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Definitely still something I'm misjudging on some logs. It didn't help that I had lost all my wedges, recently bought more.

I've used 4-5"ish log sections as rollers before, but only when I can position them while the tree is still suspended. I've not considered using smaller rollers that I could still roll the big log on top of even if its already on the ground. I've recently made a table saw dowel jig, maybe I'll keep a couple 1.5" oak dowels in the Kuboda. I also need to do better about keeping a couple wedge shaped firewood pieces to use as tire blocks. Sucks when the arch wants to roll down hill or when I have to park on a steep hill.

Thanks very much, this comment makes me feel better. I try to reply to everyone concisely and professionally, but I still second guess myself and wonder if I said the right thing. Trying to keep my replies short and not type out a long detailed rebuttal is difficult sometimes

Snatch blocks would have made it 'easier' but it would have taken me longer overall and they weren't needed

The tree was on my property. It is not permitted to cut down trees from government owned land. This tree was already blown over from a storm, but I am legally allowed to cut down any of the trees on my own property without permission from the government. If you live in a city then its common that there are more rules and you have to get permission to remove trees or even to dig a trench to install a water line too close to a mature tree to prevent damage that would kill it. Every state/city may have different rules.

I'm actually using the metal cutting disc they sell for tall grass and it works fantastic! It came with a disc with smaller hook like teeth you sharpen with a round file and it was meant for wood....it was terrible. Couldn't cut through anything. This grass blade has larger flat teeth that chomp right through Autumn Olive

Ha, I've been told once or twice. I do have a handful of snatch blocks. I used them 2 weekends ago to pull down a pine tree I felled that got hung up half way to the ground. I find setting up the long ropes tedious (maybe because I don't do it often) so I decided to just go without

I just checked my order history and each caster is rated for 150lbs...not quite as much as I thought. I do want to go add a 2nd layer of 2x4s on the upper ends to better hold the weight on the center slab. I will probably remove the casters after those slabs have dried for a few months before securing them to the frame because the new top is thicker than the old top and will no longer serve as an off-feed table for the table saw

Thank you for watching! I never expected so many people to see this

Normally I have 2 chain hoists out there and I can load the heaviest logs with no effort. I had just bought a new wood stove and I used one of my hoists to unload it from the truck. Kept forgetting to go back to the house and get it

You mean a skidding cone or the heavy equipment?

Edit: Sorry I didn't realize which video this comment was on. Yes you are right, thats why I've got those 3 clamps on both ends of the table to mitigate the cupping as they dry. In a few months they will be dry enough they won't move anymore and I'll finish flattening them and screwing them down. I've used pine slabs like this before for shelving and they are so thick they don't cup very much.

I have snatch blocks, I find setting them up tedious. I used pulleys last weekend to pull down a hung up tree. I've looked into electric winches, I'm going to get a gas one instead so I don't have to deal with dead batteries and overheating. I could turn a log this size into $700 and I wasn't winching for that long....I don't think it's too much work especially since I'm not doing it daily

Gas winch is on the shopping list. From what I've seen electric winches overheat too easily and I also don't want to deal with dead batteries

Thank you! I wanted a video I could link to in my Etsy descriptions so people could see the whole process and understand what it means when I'm selling them a "Homegrown Birdhouse". After about a month the video took off for some reason. The other 3 have been my attempt to figure out what I did correct the first time. My latest video is best in terms of % view duration and yet the only views it gets are coming from the end screen of the successful video...My strategy is just to show people what I'm doing and give them pretty camera angles, play good music, and try to film when the light isn't harsh. I don't speak to the camera because I'm not an expert and not in position to teach my primary audience which is 45-65+ year old men.

That's me , 45-65 yr old man. And I too try to avoid talking in my videos, which are less refined then yours. I think you're on to something, I look forward to your next videos. @@makingawesome8730

Thanks for the kind words! I didn't expect this to do so well. In the future I'm paying more attention to trying not to film in the middle of the day when the lighting is so harsh

No I don't do this often. Pulleys are a pain to set up so I went without since they weren't required. Also, I had cut my long rope into pieces after not needing a 150' rope in 2 years. I've recently bought another long rope since making this video though

I can't see how pulley's are a pain, I've used them all my life, And only takes a few seconds to set up Maybe you were not using the correct ones The ones you want open up to drop the cable or line into them, as well to hook them up to a tree or stump. They are fast to use. less than one minute.@@makingawesome8730

Thanks, we love it here! We are West of 77 and North of 64

Or just short on funds

Yes, something like that is on my shopping list. This is the most tedious log I've harvested so far, they arent notmally that difficult. If they all required that much winching I'd have prioritized a gas winch already. I've got a couple really nice white oaks blown down in the valleys I'm not going to attempt until I get a gas winch. Thanks!

@@makingawesome8730 If the oaks are still attached to their root plates, and some of the roots are in the ground, then they will keep until you can extract them. I would be interested to see what white oak timber looks like, white oak doesn't grow in west Wales.

@TheHairyFool My next project is a shelter for air drying lumber by the mill. I'll be using smaller white oak logs to make the support posts to hold up the roof. I've already collected all the oak and a 16.5' pine log to make the joists. White oak is the most rot resistant wood I have here

Ive only tried to explain that I'm not being dismissive and I think their fear is misplaced. I want advice from anyone with knowledge to share

I've tried a few different methods. I used to use ratchet straps, now I usually just put some scrap boards on top and maybe some other heavy stuff laying around the barn. Pine/Cedar seems to dry pretty flat but Oak really wants to cup across the center of the tree. Even the oak boards on the bottom of a stack want to cup. For the things I make it doesn't matter much because I can just rip the board in half later leaving me with 2, pretty flat halves.

Thanks! Not easy, but still enjoyable

I wear chaps sometimes. Do you not find the helmet/visor is more of a hinderance than a safety feature? If I wasn't wearing glasses I'd have safety glasses on for sure but the visor really limits visibility. I want to be able to hear the log I'm working on, not the sound of the helmet strapped to my head

@@makingawesome8730 I pretty much won't pick up the saw without all the safety gear. Logging is the #1 most dangerous line of work, and it only takes ONE mistake to get dead or worse (and I'm not a full time logger, so it's even more dangerous for me). that saw can kick back right to your head, or swing against your leg with one false move, and you don't always know how the wood is going to move... I'd rather hear my grandkids laughing than the fucking log, so I always wear muffs, too.

Yes logging is dangerous...mostly because of the heavy logs that can kill you or crush you in a single blow. You are dismissive of me wanting to see the log with my peripheral vision and hear it as the tensions start to shift but I think those things are significant. (I wear earplugs). More chainsaw injuries happen to arms than to legs and only 6% of chainsaw injuries require hospitalization. I'm not dismissive of safety by any means, but I'm more worried about the log than the saw. If you can see minor shifts as the log starts to move you won't be surprised by kickback like you will if you are 50% blindfolded. @@HI-ij4fj

I have a big saw and a little saw. My little saw is 9" so I used the big one. I'm saving for a tractor and a pto forestry winch and also a gas powered portable rope winch. I am interested in that style winch you suggested, but if I've got the others I'm not sure I need a better manual winch. Thanks!

Snatch blocks are tedious, sometimes I'd rather just work the rowing machine for 10 extra minutes. Pulling a whole tree requires blocks, moving a single log 10ft not so much

I donno man...I'm not just cutting off firewood rounds, I can't get a 1000lb log off my foot

@@makingawesome8730 I didn’t say put your foot under it, I said stand closer. It’s obvious from the way you’re standing that you’re not very experienced/comfortable running a saw, so you might want to put some extra thought into what you’re doing.

Whatever man, I'm plenty comfortable with my saws when I'm cutting things that can't crush me. If I'm gonna get hurt its gonna be from misjudging how a log settles, not from kickback. @@johns3106

True, loading logs would be super convenient if my bed was even with the ground. But lower to the ground requires more bending for picking up the boards, looking down line of sight of the blade, adjusting log stops, clamps, etc. The chain hoists do take time, but not so much effort

I own chaps, I wear them when there is poor footing

@@makingawesome8730 You should at least wear chaps, head and ear protection when handling the saw 😏. It would be a pitty if you had to stop making videos. Best of luck!

I always wear earplugs. I think most people advocating for chaps don't know that more chainsaw injuries happen to arms than legs. I also suspect that most injuries are homeowners who only use a saw once every 2 years who feel pressured to make precarious cuts because they must remove a storm damaged tree in the front yard. @@Lars1963Piil

I've not seen these line pull winches before, I'm going to look into them. I plan on buying a tractor and getting a pto forestry winch and also a portable gas powered rope winch for stuff farther from the trails.

I second the snatch block, it will make changing pull directions so much easier.

Yes, this is a danger I didn't consider. Lesson learned. Thank you

Yeah.

Afraid not, my body doesn't bulk up with fat or muscle. Farmer strength is no joke tho

😎@@makingawesome8730

Steel wedge? I can never find wedges when I'm loading up so usually make due without any. Sometimes I'll use my hatchet I keep in the kuboda but I don't remember doing it for this particular tree...and I don't think I've ever hit it when I do

Agreed. If it was stolen I'd buy it again tomorrow. Paid for itself many times over

Thanks! I've got a couple more projects on the way

👍

Probably so. The Kuboda was inherited so I didn't buy that. I'm no mechanic so I don't want a used tractor, I'm saving for new. The log arch would be required for my trails/terrain even if I had a tractor with a grapple.

Log would dig into the ground, my Kuboda couldn't do it. It would work with snatch blocks...but setting up that rigging is a pain. I'd rather spend some extra time on the rowing machine that fuss with all that rope

I have it. Read the other comments if you want to know my thoughts

Thank you from WV

Thank you Clint!

