I like what you said about turning up the smell, you know there must be several people working on this idea. I think we’re only five or six years away from smell of vision. Oh nice to see you trying new things with the mill.
Greatings from Vermont. Great videos, keep them coming. I have a woodmizer siding shingle jig on my lt 35. Cuts cants 90 deg to yours without the chip problems. I added screws to all my hold down clamps after cants kept coming loose. Good luck with your jig.
Finally I could take a breath... Those were beautiful singles sir. Way back in 1980 we built our own log house, just outside of Monroe WA. I am reminded of the beautiful hand split cedar shakes I made for my shed and pump house. I'd found some old growth downed cedar logs on the property. We lived there for 20 years, and just a few years ago I returned and saw that those shakes were still good as new. Anyway, thanks for all the fun. best of luck figuring out the next phase of the shingle jig.
Northwest Sawyer, glad to see the attention to Shake vs Shingles, most people haven't heard of "Shakels" split on one side and saw cut on the other. I think they were left over from the start and or end of the shingle blocks. My Dad was a shingle sawyer for 30 years so I grew up with that smell permeating everything! We are up on the Olympic Peninsula.
Rad! Been really enjoying your channel. I have an LT15 here on the big island that Im starting out on and having a blast. When I get rained out I come inside and keep myself stoked watching your latest project. Great inspiration, wish we had cedar like that out here. Mahalo!
I learned the same lesson the same way you did. A good strong suction on the sawdust chute will solve the issue and keep those strings from clogging the mill. You will also need to remove the bars from inside the sawdust chute but be aware that those bars are put there to keep broken bands from coming out that way. And after you do all that, you will have to figure out a way to keep the dust collector unclogged. I wish you luck!
We use a tow behind 5hp gas powered leaf vac with 6" hose to remove chips from a 20" planer. It works fantastic and we leave it hitched up to the mower parked outside the shop. When it's full we dump the sawdust in our compost pile. Great suction and it has never clogged. Your sawdust looks a lot like the pine needles we vaccum during leaf clean season.
Thank you for sharing I really wanted to get a machine like yours I called Mexico for one but they said it’s taken three years to get one unbelievable but it is what it is so scratch that off my list but thank you for sharing your videos I really enjoy it
Seen a man do almost the same with great results. Instead of tilting side to side, he tilted forward and back. Had a setup with blocks in a row but manually inserted a shim under one end of each for a pass and removed for next pass.
Hey Jason, I was going to post the same thought as Monnie Holt below. Cliff Day has a good point too about using a leaf blower if your compressor has trouble keeping up.
Those are some Beautiful shingles. They would last 100+ years. I would cut them, let them dry over the winter and finally dip them in preservatives, let dry then instal them. You have the best looking, longest lasting shingles. After instal, apply 2nd coat of preservatives with a pump up sprayer. Just Beautiful. Enjoy your Channel, THANK YOU for sharing‼️👍👍. Vinny 🇺🇸
Hey buddy, all of us sawmillers have to stick together. I've got a hd40g24 and have been wanting to build a siding jig. I like yours and am planning on starting mine in a few weeks. Thanks for sharing.
I have a cedar shingle gig that cut with the grain and it work wery good. My shingles are 18 inches long 1/2 inche at the but and 1/8 at the top.the design of your mill nake it easier for the sawdust beding to build up .
Change your gig, instead of left and right, make it front to back. That way the grain is correct for the saw, Your mech would be more complex but the grain direction would match the blade.
Howdy from Vancouver, BC - shake and shingle county. I think you have used your bevel siding jig. The bandsaw should be cutting across the grain, along the length of the board/cant. otherwise you will always get the cedar straw when cutting in the same direction of the grain. I believe the Wood-Mizer shingle jig lines up 3 or 4 blocks in a row lengthwise, allowing you to cut across the grain. The jig then drops the other end of the blocks to create the taper on all blocks at the same time. Traditional cedar shingle saws are circular and create an amazing quantity of straw. The newer bandsaw type shingle machines always cut end to end, across the grain, with no straw. I have some videos on RU-vid that show you the different processes. Please let me know if I can answer any questions for you. Keep up the good work!! Enjoy your Wood-Mizer!! I am envious! 😊
Thanks, Lloyd. I have seen the Wood-Mizer jig in action. I was trying to make something that could have a much higher production rate. Sawing with the grain is definitely not the answer but it was interesting to try. I have a new idea I’m working on. Stay tuned!
I have another idea to add to this. It requires a little rewiring of the controls of the sawmill. At the far end of the sawmill table set up a limit switch that will trigger the saw to lift and return. At the same time it will activate the log clamp to either return or lift the shingle trays. At the home position for the saw mill another limit switch will activate the saw to move forward to cut the shingles. Now it is fully automatic. Of course the depth of cut will also have to be automatic. When the last cut is made the machine will need a signal to return and stop. Automated cutting like this needs special precautions to avoid injuries, so that is something to keep in mind. I don't know how automated you want it to be. It would be safer to operate it by hand, but this is a possibility. It deffinatly needs to stop before reaching the fixture.
Lee Snyder , second time WM. owner. I enjoyed your video, on shingle maker. I have been going to build one for years, now that I have retired, I will have the time. Ok, so you went the wrong direction. Still a good attempt. keep up the good work.
Normally you saw across the grain and get fine sawdust. This jig has the wood sitting in the other direction so you are sawing with the grain. That is what is causing the long shavings. Just turn the jig so you are cutting across the grain and it will work fine. Great jig. I used to make long shavings with my chain saw for making fire starter. Just saw a log with the grain.
They do. It can cut 8 shingles per pass, is manually operated and costs around $12-$1,500. The one I’m working on will cut 24 per pass, uses the mill’s hydraulics and will cost around $150 to build.
You may want to try just running without the blade doors. leave the small middle one on but take the two bigger ones off and see if it clears better.Combine that with a different blade and you may have it.
Love the smell of cedar. My house had 40+ squares of shakes and I loved them and the look. However the insurance company demanded I remove them. I complied but I miss the look. But I have to admit I was always concerned about the fire hazard as was the insurance company.
I believe there is such a blade as one of the other You Tuber had the same problem, when I saw the swarfe coming off was going to ask about a ripping blade cheers NZ good luck.
Cooks sawmill sells a re-saw that can also be set up to cut shingles from blocks as fast as that poor guy on the tail end can grab'em . Depends on if you are planning on selling shingles .
If WoodMizer doesn't have a rip blade, you can make your own by taking the set out of all the teeth. If there is no set in any of the teeth, then the blade should rip just fine. Just an idea. You could try that.
I actually came up with a mass production shingle jig that would cross cut the shingles but I lost the frame in the wildfire last September. I plan to build a new one soon.
It is very in interesting to watch. Don't now much about wood working. Wondering what you do with the cedar chips? Is there someone who makes sachet packets of the cedar chips? They are great for making great smelling packets for closets and drawers. I'm in the middle of Kansas. If there is a shop nearby where you are they might be able to make some money selling cedar packets. I do fabric sewing and appreciate your precision in cutting and making the most of each cut Thanks for sharing.
You have a bar right down the center with just a 1/4 wedge. Then all you have to do is pull the bar forward and cut the shingles as you would normally cut a board.
Those are some thick shingles, too bad for bird nest material. The last time i saw a shingle maker, it was using circular blades that produced great shingles and left behind saw dust. Changing your blade would probably correct the problem, noticed also that your jig was moving around a bit. Thanks for sharing.
I gasped at 5:45 when you cut through that block, the grain pattern was awesome. I agree about the smell of cedar, but be careful. I use to love to smell cedar after making a cut then over the years I would get a bad sinus infection from the cedar dust. Did a little research & found out the oil(s) in cedar, which is in the dust, is not good to breath. Now I have to be careful with all wood dust, developed a sensitivity. The sinus infection was like a bad head cold on steroids that lasted for a couple of weeks, which I call...not fun. May not be problem for you (yet) but just a heads up. Enjoying your channel.
When I used to make shakes, we would get small spots like pimples that itched but hurt to touch. They called it cedar poisoning. You prevented it by showering often. I could imagine what that would feel like in your sinuses. Watch the dust.
A rip blade with less teeth , and if it is possible to leave the guard off the, wheel. You should be right , the air flow created by the wheel will through the long chip out of the way. Very good idea, yes development takes time.
Years ago, I dealt with a saw sharpening firm. The owner told me he was told a mill up Island was cutting a big log with a gang saw and one of the bladed blew up. They had hit a cannonball. Presumably shot by an early explorer 200 yrs ago or more. The tree had grown around it.
I was afraid this might be a problem. I've done a little bit of with the grain rolling with a chainsaw a few times and the kids thought it would be great for hamster bedding, but my chainsaw didn't like it so much. Hope you're able to overcome this issue. I like the general scope of your project. Perhaps a gas (or electric if you have a currant brush near the mill) powered leaf blower mounted behind the blade to clear the chips from the blade?
