Thread: What to do with 'offcut' logs...

Waste not want not
I've milled short pine logs at 1300 and 1600 to get pallet bearers of 75x40 and finished lengths of 1225 and 1500. A lot of walking but had good recovery from the logs.
What species were the logs?

Mmm. Pallet timbers are a useful filler for the leaner times, but not a great deal of money in it. The extra problem is the material needs to be docked accurately to length and the chainsaw cut is not good enough. requires a radial arm saw or a SCMS if you are doing a quantity. Also check the size required as standard Australian pallets are 1165 x 1165. Other special sizes may also be required from time to time.

I only did this once and the timber I produced was too good. They had to adjust their nail guns to cope with the extra dense timber. I was supplying a sheltered workshop so I am guessing that it threw them into some confusion for a while.

I noticed that Al's logs were Ironbark so that could be an issue. The manufacturers are used to Stringybark and other softer material.

Knowing that Al is milling at a construction site there is a possibility he is producing stakes for profiles.

BTW I met up with Al on Monday. I think we could have talked the day away and he would have gone home broke. Very good to meet up though.

Regards
Paul

since you have the 10inch cut,i'd be taking out stair treads first

Originally Posted by charlsie

since you have the 10inch cut,i'd be taking out stair treads first

I hadn't thought of that. Perfect, particularly in Ironbark, but do they have to be dressed?

Regards
Paul

well, last time i did pegs, got 350 for 500 pegs, had to be 900 long and pointed two sides and would need 1.4 cubic metres of log to get 500.

Nah Charlsie, you got it mate, step treads I have been slicing 2x1 for teh construction lads from the sides as I go, but was under the hammer a bit to get these done, so didnt slice any pegs.

and Yep, I had a visit with Paul aka Bushmiller, bloody nice bloke, got to meet his missus too and we all had a pretty good chat , yeah Paul could've kept chating all day mate

Hi guys.

Short logs are perfect for stair treads, cutting 250 x 50. We utilise this on large diameter short logs, where you can get a bulk amount of clean boards quickly. Just be careful on the building codes of your relevant state, as there are minimum widths for a tread. Sometimes have to laminate two narrower boards to get the final width.

Dining table leg stock is another good use. Properly dried 125 x 125 leg stock can be around $5000 a cube if done right. Just remember to cut as close to right angles to the heart to keep the shrinkage deformation in both dimensions at a point where it won't leave you with a rack of rhombus shaped sticks.

Cheers

James

Sell our shorts to a chap who makes floating docks.

Sigidi how did you go about pointing the pegs?

Cheers Bushmiller but we do the whole pallet making process and dont waste our time with standard pallets which are the sizes you mention. We make 1225x2.4's,3.0's and 3.6's and 1500x3.0 and 3.6's. Only make for one customer but keeps me busy when I cant do trees. Have ended up buying in top plate material in as orders have increased and I cant keep up.lol

I think i need to upgrade my lucas to a 10 inch so I can do treads as we have a fair few short but large diameter logs...

I think you should upgrade to a Lucas 10, even if you never cut stair treads! Mmmm.....!!!!

Don't worry i'm tempted and am eve thinking of the electric version given I am now leasing a shed with 3 phase power. Am trying to reduce noise to keep the neighbours happy but wonder if its the blade cutting noise or the motor they will hear more. I have set my mill up in shed and plan to mill tomorrow so will see how things go. Shed is high roofed and open at eaves so I am hoping fumes wont be an issue, but will let all the noise out

Originally Posted by comgreserv

Shed is high roofed and open at eaves so I am hoping fumes wont be an issue, but will let all the noise out

It will probably be OK, but stop if you even think you might be getting headaches or drowsiness.

If neccessary you will have to cut a hole in the wall and put a large extraction/exhaust fan in to create an airflow and remove noxious gases.

There might be two issues there. It's not your shed and it slightly defeats the noise containment.

Remember that small combustion motors are not as efficient as modern car and diesel motors and produce much higher levels of carbon monoxide.

You are the most important person in your business. Stay safe.

Regards
Paul

Open eaves arent going to help much without a breeze. For indoor use you would be better with an electric. Only problem would be resale at a later date. They are a lot quieter though.

Originally Posted by rustynail

For indoor use you would be better with an electric. Only problem would be resale at a later date. They are a lot quieter though.

Yes and probably cheaper to run, although I haven't done the sums. on reasale you would have to look at substituting a combustion motor. I think you could be looking at around $2500 to $3000 there.

A better bet would probably be to buy a combustion powered mill originally and substitute an electric motor for your use. Used three phase motors can be had cheaply, although the switchgear is normally the expensive part of the exercise.

Regards
Paul

Thanks lads for your input
I should have mentioned it is an old packing shed on an orchard with doors to open to get a breeze and an old louvre window on the wall closest to the motor. I can even drive a truck through the shed with door at each end and one on the side near mill set up
Fumes didn't seem to be a problem on a decent pine log we did today so hopefully it wont be noisy for the neighbour. It was the actual cutting and not the motor that did travel when we had a bit of a listen on the neighbours fence line.