I was hoping you'd have a mizer type mill. Much thinner kerf. I think I paid ~$20 and hour for mill work about 10 years ago. $100 for 4 big hickory logs, and an osage 12" at the butt, all milled to 2" with a few slabs left fat. Probably 2 hours on the mill, two hired men and me watchin, + the raw logs.
Osage ain't that hard, least not wet green, imho. I got the same line outa my guy, just after he ran through a muddy spot on his hickory tree (after first cutting my osage which was meticulously clean) and the saw started cutting sideways. Next time it might be worth it to pressure wash them, or hose the heck outa them at least. It's the dirt embedded in the bark, particularly if they were skidded and yarded, that abrades the blades so much. IMHO I ain't no sawer, but I done sharpened enough blades to know 1/2 second in the dirt converts to hours of cutting in clean wood, in terms of dulling a chain/blade.
I have learned not to really look at stuff more than 12' on the butt end. I can cut and work two 10" trees and get twice the finished product over the time in 20" tree. Just gets too darned heavy, and hides too much waste as you've said. Rarely is one that big sound bow wood throughout, particularly in the center.
Nice haul.
Folks will learn, Timo I'm sure long since understands, this is far from a money making proposition. All a labor of love. I could make a darn site more at minimum wage, and I have converatively a mile of such osage fence row, 90 years old by the tellin', that I can pick and choose from at will.
Hope to make it to Mojam and see all ya'll nare-do-wells some more.
Lennie ievidently got some ground hog, 'er bear, in his blood. Ain't seen him since last Fall. The Sun done woke you up boy?