Ramps that are sturdy enough to hold up to a log being drug over them need to be sturdy and yet also movable so the sawmill body can pass. Ramps were my first idea. The chain hoists are not an effort

@@makingawesome8730 my ramps are a couple cedar 5x5s that I cut from small logs. They have a notch which sits on the sawmill guide rail so they don't slip. A loop of cable looped over and then under the log and hooked back to a pull point on the ATV causes the log to roll as it's being pulled by the winch. I've used these to roll a 24" diameter sugar maple log onto the mill which is basically as heavy a log as I'm ever going to ask this mill to cut. And it's not just less effort than lifting- it's safer and faster. That log was far heavier than the forks on my BX tractor can lift.

My thought process at the time was that I didn't want to put that pressure directly on 2 isolated spots of 1 rail. Good to know it doesn't cause you any issues @@spitfireresearchinc.7972

@@makingawesome8730 the mill is well supported underneath and the rails are quite stout as long as you don't put a tremendous amount of force on them by running a piece of machinery into them for instance- got to be careful with loader forks when you get a tractor! Put each ramp near a foot and you'll be fine. The process of rolling a log up onto the mill bed is very gentle.

Thanks!

I've got chaps and I wore them for the first year we moved to our property. Had a year off from work so I was out re-claiming the trails, learning the sawmill, collecting firewood, using chainsaws almost every day. I think everyone should wear them in the beginning but once you understand the physics its more of a case by case judgement and not a black and white rule. For the lumber its different every time. Pine dries faster than the 1year per inch rule. Mostly I just use pine for framing materials and I'll just build with it green. For things I sell I won't use green lumber. If I were building fine oak kitchen tables then I'd have to worry about getting totally dry, but if your making it into Christmas ornaments it doesn't seem to matter if they aren't totally dry yet in the core. 1/4" oak planks for birdhouses on the laser cutter air dries in the barn within a couple months. 1.25" thick oak in the solar kiln is dry enough to work with in a few months. Its a brand new kiln and its not even complete so I really don't know what its capable of yet. I also air dried some 2.25" Red Oak slabs for over 2.5 years

I want chaps mainly to stop wood chips filling my boots. LOL. At the moment I've adapted a pair of lightweight wind-proof sports pants called "shells". They are baggy to fit over clothing and slide easily over boots. Even big winter boots. Convenient for donning before snow-blowing. They don't warm you up in the summer either.

@slowfinger2 This is why I don't wear any boots with patting around the top. My jeans must be able to cover my boot tops. It sucks because rubber boots are so much better for preventing ticks. But I hate getting debris in my boots.

I ended up just removing the blade guard since it was kinda tedious to reset it every time I got a large log on there or change a blade. Haven't noticed any issues so I just leave it off. What would you say if I told you I stopped putting water in the sawmill lube tank? Maybe its just because my saw isn't that powerful but my blades don't get hot, just a bit warm. The water just makes it difficult to brush off the sawdust so I don't see the point. Blades don't seem to dull any faster. Thoughts?

Sure, always got thoughts. The blade guide slides closer or farther away from the log and helps maintain a flat cutting blade. Probably way more so when cutting a fibrous species like Spruce which tends to pull the teeth, then when cutting hardwoods. If you find your slabs are somewhat wedge shaped then get on the guide adjustment more. As for water on the blade, I use it more for cleaning pitch than cooling. Like pitchy pine. But cooling is still a factor on wider wood. When your blade gets hot you'll loose tension as it stretches. I ran my bands about 2500 psi. Cheers@@makingawesome8730

I use chaps when there is poor footing and for extended use where you may lose focus. The weight of the logs are the most dangerous part, not gonna lose focus while I'm making those 3 cuts. Safety is not binary

@@makingawesome8730 True, safety is not binary, because there will never be absolute safety. And I wonder how many people already have been saying "I won't lose focus while making those 3 cuts" right before they said "I need an ambulance". I recently bought a new pair of cut protection pants. You know what the sales guy said? There's many people happily buying those AFTER the accident happened. Anyway, I think, you're lacking a lot of experience, cause you're reducing it all to the chaps while you're also missing a visor, and don't seem to have any hearing protection... But hey, it's your limbs, you can do whatever you like. Still it would be better not to present it to the world and plant ideas to other peopel's heads that safety gear is unnecessary...

I always wear earplugs. Glasses and a squint block any chips with enough energy to travel in a straight trajectory. Visor limits your vision and even your hearing. Every minor movement of the visor strapped to your head makes noise you can feel in your skull. I'd much rather hear the pops of the tree I'm working on and have unimpeded peripheral vision @@smurface549

@@makingawesome8730 Absolute false. Branches falling wile cutting are a very common risk, one of the few that PPE can help mitigate. Wear a helmet, do yourself a favor.

@mat650 This tree was already blown over....Dead branches falling are dangerous, I leave those trees for the woodpeckers with exceptions when I know the tree just died recently and it's not rotted yet

Just need a tractor, pto logging winch, portable gas winch, full size jointer, and a bandsaw and I'm all set