- I'm spraying diesel on the blade. It keeps the noise down greatly. - My neighbors are cool. - Yes, I love crotch. - I'm painting the guards this week. - I'm not buying a forklift/tractor/skidsteer anytime soon. - The slabs will take around 1.5-2 years to dry.
Why are the boys' lawn chairs so far away? How can they "learn anything" (get covered in sawdust) 'way over there? [insert Matt Cremona patented chuckle here]
No forklift... then how about lengthening the tracks and build another square cage on it, with a winch in it? Drive your car over the tracks, lift the wood with the cage, drive your car off, and push the whole thing over to your saw bed to lower the trunk there. Or you could lay another track outside the first one, to ride the second cage on... I'm sure you'll get the idea.
You are quite the hard worker and without a doubt, an inventor of large log handling, transport and cutting on a one man scale. Suggestions : Put rollers on that log bed, purchase a fork lift to save your back and spine from the obvious strain which you are putting on it each time you lift a slab. I am an avid admirer of your entrepreneurship talent............. Scott
I love that you are so enthusiastic about what gets revealed as the log is cut. Great video and the drone footage works really well - an unusual perspective.
A lot of Matts out there..lol. HEY ! You know....I used to do everything you and your friend were doing. Cut trees down, Cut split, and stack cords and cords of wood. ...and that was on the weekends ! lol. Until one day I ruined my back SO BAD, !! that I needed surgery . I had 2 near herniated discs hitting nerves...and one Herniated Disc which blew out like toothpaste from tube !...so the neurologist told me. "Extremely Severe"! he said. I was never the same. I can't do much lifting at all, and just mowing the lawn numbs my entire crotch, until I lay down on the floor. Don't risk your backs guys !!! YOU ARE YOUNG !! Like I was...Beware.If you ruin your back your life changes dramatically, believe me !! It is terrible to live with constant back pain. Matt.
Blew my back out 2 years ago, thankfully not so bad. Can't imagine anything worse than being unable to walk. Pooping in a pan is no fun no matter what your age is, and these guys aren't built to be lifting this kind of weight. Work smarter, not harder.
Sorry to hear you're in so much pain. Same here just had 3rd neck surgery pain is a terrible thing to live with. I've got 2,000 b.f of walnut needs to be re stacked and can't touch it. Unfortunately it will probably have so much waste by the time I'll be able too do it. Yes females like wood also! Take care of yourself.
yellowchopperproductions You are very correct ! I've lived with chronic pain for many years and it come about mainly because I thought I could lift ANYTHING or move ANYTHING ! By the time that you realize there might be a problem, it's too late ! PLEASE find a better way !!!
Matt, you're so awesome at welding and fabricating steel, how about an overhead rail, gantry with a bunch of supporting inverted U shaped A-frames that you could position from the mill to wherever you wanted to stack the slabs? Then you could "float" the slabs relatively effortlessly to the stack. Not sure I'm exposing my idea well, but I imagine you could improve on it. Mill on! Lou
Matt I've been working on a compilation video of every time you've said crotch, but I've had to abandon it as the video is already over 3 hours long. lololol
It is interesting to see the approach to a log where the goal is lots of visible "defects", as opposed to the normal process of cutting to provide as much "useable" lumber as possible, free from these interesting and pretty "defects". Great video, thank you.
That was fast. Diesel. I would have never guessed. You do an awesome job....something, with wood, that 90% of us won't ever really get the chance do! Thanks for bringing this "wood working therapy" to the internet
I have a few questions! What are you spraying on the blade? Are your neighbors cool? Do you love crotch? When are you painting the guards? Are you gonna by a forklift? How long will the slabs take to dry? ;)
Now that we have come along for the slabbing, it sure will be fun to watch some of these slabs turn into projects. When you do, don't forget to give us a glimpse at the slabbing video so we can remember what log then came out of. GREAT job Matt!!
Wonderful young men moving tonnes of wet slabs! I wish my old back didn't hurt just watching!!! thanks Matthew great video; lots of sweet looking slabs now available for furniture instead of the land fill or funeral pyre.
