We hit the ground running. With cold,

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1 Roll Up the Fences Game Over THE REPORT ON THE 2015 SAWMILL SHOOT OUT My Dodge Dart rental seemed to sag a bit as I loaded it with chain saws, cant hooks, gas and oil cans, an assortment of hand and power tools, a week s supply of clothes, and rain gear. After the last Shoot-Out, I was taking the Cambridge weather forecast seriously. by Dave Boyt We hit the ground running. With cold, wet weather on the way, there was plenty to do. The logs had to be numbered and sorted by size, then put into groups of four for each team. J.R. Salzman held logs off the ground (and out of the mud) with a skid steer loader so that we could trim them to uniform lengths. In addition to the Shoot-Out, we had to have some logs milled for the railroad tie and lumber grading seminars. We were so busy with preparing for the Shoot-Out I didn t notice the rest of the show being put together around us. I just looked up, and there it was! The fairgrounds had filled with skidders, grapple loaders, firewood processors, sawmills, chain saws, woodstoves, and food vendors. Optimism and excitement were everywhere. The manufacturers and sales reps said that things were good for the forestry and sawmill industry right now, and they were looking forward to a great show. I did feel a bit sorry for the ice cream vendor, though. It just wasn t going to be a high-demand commodity in the overcast 50 weather. It was also great to reunite with the repeat participants and meet the new ones. It was almost as though the last year had flashed by in just a day or two. Dave Scott and Barry Kline of Wood-Mizer were once again working as a team, which brought to mind the stormy 2011 Shoot-Out in Morgantown. The Baker team was also there, as it had been at the first Shoot-Out back in The Peterson and Lucas teams had traveled halfway around the world to be there. The Norwood contingent included their chief design engineer, head of U.S. sales, and a seasoned sawyer all good friends and veterans of previous Shoot-Outs. EZ Boardwalk had a new team this year. This was also the first year for the Turbo Sawmill, a new monorail swingblade mill, which has attracted a lot of attention. By Thursday evening, everything was in place for the Friday Shoot-Out. By the time the event began, the steel-gray skies had opened up with the predicted steady drizzle, though neither the participants nor the audience seemed to notice. Timekeepers were in place with their stopwatches, logs were loaded on the decks, and the audience had gathered around the Shoot-Out area. With a final check of the sound system and a thumbsup from each team, the 2015 Great Portable Sawmill Shoot-Out was under way. At that point, the rain and mud ceased to exist. It was all about the sawmills. J.R. Salzman must have walked over a mile in the Shoot-Out arena, photographing mills from every possible angle as they chewed their way through the logs. Dave Robertson kept an eye out for any safety issues, while I tried to explain what the various teams were doing. Communication, teamwork, and efficient log handling were the key to fast, efficient milling. The Wood- Mizer team had two-way radios in their headsets, while the Peterson team used a system of hand gestures (no, not that one) to coordinate their efforts. Each team used its mill to its best advantage. Twoinch-thick lumber meant fewer cuts, but the boards had to be light enough for the offbearer to remove and stack them quickly so that the sawyer could focus on keeping the blade in the wood, pushing the mill hard enough to maximize production, but not so hard as to cause defects that would put a board in the reject pile. Most sawyers milled the lumber right down to 12 Sawmill & Woodlot

2 the minimum width and thickness to get the highest yield. On the outside, the yellow poplar logs looked straight and beautiful hiding the stresses within that caused the boards to warp as soon as the blade freed them from the cant. Sawyers either turned the logs frequently to balance the stress, or skimmed off the cants to keep them straight. When the last boards came off the last mill, it was time to tally up the lumber. All at once, I realized just how cold and rainy it was as I tried to write down the numbers on wet paper with numb fingers. I finally gave up and shouted the numbers into my voice recorder so that I could tabulate the data from a warm, dry motel room. But that (and dinner) would have to wait until the boards were moved, mills cleared out, and everything was in place for the Saturday event. By then, the Shoot-Out area had become a clay pit. The track skid steer floated over the mud, as J.R. assisted fourwheel-drive pickups when their wheels spun helplessly in the mud as they tried to move the production mills and edgers into place. The Peterson and Lucas teams required no assistance as they brought their swingblade mills in by hand, one piece at a time. The last of the daylight was fading away by the J.R. Salzman time the logs were decked up for the Saturday event and we could call it a day. Saturday was even colder, but the drizzle was occasionally broken by an outright downpour. There were lines for coffee and hot chocolate, and vendors selling umbrellas and rain ponchos were doing a brisk business. But spectators again lined the fence around the Shoot-Out area for the event. No tire-kickers here! The weather clearly separated the die-hard sawyers from the casual onlookers who opted for the dry exhibition hall or the shelter of a vendor s tent. Most of the sawyers and offbearers were accustomed to working in far worse weather and scarcely seemed to notice the cold rain. The low growl of the Wood-Mizer and Baker diesel engines provided a bass line to the midrange and higher tones of the Peterson, Lucas, Norwood, and EZ Boardwalk machines in a Cacophony of Wood and Steel. In less than half an hour, the diesel engines shut down as they finished their logs within seconds of each other. One by one, the other mills finished, until the only sound was the distant roar of engines on machines in the exhibit area. While Dave and I tallied up IF THE CHOICE IS YOURS; Choose Wisely...Choose Fransgard! With over 25 years of presence in the marketplace, the reputation speaks for itself, with a well-established dealer network, and excellent customer service. A complete range of 5 MODELS to fit all sizes of tractors from H.P. Manufactured and designed in Denmark by a highly skilled and experienced work force, your satisfaction with the product is our reward. For more information and a dealer closest to you, contact: Fransgard North America Tel: Fax allen.tardif@videotron.ca Dec 2015/Jan

3 The Great 2015 Sawmill Shoot-Out the morning s run, J.R. moved the mills out of the Shoot-Out area and back to their exhibit booths. As much as I love working the Shoot-Out, I do Terry Conners miss out on the seminars, and this year s line-up looked especially interesting. Brian Bond always presents excellent seminars, and I enjoyed attending part of his lumber-grading session. He is a natural teacher and engages the class with hands-on experience. But that other presenter...terry Conners...where did I know that name? As soon as I saw him, it all came back to me. We had been graduate students in wood technology at the University of Massachusetts over 35 years ago and hadn t been in touch since then. Talk about a reunion! His seminars on wood drying and wood magic (in which he blew soap bubbles through a solid piece of red oak and played a dulcimer) were packed to capacity and drew high praise. He has worked on some fascinating projects, including restoration of the Mayflower. Hopefully, we will enjoy his experience and expertise in future issues of this magazine. Finally, I d like to thank everyone who helped put this Shoot-Out together. Ohio Forestry Association members Gayla Fleming and John Dorka did a great job coordinating the acquisition of logs and providing the skid steer loader. Norwood assisted in cutting railroad ties for that seminar, and Wood-Mizer demonstrated cutting for grade. Participants came from all over the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand to make this one of the best Shoot-Outs ever. J.R. Salzman and Dave Robertson worked tirelessly to put this event together, and the three of us made as good a team as any of the Shoot-Out participants. Walter Andrzejewski mostly worked in the background, but appeared like a magician whenever and wherever he was needed. His vision, energy, and enthusiasm have kept the Shoot- Out growing and getting better with each event. Finally, whether you were there or are reading about it for the first time, thank you for your continued support. While the Shoot-Out couldn t happen without all the help, it all happens because of you! Dave Boyt has a BS degree in Forest Management and an MS in Wood Technology. He manages a tree farm (2006 Missouri Tree Farm of the Year), and operates a band saw sawmill. 14 Sawmill & Woodlot

