Here is a video taken by a friend a year ago and posted on u-tube, I just ran across it surfing and thought I'd post it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALOJg32w_8Q   It shows some close-ups of my old Norwood mill slicing up a log.

Awesome Machine!

Is the "forward" motion manual or automatic?

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Lew Kauffman-
Wood Turners Forum Host

Time Traveler and Purveyor of the Universe's Finest Custom Rolling Pins!

Lew,

Hope this is not too much info:

 The mill is all manual Norwood bought in "98, I bought it as Hurricane Georges was bearing down on the Island figuring there would be a few trees down, unfortunately, most were cut to 2' lengths and not very usable.  Key West does not have enough wood to support a automatic mill, it took ,me 10 years to "pay off" this one and that was due to a large resaw project.(2 semi truckloads of reclaimed teak from Seattle area)for a local contractor. I modified it to open the throat to 28" wide which really taxes the capability of the blades but nice and slow gets it done.  It has a Honda 13 hp. manual start engine which has enough power for everything I've run across. I have rail extensions mounted on aluminum I-beams that I bolt to the back for longer or larger logs, in the case of larger, I block them on the ground, back the mill up to them and mount I-beam on either side to support the millhead. This way I can cut the log down to a 28" square and whittle down from there without lifting onto the mill. I usually load the mill logs by myself, although not fast it is safe, it is the sawn slabs that give me the greatest problem, I made a slap trailer that will move 1 slab (up to 6" thick any length on edge) at a time but I still try and move the slabs off the mill by myself. The mill is set up next to my house and I have some heavy steel deck supports I made bolted to the side of the house. I use 2 cable pulls coming down from these supports under the log and over to the mill. This works very well for loading the logs but too slow for the slabs, I probably need to rig up a block and tackle for the slabs as this would be much faster. Once slab is loaded, I can move it anywhere in the yard, then comes the hassel of stacking.

All this is done in the city limits, I just keep it low key and have not had any problems. With property values as they are, the cheapest commercial lot about 10 miles away would cost a minimum of $300,000 without fencing, electric, water, etc. so I'm kind of stuck here, commercial rents are $350.00 month and up and not many landlords would like all these trees laying around either. My small workshop is in the back and I turn out cabinets, tables, etc. from the wood. I also take on aluminum welding jobs. I am currently making wife new kitchen cabinets using BC PT plywood for the core and laminating 3/16" Tropical Almond over it as I have concerns with termites and fumigation runs $3,500 which I never seem to have.

I sell maybe $300 worth of wood a month and give away about the same. I give to those making personal projects or small time trying to break into market, but once they start selling then I charge, Military usually get a 1/2 price if selling.
 
Lewis Kauffman said:

Awesome Machine!

Is the "forward" motion manual or automatic?

---

Lew Kauffman-
Wood Turners Forum Host

Time Traveler and Purveyor of the Universe's Finest Custom Rolling Pins!

Not too much information at all, Doug! Really sounds interesting.

I got a chuckle from your description of the location and the "low key" aspect. You're in Key West running a small wood business and I live near Gettysburg, PA and used to run a Scuba Shop under the same circumstances!

Douglas Helliesen said:

Lew,

Hope this is not too much info:

 The mill is all manual Norwood bought in "98, I bought it as Hurricane Georges was bearing down on the Island figuring there would be a few trees down, unfortunately, most were cut to 2' lengths and not very usable.  Key West does not have enough wood to support a automatic mill, it took ,me 10 years to "pay off" this one and that was due to a large resaw project.(2 semi truckloads of reclaimed teak from Seattle area)for a local contractor. I modified it to open the throat to 28" wide which really taxes the capability of the blades but nice and slow gets it done.  It has a Honda 13 hp. manual start engine which has enough power for everything I've run across. I have rail extensions mounted on aluminum I-beams that I bolt to the back for longer or larger logs, in the case of larger, I block them on the ground, back the mill up to them and mount I-beam on either side to support the millhead. This way I can cut the log down to a 28" square and whittle down from there without lifting onto the mill. I usually load the mill logs by myself, although not fast it is safe, it is the sawn slabs that give me the greatest problem, I made a slap trailer that will move 1 slab (up to 6" thick any length on edge) at a time but I still try and move the slabs off the mill by myself. The mill is set up next to my house and I have some heavy steel deck supports I made bolted to the side of the house. I use 2 cable pulls coming down from these supports under the log and over to the mill. This works very well for loading the logs but too slow for the slabs, I probably need to rig up a block and tackle for the slabs as this would be much faster. Once slab is loaded, I can move it anywhere in the yard, then comes the hassel of stacking.

All this is done in the city limits, I just keep it low key and have not had any problems. With property values as they are, the cheapest commercial lot about 10 miles away would cost a minimum of $300,000 without fencing, electric, water, etc. so I'm kind of stuck here, commercial rents are $350.00 month and up and not many landlords would like all these trees laying around either. My small workshop is in the back and I turn out cabinets, tables, etc. from the wood. I also take on aluminum welding jobs. I am currently making wife new kitchen cabinets using BC PT plywood for the core and laminating 3/16" Tropical Almond over it as I have concerns with termites and fumigation runs $3,500 which I never seem to have.

I sell maybe $300 worth of wood a month and give away about the same. I give to those making personal projects or small time trying to break into market, but once they start selling then I charge, Military usually get a 1/2 price if selling.
 
Lewis Kauffman said: