AIR DRYING LUMBER

First I will make a mention here that this is a very simple, easy way and only applies to drying lumber for the 1 man sawmill or homeowner sawmill, it will not include all the formula’s etc, just the basics for you.The water or moisture content (MC) in lumber or logs is significant and can be 100% in the lumber or log. So how dry should it be to use. An average percentage to use is around 20% or less if the lumber is too be used outside (optimum is 15%) and if the lumber is going to used inside, then around 9% is normal. A moisture meter probe is a really good item to have but these can be expensive.
Depending on the thickness of the lumber and where you live, weather and time of the year, it will take anywhere from 6 weeks to 4 months. Most lumber is in the 1” to 2” thickness and the time above applies to thicknesses. Drying cants, timbers, posts will take considerably longer.You must stack the lumber correctly, this is imperative if you want good grade lumber to use. If you do not take the time to stack the lumber correctly, then you are going to loose a fair amount to warping, checks, splits etc., you must also coat both ends of the boards with a sealer.

A lot more details on my website

http://www.procutportablesawmills.com

Is it easy to build a sawmill without experience?

Sometimes some people asked me: I have never built anything like this, is it really possible?
A very large yes to this. When I was designing Procut I gave the completed sawmill plans to a high school student and a doctor without any experience and asked them to build Procut. They kept a record of the hours spent and detailed notes on what they found difficult or needed more explaining. The sawmill plans were changed to include all their suggestions and come with a written explanation text,drawing.an photo at each step. This makes Procut the easiest plans to use to build a h/d portable sawmill anywhere in the world.
My best wishes
Allan
http://www.procutportablesawmills.com

Some of my sawmill customers around the world

FROM: USA, CANADA, AUSTRALIA, AFRICA, SOUTH AMERICA AND EUROPE
http://www.procutportablesawmills.com

One of my customers sawmills

One of my customers with his sawmill built with my Procut Sawmill plans
http://www.procutportablesawmills.com

WORK SHOP SHELVING

WORK SHOP SHELVING
Do you need affordable work shop shelving in your garage workshop etc, that is easy to build and affordable. We all know how expensive it is and here is an easy cheap way to do it.
This is based on 3ft high shelving and 3ft wide, 2ft deep, as many shelves as you want and all adjustable for height. With this system you can also build a lot taller, wider, deeper.
All you need is 4 pieces of ¾” threaded rod ( redi rod ) available at any home building supply, hardware store etc, nuts and flat washers to match. You will need 8 nuts and 16 washers per shelf. You will also need 4 long connecting nuts. The threaded rod usually comes in 3ft lengths but can be bought much longer for taller shelves. Shelving can be ¾” plywood, fiberboard, thin steel etc.
All you need to do is cut your shelving to the size you want, all the shelving should be the same size. Lay the shelving you have cut on top of each other and clamp together. Measure in about 1” on all four corners for light loads, 1 ½” for heavier loads, and then drill through all the shelving using a 13/16” drill bit.
On all 4 redi rod place a nut first and then a flat washer about 4” onto the redi rod. Then place 1 shelf, then another flat washer and then a nut. This will be your bottom shelf. Then thread on the long connecting nuts, these are the feet and are used for leveling, you can save some cost here if your floor is level already, then you can use just standard nuts. To save a little time later you can measure all this from the bottom of the redi rod, this saves a little time later leveling the shelf. Just tighten the nuts finger tight to the shelf.You should now have the 4 redi rod sticking up with the bottom shelf in place. Just install nuts and flat washers on top of the nuts on the redi rod for the next shelf, again only finger tight on the nuts. Just keep adding nuts, then washers and then shelves and washers and nuts again for the spacing you want on the shelves, keep doing this until you have all the shelves in place. The very top shelf measure down for the nuts and washers and then you can tighten the top shelf and the bottom shelf. This will stiffen up the shelving unit and you can then level it with the bottom nuts. Now you can make sure the unit is level and also all the shelves, just adjust the nuts to level each shelf. Then you can tighten up the whole assembly with a wrench, make sure you tighten both the top and bottom nut at each shelf.
This shelving unit will take about 1 hour to accomplish and will be very affordable.
You can make much taller shelving units by either purchasing longer threaded rod or using the standard 3ft lengths from the store and join with long connecting nuts. You can also make much longer shelving by just adding redi rod every 3 to 4 ft depending on the weight you are going to have on the shelves.
This also works for making roll away shelves, tool carts, welding carts etc. Just install 360 degree dolly wheels on the bottom.
Use your imagination. Computers are nice but using our God given brain is much better….smile.
Allan
http://www.procutportablesawmills.com