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5 SPECS & STATS SHOOT OUT STATS Sawyer...Hank Somero Tailman...Clay Hedrick Production rate (BF/hr.)...1,273 Production overrun Miscuts (BF)...14 SPECS Baker Blue Streak 3665D Type...Band mil, hydraulic Options...Inline debarker Cutting capacity (D x L)...36 in. x 20 ft. Weight...9,000 lbs. Mill engine...65-hp Cummins diesel Edger engine...20-hp Honda Blade (width/pitch/angle)...1-1/2 in./ 7/8 in./10 degrees Towing...Ball hitch, DOT legal (standard) Mill base price...$48,000 Options price...$2,150 Contact Info Baker Products PO Box 128 Ellington, MO Tel: 573/ Baker Blue Streak Model 3665D Blue Streak owner Hank Somero returned to the Shoot-Out with a mission: to do even better this year than he had in This time around, he brought his new Blue Streak Model 3665D from New Hampshire where he runs a one-man sawmill business. No novice to sawmilling, Hank estimates that he had sawn over 3 million board feet (BF) on his old 38-hp Blue Streak model 3638D. With only a short time to get used to the faster cutting speeds and more responsive hydraulics of the new 65-hp Cummins diesel-powered sawmill, Hank was ready to show the world what he and the new Blue Streak could do. Even with all his experience, Hank says he had Shoot-Out jitters. On his first log, he cut out 4 feet in and had to bring the head back and start over because he misjudged the taper. I was thinking, oh boy, this is a good showing, Hank said. An old-school sawyer, Hank runs his Blue Streak without the computerized setworks, relying instead on a keen eye and years of experience. The cold rain was no problem for Hank, who saws in all kinds of weather. The mill s debarker cleared the mud and grit from the log, and the blade stayed sharp throughout the event. The poplar logs, however, presented a challenge. You have to turn them more, especially if you re sawing 8/4. You should turn it almost every time you cut a board out of it, Hank said. He was docked a couple boards because of taper, but still managed a 7% scale overrun. Clay Hedrick, sales consultant for Baker, assisted on the back side of the mill. Although it was the first time that Hank and Clay had worked together in a Shoot-Out, they soon discovered that they had to pick up the pace for 16 Sawmill & Woodlot

6 the 23 minutes, 34 seconds it would take to rip through their 500 BF of lumber. Clay described the team s strategy: I told Hank to just keep milling and don t worry about anything else. Hank obliged. For his part, Clay kept the boards moving as quickly as the drag-back system cleared them from the cant. Hank never handled a single board, Clay said proudly. Clay also noted that good communication even brief eye contact helped a lot. It is really surprising that not running the edger more than I have, and Hank being used to running the mill by himself, that we did so well, he said. Clay had to make quick decisions to make sure the boards were good on the first pass through the edger, and noted that he probably trimmed some of them more than necessary. I didn t want boards stacking up behind me, he explained. I don t run the edger every day. In fact, I think I ran that edger more during the Shoot-Out than in two years at the shop. That s a testimony that the machine is pretty easy to run and maintain. Another big factor in the team s productivity was that they worked smart, as well as hard. They set up a roller system with a kicker that allowed Hank to drop the blade and start the next cut as soon as the blade cleared the cant. That gave Clay time to edge and stack boards with a minimum of lifting a good thing since much of the lumber came to him in the form of 2015 PARTICIPANT THE GREAT PORTABLE SAWMILL SHOOT OUT 80-pound 2-inch x 10-inch x 12-foot boards. With efficient material-handling and good maintenance, you ll be surprised at how quickly boards come out of the back end of the mill, Clay noted. We typically see around a 30% increase in production with an edger, but you also see an increase in yield, because each board is edged individually, he added. The planning, good communication, and hard work paid off for the Baker team. Their milling rate of 1,273 BF per hour was the fastest at the 2015 Shoot-Out. Hank isn t shy about his love for the Blue Streak. I ve owned three of their mills, and if I needed a mill tomorrow, I d go buy another one, he exclaimed. NEW LOWER PRICE! THE TREELER from Brownwood Sales Do It All! 12-15,000 GVW, flat dump with 8-ton scissor hoist, removable log bolsters and sides (not shown). Equipped with Groupe Anderson Log Loader, Honda power unit, hydraulic winch. CALL US IN STOCK: Groupe Anderson Log Loaders Dec 2015/Jan

7 SPECS & STATS SHOOT OUT STATS Sawyer...Stanton Knox Tailman...Karlyn Knox Production rate (BF/hr.) Production overrun Miscuts (BF)...52 SPECS EZ Boardwalk Jr. Type...Band saw, manual Options..Trailer package, log deck Cutting capacity (D x L)...30 in. x 12 ft. 2-in. Weight...1,100 lbs. Mill engine...13-hp Honda Blade width/pitch/angle...1-1/4 in., 3/4-in, 10 degrees Towing...Ball hitch, DOT legal Mill base price...$4,300 Options price...$550 Contact Info EZ Boardwalk 8218 Shelby 366 Emden, MO Tel: 660/ EZ Boardwalk Jr. The 2015 Shoot-Out was a first for Stanton and Karlyn Knox, who fabricate the EZ Boardwalk sawmills in the rural northeast Missouri town of Emden. The first run at a Shoot-Out can be a little unnerving for even an experienced sawyer, and this father/son duo spend more time in the shop welding, assembling, and painting their sawmills than they do sawing with them. Other than shows, we don t get a lot of time to run the mill, Stanton explained. No doubt, the crowds around the Shoot-Out area and the din of the other sawmills made for an unfamiliar, stressful event for Stanton and Karlyn. The cutting part went fine, but I was too flustered to decide where to make the next cut. If I had had my thinking together on the measurements, we could have done it 20% 25% faster, because I wouldn t have spent so much time figuring out where I was going to cut, Stanton said. While smaller than the Model 40, the 1,100-pound EZ Boardwalk Jr. can handle 30-inch-diameter logs as long as the sawyer and helper have strong backs and are skilled in the use of the cant hook. The EZ Boardwalk Jr. features the familiar 18 Sawmill & Woodlot

8 2015 PARTICIPANT THE GREAT PORTABLE SAWMILL SHOOT OUT angled blade, coil spring lift assist to raise and lower the head, a one-piece steel frame, and a shield that keeps the blade from cutting into the log stops. One thing that worked in favor of the EZ Boardwalk team was that they took the time to organize the cutting area ahead of time, and built a log deck level with the track so that they could quickly roll the logs onto the mill. They also took the time to scrape the mud and grit off the logs to keep the blade as sharp as possible. For the most part, they cut 2 x 10 boards to minimize the number of cuts and the amount of wood lost to saw kerfs. With a more powerful engine, this strategy would have reduced cutting time even more, but the 13-hp Honda was certainly up to the task and never missed a beat as it provided steady power for the duration of the Shoot-Out. The rain and mud offered additional challenges, but once they focused on milling, the EZ Boardwalk team eventually settled into a steady rhythm with Stanton milling and Karlyn offbearing and assisting with log handling. While he is, no doubt, more at home building sawmills than running them, Karlyn quickly figured out where to be and when to be there, always ready to pull boards off the mill or with the cant hook in hand to load or turn logs. While edging on the mill is a necessary part of running many band saw mills, the timekeeper s stopwatch seems to run a little faster as both team members need to pick up the same number of boards, orient them on the mill, and clamp them down as quickly and efficiently as possible. As with sawing, Stanton and Karlyn quickly developed a rhythm that kept pace with the more experienced teams. The 52 board feet of miscut lumber certainly diminished the production and recovery of the mill, with several boards cut too thin, and others with more than the allowable amount of wane on the edges. The decision to cut a large number of 1-inch-thick boards cost the team extra kerfs as well as cutting time. The biggest issue, however, was stress in the yellow poplar logs that bowed the cants, resulting in boards that were thin in the middle. In spite of this, the team managed a 5% overrun. Even with the rain and Shoot-Out jitters, Stanton says he is pleased with the way the mill performed and with the Shoot-Out in general. We had a lot of interest in the sawmill, he said, noting that the EZ Boardwalk Jr. mill was sold at the show. There s a good chance we ll be back for the next sawmill Shoot-Out in two years, he concluded. Dec 2015/Jan

