Larson Sawmill

[cjmlarson]

After getting a chance to run the Russell on different equipment out at the showgrounds (Rollag), we realized we wanted to keep working the engine as much as possible through the show (because it's just so darn much fun!). In my travels this winter, I found an old sawmill that I decided to purchase for this reason. The intent is to refurbish and put it back together as a portable mill. This way we can use it at home as well as bringing it out to the show in the fall. I'll post a couple of pictures to show you the start of our winter/spring/summer project.


http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/100_2210-2.jpg
If you're not that familiar with sawmills, this picture shows a pile of iron with a big pulley. :rof:
This is the husk and someone along the line, had started to make it into a portable. So I have about 2500 lbs of iron that needs the cutting torch and grinder to eliminate everything that's not needed. The snow is hiding alot of what needs to be removed.



http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/100_2211-2.jpg
This shows the metal I-beams that replaced the original wood ones. This will make it much easier to make this into a portable mill. Mother Nature, as you can see, is not cooperating very well, with me being able to get anything done outside.

[ICLIDA]

Clayton,
Your new mill looks way too big for your maximum capacity!
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/100_2007-2.jpg

Congratulations on your newest project. Any news on the portable?

Tom

[M Kerkvliet]

Clayton,
Your new mill looks way too big for your maximum capacity!




Tom

Good one Tom! Never going to live that one down Clayton! :rof::rof:

The Sawmill looks like a fun project! If you think you need a little help, just be sure to have the right size pulley handy and I can think of an engine that could come to the rescue!:D

[cjmlarson]

Mark

I not sure I can find a pulley that small.:aetsch:

Tom

I have to get Earls mill to hang something else up.I had an idea that this was going to bite me at a later date.:rolleyes:

[cjmlarson]

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/100_2190-2.jpg
I thought I'd share with you how I got 50' of rail & carriage home. I set the rails on a car dolly and strapped it together. Then I rolled the carriage directly on top of it, and strapped that to the rails. As you can see, I bolted a hitch on the one end and strung some wire with portable lights for the back. And down the road I went...

[cjmlarson]

Thought I'd show you a really neat piece of equipment that came with this sawmill.

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/100_2184-2.jpg
Here is the sawyer's scale board. You can see there are many graduations for cutting different dimensions of lumber. Meaning, one column is in 1/4 graduations and it has many columns that go from 1" up to 2". After that, it's in 1/2" increments. This board has the ability to go up to 4" cants. I have been told that these are quite a neat accessory, and due to the fact that they are cast iron, they're usually missing or broken.

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/100_2213-2.jpg
I needed a way to move the slab wood and cut lumber away from the husk, so I'm building a set of rolls. I am making this so that it will have the option to be either 'live' or I can just push the lumber along by hand.

[cjmlarson]

The following pictures show some of the progress being made this winter on rebuilding the husk frame and pulleys.

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/100_2281-2.jpg
This picture shows the old husk frame with the pulleys and bearings removed. And you'll see the handy work of someone with a cutting torch. They tried to make slots to move the pillow block bearings for adjustments. The holes were gaping and not straight, and there were other things not shown in the picture, that justified rebuilding the husk frame. Next time I'll shovel more snow before purchasing, as to see all the little things that were wrong.

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/100_2296-2.jpg
Here Mike is welding up the new husk frame.

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/100_2299-2.jpg
If you go back and look at the picture of the husk frame on top of the trailer, you'll see we've cut most of the unneeded iron off. We have put the rebuilt frame onto the channel iron that will hold the carriage rails, squared it all up, and here Mike is welding it together.

[cjmlarson]

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/100_2277-2.jpg
This is the friction drive pulley for reversing the carriage. Someone had installed 2 forklift steering tires on the hub. As you can see, they are almost wore out, plus the fact it's rubber, and I would assume that would make it jerky and grabby.

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/100_2279-2.jpg
There wasn't any way to get ahold of the hubs of the tires, so I took my sawzall and cut part of the rubber off, and then used my die grinder and cut the wheel hub, then I could press it off the shaft.

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/100_2288-2.jpg
Due to the fact that this is the carriage reverse pulley, there really isn't a need for it to be slipped much during operation. Friction paper is a tough commodity to come by, so I cut out masonite hardboard for the product to be used on this pulley. These pieces are 1/4" thick and I had to cut out 36 pieces to get my correct width.

