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Philip, perhaps they would not have worth your time, that's your call. I provide a custom milling service and my time is well paid for. These logs had provenance, special significance for the client, and suited his needs (mostly lining horse stall areas in his barn). He was quite happy with the results from his logs and my efforts were well compensated. Part of the reason I bought my sawmill was because I would encounter sawmill operators who turned up their noses at certain log sizes, species, quantities, sources, or were limited in their sawing skills. There are plenty of opportunities out there if you promote what you do. Fortunately, there are lots of differences in sawmills, sawyers and how they operate. I stay as busy as I want to be.

The primary use of the log loading arch is to pick up logs where there is no loading equipment available and bring them to my home. Here, I have equipment available to unload the logs, primarily I use an all-terrain forklift. I have unloaded using the arch one time. I tilted it slightly away from the rear of the trailer and held that position with chains. Then I could run the winch cable through the pulley in the center of the arch and back to the chain around the log. That allowed me to pull several feet of the log off the rear of the trailer. Unloading with equipment us much easier. I have heard of people backing the trailer up to a large post or tree, hooking the log to the post or tree, and pulling the log off the trailer that way. People will try whatever works but since I have equipment for moving logs around the mill area, that is what I use.

Although being able to avoid any log with metal would be nice, it would not be cost effective. The metal detection equipment at large sawmills would likely cost more than most small sawmills like mine. Their capacities would not make sense (cents) for a small operation. Consider the first 500 logs i milled this year. I hit metal in 17 of those logs, requiring a total of 20 blade replacements (only 2 were destroyed). So, for 3.4% of the logs, there was a resharpening surcharge - not a great concern. In some cases, the client was advised that there was metal in the log (visible staining) and yet wanted to proceed. When it is a special log (from their yard, planted by a relative, etc.), the potential extra cost is worth it to them. Lets say you have a 200 board foot walnut log, milling cost would be $80-100. If we hit a nail and replace a blade ($15), and eliminate the stained boards, perhaps they get 170 bf of walnut for $95-115... still a pretty good deal.

@@TomHogardI see. Thx for the cost breakdown. I'll keep my eye out for a cheap but effective kit you could build. I saw a semi-professional detector that found a bullet under 4 inches of earth. That would certainly be a start. And I think we could do better. I think it was too small. The size of the coils involved makes quite a difference. I believe technology has advanced but no one is producing a new product. There wouldn't be a massive market interest (I may be wrong cuz there are a lot of strange hobbyists)) but maybe a kit design would be the way to go. I found that second build at a new circuit design goes about 6 times faster than the first, although I designed only small circuits. I know a brilliant electronics engineer online. I'll try to contact him and see what he says.

Fred, I think someone came up with a lower cost version for logs. It had a 4 or 5' shaft with a very large concave coil. Supposedly you could walk down both sides of a log, with the coil a few inches from the bark, and it would detect any nails or other metal in the log. IIRC, it was around $2000 or so. I do have a wand-style detector that is good for about 2" deep in hardwoods. One of the issues is that there is a lot of metal in the sawmill, or the forklift forks. You would have to put the log on the ground so you could get around it while there was no metal equipment to give a reading, then move the log to the mill. I primarily my clients' logs, so if I don't find anything with the detector, and then hit metal, who pays for the blade? With the equipment investment, the extra time to scan each log, and the low frequency of hitting metal in logs, I probably would't buy a larger detector (unless the gadget bug bit me).

@@tomthesawyervids 2K $ is still kind of expensive but believable for a commercial unit. And the problem of all the surrounding metal did occur to me. That's why I think the unit would have to be focused. somehow.

Strange comment, and somewhat misguided. Your are correct that I was not wearing a COVID mask in this video. But considering that this video was shot in December of 2017, and no one had heard of COVID three years ago, perhaps your comment is reflective of your lack of observation skills.

Eudora, Kansas. I am in Johnson County, Ks., a suburban area near Kansas City

Thank you Greg.

I appreciate the compliment, Willie Ray. I enjoy watching sawmilling videos and I do it almost every day.

Craig. my trailer is 18' flat plus a 2' dovetail. My arch is 5' tall. Sizing the arch is based on the width of your trailer and the anticipated size of the logs. My mill is rated for a maximum diameter of 36" (32" is more realistic) and 5000 pounds. It is not likely that I would ever carry more than 4 logs at a time. If you commonly pick up smaller logs, some guys have made the arch taller to facilitate lifting up to a second layer. The pivot point should be just forward of the rear of the trailer so that the highest lift point (when the arch is vertical), gets the end of the log onto the trailer. Then I lower the arch, move the chains back a couple of feet, and lift it the rest of the way.

Jerry, thanks for asking. I am still milling, although currently shut down by the CV-19 restrictions. Got discouraged by YT policies but that seems to have changed so I expect to have a video up in the next month or so.