9 SPECS & STATS SHOOT OUT STATS Sawyer...Stanton Knox Tailman...Karlyn Knox Production rate (BF/hr.) Production overrun Miscuts (BF)...38 SPECS EZ Boardwalk 40 Type...Band saw, manual Options...Log deck, trailer package Cutting capacity (D x L)...40 in. x 16 ft. 6 in. Weight...1,900 lbs. Mill engine..honda GX 630 (24-hp) Blade (width/pitch/angle)...1-1/4 in./7/8 in./10 degrees Towing...Ball hitch, DOT legal Mill base price...$7,350 Options price...$750 Contact Info EZ Boardwalk 8218 Shelby 366 Emden, MO Tel: 660/ EZ Boardwalk 40 EZ Boardwalks are some of the most distinctive small sawmills. The unique slanted head allows the blade to pull the saw forward so that it feeds into the cut with a very light push from the sawyer. Other features are less visible, but well-known to owners of this mill. A coil spring balances the mill head for easy height adjustment. The heavy-duty frame and track give the logs a solid base on which to rest. A special feature of these mills is a rod that stops the mill if it is set low enough to hit a log stop one less thing to worry about when the sawyer is distracted by the excitement of a Shoot-Out. Having run the EZ Boardwalk Jr. the day before, the father/son team of Stanton and Karlyn Knox knew what to expect, and were ready to get down to the business of showing how they and the EZ Boardwalk 40 stack up. They were ready for the logs, the audience, and the steady, cold drizzle that lingered from the previous day. The mud made it a little precarious, everything was a little slick, and you had to be careful to not move as fast, Stanton acknowledged. With their four logs decked up, 20 Sawmill & Woodlot

10 2015 PARTICIPANT THE GREAT PORTABLE SAWMILL SHOOT OUT Pioneered in the 60 s, Proven World-wide. they were ready to fire up the 24-hp Honda engine and make some sawdust. Stanton was able to quickly dial in the numbers and Karlyn had the slabs and boards pulled off before the last of the sawdust hit the ground after each cut. Stanton focused on cutting 10-inch-wide, 2-inch-thick boards, which not only yielded lumber quickly, but also gave Karlyn a good workout as he was in constant motion, offbearing and stacking the 90-pound boards as quickly as Stanton could cut them. The EZ Boardwalk team took to heart the lessons they had learned about the stress in the logs. They paid close attention and made a skimming cut when they noticed movement in the cant. Even though they had years of experience building the mill and had demonstrated it at a number of shows, they had to learn and develop production cutting techniques on the fly. One lesson was that sawing is the easy part. The true production rates come with efficient log-handling techniques with the cant hook and good layout that minimizes log and board handling. Nowhere is this truer than when it comes to edging the boards. Edging on a band saw mill is one of the most labor-intensive jobs, and requires good coordination as sawyer and tailman each pick up several boards, put them edge-wise on the mill, and clamp them down. Valuable seconds can be lost when it is unclear how many boards to pick up, or who holds the boards in place while the other person clamps them down. Edging also requires quick, accurate judgment on the part of the sawyer. Edging several boards at a time meant that some usable lumber was edged off some of the slabs, and too much wane sent 38 board feet (BF) of lumber to the reject pile. This cost the team some production, with a 0.96 recovery factor. Even at that, their 507 BF per hour rate was very respectable. Most people edge on the mill, but if they re really into production, they have an edger, noted Stanton. Stanton credits the mill for much of the increase in production over the previous day. The EZ 40 has more horsepower and the guide wheels are a little bigger to help dissipate the heat, he explained. It is surprising how many people use them for production. According to Stanton, many of his customers cut pallets and railroad ties with the mill, but it is also popular for specialty milling because it can make wide cuts. With a Shoot-Out under their belts and two years to practice for the next one, the EZ Boardwalk team of Knox & Knox will no doubt give an even better account of their mill s ability when they return for the 2017 event. Mobile Dimension Saw is Still the Best! Accurate Lumber, High Production, Easy Operation, Maximum Log Recovery, Low Expenses, Makes it The BEST Saw for You! Mobile Mfg. Co. PO Box 250, Troutdale, OR Fax: (503) Dec 2015/Jan

11 SPECS & STATS SHOOT OUT STATS Sawyer...Ian Schultz Tailman...Casey Comer Production rate (BF/hr.) Production overrun Miscuts (BF)...0 SPECS Lucas Mill 10EFI Type...Swingblade, manual feed, setworks Options...None Cutting capacity...10 in. x 10 in. Depth of cut...10 in. Weight lbs. Engine hp Kohler Blade (diameter/kerf)...25-in. diameter/ 0.2-in. kerf Towing...Fits in back of a small pickup truck Mill base price...$14,709 Comments Includes extra blades and onboard sharpener. Can double-cut up to 20 in. wide. Contact Info Left Coast Supplies 1615 B South Main St. Willits, CA Tel: 888/ Lucas Mill 10EFI When it comes to bringing out the best in a sawmill, there is no substitute for experience. Veteran sawyer Ian Schultz took some time from his job as technical advisor and made the journey from Australia to demonstrate the way they run the Lucas sawmills in the bush down under. While cold rain made setup and operation a challenge for some of the mills, Ian just shrugged it off. This mill was designed to run in any environment, and it does that quite easily, he said. But the weather can affect the operator. My biggest problem was that I came from a warmer climate and had to adjust to the cooler temperatures. While the mud mired down four-wheel-drive pickup trucks as they tried to maneuver 2-ton band saws into position, it was business as usual for the Lucas team. Ian and Casey Comer simply hand-carried the 135-pound set of tracks, wheeled in the 180-pound cutter head, and in about 10 minutes had the mill assembled and ready to run. Determined to beat the previous Shoot-Out performance, Ian and Casey concentrated on board quality and quantity, though they certainly did put the mill through its paces. To save log handling and cutting time, they set up the log bunks so that they could mill two logs at a time. This is a common practice, says Ian. It works well if you have logs the same length and same diameter. He continued, The mill is designed to cut up to 5-foot-diameter logs comfortably. I ve had as many as six logs on the deck, stacked in a pyramid. The team made full use of the mill s 10-inch cutting depth, producing a number of 10-inch-wide boards, though most were 2 x 6, because of the small log diameter. Ian had praise for tailman Casey Comer, who works with Left Coast Supplies as a Lucas dealer. We had never worked before as a team, said 22 Sawmill & Woodlot

12 Ian. But we did work together well. According to Ian, clear communication is vital to running the mill. You have to get the right signal or that can affect recovery. With the sawyer cranking the carriage height winch at one end of the mill and the tailman operating a second winch at the other end, a miscommunication could easily result in a board that tapers from 1-inch to 2-inch thickness. According to Ian, Casey was in a better position to call the cuts. Casey understood the signals, and everything worked smoothly. Stress in the logs was no real problem. Eucalyptus moves around a lot, so the Shoot-Out logs were no different from what I was used to, he explained. That might have given me a bit of an edge. Before he worked for Lucas Mill, Ian taught sawmill operation for the Victorian timber industry. A big part of my job was teaching people how to cut straight timber out of logs that want to move. Balancing log stress on a swingblade mill is a simple matter of milling equal amounts off each side of the log PARTICIPANT THE GREAT PORTABLE SAWMILL SHOOT OUT If you cut more wood on one side, it will always bow on the side that has more wood, he explained. As you get down near the bottom of the log, it will want to belly up a bit and that s when you make a face (skimming) cut to flatten it before cutting the next board. Like the the other swingblade sawyers, Ian says he would love to have had larger logs. In general, smaller logs tend to have higher growth stress and more movement. Also with less weight to hold them down, you have to apply less pressure on the mill so that they don t shift on you. This well-practiced technique worked perfectly for the team, as the mill ended up with a cutting rate of 815 board feet (BF) per hour, setting a new Shoot-Out record for the Lucas sawmill. Even more amazing was the 4% overrun without a single miscut board the highest recovery of any swingblade mill, and better than many of the band saw mills! It takes just a little bit of extra time, but you can only do that if you make face cuts. BLOCKBUSTER. From Price to Performance, We re a Cord Above the Rest! 8 Processor Models 12, 20 & 30 ft. Firewood Conveyors Firewood & Log Grapples Operator s Cabs Factory Sales & Service Model Portable, Dependable, Easy to Maintain Free DVD SPLITTER FIREWOOD PROCESSORS AND RELATED EQUIPMENT Kentucky Ave. Mt. Pleasant, IA Dec 2015/Jan

13 SPECS & STATS SHOOT OUT STATS Sawyer...Brian Shellswell Tailman...Mike Long Production rate (BF/hr.) Production overrun Miscuts (BF)...0 SPECS Norwood LumberPro HD36 Type...Band mill, manual Options...Towing package Cutting capacity (D x L)...36 in. x 13 ft. Weight...1,800 lbs. Mill engine...briggs & Stratton Vanguard 23-hp V-twin gas Blade (width/pitch/angle)...1-1/2 in./ 7/8 in./10 degrees Towing...Ball hitch, DOT legal (optional) Mill base price...$7,987 Options price...$1,687 Comments Mill comes standard as manual stationary kit with many options, including full hydraulics. Contact Info Norwood Sawmills U.S.A. 252 Sonwil Dr. Buffalo, NY Tel: 800/ Norwood LumberPro HD36 (manual) Brian Shellswell was at the helm of Norwood s manually configured LumberPro HD36 on the first day of the sawmill Shoot- Out. When asked if they had a strategy, Brian said, The logs were really good so it was really just another day of milling. He said that although they didn t push the pace to the point of running while they cut, they certainly weren t taking their time. After they finished milling their four logs on Friday, their pace was obvious by looking at his tailman, Mike. He was sweating pretty good. I think he was more wet on Friday than we were in the rain on Saturday, said Brian. Mike s job was to get the wood out of the way so that Brian could keep the blade in the wood. He did the real work, I just pushed the sawhead, said Brian. In addition to their HD36 mill, Norwood fashioned a makeshift log deck to stage the logs. With the log deck loaded before the event, it was simply a matter of rolling another log onto the mill after each one was completed. The HD36 could take a log up to 12 feet so they made sure beforehand that their logs were aligned perfectly on their log deck. Brian said that in day-to-day milling an operator might add an extension to the HD36 so that having to align logs perfectly on the log deck wouldn t be a concern. Brian said in the next Shoot-Out they will more than likely make it easier on themselves by just using a longer mill. Although Brian said the Norwood LumberPro HD36 performed as it was intended, they did have one small hang-up. The Shoot-Out was the first time they had run that particular Norwood HD36, and evidentally one bolt had not been tightened down. Brian noticed the loose bolt and called a time-out to fix it before it could cause any problems. Unfortunately, they didn t have the par- 24 Sawmill & Woodlot

14 2015 PARTICIPANT THE GREAT PORTABLE SAWMILL SHOOT OUT ticular tool they needed, so they had to wait for someone to go and get one from their show site. We got cocky and showed up without our toolbox. Luckily the time-outs are generous, so we took a time-out and fetched an Allen key and tightened it back up again, Brian said. Because they used a time-out, they weren t punished for it, nor did they lose any sawing time. He said that other than that one small issue, the mill performed flawlessly. The actual milling, however, was not. If they had had a chance to redo their four logs, Brian said he would do things differently. We slabbed a little heavier than normal so our yield was down a little bit over last year, but our board feet per hour was pretty decent. One technique they used to speed up the sawing process was how they edged the slabs. We edged every two logs, so we didn t have to handle too many slabs. He said that because they were primarily cutting their cants into 2-inch lumber it made quick work of the logs. They did have to adjust their sawing technique in order to compensate for the stress in the poplar logs. He said his tailman, Mike, kept wondering why he was flipping the cant after cutting off a few 2- inch boards. As with the other participants in the Shoot-Out, they had to flip their cants more than normal in order to compensate for bowing and to prevent sawing tapered lumber that would not make grade. He said the HD36 performed well despite the reaction wood in the poplar logs. Overall, Brian was pleased with their performance. The logs were flawless, so it was a pretty easy four logs to cut up, he said, acknowledging that the couple mistakes that were made could be attributed to human error. He said they slabbed a little heavy and missed a couple of boards, but it was a good run. Despite the slight amount of operator error, Brian and Mike sawed their four logs in 32 minutes with a slight overrun on their tally, giving them a production rate of 794 BF per hour. NEW! TimberKing Sawmills Rugged, Hardworking & Dependable TURN TIMBER INTO CASH! KING OF THE WOODLOT! 2400 Super-Pro 66HP Mill with Full Hydraulics Simply the BEST THERE IS! EVERY TimberKing Mill gives you THE TIMBERKING ADVANTAGE RIGID 4-Post Saw Head perfect alignment of blade and deck. DEPENDABLE Direct-Action Hydraulics reliable performance. SOLID Welded Twin Beam Cut Deck big logs, huge loads, no problem. MASSIVE Cut Throat wider, taller cuts other mills simply can t make. INDUSTRY-LEADING Warranties 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee, 2-Year & 5-Year Warranties. Tradition of Trust since generations of sawyers have banked on TimberKing. SIX TIMBERKING MODELS from Weekend Warrior to Super-Pro INDUSTRIAL! WATCH DEMO VIDEOS ONLINE! TimberKing.com SEE TimberKing Mills in action WATCH actual owners sawing VIEW free videos online NOW CALL TOLL FREE Ext. ZN45???? TimberKing, Dept. ZN45,????, 1431 North Topping Ave., Kansas City, Missouri FREE FACT KIT! Aug/Sept TimberKing Sawmills

15 SPECS & STATS SHOOT OUT STATS Sawyer...Fred Shellswell Tailman...Brian Shellswell Production rate (BF/hr.) Production overrun Miscut (BF)...23 SPECS Norwood LumberPro HD36H Type...Band mill, hydraulic Options...Towing package, hydraulic log handling, power feed/sawhead Cutting capacity (D x L)...36 in. x 13 ft. Weight...2,650 lbs. Mill engine...briggs & Stratton Vanguard 23-hp V-twin gas Blade (width/pitch/angle)...1-1/4 in./ 7/8 in./10 degrees Towing...Ball hitch, DOT legal Mill base price...$7,987 Options price...$14,086 Comments This is a standard HD36 mill with hydraulics added. Customers can add hydraulic modules to the HD36 at any time. Contact Info Norwood Sawmills U.S.A. 252 Sonwil Dr. Buffalo, NY Tel: 800/ Norwood LumberPro HD36H (hydraulic) On day two of the Sawmill Shoot-Out, Brian Shellswell went from being the sawyer to the tailman, and handed the controls over to his father, Fred Shellswell. Fred ran the Norwood LumberPro HD36H (hydraulic) in the 2013 Shoot-Out while Brian acted as the tailman, so it was essentially a repeat performance from two years ago. The cold and rainy weather conditions were a factor for all participants. The normally solid footing around the fairgrounds quickly turned to slimy clay, making everything slippery, but it didn t seem to affect the Norwood team once they got some woodchips around their mill for traction and safety. Once we got the chips down, we had solid footing, said Brian. Other than being uncomfortable, it was just another day of sawing as usual. They were essentially running the same Norwood HD36 mill on both days. The only difference was that on day one they were using it manually, while day two they were using hydraulics for all the heavy lifting. He stressed that although they used a hydraulic mill on the second day, it s not necessarily indicative of a higher production rate. Brian explained that on the first day, they could push the pace on the manual mill because they only had to cut four logs. Brian said, It s not necessarily showing you what most operators are capable of, because we did a 30-minute sprint and not a 10-hour workday. With the hydraulic mill, the hydraulics set the pace, and that pace can be achieved over the course of the entire day instead of in just a short span. Once you add hydraulics to the machine, there is no running, you re just working at the speed of the machine. In regard to the rushed pace of many manual mills in the Shoot-Out, Brian said, Really it s a snapshot of sawing. It doesn t represent the full view of what you would do in an entire day. According to Brian, what curbed their speed wasn t the hydraulics; it was 26 Sawmill & Woodlot

16 errors made in the sawing. Unlike the first day when Brian slabbed a bit too heavy and lost some yield, Fred slabbed the logs too light and had to make some extra cuts that didn t produce boards. When you re just doing four quick logs, and you re wasting a couple cuts per log, it shows in your board feet per hour for sure, said Brian. He said the stress of the Shoot-Out and the pressure to perform were both factors, and made them feel rushed. When you re trying to be quick, you make errors that actually slow you down in the end, he said. If they had slowed down and taken a bit more time to line up their cuts, he thinks they probably would have gone faster. He said despite the human error and miscuts that cost them on their yield, it wasn t all that different from the real world, as every sawyer has good days and bad days. Some days you re a little off and it doesn t work the way you hoped it would, he said. Just like the first day, they encountered stress in their poplar logs that required extra work in sawing. On one occasion Fred didn t rotate the cant when he probably should have, and the result was a 2-inch-thick board that was tapered and didn t meet the standard. Because they were sawing most of their logs into larger 2-inch x 12-inch lumber, 2015 PARTICIPANT THE GREAT PORTABLE SAWMILL SHOOT OUT even one board being culled put a noticeable dent in their overall tally. I know we missed a few more cuts and had a few miscut boards and that hurt us in our production, in our board feet per hour, said Brian. In the end Brian attributed any shortcomings in their performance to human error, not to Norwood s LumberPro HD36H. Brian said, The mill performed flawlessly, the sawyers maybe not so flawlessly. But the machine did everything it was told to do. Despite the shortcomings, Brian and Fred sawed a respectable 458 BF in roughly 38 minutes for a rate of 724 BF per hour, putting them in the center of the pack. CAN HANDLE IT! ONE MACHINE - THREE TASKS! Starting at $ 4,895 SCORPION LOG HANDLER SCORPION ROCK HANDLER SCORPION TREE HANDLER The 52 Inch Diameter Mill For The Serious Sawyer 1 3 Starting at $ 16, FREE SHIPPING Uniforest 35M Skidding Winch Starting at $ ON UNIFOREST LOG SKIDDING WINCHES Uniforest 45M Skidding Winch Starting at $ Dont wait call today! Uniforest 55H Skidding Winch Starting at $ Featuring wireless control models, extra length cable, lower snatch blocks, removable trailer hitch, full protective screen, and even a place to put your chainsaw. Turn your tractor into a skidder using a Uniforest Skidding Winch. Pulling power of up to 17,000lbs. Affordable manual control (E) and efficient wireless control models (H) available. Turn HUGE 60 Inch Diameter Logs Into Table Tops Starting at $ 43, Nationwide FREE shipping to the lower 48 states until January 1, 2016 on In-Stock Uniforest Products Dec 2015/Jan

17 SPECS & STATS SHOOT OUT STATS Sawyer...Chris Browne Tailman...Nathan Waterfield Production rate (BF/hr.) Production overrun Miscuts (BF)...22 SPECS Peterson Jr. Type...Swingblade, manual feed, setworks Options...None Cutting capacity (D x L)...36 in. x 13 ft. Depth of cut...6 in. Weight lbs. Mill engine...13-hp gas Blade (diameter/kerf)...17-in. /0.19-in. Towing...Fits in pickup truck Mill base price...$11,649 Comments Price includes delivery, sharpener and two extra blades. Can doublecut up to 12 in. wide Contact Info Peterson Global Sales Ltd. 15 Hyland Crescent Mangakakahi PO Box Rotorua, New Zealand Tel: 877/ Peterson Jr. Peterson team sawyer Chris Browne took the helm as the sawyer of the Peterson Jr. sawmill, assisted by sawmill owner Nathan Waterfield. In his capacity as factory manager and sawmill specialist, and with experience from running his own mill in his spare time, Chris knows the machines inside out. It was a real pleasure working with another sawyer, said Chris. All I had to do was glance at him, and he immediately knew what I wanted. Holding up fingers and a few gestures was all it took to keep both ends of the mill moving in unison. Chris says he enjoyed running the Peterson Jr. I know I can t push it as hard as a bigger mill, so I just took my time and concentrated on getting the most out of the logs, Chris explained. My main objective was to get 100% recovery. Chris exceeded his goal, ending up with a 103% recovery a number made all the more remarkable by the fact that he lost 22 board feet (BF) to miscuts. With the size of the logs, the 6-inch cutting capacity of the blade, and 13.5-hp engine, Chris decided to cut mostly 2 x 4 lumber. Cutting the smaller boards allowed us to remove the wood evenly from both sides to relieve any stress in the log, he explained. As he removed the boards, Nathan kept a close eye on the dimensions. He was signaling me that I was right on the money for 2-inch-thick boards, Chris recalled. This meant zero tolerance for a thin cut. According to Chris, one of the big time-savers with the mill is that, once in place for milling, there was no further handling of the log. Each pass down and back produced a board with no need for edging or turning the log. It s the double-handling of logs on band saws that gets you, he said. Under 2-foot diameter, it s not bad, but when you go 3-foot diameter, 20 feet long, you ve got a lot of weight. Chris and Nathan were both very pleased with the cutting rate 28 Sawmill & Woodlot

18 of 507 BF per hour, though he had the typical swingblade sawyer s comment that he would have made an even better showing with a 4-foot-diameter log. According to Chris, the Peterson Jr. was originally designed for the hobby market, but I knew people would use it to make a living, so we built it with that in mind. While a lot of the mills are used part-time as hobby mills, a number of his customers are running the mills for profit, custom cutting for woodworkers. Farmers who just want to selectively cut out a few trees will have a mill owner bring the mill out and cut them so they can utilize the timber on their farm, and that works out really well, Chris noted. The mill can double-cut 12- inch-wide boards by making a 6-inch-deep pass on each side of the log. It will easily cut a 12-inch x 4-inch beam, and that s a pretty common size around here, but then you have to have the muscle to offbear it. It can get pretty 2015 PARTICIPANT THE GREAT PORTABLE SAWMILL SHOOT OUT weighty! At the end of the Shoot-Out, the Peterson team disassembled the 660-pound mill and transported it back to their booth by hand before the first support truck was even hitched up to move a band saw mill. We actually sold the Jr. mill before the Shoot-Out, Chris said. The buyer watched us real close during the Shoot-Out. He was probably watching to see how we operated it, but I think he was also making sure we didn t work it too hard before he took it home! After the show Chris was off to tune up a mill. That mill was probably 7 years old and running fine, he said. Then he was off to Washington state to check on an electric mill, and finally to help a customer set up a new mill. In two and a half hours, we were cutting lumber with it, he said. Finally, it was back home to the land of the kiwi (New Zealand) for a day or two before getting back to business. Distributor of THE BEST in Forestry Equipment Fransgard 3-pt Forestry Winches Sundown GR40 Grapple for tractors & skid steers Kesla Forestry loaders & forwarding trailers Brown 3-pt Tree Saw Hakki Pilki 3-pt wood processors Danuser Multi-Purpose grapple for skid steer & tractor loaders. Woody Forestry loaders & forwarding trailers Spit-Fire Wood splitters, 3-pt & self contained models Dec 2015/Jan

