What did you do to or on your Kubota today?

[fried1765]

Just curious why you didn't go with something like Giant Thujas? They grow feet/year and make great visual fences.

Giant Thujas may not be readily available in the OP's Eastern Canada.
Private parties, buying plant products from the USA, and importing, can be a MAJOR $$$ hassle!

 

[Old_Paint]

Many years ago had one of those Alaskan Saw Mill saw guide things and yeah, it was a lot of work. Also made a fair amount of lumber from the white oaks that had to go to make room for our house. Much better with a ripping chain in place of the normal chain. Can’t recall if that thing is still in the shed loft or if it went away at some point.

If ya still have it and don't want it, let me know what ya want for it. They're about $100 on Amazon for the Chinesium stuff. I'm still a bit hesitant to spend $5K - $6K on something that could become a very expensive yard ornament. I call myself frugal, the missus calls me stingy. Otherwise, what I made worked about as well as I expected. I figure I can mill out the structure stuff for some pole barn material so I can get my implements and project materials outta the weather.

What I was doing is OK to make big (6x6 or bigger) posts, and maybe slabbing a couple 2x8 or 2x6 boards off the sides, but it would take enormous logs and a much longer bar to use it for milling 1" decking, etc. I don't have the saw for that. I was pretty impressed with the performance of my little Poulan Pro 5020, 50cc, 20" bar, especially with a regular chain on it. This was pretty much a test to see if I'd blow the bugger up, and it shined. But an awful lot of 'lumber' gets turned into saw dust milling that way. Most of what I want to mill is 24" or smaller. I'm trying to get the dead pines down and mill 'em rather than just let 'em stand there, rot, and turn into widow makers. Beetles got us pretty bad when we had the drought about 5 years ago. A good wet spring/summer last year slowed 'em down, but late summer and autumn were very dry again, meaning more activity. If a pine can get enough water, it'll make enough sap to stop the beetles.

There may yet be a bandsaw mill in my future, but not sure if I want to be doing sawmilling for an income. It'll take it a long time to pay for itself on personal projects.

 

[S-G-R]

Just curious why you didn't go with something like Giant Thujas? They grow feet/year and make great visual fences.

They look like something I planted on another one of my properties. They did grow quickly but they all started to half die on me. Literally 1/2 of each of hem from the top to the bottom. Lots of salt in the air around here. These spruce will almost grow on the beach around here and I have Malpeque bay in front of me and less that three miles away is the gulf of St. Lawrence. After high winds my yard has been white with salt.

 

[S-G-R]

Watering the little darlings now.

 

[fried1765]

If ya still have it and don't want it, let me know what ya want for it. They're about $100 on Amazon for the Chinesium stuff. I'm still a bit hesitant to spend $5K - $6K on something that could become a very expensive yard ornament. I call myself frugal, the missus calls me stingy. Otherwise, what I made worked about as well as I expected. I figure I can mill out the structure stuff for some pole barn material so I can get my implements and project materials outta the weather.

What I was doing is OK to make big (6x6 or bigger) posts, and maybe slabbing a couple 2x8 or 2x6 boards off the sides, but it would take enormous logs and a much longer bar to use it for milling 1" decking, etc. I don't have the saw for that. I was pretty impressed with the performance of my little Poulan Pro 5020, 50cc, 20" bar, especially with a regular chain on it. This was pretty much a test to see if I'd blow the bugger up, and it shined. But an awful lot of 'lumber' gets turned into saw dust milling that way. Most of what I want to mill is 24" or smaller. I'm trying to get the dead pines down and mill 'em rather than just let 'em stand there, rot, and turn into widow makers. Beetles got us pretty bad when we had the drought about 5 years ago. A good wet spring/summer last year slowed 'em down, but late summer and autumn were very dry again, meaning more activity. If a pine can get enough water, it'll make enough sap to stop the beetles.

There may yet be a bandsaw mill in my future, but not sure if I want to be doing sawmilling for an income. It'll take it a long time to pay for itself on personal projects.

I built a Summer home in Nova Scotia back in the very early 2000's
I bought local rough cut lumber.....mostly hemlock.
But I kinda wish I had bought & brought a bandsaw mill up there.

 

[Old_Paint]

See this site for the edge mill

EDGING MILL | Granberg International

The Alaskan® Mill has a variety of options to accommodate anything from small, at-home projects to larger commercial jobs.

www.granberg.com

Then look at how they design their first cut systems.

I have their edging mill and use a 2x6 as the rail along with the angle pieces shown. I have learned over time that using ratchet straps to hold the rail in place and then block it off the log and use long screws to firmly hold it in place by screwing it to the log. It also helps a lot to get the log up off the ground and fixed so it doesn’t want to turn or move around as you are cutting it.