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/100_2276-2.jpg
This is the carriage feed pulley that I used the correct friction paper material to rebuild it. This is due to the fact that this pulley gets slipped alot, depending upon how fast or slow you feed the log into the saw. I just didn't have enough to rebuild the reverse pulley with this same material. All I need to do is chuck this in a lathe and true up the surface of the friction paper so that it will be perfectly round.

[cjmlarson]

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/100_2275-2.jpg
I had to make 2 new shafts because both of them looked similar to this for wear on the bearing surfaces and the keyways were worn also. In this picture, all I have left is to cut the keyways.

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/100_2315-2.jpg
After I got the shafts finished, I installed the friction drive pulleys on them and then turned them in the lathe to true up the surfaces to make them round. This is the carriage feed drive pulley.

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/100_2316-2.jpg
This picture shows the finished carriage return drive pulley.

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/100_2302-2.jpg
Here I am building new hanger brackets for the belt-tension idler for the drive system on the husk.

I'd like to thank Roger Meyer for helping me finish machining the shafts and truing up the friction pulley surfaces. I did not get any pictures while I was at his shop, but I believe his boy Andy took a couple. Maybe he can find time to post those. While I was there, we also narrowed up a cast-iron spoked pulley that I had found, which was 2 inches too wide. This was a pulley I had to replace because the one I had, had cracked spokes in it.

[cjmlarson]

Things have been moving along quite well on the mill so here is some pictures of the platform that I have been building.


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As you can see I am making this so it hinges up so you can grease it and or if I would ever have to work on it.


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Here you can see the top of the finished platform.

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This shows the workings of the husk and also how the platform tips up out of the way. You can also see the drive for the roll in the back of the picture.That will be driven off of the arbor shaft with a belt. I will post some pictures later that have a better view of the drive system.

[cjmlarson]

Here's a better picture of the workings of the husk. You can see the bull wheel, which is driven by either the feed friction pulley or the return friction pulley. The bull wheel then has a sprocket on it's shaft that you cannot see, that drives a chain on the cross-shaft that runs the cable drum.

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/100_2341-2.jpg

[cjmlarson]

On this mill, I am not going to have a pulley on the arbor shaft and pull on that to tighten the belt. Instead I've decided to construct a portable drive so that when you back the engine in to tighten the belt, the belt tension will be pulling on the drive and not on the arbor shaft. The drive will have a driveshaft between it and the husk. So Easter weekend, it was off to northern North Dakota to my Dad's scrap iron pile. I needed lots of metal, a driveshaft out of an old truck, an auger for sawdust, spindles and wheels etc... Here's a picture of the load I brought back.

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/100_2361-2.jpg

The one implement he let me cut apart, actually turned out to have the majority of the iron I needed. Here you'll see the 2 A-frame pieces that will go on each end of the portable drive. Obviously, there will be some fabricating to do on these 2 pieces. This is all I have time for now, but hope to post some more soon.

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/100_2363-2.jpg

[M Kerkvliet]

Thanks for the update on the progress Clayton! Good to see that plans are progressing. It all looks great!

You must be worried about the big Avery bending your arbor shaft backing into the belt? :rof::hide:

[cjmlarson]

First off, thanks for the compliments Mark.

But the real story is, I heard the Avery wanted it's turn on my mill, so I figured I better make a portable drive so that I can put another engine on to help the Avery get through the logs. :aetsch:

I'm thinking the Russell would be a good one to help you out!

[cjmlarson]

This is the start of assembly of the main frame of the portable drive that I'm building. Eventually this will have a set of transport wheels and a hitch to pull it. I really like the colors. :eek: If I can add a couple more different ones to it, it should match every engine on the showgrounds.

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/img010.jpg

[edezeeuw09]

This is sure a neat project that you are working on. I'm also working on restoring a saw mill too. and if I could ask you some questions or keep in touch with you, as I go through the process of restoring my saw mill? And is there anyone else that knows of information about restoring saw mills. My saw mill is A.B. Farouhar co. LTD made in York PA. either post comments on here or feel free to email me at earl22070@yahoo.com. thanks. :soapbox:

[cjmlarson]

Here I have made the center bearing support and am also working on making the transport wheel mounts. Gotta make it so it can make the trip to Rollag.

