The Sawyers

A few weeks ago, Krissy (my sister-in-law) came out to visit. Really, she came out to see Gwendolyn, as Sara and I are simply necessary accoutrements to the center-ring attraction of our daughter. But I recruited her to help with some milling; I thought it would increase the value of her time with Gwendolyn, if she had to work for it a little bit.

Recall that we had ten hemlocks and a white pine cut down two months ago; the gentleman who did that work left us with his portable saw mill. Here's how it works:

The beast itself. Notice the engine and saw blade (plus a new sharp one, hanging on the muffler) all mounted on a rolling unit that slides down parallel tracks:

Here's Krissy, the new intrepid sawyer, ready to get to work (even in the 65-degree weather that chilled her Phoenix bones):

Here we are, setting the runners to roll a log onto the mill:

Here Krissy shows her Truberg side, letting the Estonian lumberjack come out as she handles the log roller. I feel like we should have been singing some Baltic lumberjack songs while we worked:

Up and over, being careful not to catch any feet under the massive totem:

And down the runners:

Et voila! One eight-foot log delivered onto the mill:

Mill blades are designed to cut wood, not silicates or rocks. So to keep the blade from dulling, we brushed the dirt out from the grooves in the bark. (The log had been dragged along the ground to get it up to the mill.)

Next we make sure that the dogs holding the log in place are ready for the first run. (Note well, however, that we didn't use all the dogs. The ASPCA will be happy to know that Sadie did not even break a sweat.)

With a glance down the log, we make sure the first cut will fall where we want it to, and won't hit any of the dogs:

We make a final adjustment to the mill (Krissy had to endure the exhaust for this one):

Ready, set, mill!

The new blade slices through the first course like butter:

With one side cut, we roll the log ninety degrees for the second cut:

One last push to get it flush on the dogs:

Oops! In the process of squaring it up, we slid the log too far down the mill. Here we are trying to press it back into place (though ultimately we needed to employ a lever to get enough mechanical advantage):

Ratcheting up the unit for the next course:

And the final product: eight-foot 1x10s perfect for treehouse flooring:

Thanks, Krissy! Next time, 2x4s for our garden shed!

~emrys