Maybe if you’re close to your shop you can run the air hose out there and use high-pressure air to blow the sawdust off of the blade as soon as it comes out of the log, it might work it might not, but might be worth a try
just put an old foxtail brush above and below where the band goes into the machine after cutting.. deverts the noodles down.. and those noodles are a plus... great when dried out for fire starting material. I sew several bags a year to campers and wood heated homes
if you where to turn the wood 90deg and tip it from front to back you wouldn't get the long chips any more. i know with a chain saw if you cut with the grain the same thing happens.
Hello, are you still working on your shingle jig? I think this is a great idea. I saw some good ideas about using different types of blades in the comment section, and I'm wondering if you have tried them yet. Your really great designs are very appealing because of your innovation to use the existing controls on your sawmill to articulate the cants the way you want too. Here is my idea. Your actuator movement is vertical and moves the entire length of the jig parallel to the long side of the saw mill. By using the same actuator to rotate a disc laterally you can then engage a series of vertical actuators that would lift one end of each shingle cant at the same time. Then you can cut as many shingles as your sawmill has capacity for lengthwise. You can put several cants next to each other, different widths--as long as they add up to width of your fixture or you can adjust each cant bracket to accommodate them. I think in this way you should be able to cut a lot more than 24 shingles at a time. They will be different widths or if you stick with one size cant bracket they will all be the same width--which should work fine. It might be more of an esthetic issue than practical one if you do it this way. I would like to know what you think about this. Thanks for your great projects and the instructions you provide with them. I have learned a lot from you. James
Thank you, James! I actually started building exactly what you’re describing right after this video. Multiple trays that could hold multiple cants. All actuated by cams. I haven’t finished it but I plan to before too much longer. I’ve been thinking of ways to simplify it to a point where it could be easily mass-produced.
@@NorthwestSawyer First, we need one tray running the length of the saw mill. It will hold the shingle/cant trays. I think if you make your shingle/cant trays adjustable or fixed that is going to lend itself to mass production. In this idea we are cutting the shingles lengthwise instead of widthwise. Consistently at one end or the other, I'm thinking of the front end--the first that the blade will cut, put dog ears on the shingle/cant trays that will rest inside the long fixed tray that holds all of the cant fixtures. I just think putting the ears at the front will make it more stable. You might need retention springs at the other end, but if that can be avoided it would be better. Drill 1/4" holes through the main tray that holds all of the cant trays and through the cant tray dog ears. Run a 1/4" steel rod, bent at one end and clipped at the other, through all four holes and now you have the hinge to work against to lift and lower the shingle trays. The actuator cam to lift the shingle tray should be at the free end of course. If the holes in the steel need to be slightly bigger for the rod that is okay. The resulting play isn't going to be that important. Over time the rods may need to be replaced, but that should be a long time. This set up also will accommodate the adjustable trays without a problem. What do you think? James
When ripping with a chainsaw, I’ve always been told to use a skip saw. This is a blade that skips a tooth in the pattern to break the cut or chip. Even a tooth set wider every 4-6 inches would produce the same effect of an interrupted cut. Your saw is clearing the chips or fibers well, but they are just too long. They need to be broke up.
Hello i would just us your clab board jig and then just cut the shingles to deferent sizes with a sliding miter saw you could make a lot shingles in a hurry that way i think thanks for posting your Great ideas
Hello do you have a blue print for your clab board rig you made for your woodmizer i would like to make one for my mill i under stand if you dont want to give it out thanks George
The shingles look great , but lots of work . Use the shavings to make pets beds . Yeah, i'm serious. Lots of rich ladies out there that want to pamper their fifis.
An idea I had was make a rip blade from one of your old blades. Grind off say two teeth, leave two, repeat or two, remove four or something like that. Also set up a air hose at exit of blade from cut.
The problem with removing teeth is the set. The blade will wonder if you remove too many teeth in either the up or down set orientation. I’ve decided to redesign the jig all together.
What about a power shear blade? Possibly attach to a log splitter. Sometimes the old fashioned way is best. I always appreciate people who try to do something a bit different to make things easier and faster.
Splitting shakes by had is actually a fairly quick method. I’m working on a new jig right now that should sound 100 shingles per minute. I still have a lot of designing and building to do but I’ll soon be putting it to the test.
Blade doesn't make the regular dust when cutting along the grain. I was cutting a log the same way, along the grain. I realized I was not having any sawdust when the blade came off from the wheels due to the amount of spaghetti like stuff (noodle) accumulated inside. Luckily, only the blade was damaged. As Lloyd Clefstad says, using a jig lifting front and back and cutting across the grain should be okay.
