In time I expect that every farmer will expect to be trained
in the proper handling of windfall wood.
There is just too much value involved along with proper woodlot husbandry
to not have the skills. It is also
something which needs to be drilled properly just like using a rifle. Thus sooner or later, you team up with a
professional and learn to stay alive.
This chap reminds us just how easy it is to kill yourself
with a large tree. It is necessary to
understand just what weight you are playing with and to never release too much
unless you have gotten out of harms way.
I once took a limb off a tree safely enough but was still
startled to discover how brittle it was and the eye blink in which it plummeted
to the ground. There was simply no
second chance to get it right.
What is also becoming quite clear is that custom milling
rigs will become cheap and useful on all small woodlots. Most wood simply does not justify hauling and
storing any distance at all, but is quite rewarding if you can do the rough milling
yourself. It is plausible that a small
operator can make commodity grade lumber and then sell it directly through the
local market as air dried lumber.
It is also easy enough to haul wood out over several years
until enough inventory is available for a custom rig to come in and process the
wood.
From Timber to
Lumber: A Beginner's Experience, by Sam D.
The recent article on Do it
Yourself Timber Harvesting prompted me to share my experience starting a
homestead on our 200+ acre tree farm in East Texas. Almost two years ago I
settled on a site back in the woods next to a dry run-off creek bed for my home.
Our farm has been in the family for well over a century, and the forest area I
picked sat untouched for 60 years.
One of my first investments
was a 20” Stihl chain saw. Starting with little experience, about 10 chains,
one sprocket and 2 replacement bars later I'm finally getting pretty good at
felling trees. A 20” inch bar is a good size for using with a sawmill, as it
can fell trees up to 2-3 ft in diameter. Having a smaller 12-16” backup saw
will be a lifesaver the first few times your bar gets stuck in a tree. It's
also much lighter and easier on your back for small jobs.
One thing to consider is the
cost of chains. I get my 20” pro chains locally for about $15 each, but most
places charge over $22. At this point, accessories and replacement parts have
cost as much as the chainsaw, so plan accordingly.
I started clearing the
building site for my Earthbag dwelling by cutting out the smaller trees first.
It let me get used to the saw, practice proper cutting technique, and make
small mistakes. I quickly realized that once you get over about 6” in diameter
it's a different ball game. The trees go where they want to go. You likely
won't be able to guide them down or push them off if you get your bar stuck.
Looking back I can't stress enough the importance of proper safety gear, taking
your time, and evaluating the situation. I of course, learned the hard way.
Mistakes Happen in a Split Second
Towards the end of the
clearing phase the last couple dozen big trees lined the creek walls. I started
working on a 2' diameter sweet gum with a hollow trunk. The plan was to drop it
back away from the creek so it could be cut up and dragged out of the way for
later milling. My uncle was on his small tractor helping with clean up.
My face cut wasn't level, so
the wedge angled up slightly. When I connected the back cut the tree didn't
fall. I pulled my saw out, the light wind shifted, and the tree fell the
opposite way over the creek. Even worse, it fell over a new fence row on the
back of the property. I quickly went back to the fence and looked at the two
main 10” branches suspended a few feet in the air over the barbed wire fence. I
stood next to the fence, reached over and cut the first branch. Then I stepped
in about 2 feet and started cutting the second branch. This is where things
went horribly wrong.
About ½ way through the
second limb, I heard a loud crack and the next second to me, seemed like it
lasted 10. I heard and felt a loud thud; I realized that feeling was something
hitting me in the head; I heard every vertebrae from the top of my neck to the
bottom of my shoulder blades crack one after another. I remember thinking, “Oh
sh**, this is going to hurt,” and then I blacked out.
I woke up laying on my back,
the chain saw gurgling on the other side of the fence, my safety glasses and
ear protection were several feet behind me, my jeans ripped, my leg cut open on
the barbed wire, and eventually I hear my uncle shouting, “. . . Sam are you
okay?” I replied, “Yeah, give me a minute,” as I laid back attempting to breathe
in severe pain. It's a good thing I woke up, because my uncle, who broke his
neck and has trouble walking, had planned to use a cable to drag me out across
the creek with his tractor!
What went wrong? Well,
several things.
1.
My face
cut wasn't level which may have contributed to the tree falling the wrong way,
and I didn't use a wedge to prevent this.
2.
Having
little experience with larger trees I underestimated the dangers involved in
felling a large 120 ft tall, 4,000-6,000 pound tree. (Anything over 5” is
potentially dangerous)
3.
I was in
a hurry to avoid repairing the fence.
4.
I didn't
evaluate the situation. The tree trunk was suspended 4 feet off the ground.
5.
I
created a very dangerous work area after cutting the first branch over the
fence. When I stepped in to cut the second branch, the first was directly over
my head. I should have cut the first branch again, getting it out of the way.
6.
Again, I
didn't evaluate the situation. Not only was the trunk off the ground, but the
second branch was bound on the side against another tree. Once I cut half way
through it, it snapped under the tremendous pressure and the trunk slammed to
the ground, glancing the back of my head.
7.
I was very lucky, mostly
because the fence wasn't damaged, but also because I wasn't killed, paralyzed,
or left with a broken neck. It took several months to recover, and I couldn't
turn my head for a month. A few thumb torture sessions later with a
neurosomatic massage therapist finally completed my recovery and today I'm back
at 100%.
Take the Time to Learn Safety Procedures
After my injury we found a
local part time logger to come in and remove the last 16 big trees on the site.
He cut the trees and hauled them off for free, making money on the timber. I
worked with him and learned a lot by just watching. If you have the chance to
learn from an experienced logger, then do so.
Now I do things very
differently. First, I wear a hard hat that includes ear protection and a face
shield. I wear steel toed work boots most of the time after tearing into a pair
of hiking boots while de-limbing a tree. I'll probably add the protective chaps
one day, but my shift in mindset can't be stressed enough.
I take the time to clear all
vines, brush, and limbs from my work area before cutting. I look at my escape routes.
I walk around the base of each tree looking up the trunk to see which way it
wants to fall. I watch my back cut closely to see if it's getting wider as I
cut. I use plastic/wood wedges on bigger trees, attach a cable with a
come-along, or use my backhoe when possible to push them over. When a tree
trunk doesn't go right to the ground I take the time to walk around it again,
see what's holding it up, and figure out a strategy to clear the other branches
and take it down from there.. Since my accident, I've safely cut down over a
dozen giant oaks that died in last years drought with no problems.
Chainsaw Care and Maintenance
I struggled with sharpening
chains early on. There are great Youtube videos out there teaching the basics.
The overview from Wranglerstar is very through. I use a large C-clamp in
the woods to hold the bar steady and tighten the chain first to prevent
wobbling. A sharp chain will cut straighter/faster, it will run cooler, stretch
out less and last longer. Watch the wood chips coming off the saw. When they go
from little squares (chips) to more of a sawdust consistency, stop and sharpen.
It may seem like a pain, but a sharp chain will save you a lot of headache in
the long run.
If your chainsaw is cutting
sideways it's because the chain is dull, the teeth were not sharpened evenly
all the way around, or the rakers need to be filed down. Keeping your blade out
of the dirt is also extremely important. Sand will stretch out your chain
faster than anything.
Does a Sawmill Make $ense?
While considering the
resources available living on a tree farm, and the lumber required for my
earthbag dwelling, I decided to purchase a sawmill. The two manufacturers
that have the best reputation are Wood-Mizer and TimberKing. A basic manual
sawmill will run about $3,000 to $5,000 used.
Adding hydraulics for log loading, turning, and cutter head movement bumps that
up to about $10,000-$15,000. A computer controlled mill starts around $30,000,
and the mechanically inclined can build one for about $2,000.
I decided on a used TimberKing
1220, their basic fully manual 15 horsepower band saw mill with a
28” capacity. I paid about $5,000 and it came with 2 cant hooks (a must), a
$900 blade setter/sharpener kit (Strongly Recommended), a trailer kit, and a
track extension that cuts lumber up to 24' in length.
Anyone living on a large plot
of land with trees should seriously consider buying or building a sawmill.
Every year we get dead trees from the summer drought, lightning strikes, and
blow downs from the storms. For those of you on small plots in the country with
lots of trees around a sawmill may still make sense. I've cut down large cedar
trees for neighbors who wanted more grass growing for their cattle. I've even
picked up logs cut by the power companies to prevent downed power lines. I've
had requests to mill lumber from a small timber company and supply wood to a
man who makes furniture.
I run the mill by myself 90%
of the time using either the cant hooks or my backhoe with a set of skidding
and lifting tongs to move logs around. Skidding tongs are for dragging logs,
lifting tongs are heavier duty and rated for overhead lifting. Forks can be
added to the backhoe as well, but it will make an already 20 ft machine even
longer. A skid steer is the ideal companion for a sawmill, but I get by with my
backhoe using the tongs. The downside is tongs only work on one log at a time,
and moving logs or leftover slabs in bulk requires forks.
Most logging operations won't
touch anything under 10 acres because of equipment moving/setup costs, and this
leaves a lot of good timber available for small mill operators. Another option
is to offer a portable sawmill service or have people bring logs they pay you
to cut or give you a portion of the cut timber (usually up to half).
We used to pay someone to
cut, stack, and burn our dead trees that fell into our hay pastures. Now they
produce a very basic building material that in aTEOTWAWKI/natural disaster scenario, would prove
invaluable. This is especially true for the lower end sawmill designed for
manual operation.