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/100_2404-2.jpg

Just a picture showing the drive with the transport wheels in place and now I'm working on the hitch.

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/100_2399-2.jpg

I have installed the bearings on the shaft and mounted it on the portable drive frame. Not quite done with the hitch yet. I am getting hubs machined for the pulleys that will go on each end, and also I need to finish the hitch and maybe some paint. And then I think I will take it for a trial run down the road. :praying:

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/100_2417-2.jpg

[Brian K. Nelson]

Another fine project you got going Clayton and crew!!
You should put on a additional pulley so that you can have an additional steamer on the mill. I was at a show in Ohio where they had 2 engines running the saw.. The sawyer had fun! Safety factor - probably wasn't one.

[M Kerkvliet]

Another fine project you got going Clayton and crew!!
You should put on a additional pulley so that you can have an additional steamer on the mill.

I already told him he would need that Brian... All he has is the little Russell :rof: :hide::hide::hide:

[cjmlarson]

Brian, that's a good idea, but just so you know, that's the whole intention of making the portable drive. We're making it so when we get the 16 HP Portable done, we can run both engines on the mill. But in the meantime, there will still be 2 pulleys on there. We've already got a couple engines lined up that we can 'help' get through the logs we'll be sawing. :rof:

[cjmlarson]

It just seems like the days are getting away on me. So one of the few nice days we have had on the weekends, I decided to get the husk out and get it mated up with the rails and the carriage. I welded a couple of old wheels on to the frame and used the skid steer to roll it out of the shop and over close to the rails. Once I got it close I cut the wheels off and then set it down on some wood and pushed it under the rest of the way.
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/100_2407-2.jpg


Here you see the husk is pushed under the rails, so now all I did was jack it up into place and squared it up with the rails.
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/100_2408-2.jpg


Here the husk is jacked up, squared up and leveled to the carriage rails.
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/100_2413-2.jpg

[cjmlarson]

We lost our phone service for over a week, had graduation for Mike, and have been busy at work...those are my excuses for not posting sooner.

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/100_2467-2.jpg
Here I have fabricated stands that go underneath the rollers for carrying the cut lumber and slabwood.

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/100_2469-2.jpg
Just another picture showing how it will sit up against the carriage as it passes by.

I've been trying to figure out what I'm going to use for the staging area for logs. I have no pictures yet, but Brian Nelson helped me out and found some miniature rail that I will assemble together to make loading logs onto the carriage very easy. What I brought home, looks like it will work very well. Thanks alot Brian.

[Brian K. Nelson]

Glad the rail worked out.. I was worried you might run me out of town on the rail if it didn't!!!....:rof:

[M Kerkvliet]

Speaking of Rail and Hitterdal... The lead engine on a northbound train made a right turn where there wasn't an intersection just south of Hitterdal on Saturday afternoon Brian... I suppose they got that all sorted out by now. Did not look too serious. I was going to stop and tell them that there was a crew working at Rollag with experiece in this area if they needed any help... :hide:

In all seriousness, the project looks great Clayton! You don't so anything "½ way"! I can't wait to see it run!

[CaseyD]

This thing is huge! You will need a semi to pull it out to Rollag! It's going to be amazing! Never heard of someone building a sawmill in their back yard before ;-)

[P.D.]

Looks like you've certainly made huge progress on this project. Now I understand your comment about needing to dig more snow when looking at something. I hope I'll be able to give a hand at showtime.

Be careful, though. While you & Mark are arguing some other engine may slip in & show you both how it's done!:rof: ............Pete Deets

[Todd Hintz]

will we need to move the caution sign from Earl's Mill to this one???:rof:

(looks like Tom beat me to the punch on this - reread the first posts after I posted this!)