Nicely done video and sawmanship. It's good to see some clean cut, hard working young men creating heirloom tables from a masterpiece created in nature. Thank you Lord for trees!!!
I was about to say how do your neighbors take what you are doing with their lovely lawn and such, but then I saw your comment. You are a lucky fellow. My neighbors are always difficult.
If I had not seen it, I would not have believed it! Two men milling that huge butt in a backyard. Unbelievable! I guess not all millennials are feckless. You ARE the man, Matt.
Fork lift or Skid steer would tear up his yard quite a bit. Idk if Matt is ever planning on moving to a more non-residential space, but setting up his mill on a gravel or concrete pad would help a ton and make a mechanized mover a more viable idea.
Once all those slabs are dried, and sold, you can buy a new property, build a new house and a huge shop with an overhead crane in it to handle those logs on the saw... Oh, yeah, and a forklift with AC and bathroom! :-)
Maybe he's able take a smaller slab for his troubles. Even the smallest would make a great coffee table when you are sick of visitors moving it around the room.
Great setup. Silver Maple wouldn't sell around here. It's nearly always used for firewood or left to rot. Too much Cherry and Walnut and Sugar Maple goes to waste, not to mention the Ash and Hickory and White Oak and Red.
I live in the twin cities, too. Love working with exotic wood and used to log in the late 70's and early 80's. Beautiful pieces. really like your mill.
Matt - Beautiful stack, beautiful slabs. As you moved the slabs, I was imagining the projects you can build. Tables, bowls, pens, so many possibilities! Get to work. Can't wait to see what you come up with.
All these drying estimates are way out because your trees are often dead for years and therefore are pretty dry already. Every one has its own moisture content and perhaps for the show; you should get a gauge not that big of a deal nowadays to find.
i use a moisture gauge on my wood but here in minnesota if your drying outdoors it tends to take longer cus it gets snowed on alot and the summers arent all that dry. ive had wood take 2-3 years to dry outdoors. now i have an attic filled with wood drying with fans and a dehumidifier . takes only about 1 year to dry even 4 inch thick green timber.
Now that was a Christmas tree full of all kinds of great stuff. I couldn't believe the different curls, burls and crotch got to love the crotch. Those will be beautiful furniture someday. Awesome video
Matt: Gotta hang a sawdust catch bag. You have a fire hazard growing. Cannot remember which 'chapter' what phase/voltage/amp/ rotation rpm motor did you keep and what would you do if had a choice for a rebuild?
Matt, your mill is awesome...really impressed watching you saw logs this size. I wish I lived closer so I could start buying slabs from you when they're ready. One tip, I've been an equipment operator for 20 years...an older skidloader or tractor with forks would save your back and increase production. It could be a fairly small machine...you can pick up older bobcats cheap. Just saying...eventually your back will feel like mine, ruined. You could slide those slabs right onto the forks at whatever height you need then off to start drying. Keep up the good work.
Matt I know you are not looking to get a forklift but at least set up an electric winch to drag the slab off. You will get a hernia or bad back in less than a year lifting like that!
Matt, I watched your sawmill build and followed it like a weekly doco. So pleased for you that your machine works as well as it does. Well done mate. :)
As a 61 year old with a bad back with a bunch of pins in it. You need to come up with a better way of moving and stacking that wood or you will pay my friend, just saying you will regret it.
Matt: Listen and heed ivel38. You may not believe it now, but when overuse and age catch up with you, you'll pay the rest of your life. It is worth protecting your body. Macho doesn't cut it.
Yeah, young men are bullet proof. Please purchase some steel topped boots. One slob on your foot might end your milling days. And that wouldn't be cool. You're doing a great job. Great videos. Gotta think about that wonderful family. Keep up the great work..!!
If those are 12 quarter or thicker you have premium quality rifle stock material you really need to hang to mister musle, he is worth way more than leading you to trees he is removing.
Metric weirdos! It's weird that you are using centimeters. There are only meters and millimeters, centimeters are for dress makers 😃 Seriously, it is damn annoying when a new young bloke I am working with says "hey Kuffy, I need 10 at 150", so I go and cut them at 150 which is about the size of my hand give or take, not the 5ft he was expecting, doh!