Sawmill considerations in a Post Collapse Environment
With the higher end models,
what happens if something in the hydraulic system breaks down and you can't fix
it? Can it be run manually? How will you get a 1,200lb log 4' off the ground
without the hydraulic loader? There's also the extra fuel consumption to
consider, as some models have a separate engine to run the hydraulics.
I've spent several hundred
dollars stocking extra parts, new blades, and doing repairs on my mill. The
setup is fairly simple, and the engine is a Kohler Command Pro, commonly found
on riding lawn mowers so that's easily sourced.
I've cut large 24 foot, 6”x6”
and 9”x9” pine beams to support a living roof on my earthbag home. I've used
the slabs (a waste product) to build a rustic heavy duty chicken coop. A
sawmill really opens up a lot of creative possibilities for woodworking
projects. I also have a huge pile of slabs that I can sell for $50 on
Craigslist or bury to create a hugelkulture bed. Hardwood slabs can be burned
for Charcoal which is added to soil or used in filters. I scoop up the sawdust and
use it in natural building and spread it in the gardens.
The Hardest Part of Running a Sawmill
Working big logs logs stands
out as the toughest job on a manual mill. Two people using cant hooks makes
this easier. A long heavy crow bar is also useful for moving/ straightening
logs. The longer and bigger the lumber your cutting, the heaver it gets, the
more difficult it will be to move. The toughest job is lining up a big log to
cut the maximum length your mill can handle. You only have an inch or two of
clearance on the ends, and manually sliding a big log from the end is hard.
Using a backhoe can/will snag on the frame and drag the whole setup off level
footings, and you will be spending the next hour re-leveling. .
Cutting is simply setting the
blade height with a crank and then turning a second crank to move it forward. A
rough cut 2x12x20' pine is around 80lbs. if fairly green, and this must be
moved and stickered (stacking with small stakes in between each board to let
them evenly dry). So the bigger the log, the more likely help or tractors are
needed. Anything under 10 inches is hardly worth cutting up, and anything
over 18 inches is much easier with help.
What Tends to Go Wrong
Just like the chainsaw,
having a sharp properly tensioned blade is important to avoid wavy cuts and
other problems. New blades tend to stretch after their first use. Not observing
the tension loss and running into dense knots has led to wavy boards several
times. I've run a blade so dull it stopped in the middle of the log. It won't
back out because the band will slip off the wheels, and getting it out is a
real pain. The trick is to pay attention and change the band as soon as it
starts to dull.
It's also tricky sometimes to
square up the cut side against the log stops while locking it down for the next
cut. It sometimes twists a bit and I end up with trapezoids instead of square
boards. A bit of close observation and practice can minimize this. Putting the
lumber through a planer or Turning the cant (squared up log) back and making a
second pass can fix this.
I spend about 30 minutes
setting and sharpening each blade, which can be done anywhere from 4-8 times
depending on the steel's hardness. Two people running a mill all day will go
though 3-5 blades which cost about $28 each with shipping.
Getting to a Finished Product
Fresh cut lumber will need to
be stickered and dried out either naturally or in a Kiln. I dry lumber on
cinder blocks to raise it off the ground, and cover it with large tarps from
billboards. Used billboard tarps can be found at flea markets, trade days, or
on craigslist for less than $50. They are heavy duty compared to hardware store
tarps with string between PVC layers.
If you want to produce and
sell dimensional lumber you will want to consider building a kiln. It's
basically a shed with a heater. In an off grid situation, it should be possible
to use a rocket mass heater to dry out lumber by burning the leftover slabs
every few days to heat the shed.. It would certainly require a commitment over
several weeks.
Beyond that you will want to
consider a robust thickness planer and shaper if you plan to make wood
flooring or other finely finished wood products. All that's left is to figure
out what to do with all the cheap lumber you'll have sitting around. I've built
beautiful counter tops with 2”x17” planks from a 60 year old pine. I built a
water tower, a working wishing well, a heavy natural oak bench and I'm learning
how to do mortise and tenon joints, which works well with large rough cut
lumber.
A Few Closing Thoughts
Putting a roof over a
stationary mill is a good idea. A large span is ideal to move logs in, which
for me means 30+ feet. Used chicken house trusses are ideal. They typically
have a 40 foot span, room at the sides to stack lumber, and they can be purchased
for about $100 per truss.
One final note, having worked
with axes and hand saws, I can't overstate the importance of storing fuel to
run your equipment. In my case this is a plastic 55 galHDPE drum, treated with PRI-G fuel
stabilizer annually (for up to 12 years storage), a hand operated transfer
pump, and a bung wrench. It's important to seal the bungs tight so the lighter
fractions in gas won't evaporate, fouling the fuel.
None of us know what the future holds, but the
ability to produce usable lumber for your local community is an invaluable
asset for you and your neighbors. In a post collapse situation, it could
prove to be an invaluable bartering resource.
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