[cjmlarson]

I am so surprised at the number of comedians we have at Rollag...:rolleyes:

[cjmlarson]

This is the rail that Brian Nelson found for me. These are going to be in the staging area, and are what the logs will sit on to be rolled onto the carriage. They had been buried in cement so there was a little bit of work to be done to get them cleaned up.



http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/100_2472-2.jpg
Here's what it looked like before we started removing the cement.



http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/100_2471-2.jpg
Everyone should have a wife that likes to try new things. But believe me, it wasn't something she wants to do again. She was using the air hammer to chisel the cement off.



http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/100_2474-2.jpg
Here's the finished product, which looks to be 12lb rail. I guess the extra rail I have is too small for Asher on the railroad! :D

[cjmlarson]

Finally got around to cutting the arbor shaft off to the correct length. Then I needed to cut a keyway on the end where the drivehub will slide on. I was going to have to remove the complete arbor shaft, but I was able to borrow a portable keyway cutter. :thumb: And this made it so I did not have to remove the complete arbor shaft.



http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/100_2476-2.jpg
Here you'll see the tool that made the job extremely less time consuming.

[andymeyer]

Clayton, it looks very good but will it work. and yes i think we will have to move the caution sign down to your sawmill.

[cjmlarson]

Lucky for me we will not have a roof, and I would not want it to get wet. So it can stay in the work shop at Earls Mill!!!

[Todd Hintz]

so you get what...about fifteen minutes of sleep between Christmas and New Year's whether you need it or not, huh Clayton? All kidding aside, pretty impressive :thumb:

[cjmlarson]

I removed the old worn-out dogs off of the headblocks and found 3 real nice used ones, that I have bolted on in place. Here's a couple pictures showing the center headblock with a single dog and the end headblocks with multi-tooth dogs.


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I finally received the saw that I'm going to use on this mill. Turned out that it will be a 2 1/2 inch saw, so it has many more teeth than originally planned. So it's good that we can run 2 steam engines, because we'll need the power now.

[cjmlarson]

I'm building my transport wheels for the sawmill out of a set of worn-out walking tandems which were found by Adam Meyer (Thanks Adam :thumb:). I cut all the worn out pieces off the spindles and now am fabricating new pieces for the spindles to get welded to.


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http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/100_2491-2.jpg
Here I am boring the holes for the main pipe to slide into.


http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/100_2492-2.jpg
Here you'll see where the spindles will get welded onto the main beam and also I will weld the pipe to the main beam. The orange pipe will slide into an axle pipe that will go completely across the sawmill husk. Then I will drill a slotted hole for a pin to go through, that way the walking tandem can follow the contour of the ground.

[M Kerkvliet]

Looking good Clayton.

Someone asked me last weekend if your sawmill is going to be ready to go for this years show? I told him I thought that was your plan... Looks like you are getting close.

Think your going to make it?

[wifyan]

Your mill keeps looking better by the day Clayton, but on the other hand I think you should build a work bench rather then using your golf cart as one.:rof:

[cjmlarson]

Yancy.......at the time of these pictures I could not find my bench with all the clutter. So I found the golf cart to be the next in line for my bench:rolleyes:.I will say it didnt work to bad though.


Mark, I think I will make it:praying:. Or if it gets to close I will have to have a work week end out on the hill getting the spot ready where I will put it. will need some assistance with hauling fill and some one running the sheeps foot ect. Man this summer has gotten away from me:eek:.

[cjmlarson]

Didn't have the correct size pulley for a gas tractor, but I got the blade going the correct speed at about half-throttle.


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Here Jane & I are trying our hand at cutting a couple of boards.


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It went so well on the mill, we found a larger log and cut some bigger planks. Here we're trying out the edger that we'll be using with the mill.

[cjmlarson]

Due to some scheduling conflicts with some of our workers, we are going to need some extra help at the sawmill during the show. If anyone is looking for something to do and would like to help out, please respond to this thread or send a PM.

Thanks!

[P.D.]

I should be able to give a hand here or there. I'll be out Tuesday or Wednesday....Pete Deets

[oldsmokey]

Wow its really looking good do plan to test this weekend?









if you that second engine oldsmokey will be steamed up saturday and sunday

[ICLIDA]

Clayton and Jane,
Thanks for letting us bring the Advance up to power your new mill on Friday morning and all day Sunday. We had a great time and the mill really draws a crowd. I hope to get some pictures as soon as I find the camera.

