knack shop at Leggett, Mendocino County, just off of the Redwood Highway. During a sojourn in Phillipsville, it slid into decay until the current owners bought and lovingly restored it to a new life along the Redwood Highway. It is now near Richardson Grove Sate park at Bear Creek Meadows near the entrance to the Reggae on the River music festival site at French's Camp, California highway #101 in Humboldt county.

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The worlds largest tree crusher

2004-07-20T10:56:00.000-07:00

The tree crusher in action

Built to kill trees

THE MACHINE AT WORK

The Le Tourneau G175 Tree Crusher, similar in principle to a steam roller, was fabricated in Louisiana, U.S.A. in 1960. On November 9, 1964, the machine arrived at Kennedy Siding on six flat cars. It required four days to unload and assemble.
From November 21, 1964, to December, 1964, an attempt was made to drive the machine across country to the work area, which was approximately four miles away. Various problems were encountered: the machine got stuck a number of times; one hill had to be cut before the machine could climb it; the weather took a turn for the worse, and the rollers iced up stopping all further activity. The machine was left for the winter about two and one-half miles in from the assembly site.
During the first part of the summer of 1965 the machine was plagued with troubles. It became stuck a number of times, and mechanical failures were common. A total of 340 acres were downed from mid-May to the end of July.
During the latter part of the summer, production was increased and the whole operation began to function more smoothly. From August 1, 1965, to November 17, 1965, the tree crusher downed 2,250 acres. The crusher operation was shut down for the winter at Cut Thumb Creek on November 17, 1965.

Taken from..

Tree crusher

2004-07-19T11:14:00.000-07:00

Found some info on a Tree crusher, the worlds largest ill post it in a few days.

Nothing to do with Sawmilling but very funny!

2004-07-16T11:03:00.000-07:00

Bedroom Golf

1 Each player shall furnish his own equipment. Normally one club and two balls.

2 Play on a course must be approved by the owner of the hole.

3 Unlike outdoor golf, the object is to get the CLUB in the hole and keep the balls out.

4 For most effective play, the club should have a firm shaft. Course owners are permitted to check shaft stiffness before play begins.

5 Course owners reserve the right to restrict shaft length so not to damage the hole(s).

6 The object of the game is to take as many strokes as necessary until the course owner is satisfied that the play is complete. Failure to do so may result in being denied permission to play the course again.

7 It is considered bad form to begin playing the hole immediately upon arrival at the course. The experienced player will take time to admire the entire course with special attention to the well formed bunkers.

8 Players are cautioned not to mention other courses they have played or are currently playing to the owner of the course being played. Upset course owners have been known to damage a players equipment for this reason.
9 Players are encouraged to bring proper rain gear for their own protection.

10 Players should assure themselves that their match has been properly scheduled, particularly when a new course is being played. Previous players have been known to become irate if they discover someone else playing on what they consider to be their private course.

11 Players should not assume a course is in shape for play at all times.

12 Players are advised to be extremely tactful in this situation. More advanced players will find an alternate means of play when this occurs.

13 Players are strongly encouraged to obtain permission before playing the Back Nine.

14 Slow play is encouraged. However, players should be prepared to proceed at a faster pace, at least temporarily, at the owners request.

15 It is considered outstanding performance, time permitting, to play the same hole several times in one match.

Too bad we can't cut in the bush any more

2004-07-13T09:57:00.000-07:00

All you old loggers out there know what I am talking about, there was a time when you could drag your sawmill into the bush find a good spot and start cutting your product, those days are gone, I guess the enviromentalists have won the battle to protect the forest, I guess picking flowers and growing pot are more important than making a living for your family. when was the last time you saw a hippie with a real job working for a living? they are all waiting for guys like us to hand them their welfare check. I believe we should be allowed to go into the bush and make our product just like the old days, there would be more jobs out there, and there wouldnt be a wildfire problem every summer, hell id even hire a few hippies.

Just my opinion

Canfor Unveils World's Largest Sawmill

2004-07-12T10:53:00.000-07:00

February 9, 2004, Houston, BC David Emerson, President and CEO of Canfor Corporation (CFP:TSX) was joined
by Premier Gordon Campbell, Forests Minister Mike DeJong, Mayor Sharon Smith and guests to unveil the recent
capital upgrades to Canfors Houston sawmill. The $26.4 million capital investment increases the mills annual
capacity by over 30% from 450 million board feet to 600 million board feet. The Houston sawmill will now be the
largest capacity sawmill in the world.
This investment reflects Canfors focus on high return capital projects that fit our overall strategy to enhance the
productivity of our mills and lower our conversion costs, said President and CEO, David Emerson. The magnitude of
this project alone is significant, reducing Canfor Houstons mill conversion costs by 24% and the entire Wood
Products Groups cost structure by 4%. By ensuring that our mills are among the most efficient in the world, Canfor is
in a position to run our operations continually and serve our customers consistently. This, in turn, creates stability for
contractors, suppliers, workers and the community tax base.
The Houston capital project includes new scanning equipment to increase volume recovery from the logs, two new
planers, two new Machine Stress Rating machines, new trimmer/sort lines and additional dry kiln capacity. Plant
Manager Dennis Hotte stated that, The investment that went into the Houston mill not only increases our capacity
and drastically reduces our conversion costs through economies of scale but also allows us to produce more
premium grade, higher margin lumber, which is good for the companys bottom line.
Canfor also completed major capital project upgrades at the Prince George and Fort St. John sawmills in 2003.
These projects, along with a large number of smaller, high return capital projects and management initiatives, are part
of the Companys ongoing Cost Reduction/Margin Improvement program.
Canfor Corporation is a leading Canadian integrated forest products company based in British Columbia. The
company has extensive woodlands operations and manufacturing facilities in BC, Alberta and Quebec, and a lumber
remanufacturing plant in Washington State. Canfor is a major producer and supplier of lumber, bleached kraft pulp,
specialty kraft paper and plywood for markets around the world. The common shares of Canfor Corporation are listed
on the TSX. The operating company is Canadian Forest Products Ltd. from which the name Canfor is derived
- 30 -
For more information, please contact:
Lee Coonfer
Manager, Corporate Communications
Canadian Forest Products Ltd.
Office: 604.661.5225
Cell: 604.209.7097

Quoted from the Canfor website

Come on its feasable isnt it?

2004-07-11T00:35:00.000-07:00

Ok Its not that funny

Youll never cut these trees on your little mill!

2004-07-10T23:28:00.000-07:00

Try cutting those trees on your puny bandmill

The tallest standing Giant Sequoia has a height of about 94.8 metres (311 feet). This tree, named General Sherman, is shown in the photo at our site. While not quite as tall as the highest Coast Redwoods, General Sherman, whose age is about 2000 years, is considered to be the world's biggest tree because it is so massive ... far thicker than most Redwoods. It is the most massive living thing; its total mass has been estimated at 10 times that of a blue whale!

Although General Sherman is the biggest Sequoia, it isn't the oldest. Some Sequoias are as old as 3200 years. But the General is still growing like a teenager; it adds enough wood to its total mass each year to make a brand new 30 metre tall, 30 cm wide tree!

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