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21 SPECS & STATS SHOOT OUT STATS Sawyer...Nathan Waterfield Tailman...Chris Browne Production rate (BF/hr.) Production overrun Miscuts (BF)...0 SPECS Peterson WPF (Winch Production Frame) Type...Swingblade, manual feed, power setworks Options Power setworks Cutting capacity (D x L)...60 in. x 20 ft. Depth of cut...10 in. Weight lbs. Mill engine...35-hp Briggs & Stratton Vanguard gas Blade (diameter/kerf)...26-in in Towing...Fits in pickup truck Mill base price...$25,629 Options price...$1,609 Comments Price includes delivery, sharpener and two extra blades. Can doublecut up to 20 in. wide. Contact Info Peterson Global Sales Ltd. 15 Hyland Crescent Mangakakahi PO Box Rotorua, New Zealand Tel: 877/ Peterson WPF (Winch Production Frame) When you put two seasoned sawyers together, expect great performance. This time, Nathan Waterfield was calling the shots and Chris Browne was tailing. A professional sawyer and Timbersports competitor, Nathan used his athletic ability and seven years of Peterson swingblade mill experience to achieve a 50% productivity increase over the 2013 Shoot-Out, when he had to find a tailman at the last minute. This year, both members of the Peterson WPF team were seasoned sawyers pushing the mill and themselves to the max. It went well, Nathan recalled. It s a pleasure to saw with Chris, because he understands how the sawmill works. We ve sawn enough together that I can look at him, and he can tell what I m looking for. For example, Nathan says Chris was in a good place to help make a critical decision on what board dimensions to cut. He d just hold up the number of fingers so I d know. For his part, Chris says he thoroughly enjoyed the Shoot-Out, though switching from his role as sawyer the previous day to tailman kept him pretty busy. At the speed Nathan was whacking those boards out, I wondered what I had gotten myself into! Chris exclaimed. He just kept the saw blade in the wood. He s a really good operator, a fantastic guy. I love working with him. Because we had two guys who know how the mill works, you could really show what it can do. He beat my old Shoot-Out record with the mill. He s a valuable part of our team. The WPF can be set up in the hi/lo configuration to allow logs to be rolled under the hi track. But in this case, the team simply used a small board to bridge the low track when rolling in the next logs. Once a log was on the notched cross bunks, the only handling was to remove the boards and edg- 32 Sawmill & Woodlot

22 ings. Another major innovation of WPF is use of a single control easily accessible to the sawyer to set the height of the cut. This eliminates the need for independent cranking at each end of the mill and the possibility of miscommunication between sawyer and tailman when raising or lowering the head rig. It also makes it much easier for one person to run the sawmill efficiently. The Shoot-Out mill was new with only about 40 hours on it, which Nathan had put in to break in the motor and make sure everything worked properly. Otherwise, it was almost identical to the one that he uses for his business. According to Nathan, the mill ran flawlessly. The 35-hp Briggs & Stratton Vanguard engine provided the muscle to spin the 26-inchdiameter saw blade through the wood, and the mill cut every board straight and true. Keeping the number of 1-inch boards to an absolute minimum helped keep the time down and increased the yield. We maybe had three or four 1-inch-thick 2015 PARTICIPANT THE GREAT PORTABLE SAWMILL SHOOT OUT boards, but mostly we wanted to saw 2-inch. It worked out pretty well, Nathan recalled. In the end, however, the final tally was 4% below the International 1/4-inch scale. The best explanation for this was in the slab pile. Pushing the dimensions a little closer might have gotten an extra inch of width on some of the boards. However, Nathan s cutting technique and Chris s experience combined for a production rate of 988 board feet (BF) per hour a new Shoot-Out swingblade record! As for the weather, Nathan took it all in stride. I don t mind a little bit of rain, he said. The only trouble was that a couple of times I lost my grip on a handle and I slipped a couple of times in the mud, but it didn t bother me much. The rain didn t seem to bother the audience much, either. We had several owners there to cheer us on. Peterson owners and swingmill owners have a lot of camaraderie because swing mills are a small percentage of portable sawmills, but we all appreciate the benefits that a swingblade can provide. We group together and have that spirit. TRACTOR TIRE CHAINS On the road or in the woods......and all the accessories. Call for the dealer nearest you. echains.com Dec 2015/Jan

23 SPECS & STATS SHOOT OUT STATS Sawyer...Chad Sanders Tailman...Jake Welker Production rate (BF/hr.) Production overrun Miscuts (BF)...14 SPECS Timbery M285 Type...Band, manual Options...Winch and ramps Cutting capacity (D x L)...28 in. x 17 ft. 2 in. Weight...1,804 lbs. Mill engine...25-hp gas Blade (width/pitch/angle)...1-1/4 in./ 7/8 in./10 degrees Towing...Ball hitch, DOT legal (standard) Mill base price...$8,895 Options price...$700 Contact Info Timbery LLC 8233 Indy Lane Indianapolis, IN Tel: 877/ Timbery M285 After a successful introduction at the 2013 Shoot-Out, Timbery returned with their M285 sawmill. This is the largest sawmill available from the Indianapolis-based manufacturer. Sawyer Chad Sanders normally works as product manager, and tailman Jake Welker is in customer service. According to Chad, Jake runs the mill a little here in the shop, tunes up mills for customers. He s pretty hands-on with the mills. Although neither Chad nor Jake spend much time making sawdust, they managed to team up for a great sawmilling demonstration. I think it went really well, said Chad. We had a good chance to show people what the mill could do. Being a manual mill, you don t have a lot of log handling options, but it is a great mill if you re willing to do more work. While Chad operated the mill, Jake stacked slabs and lumber and turned the logs as required. The general cutting pattern was to cut each log into a 10-inch-wide cant, then mill 1-inch- or 2-inch-thick boards. As a result, most of the lumber was 1 x 10 or 2 x 10. When all the logs had been milled, Chad and Jake put boards with bark or wane back on the mill for edging. 34 Sawmill & Woodlot

24 Chad noted that he was a lot more focused this year and less nervous about sawing in front of a crowd. This made a big difference in the performance. The 25-hp Subaru engine managed to chew through the four logs at an average rate of 506 board feet (BF) per hour for more than an 18% increase over the previous Shoot-Out. With only one miscut board and a 3% production overrun, they gave an impressive demonstration. Perhaps the threatening clouds motivated Chad and Jake to work a bit faster this year. The rain began just as they were pulling the last board off the sawmill. To show off the sawmill s versatility, Chad and Jake winched logs from the ground onto the sawmill with the optional log-loading package, consisting of a handcranked winch and pair of steel ramps. The cable runs over the top of the log and back to the winch in a system known as a parbuckle. Reeling in the cable rolls the log up the steel ramps with a minimum of effort. This system allowed them to load the mill without support equipment a very useful feature when sawing in remote areas. According to Chad, the Timbery M285 has several features that make it user-friendly. For example, a single lever controls the throttle, clutch, and water lube. The electric-start, 25-hp motor demonstrated at the 2015 PARTICIPANT THE GREAT PORTABLE SAWMILL SHOOT OUT Shoot-Out is the most powerful option available, and the cam-operated clamps secured the logs quickly. The team slabbed 1-inch boards off the log down to 5 inches above the center, rotated the log 180 degrees, and repeated the process, producing a twosided cant 10 inches wide. They then set the cant on edge and proceeded to mill 10-inch-wide boards. While this left more boards that needed edging on both sides, it worked well for the team. The team also gave an impromptu demonstration on how to change a sawmill blade. We didn t get the mud off the boards as well as we should have, recalled Chad. By the time we got to the third log, the blade was so dull that we decided to call a time-out to replace it. The mill has a quick-release cam blade tensioner that allowed them to make a quick change, and the mill was back in operation in just a few minutes. The M285 appeals to a mix of people, some sawing for income and some as a hobby, Chad explained. Major markets for the Timbery are a mix between small woodlot owners and farmers with timber on their property. There are also some users who do production, like timber-frame homes. The heavy-duty frame supports the trailer axles to make it easy to take the mill to the logs, making it a good mill for portable operations. DALE A. THOMAS & Sons Inc. was started in 1982 as a family-owned and -operated business. Today owned by Jonathan Thomas, it has been manufacturing rugged sawmills since Five different sawmill models and two different edger models are manufactured. MODEL 8020 Model 8020 has large 20 inch diameter band wheels that allow for a 1-1/2 inch wide blade for extra stability. The blade is also at a lead angle which allows for stability at the start of the cut. The standard track length cuts a 16 foot 6 inch log length with a diameter of 36 inches and a 32 inch distance between guides. No head assembly required when shipped...price starting at only $8,000 MODEL 4420 MODEL 8013 MODEL 6013 Model Price starting at $11,500 (cuts 42 wide cuts- 44 between guides- uses 2 blade) Model Price starting at $7,000 Model Price starting at $5,775 Model 8020 Watch Our Videos at: MODEL 2411 EDGERS Model Price starting at $4,250 Edger 13hp...$6,995 20hp...$7,850 Call Dec 2015/Jan