Tom

[cjmlarson]

Your welcome Tom, I think it worked as planned so we can keep more steam engines running through the show. But I think your crew and the 20 Avery crew should take up a collection for some new shirts for the sawmill crew, everyone has holes in their shirts from the cinders that came out your stacks.:rof:Oh maybe that was my fault for pulling the engines that hard, But didnt they sound great with both of them under a good pull:thumb:.

[Darren Gunderson]

I too thank you for letting us get the 20 Minneapolis on for Saturday morning. It was a good education running with two engines at the same time. I have some video my wife took of the Russell with the 20 Minneapolis that when I have a chance to get it edited down a bit I will post it.

Darren

[Teeth Talk]

Apologies for the shirts, guys. That has to hurt a little. :bonk:

We had a good time on Sunday also. Your hard work is appreciated to give us some more work opportunities on the show grounds.

Cody Mitchell
Jace Mitchell
Dave Morken
18hp Avery Crew

[cjmlarson]

Darren glad you had fun, that is what it is about, and there is no apologies needed guys it was a blast .When Jane and I get some time we will post some pictures of all of the engines that helped make this weekend a lot of fun. I think the crowd enjoyed it as well. Also we cant thank the guys that helped with the sawmill enough I will try and get some of the names on here later.We worked them way to hard!!!!

[DOXEY41]

Clayton
I didn’t think I was over work it was a blast I had a lot of fun. It was just some good hard work and a lot of sweat.
PS I hope those Mitchell boys can sow:rof: just kidding keep the hot ash coming.

[40avery]

I agree Josh! I was a little disappointed that we ran ourselves out of logs.

Thanks Clayton and Jane for giving me a chance to help. This was truly the most fun show I have had for a long time.:thumb:

Rick

[edin]

The Edin Family would like to thank you for giving us the opportunity to belt up with the "Mighty 28" Minneapolis. It was loads of fun and we were glad to be part of this Mills first sawing at WMSTR. Looking forward to next year!
Edin's Last Pioneer Farm, Askov MN
Jeff - Clara - Colt - Jennifer

[cjmlarson]

We will be posting pictures as soon as we get caught up and back to our normal lives. But we would like to give a special thanks to the Edin family for graciously helping out when our sawmill was in need of repair. Jeff helped replace the teeth that did not want to come loose, and Jennifer drove at least 3 hours out of her way to bring us the needed parts on Friday evening. Without those parts we were done for the weekend. Jennifer, I think I still owe you a couple gallons of ice cream! :not_worthy:

[cjmlarson]

We would like to thank everyone who helped us prepare for the show and those that helped with the sawmill and engine during the show. We have quite a few pictures to post, but we know we don't have pictures of everyone who helped and please accept our apologies if we miss someone's name. We don't mean to exclude anyone.



http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/100_2544-2.jpg
This is Friday evening, Aug 28. Made it down the highway with no problems. Here Jim P from Earl's Mill is supervising the entrance.


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Saturday morning as I was getting started setting up the mill, help started arriving and within 3 hours, the mill was in place. In this picture are Pete & Jerry Mandt, Rick Halldorson, and Roger Meyer.


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We had to block up the transport wheels to get across the sawdust trench, and here we're removing the wheels.


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Here Roger is removing the blocks from the sawdust trench.

[cjmlarson]

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Here Pete, Jerry and myself are setting the edger in place. Rick H is running the loader.


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I got Wimpy to come up and weld the log staging rails to the wooden posts. :rof:


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Jim P, one of Earl's crewmembers, made this fancy piece of artwork to hold the end of the sawdust auger. Thank you very much Jim!

[cjmlarson]

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Here you can see 'The Boss' at work. :thumb:


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This is Friday morning with the 2 Mighty 16's ready to Rock n Roll. And that they did! We did not saw a log that was too big for them to handle.:bannana:


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The 28 Minneapolis of Edin's belted up with the Russell Friday afternoon.

[cjmlarson]

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Here Jane is getting experience firing with wet slabwood with the help of Eldon Held. Thanks Eldon for all your help and expertise with the engine.


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Here Jeff Knutson's 20 Minneapolis is running with the Russell. Darren & Rob Gunderson are operating the engine.


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Here we are trying to max out the saw with Josh Doxey helping on the outfeed rolls. Not in the picture but also helping on the mill through the weekend, were Tim and Karl Ruud, Mark Chiodini, Bryce (friend of Wimpy's), Gary Muhl, Brett Larson, Mike Larson & Kevin Larson.

