Douglas Helliesen Posted August 18, 2013 Report Share Posted August 18, 2013 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_8QÂ Â It shows some close-ups of my old Norwood mill slicing up a log. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lew Posted August 18, 2013 Report Share Posted August 18, 2013 Awesome Machine! Is the "forward" motion manual or automatic? Lew Kauffman-Wood Turners Forum HostTime Traveler and Purveyor of the Universe's Finest Custom Rolling Pins! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Douglas Helliesen Posted August 18, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 18, 2013 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 HostTime Traveler and Purveyor of the Universe's Finest Custom Rolling Pins! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lew Posted August 19, 2013 Report Share Posted August 19, 2013 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: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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