Amazon.com

Using a sharp rip chain with the 10 degree angle helps a lot. Using a longer bar and chain also makes it easier to set up. Even though a log looks straight there will always be some curve in it and the longer bar allows the rail to sit on the hump and still cut through the log completely.

I also recommend using a dust mask and cleaning the chainsaw’s air filter more often than normal. Ripping the type of juniper (Texas cedar) seems to create a lot of dust not chips. I am just cutting the logs in two so I can use the flat side as steps down some slopes.

The Granberg is one of many brands I've looked at. Seems each and every brand has at least one thing I don't like (excluding the hard work which they all have in common). The Granberg planking mill costs about twice as much as other brands on Amazon, but it's also the only one made here in the US now. None of them really wow me for setup or ease of use, but that's an old man's complaint. I built a stand (way too high) to get the logs off the ground because of back problems that pretty much preclude me working with any weight out in front of me. Between the back problems and blown up (again) rotator cuffs, it doesn't take long to be in some pretty intense pain. The actual purpose was to build a stationary rail system to run an edger mill on for first cuts, maybe even find a way to permanently mount the Granberg rail and make it adjustable for log diameter and saw bar length. That's still a long time coming.

I've watched a lot of videos about starter rails. And I mean a LOT of videos. That's an easy rabbit hole to go down and completely lose track of what you started looking at to begin with. An edging mill and planking mill would be a good combination that would let me cut cants and then plank them. My biggest objection to milling with a chain saw is the sheer waste. A LOT of lumber gets turned into a lot of saw dust. My current chain is a 7/32 tooth, which doesn't particularly help matters. It's a beast for cross cutting, but is VERY wasteful for ripping. I thought about getting a 28-30 inch bar and ripping chain for my little Poulan Pro 5020, but I'm not sure it would power through a deep rip. 50cc is pretty much the minimum size for doing any milling, from all I've read/watched. What I did was an experiment, entirely. I just wanted to find out how crude the cut would be and if I could blow up the Poulan. I'll second the advice on the air filter, btw. It doesn't take long to put a ton of fine dust in the intake housing.

If I decide to get a 'real' bandsaw type mill, I've already come to the conclusion that I'm going to have to get an extension for it. I've got some wonderfully straight pines that are at least 60 years old that I'd like to have long cuts from in the 14-16 foot range. Some need to come down now, and I don't think I can stop the beetles in the rest of them. As straight as they are, there aren't many that haven't been hit by lightning, which of course makes them even more susceptible to disease/beetles. Accessories for a bandsaw mill rack up some pretty big expense. I just wish I'd pulled the pin on one about 20 years ago when I first thought about getting one. They're bloody expensive now.

I've checked locally to see if I could find someone with a portable mill that would come and mill them for me. Seems most everyone around here wants me to bring the logs to them or pay them a premium to transport the logs. Their milling rates aren't particularly good, either. That sorta defeats the purpose of trying to make rough lumber on the cheap. The whole purpose of this experiment was to get low cost lumber for outdoor projects, and maybe some hobby work that will get me paid a few pennies.

 

[NCL4701]

T

If ya still have it and don't want it, let me know what ya want for it. They're about $100 on Amazon for the Chinesium stuff. I'm still a bit hesitant to spend $5K - $6K on something that could become a very expensive yard ornament. I call myself frugal, the missus calls me stingy. Otherwise, what I made worked about as well as I expected. I figure I can mill out the structure stuff for some pole barn material so I can get my implements and project materials outta the weather.

What I was doing is OK to make big (6x6 or bigger) posts, and maybe slabbing a couple 2x8 or 2x6 boards off the sides, but it would take enormous logs and a much longer bar to use it for milling 1" decking, etc. I don't have the saw for that. I was pretty impressed with the performance of my little Poulan Pro 5020, 50cc, 20" bar, especially with a regular chain on it. This was pretty much a test to see if I'd blow the bugger up, and it shined. But an awful lot of 'lumber' gets turned into saw dust milling that way. Most of what I want to mill is 24" or smaller. I'm trying to get the dead pines down and mill 'em rather than just let 'em stand there, rot, and turn into widow makers. Beetles got us pretty bad when we had the drought about 5 years ago. A good wet spring/summer last year slowed 'em down, but late summer and autumn were very dry again, meaning more activity. If a pine can get enough water, it'll make enough sap to stop the beetles.

There may yet be a bandsaw mill in my future, but not sure if I want to be doing sawmilling for an income. It'll take it a long time to pay for itself on personal projects.

I’ll scour the shed for it but that will take a bit of time being I haven’t seen it recently. May be this weekend before I can positively determine whether it’s here or not. If you don’t have a PM from me by Monday, I don’t have it.

 

[Old_Paint]

T

I’ll scour the shed for it but that will take a bit of time being I haven’t seen it recently. May be this weekend before I can positively determine whether it’s here or not. If you don’t have a PM from me by Monday, I don’t have it.

No big hurry at all. Don't put yourself out. I could buy a new one, but why do that if someone has one they don't use any more? That's the cheapskate in me talking.

 

[RCW]

Mowing again. Doesn’t really need mowing but forecast looks a little dicey for several days.

My trimming is way behind. Have a couple high school boys do that for me now. Never needed it this early.

Make hay when the sun shines as they say….

I really try not to complain about mowing…..I save my complaints for snow removal….

 

[Moose7060]

View attachment 128388

Mowing again. Doesn’t really need mowing but forecast looks a little dicey for several days.

My trimming is way behind. Have a couple high school boys do that for me now. Never needed it this early.

Make hay when the sun shines as they say….

I really try not to complain about mowing…..I save my complaints for snow removal….

View attachment 128390

Is that a Batman's mask you're wearing?

 

[forky]

Got the first 50 white spruce planted. Picking up another 50 tomorrow but will need to water these before the second batch get planted.

View attachment 128327
View attachment 128328

Nice job, just wondering what the spacing is between trees? It's hard to tell from the pic, but wonder if you could space every other one for growth.

 

[Kennyd4110]

Nice job, just wondering what the spacing is between trees? It's hard to tell from the pic, but wonder if you could space every other one for growth.

He wrote this in a follow up post:

I planted them 10 feet apart but staggered the two rows so they are 5 feet apart. I'll see how this bunch does and I may add a third staggered row in the fall. I'm hoping not to see the neighbors home within 10 years.

 

[RCW]

Is that a Batman's mask you're wearing?

Unfortunately that’s just my own noggin with a stocking cap and prescription glasses on.

I think that’s a 3- foot snowfall I’m moving.

Posted that picture many times before.

North Idaho Wolfman has said I look like Batman or the Robo-Cop character.

 

[trial and error]

Finally got around to moving some of the wood pile from the front seasoning stack to the woodshed, over the last few days no pictures of the B with the loaded trailer but I did use the loader to knock over the stack before loading in the trailer before moving to the "burn this year shed. Last year I didn't do that and I found all the mice and snakes I could handle. This year's plan of a "no knock eviction worked well. Not one unexpected snake and only one mouse holding out l. After I wrapped up last evening I got to take our 6month old boy for his first tractor ride he needs ear pro but it was an awesome experience non the less.

 

[NCL4701]

Our road runs the spine of the ridge the three houses and shed are on. It has two turnoffs for each house and one for the shed. All downhill way past the horizon in the below pic so it gets to being a lot of water moving pretty fast by the time it gets near the end of the ridge.

When the my father built the road, and many years later when I renovated it, we had a choice of increasingly larger ditches as it progressed and several culverts at the intersections; or, being it’s on the spine of a ridge, intermittently interrupting the ditches with turnouts to disburse the water off the sides before it can get enough mass and velocity to cause erosion. One of the things he and I agreed on was I can make a turnout but I can’t make a culvert so we went with turnouts.

With the unusually large amounts of rainfall this spring I was seeing a little more erosion than I’d prefer on the very end of the road down toward the wood lot and shed. Hydraulic tilt and boxblade made quick work of adding a turnout a couple days ago just in front of the currently empty spot where we store gravel (need to get a load or two when it dries up a bit). Rained all day today so it was a good chance to make sure it was flowing right and pulling enough water out. Looked like it was working pretty well.

 

[DustyRusty]

I sold my LandPride landscape rake in less than 12 hours of posting it on Facebook Marketplace. I used the tractor to load it into his pickup truck. One down and one more to go.

 

[Magicman]

No big hurry at all. Don't put yourself out. I could buy a new one, but why do that if someone has one they don't use any more? That's the cheapskate in me talking.

I wish that you were closer to me.

 

[Kennyd4110]

I sold my LandPride landscape rake in less than 12 hours of posting it on Facebook Marketplace. I used the tractor to load it into his pickup truck. One down and one more to go.

You had two Landpride Landscape rakes?

 

[S-G-R]

I continued on with the LX3310 and BTR to finish planting this batch of trees. I'm up to 102 and need to get 21 more to finish off these two rows.

 

[billrigsby]

Added a layer of wood in the raised bed.

Two truck loads of garden soil, 4670# / 3.59 cu. yds