Hi Matt! if I were much younger, I'd build one of these wonderful tools!! Alas, I'm a retired engineer and hopeless tinkerer....with no room for a sawmill! As such, I had a few thoughts on improvements you might want to consider: 1. A drip lubrication system - A simple plastic container with adjustable petcock and plastic tubing, to allow your favorite liquid lube to constantly drip (slowly) on the blade. 2. A motorized drive system, so that you don't have to hand-crank the whole thing. If you use a chain-driven, DC-motor setup, you can control both speed and direction (forward-reverse, obviously!). Finally, 3. (this is more of a 'luxury' type of thing) A roof over the whole mill! If you cantilever from the side closest to the shed, you still have front, rear, and one side completely clear to manipulate logs. Thanks for tolerating my mental gymnastics! LOL ....and thanks for continuing to crank out quality videos! :-)
To me this was as much about "the cut" as it was about friends helping friends & a good friend(s), is a valuable gift, who is there for you & vise versa. Just listening....well, it was a great thing to hear instead of all the hate these days. God Bless Matt.
Great video. Beautiful wood. I saw in a video where they filled all cracks and divits with a colored acrylic, then sanded it flush and it made the color "POP". Great work.
Hi Matthew I enjoyed watching this video and the band saw build. Watching this video I saw some deflection in the carriage as it was going through the log. All the force for moving the carriage is on the one leg with the winch, if you put pulleys with fingers to hold the cable on the front corners of the bed and hooked the cable to the other carriage leg you would have even force to pull the carriage through the log. If you had a dual drum winch and ran a cable around the back of the bed then the crank would move the carriage forward and backward. I also saw that there isn't any cross bracing on the top of the carriage or corner gussets. To me this seemed like a huge project being a wood guy but I think you did a great job and it works well. Thanks for the videos.
... this is 2nd video, & i'm thoroughly impressed. Glad i found you. I look foreword watching & learning as you go along... so THANKS !! & may only good fortune follow your journey.
Wow, that last slab was almost all curl. Beautiful maple, Matt. This slabs that split along the inclusion would yield son beautiful river tables for sure. Guess we have to wait a couple of years or more to see what you do with them.
OutstNding brother! I never get tired of seeing that saw in action, once again great job on that. I'm a little jealous, that wood is going to make some great projects👍
You will wish you heard and Listened to all of us and Bought a loader or Tractor when one of you or both wrench your back and can’t even roll out of bed ! Thx’s for Sharing and All those Crotches ! Hell Ya
I'm so jealous, that wood is absolutely gorgeous. I wish I had someone near me like you so I could buy a couple of slabs to build a table and a floating breakfast bar.
Awesome! You have a fantastic sawmill! It's great to see these giant logs end up as lumber instead of firewood or worse ending up in a landfill or sent through a wood chipper.
Any one of those big slabs, smoothed and maybe stained or whatever to give it a low sheen to bring out the natural textures in the timber, would make terrific works of art. Every one would be different, too, right? Amazing. I could quite happily sit here and watch examples of wood finishing.
Just ran across this video and was fascinated. There are few things more beautiful than a nice woodgrain. If I had the space in my house I would have a table made out of a woodslab like the ones you are cutting.
yet again another beautiful slabbing session!! also the metric is much appreciated. saves me shooting my tape across the room to get a reference in metric :) keep up the hard work you and that gorgeous machine are producing!
I’m glad I saw your trailer. It’s my biggest problem transportation of logs. I have a 20ft car trailer with a beaver tail. 10,000 lb winch. Also getting them off once they’re on.
Absolutely beautiful. The other one may not have the inclusion down the middle as much as this one did. You're right you don't need a forklift. What you need to build is a crane. Go from trailer to mill, and mill the stacks.
I see your anticipated answers to the FAQ's -- but I come here for the technical terminology, such as: "cool curly thingy" "cool burl thingy" and (my favorite) "cool thingymabobber"... And you must have said "CRAWTCH" at least 142 times in this video alone... lol Thanks for the video, Matt! It's always fun to see you "slab wrassling"...