Forestry short story humor

GRIZZLY BEAR

Many years ago I was falling in Dome Creek, about 60 miles East of Prince George, BC. I arrived at the landing one morning, it was snowing big wet flakes, and visibility was about 25 feet. We always had a big fire going steady on the landing (for all the limbs and of course our huge coffee pot) and I am sitting on a log keeping warm, sharpening my saws etc. The skidders are warming up, the 966 loader is running, the D6 and TD25 dozers are idling, when I hear a shuffling sound behind me. I turned but did not see anything and went back to filing my saw chains. Next thing I see are the equipment operators running to the machines in a heck of a hurry, and I thought "boy are they determined to have a fast start". I turned back to my saws and out of the comer of my eye I spot something, I look, and 15 feet away stands the biggest, meanest looking grizzly bear I have ever seen, needless to say I froze.
Now the equipment I have mentioned are all open with just R.O.P.S. canopies over them except for the 966 loader which has a fully enclosed cab (has a heater even and in this case also a stereo with head phones - loader operators have it good) well I slowly look around for some escape. I haven't moved yet (nowhere to go), the pickups are too far on the other side of the landing, there is 2 guys each on the dozers, the line skidder operators are sitting in the skidders and there are 3 guys crammed into the cab of the loader, but it was hard to tell because all I saw were legs and arms pressed against the glass. At this moment frozen in time, everybody is looking at me, wondering what I am going to do (I am wondering the same thing myself. I am eyeing the grizzly bear, he is sizing me up for breakfast and here comes S.O.B. skidder operator #2 to chase the grizzly away with the skidder, only the bear doesn't move, goes up on his hind legs, and starts announcing to the world just who is boss around here. The grizzly attacks, I throw the chainsaw blade first, this makes boss bear really mad, I run like heck towards the loader as the dozer operators do not want any part of this and have taken off up the skid trails, ditto the other skidder, that leaves S.O.B. skidder chasing the bear and me looking at how fast I can climb a 966 loader to the roof. I make it, guys in the loader are desperately trying to close the cab door (cab is small) and I start laughing because boss bear is eyeing a foot stuck out of the door. Then the bear stands straight up. Well! Did you know that a fully grown grizzly bear can stand up to 8 feet, I try to make a decision on where else to go but my brain will not operate, boss bears claws are 6 inches long and are trying to swipe me off the roof. Here comes S.O.B. skidder operator #2 and bumps the bear in the behind, the grizzly goes berserk, I go berserk, guys in the loader go berserk because the door is not closed, and the skidder operator panics. The grizzly bear smashes everything in site, windows on the loader (3 guys fighting to get out) rips out hydraulic lines to the grapple, takes huge chunks of rubber from the tires and then turns on the skidder. He takes off with the bear in fast pursuit but the bear gives up and ambles off into the bush. I am now so relieved that I start laughing, especially at the guys still crammed in the loader trying to untangle themselves. I laugh so hard that I fall off the roof cracking a shin on the grating on the way down.
I have had lots of these experiences, like the day I cut into a tree with the biggest wasps nest inside, the day I cut up my little toe, worst day of my life when I cut off 3 fingers on my left hand, the loader that got away, the dozer that captured the wood's record for side rolls, and many many more over a 35 year span. All will be told in my new book I am trying to write along with everything else.
Have a great day.
Allan
More stories on my website at www.procutportablesawmills.com