25 SPECS & STATS SHOOT OUT STATS Sawyer...Jake Peterson Tailman...Mike Moen Production rate (BF/hr.) Production overrun Miscuts (BF)...32 SPECS Turbo Sawmill Warrior Auto M10 Type...Swingblade, power feed, manual setworks Options...Thin-kerf 8-in. step down (converts 10-in. cut down to 8 in. for thinner kerf) Cutting capacity (D x L)...50 in. (plus) x 19 ft. Depth of cut...8 in. Weight lbs. Engine...22-hp Honda GX690 Blade (diameter/kerf)...25 in. x 0.2 in. Towing...Transport trailer available Mill base price...$21,500 Options price...$2,000 Comments Standard blade has a 10-in. depth of cut, can double-cut 20 in. wide. Contact Info Turbo Sawmill 2120 W. Kamayley Ct. Spokane, WA Tel: 509/ Turbo Sawmill Warrior Auto M10 If there were an award for most unique mill at the Shoot-Out, it would possibly go to Jake Peterson of Spectrum Innovations. Jake made his first appearance at the Shoot-Out with his Turbo Sawmill Warrior Auto M10, a relatively new offering to the sawmill market that is made in New Zealand. The Warrior Auto Turbo Saw is an automated swingblade mill, the only one of its kind in this year s Shoot-Out. Jake said he didn t really have a strategy in mind going into the Shoot-Out it was just another day of milling. While the other mills were brought in behind trucks or carried in with loaders, the Warrior Auto Turbo Saw was brought in on a small two-wheeled cart and set up in just a few minutes. The entire mill is essentially one beam with adjustable legs and an attached sawhead that travels back and forth over the log. Just like the other swingblade mills in the Shoot-Out, the blade cuts horizontally down the log, pivots, and then cuts vertically back. But unlike the other swingblade mills, there is no need for a person to manually push the power head down the log, pivot the blade, and then pull the power head back. The entire operation is controlled with a lever on one end of the mill. Jake stressed that although it is automated, the Warrior Auto is all about simplicity. He said, It s all low-tech stuff. We don t have any electric motors to swing the blade. Because there is no deck on which to set the logs, Jake put his logs on some small timbers to get them up off the ground. Instead of rolling in the logs one at a time like all the other mills in the Shoot-Out, he put three next to one another and then put his fourth log on top. He said, We didn t want to spend time loading logs. This was my first Shoot-Out, and I figured that might be 36 Sawmill & Woodlot

26 2015 PARTICIPANT THE GREAT PORTABLE SAWMILL SHOOT OUT the quickest way to do it. He said that while the mill can be adjusted up or down on either end to compensate for taper, they ended up cutting into all three of the bottom logs in the process of cutting the top one. If he had to do it all over again, he would set the logs up individually and mill them one at a time. That way he could adjust the height of his mill on either end and adjust for the taper in each log. He would also make his base timbers slightly larger in dimension so he could safely cut all the way to the bottom of his logs for maximum recovery. He said that because of the way he set up the logs, his recovery was lower than he would have liked. For Jake, speed was not as much of a concern as it was for the other teams. I cannot push a machine as quickly as these guys do. He said that unlike the manual sawmills he was competing against, he was using an automated machine that cut down the log, pivoted the blade, then cut back without the need for any muscle. Jake simply pulled a lever at the end of the cut to pivot the blade and bring the power head back to him. In fact, much of the time Jake seemed quite relaxed. We can do what we did all day without breaking a sweat, and that s the difference. Jake said that his main goal at the Shoot-Out was to show the crowd what it is like to mill with the Warrior Auto all day. The Warrior Auto Turbo Saw cut 376 board feet (BF) in 42 minutes and 30 seconds, missing the scaled yield by 47 BF. Overall, Jake said, The saw was great, it was just the sawyer. I think next time I can improve 100% on how to get the best performance out of a log. Grapples PIPERS Best Blades, Best Deals all at One Place Saw Shop Dec 2015/Jan

27 SPECS & STATS SHOOT OUT STATS Sawyer...Nick Burdine Tailman...Colin Campbell Production rate (BF/hr.) Production overrun Miscuts (BF)...0 SPECS Wood-Mizer LT15 Type...Band mill, manual Options...EG50 single blade edger Cutting capacity (D x L)...28 in., 17 ft. 8 in. Weight...1,200 lbs. Mill engine...25-hp Kohler gas Edger engine...10-hp gas Blade (width/pitch/angle)...1-1/4 in./ 7/8 in./7 degrees Towing...Ball hitch DOT legal (optional) Mill base price...$8,295 (25-hp option) Options price...$2,995 Comments Available in 36-in.-wide version. Contact Info Wood-Mizer LLC 8180 W. 10th St. Indianapolis, IN Tel: 800/ Wood-Mizer Model LT15 If there is one manufacturer and machine that have consistently run with the full-throttle approach to the Shoot-Out, it s the crew behind the Wood-Mizer LT15. This year the crew running the LT15 was sawyer Nick Burdine, a Shoot-Out veteran, and tailman Colin Campbell, who was participating in his first Shoot-Out. My main job is working on our industrial line, but I wanted to do this for the experience, said Colin. He enjoys being a jack of all trades. The Wood-Mizer LT15 used in the Shoot-Out was powered by a 25-hp engine, which is an optional upgrade from the standard 19-hp engine. For edging, they used a Wood-Mizer EG50 single blade edger which is powered by a 10-hp engine. To help streamline operations, they had a roller table near the edger, which they used mostly to stack and stage the boards while edging. When asked if they had a particular strategy for the Shoot-Out, Nick said, We practiced a little bit together, but we were pretty much doing what we would on a saw job. Nick added that the chilly weather helped them stay cool and push the pace. He said when they were practicing in Indianapolis it was much hotter. They were content with the logs even though there was a lot of mud on them. Nick said that despite the muddy conditions and the bit of dirt and grit on the logs, they did not have to stop and change blades. When it came to sawing their logs, they employed the same strategy as most other teams. Their jacket lumber was sawn as 4/4, and then they sawed their cants into 8/4 lumber. When it came to edging, they worked as a team and employed a strategy that no other team used. While other teams had a 38 Sawmill & Woodlot