I didn't see this in the comments, so here goes... you want your can'ts at some angle, say between 30 & 60 degrees ( vertex at the operator side "opening" as you move against the direction of the blade) this will shorten the length of any spaghetti you make and also make it cross growth rings so that it's likely to shear itself. The problem then is geometry, but you are only dealing with 2 planes which bisect a 3rd, and there is an axis of rotation there someplace, it should be doable such that the lines of intersection all fall along that axis - then you will get the shingles that you want and saw kerf marks that angle across the surface but still go in the direction that water flows. Good luck - this thing has great promise
Thanks, Greg. You’ve put some thought into this. I’m actually drawing up something all together different that will achieve my goal of high production with simplicity. Stay tuned!
An upright bandsaw dumps spaults and sawdust in conveyor. A drop trim saw . you need to cut 16" blocks then split with fro and mallet. You wasted 40% of log could have been used for low grade shingles like storage sheds. Go visit a real mill in grays harbor county.
That was an excellent attempt. I’m late to this party so I suspect you’ve either worked it out or are getting close. Either way, excellent work. I always turn up the smell meter when I watch sawmill videos.
Thanks, buddy. I can say I tried. I’m working on a complete redesign as we speak. The siding part works great but the shingle jig will be a different unit all together it look like.
Technically speaking, all our blades are ripping blades. I have an interesting thought on how to do it, I'll have to sketch it out and give you a link to it though or if there's a way for me to direct message / text it to you, that would work. Also have to figure out a way to lock the contraption into place during cuts, I noticed that it jerked the cants upwards on that first cut.
5tonfabrication@gmail.com is my email. I think the cants jumped because I hit it too hard. The second cut didn’t seem to move it. Shoot me a message. I’d love to take a look!
So it makes a lot of shavings. Sell that too. Weld up copies of that thing and sell them too! That thing is money! (Bit shallower angle needed. OR sell both versions! Shingle thickness, and shake thickness!)
@@NorthwestSawyer No joke- western red cedar shingles go for $485 a bundle here in New York State. a mere 25 square foot a bundle. Like about $5 per shingle.
I enjoy watching ur videos I am looking to get my own sawmill is there any other Mills besides woodmizer that are decent for starting up ?thanks for ur time and info
Don, my first mill was a Woodland Mills HM126. I have a video that shows it a little bit. I think it’s my third or fourth video. They’re out of Canada and it was a great starter mill for under $3k.
Hey your siding jig was awesome man &I love estacada area my brother in law was teacher/coach there for years &sis in law just moved to Yakima anyway heavy duty siding man you could yield more bye thinner edge as mo st siding is? But shingle could you build jig that held kants in side bye side &3 or 4 at time tip up &down like your jig for lap ridding did &you would be cross cutting not ripping so shredded would be gone ? Great channel. Hillsboro here
I am working on a shingle jig that will hold 3-8” cants per tray and there are 8 trays. I haven’t had much time to spend on it lately. As for the firewood, I don’t sell any of it because I use it to heat my house. Thanks for watching!
Thank you! I've since started work on a completely different design. I haven't been able to work on it much lately but I think It'll solve my problems.
Were you able to get most of the work completed before the high temperatures hit today? I did see an advertisement for saw blades that reduces the amount of shavings, I don't remember if wood-mizer sells it! Eventually you'll get all the bugs worked out and you'll have yourself a good fixture. I can't wait to see the completed video.
Could you just leave the saw cover open as you cut so the movement of the blade blows it out? I've been watching your channel for a while now and I love what you do. I'm really happy you are being noticed by others! Is was because of you that I found Bus Buckley. That's how it works! Are you planning to build a cover of some sort so you don't get cooked in the summer and soaked in the winter, working with your mill? 😀😀😀
good idea, but isn't woodmizer's reason for the single post head, is to saw lap siding/shingles in the traditional orientation? Just by tilting the head one way, and then the other? maybe I'm wrong...I have a 4 post Timberking.
Hey friend, I see you over on my channel once in awhile.... Guess I never clicked on your name to see if you were putting up videos. Well, here we are And we are subscribed ..😎
I am just getting ready to but LT35 , I have a lot of western red cedar to process. I was wondering if you have come up with a better setup for making shakes?
Just watched your cedar shake video again and I was wondering if a different blade would help because they’re making beautiful shakes just too much hamster material left over. Just wondering great RU-vid content
