Forum - Banjo Ben Clark

What's up folks - Been working my tale off and no music...just saying "Hi"

#1

Most know that I live back in the woods, work my tail off spring - late fall on the homestead, then start picking music again about the same time bow hunting season and when I start burning wood for the year. I hibernate in winter but put in a year’s worth of work during the summer around our place.

Been getting caught up on a lot of projects and still have more to do. Ordered a band saw mill and it arrives soon so I’ve been breaking ground and about to start building up the infrastructure for it. We have at least 50 acres of timber that is absolutely ripe for some select cutting. Why a mill? I was going to put in a pavilion-style cedar post carport w/workshop and a cedar green house - just ordering the kits for those two things was going to be around $50K so I figured I’d pick up a sawmill for $15K and harvest my own timber/lumber.

I typically start picking again around mid-Oct/early Nov…will be back, Although I do plan on spending the winter staving off cabin fever by falling, sawing, and stacking (when I am not picking).

See y’all soon enough!

13 Likes
#2

Good hearing from you! Keep those fingers clear!

6 Likes
#3

You have absolutely described my life to the letter but I only have 18 acres. Our sawmill is a woodmizer lx 55 what brand did you buy?
I love this forum!

9 Likes
#4

Well I started wanting a “Woods” brand then they had a 1.5 yr backlog. Then I wanted Woomizer and they had a 1 year backlog…so it was the Norwood HD 36 V2 “Lumber Pro”. I didn’t get any hydraulics but did get the lap siding and shake shingle jigs. I could have gotten a mill for a lot less than $15K but I decided I’d go ahead and buy me a robust one. I typically buy everything that is “the intro model into commercial”.

I had a neighbor that use to saw for me when I’d need something. He got old (87) and decided to sell his mill a few years ago… so I had to step up.

image
image.jpg1440×715 133 KB

5 Likes
#5

If I saw like I type then I’ll be picking with my tongue in no time!

6 Likes
#6

Figured all the gardens & getting of green wood for seasoning was keeping you pretty busy. And now the milling proj! The small (by comparison) gardens here have kept me very busy this year. Agreed w @Mike_R, watch them fingers!

5 Likes
#7

I wanna come down and run it with you one day!

5 Likes
#8

That’s neat, we had to wait for our mill too but at the time it was only six months but we ended up getting it in only about three to four, how do you load/skid your logs? Do you like having it on a trailer?

3 Likes
#9

Oh it’s not here yet. I am still waiting. Should be another 2 weeks or so. I am just now clearing an area for it (with tractor) on a rock shelf…and tearing stuff up. Ha ha. I am about to have gravel hauled in for the area I want my mill, It’s a great spot - solid rock!

I just happen to have plenty of time, a WHOLE BUNCH of really nice timber on about 40 “ish” acres and pretty much said “Why Not?” and went for it. I had a timber company come in an estimate mate the value to me if they select cut it…he was grinning from ear to ear. It’s a really nice stand of timber…and I have some LARGE wood working projects I want to complete over the next two years. Large cedar-post pavillion with workshop in the back, nice cedar greenhouse that will serve as a “solar kiln” in the summer - when most typically abandone their greenhouse because it’s too hot. I also want to put up 3 board fence (with field fence) around 3 acres. The posts and boards will all come from cedar that I harvest off our property.

I’ve got a homesite (perc) that is 3/4 of a mile back in the woods off the road…been wanting a “hunting cabin”.

So I have a bit of sawing to do for all those projects…and ofcourse a pole barn and a few lean tos for storing/drying wood…yep, 2 yr long project to get all of that done.

2 Likes
#10

Once I get it in (2 weeks maybe) and get my feet wet I’ll have you down. Did you stack any of that wood that kept coming down/falling around your place? If so we can saw it up. If not I’ll have plenty of sticks laying around here somewhere to widdle on.

1 Like
#11

Load/Skid Logs…

I have a 50 HP Kubota tractor. I have a bucket/grapple/set of forks for it. I typically fall, buck, and hand-split around 6-8 cords of wood/yr (heat them home) so I am fairly use to moving around logs with the Kubota.

If I didn’t have a 40-50hp tractor with a grapple (root) or a set of forks…then I would have purchased the same mill with hydraulics. Good thing about this mill is that you can actually order all the hydraulics and everything simply bolts on. That’s why I went with this model - You can add hydraulics later if you want. I don’t plan on advertising the milling services but I’ll certainly saw for friends/neighbors, etc…so I didn’t think the hydraulics were needed. Plus I like to stay in shape and active. The mill we keep me on my feet during the winter months. Typically I hibernate, pick guitar and eat, and eat, and eat. ha ha. Pick the guitar, eat, put a log on the fire. It’s a sloppy clay/muddy mess around here in the winters - I’ve just learned to hibernate and not fight it.

2 Likes
#12

I’ve been stone-un’ stuff all summer. I stoned in a new fire pit over at the guest house. It’s nice. Also our front walk needed addressed…so I tore it all out and stoned the entire walk (stone w/mortar)…it’s 8ft x 30ft. It looks nice. I also stoned a culvert over the past year…been “the year of the stone”. The next year will be “year of the wood”. It’s already started because I had to buy a new pressure washer to pressure wash 4 decks! I’ve been water sealer them…yep, “year of the wood” came in with a “bang” (maintenance on wood decks). I didn’t like the way the decks were looking and figured I’d best go ahead and get them cleaned up and water sealed - problem is that it’s been rianing of and on. Nothing like dodging dark clouds when you are trying to waterseal a bunch of decks.

3 Likes
#13

It’s even worse fighting rain when you’ve just laid out several hundred green innocent bricks to dry…

3 Likes
#14

I do, but I cut it into 6-8’ chunks to make it easier to handle. I can load them on my flatbed and bring them down sometime, see what we can do!

1 Like
#15

Mill came in and is under my carport. I’ve been doing some tractor work and had 4 loads of gravel hauled in. Hope to get the mill installed/up and running over the next 10 days or so.

I tell you what you need to do - About mid-Nov show up with a truck load of wood (or not) about 30 mins before daylight with your bow and hunting gear. We’ll put on a bowhunt in the morn and saw some logs in the afternoon. If the hunting was productive in the morn then we can go back at it in the evening…or saw some more logs.

If you can think of any lumber you may need then let me know and we can saw it up while you are here. I can cut up to like 32" wide boards (table tops/counters) with it. It will handle 36" logs which will give you 32" wide boards. So if ya need anything like that then let me know and I’ll see what I can do about sourcing the materials.

4 Likes
#16

Is this offer for anyone? :wink:

1 Like
#17

If some of ya regulars or Shania Twain ever wanted to stop over, saw a log, bowhunt, shoot some guns, or “whatever” then I’d certainly welcome ya.

Be warned though - our little guest house sure is a popular spot for out-of-towners shacking up in it for 2-7 days at a time…so accomadations may not be available if ya plan on spending the night in the guest house. On the flip side of that I have 40ish acres of “logs” so those will be available.

Plenty of deer too. For TN standards I’ve got 3 “gooduns” that frquent the property. I am an Ohio boy and am use to some big deer…3 running around here are impressive.

2 Likes
#18

Sounds like quite a setup (and not just the sawmill) but I thought you were moving… Too many city folks moving in around you… at least I thought you posted something to that effect awhile back?

#19

I’m gonna come see you!

2 Likes
#20

Well if that’s what it takes for you to come visit, we have a sawmill and a deer problem haha.:grin:

1 Like