28 tailman who was edging while the sawyer was cutting, Nick and Colin waited until all their logs were sawed and then worked together to run their wood through the edger. Colin said, Our main focus was to keep the sawmill running, edge as we could, and then come back and make sure we did our best job edging. Wood-Mizer was the only manufacturer in the Shoot-Out to utilize communication headsets. Nick said they do it not only in the Shoot-Out, but on saw jobs as well. Although many think they do it for speed, he said the main reason they use their headsets is for safety. Nick said, If a log is coming loose and we re getting ready to roll it, I can tell Colin to hold on and get those side supports stood back up. He added, That is pretty much the only time we would talk, is when we were turning logs. Overall, Nick and Colin were happy with their performance. There were a couple of thick cuts in the slab pile, said Nick. He acknowledged that maybe they could have gained a board or two, but he said they wouldn t have changed anything. Everything ran smoothly, he said. Colin said, I thought it was a lot of fun. Their strategy and teamwork definitely paid off. The team sawed 430 board feet (BF) in just under 38 minutes on the LT15 for a rate of 897 BF per hour, making them the fastest sawmill in their category PARTICIPANT THE GREAT PORTABLE SAWMILL SHOOT OUT MARKET PLACE sawmillmag.com EQUIPT SALES SAWMILL EXCHANGE North America s largest source of used portable sawmills and commercial sawmill equipment. Over 800 ads. Call for a FREE LIST or to SELL YOUR EQUIPMENT OPPORTUNITY Your Ad Here VERY AFFORDABLE! CALL: Dec 2015/Jan

29 SPECS & STATS SHOOT OUT STATS Sawyer...Dave Scott Tailman...Barry Kline Production rate (BF/hr.)...1,231 Production overrun Miscuts (BF)...7 SPECS Wood-Mizer LT70 SUPER Type...Band mill, hydraulic, wide head Options...EG200 twin blade edger with trailer Cutting capacity (D x L)...40 in. x 20 ft. 2 in. Weight...5,660 lbs. Mill engine...55-hp Yanmar diesel Edger engine hp gas Blade (width/pitch/angle)...1-1/4 in./ 7/8 in./7 degrees Towing...Ball hitch, DOT legal (standard) Mill price...$63,690 (wide head option) Options price...$13,075 Comments Controls on a pedestal can be set up on either end. Contact Info Wood-Mizer LLC 8180 W. 10th Street Indianapolis, IN Tel: 800/ Wood-Mizer LT70 Super Shoot-Out veteran Dave Scott was the sawyer behind the controls for the Wood-Mizer LT70 Super. The experienced sawyer was joined by tailman Barry Kline, also a mainstay of the Wood-Mizer Shoot-Out team. The LT70 Super is a new product for Wood- Mizer featuring faster hydraulics and updated controls from the previous model LT70. We ve done some redesign, now running the bed, feed, and the up and down directly off of the diesel motor with a hydraulic pump, said Dave. He added, We did a really clean job of putting it together. You wouldn t know just by looking at it how different it is. He said that everything is proportional on the joystick controls. The harder you pull it, the faster it goes. He said this is in contrast to the older version which only had a proportional feed and that this added finesse definitely comes in handy. If you re sawing something of real high value, you can be gentler with it so that you don t do any damage. When asked if he d had a strategy for the Shoot-Out, Dave said, The strategy was just to saw the four logs, do a good job, and have an overrun. He said that unlike the team on their LT15, they didn t have a lot of time to prepare. Although Dave is a longtime employee of Wood-Mizer and is comfortable operating many of their machines, when it came to the controls on the newer LT70 he was still getting used to the updates. The machine was ready, but I haven t run it all that much. Dave explained that what he previously controlled with his right hand is now done by his left, and vice versa. According to Dave, he had enough power and speed at his disposal to really push the limits. That mill s fast. I had no doubt the mill was capable of being the fastest. Dave said the blade they ran on the mill was a standard, off-the-shelf, 7-degree, 1-1/4-inch blade like many of their customers run. Although the mill is equipped with a debarker, Dave credits the Wood-Mizer 40 Sawmill & Woodlot

30 blade with helping get through the muddy logs. He said the advances in blade technology have progressed just as much as their mills over the years, and that the newer blades will tolerate a lot more grit and dirt than they used to. I ve been at this since 1985, and blades have come as far as the sawmills, said Dave. While he acknowledged he could have cut faster, he said that if you try to go fast there s a greater likelihood of slabbing too deep, so you don t have to edge the boards, and in the end that hurts your yield. Dave said, I think we had a pretty decent overrun. He said one thing that helped their workflow and speed was the standard board outfeed table on the LT70. Having a place for the boards to land, the sawyer doesn t have to wait for the tailman to catch a board as it is coming off the mill. Although they used a separate EG200 twin blade edger in the Shoot-Out, they could just as easily have edged on the mill. Dave said, It s an extremely accurate mill to edge on. Overall, Dave said he wouldn t have done anything differently and was happy with the way the mill performed. In the end, the cold rainy conditions and mud around the mill did not seem to affect them. They sawed 489 board feet (BF) in roughly 24 minutes for a total rate of 1,231 BF per hour, making them the second-fastest sawmill in their category PARTICIPANT THE GREAT PORTABLE SAWMILL SHOOT OUT PORTABLE BAND SAW MILLS MORE SAW FOR LESS MONEY EZ Boardwalk ft. Track made from 6 Channel (4,6, & 8 Extensions available) Trailer Package available Cuts on an angle. Easy operation 4 Quick-Clamp Log Dogs Blade Lube included Cuts 40 x 16 6 Logs Spring Assist Lift Call FOR PRICING & BROCHURE 8218 SHELBY 366 EMDEN, MO Delivery Available NO SUNDAY CALLS EZ Boardwalk BAND SHARPENER Semi-Automatic. Simple & Easy to Use Call for Pricing We also make our own quality LOG ARCHES Dec 2015/Jan

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32 2015 SHOOT OUT THANK YOU A successful Shoot-Out event requires talent, teamwork, and collaboration. For that we thank: Seminar presenter, Terry Conners The Ohio Forestry Association especially Gayla Fleming and her team, John Dorka, Jim Doll, and Jason Dave Boyt Good, for their help in organizing the logs, site, and equipment. Tajfun USA for donating the Bober electronic caliper, which helped the team scale the logs and lumber in record time. The Spirited Participants who demonstrated their equipment in this year s event Baker Products, EZ Boardwalk, Lucas Mill, Norwood Sawmills U.S.A., Peterson Sawmills, Timbery LLC, Turbo Sawmill, and Wood-Mizer. The Seminar Presenters, both extremely knowledgeable and ever popular Brian Bond of Virginia Tech and Terry Conners of the University of Kentucky. The Shoot-Out Team Members, with whom I have had the pleasure of working and learning from for a number of years now Dave Boyt, J.R. Salzman, Dave Robertson, Yvonne Broderick, and, let s not forget, the timekeepers from Meadowbrook High School and Boy Scout Troop #118 of the Lakes District of the Great Trail Council. Heroic, wet volunteer timekeepers Event photographer and Shoot-Out official J.R. Salzman Dec/Jan

33 BOOST PERFORMANCE WITH TURBO 7 HIGH PERFORMANCE TURBO 7 BLADE IDEAL FOR HIGH HORSEPOWER SAWING Developed on exotic hardwoods in South America, the Wood-Mizer Turbo 7 blades unique, aggressive has more than proven itself in sawing white oak, hickory, ash, hard maple and more. performance today with Turbo Wood-Mizer LLC woodmizer.com/blades MARK YOUR 2016 CALENDARS! New Hampshire s Greatest Winter Fair Experience! VISIT OUR WEBSITE NH Farm & Forest EXPOSITION Friday, Jan 22, a.m. 8:00 p.m. Saturday, Jan 23, :30 a.m. 4:30 p.m. CENTER OF NH - RADISSON HOTEL 700 ELM STREET, MANCHESTER, NH GIANT TRADESHOW EDUCATIONAL WORKSHOPS & SEMINARS KIDZONE FOOD Admission: $7.00 (Kids 16 and under are FREE!) FFUN FUN OR SOMETHING EVERYONE 44 Sawmill & Woodlot

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