[cjmlarson]

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/100_2590-2.jpg
Here's Mallory Dillon with the Advance on Sunday morning. We think Tom was still sleeping at this time.:hide:


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Here Dillon's 16 Advance and the Ellingson 18 Avery are belted up and running the mill on Sunday. Still not seeing Tom anywhere...but Mary Jo and Mallory were able to handle things without him. Good job ladies.


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The Avery crew is making sure the crowd didn't need to swat mosquitos!


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Here Craig is getting advice from the 'Master Sawyer' Hartley Ellingson. Thanks Hartley & Noren for all your help & advice, but I'm still going to keep my tape measure on my pocket!!


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Mike L & Rick H are making sure Craig is following Hartley's advice.

[Todd Hintz]

Does the picture of Wimpy welding to the wooden post have anything to do with the sign I saw very early Friday morning that pointed to the "Real Sawmill?" :aetsch:

It sure was fun to see the mill up and running after reading this thread all winter!

Nice Job to all involved...:thumb:

[cjmlarson]

I think the sign story is a bit to long for the forum!!!:imnotlistening:

[Jerry Christiansen]

I think the sign story is a bit to long for the forum!!!:imnotlistening:


I have a high speed connection, give it a shot.

Jerry

[Ironjunkie]

Inquiring minds...............

[40avery]

Last I saw it was pointing to Clayton's mill!:rof:

You should see the different wooden welding rods Wimpy has available.:rolleyes:

[M Kerkvliet]

Another outstanding thread Jane and Clayton!

Congratulations all the way around to all who were involved in this sawmill display. I stood back and watched you guys operate a couple of times during the show, and folks were always 3 or 4 deep all the way around watching you operate. I would say that means success!

:congrats::congrats::congrats:

[ICLIDA]

Your welcome Tom, I think it worked as planned so we can keep more steam engines running through the show. But I think your crew and the 20 Avery crew should take up a collection for some new shirts for the sawmill crew, everyone has holes in their shirts from the cinders that came out your stacks.:rof:Oh maybe that was my fault for pulling the engines that hard, But didnt they sound great with both of them under a good pull:thumb:.

Be carefull what you ask for!!!!!!!

[cjmlarson]

Oh boy.......Well I guess they could read the Real Sawmill Crew.:biglaugh:I better stop with that, I have had two 18 hour days and I'm not thinking straight.

[cjmlarson]

Please bear with us while watching the following videos, they are a little shaky at times, but we had someone else use our camera and they were not familiar with how steady you have to be with our camera. We were just too busy to try and get any video ourselves. If anyone else has any, please feel free to add it to this thread. The video was only taken when the Edin's 28 was on the mill, so we did not get any of the other engines on tape. Here's 4 short clips, enjoy.

http://s155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/?action=view&current=Sawing1.flv

[cjmlarson]

http://s155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/?action=view&current=Sawing2.flv

[cjmlarson]

http://s155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/?action=view&current=Sawing3.flv

[cjmlarson]

http://s155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/?action=view&current=Sawing4.flv

[M Kerkvliet]

Great video(s) Jane and Clayton!

Only one thing missing! :confused:

[dachtera]

Clayton,

I know I have some pretty good footage of your crew on the sawmill, I'll see if I can't post a few tidbits on here after I rummage thru the 18+ hours of film Chris and I shot.

[cjmlarson]

Thanks Tim.

[Darren Gunderson]

Well Mark's post about it being quiet here on the boards got me motivated to edit some video my wife shot while we were on the sawmill Saturday morning. Here is a clip with the Russell and Jeff Knutson's 20 Minneapolis working on the sawmill. We sure had a good time working this way. The video was originally shot in HD with 5.1 surround and it is sure neat watching and listening to it that way. Too bad it can't be posted like that. Anyway, here is a sample of what it was like working that morning.

http://s172.photobucket.com/albums/w26/dgundy/2009_WMSTR_Videos/?action=view&current=DoubleSawing.flv



Darren

[Big Coulee Russell]

Darren, Thanks for the interesting and captivating camera views and footage as well as the nice video edit and design. Getting the sound tweeked would be the frosting. Next time we all get together with all the engines we will have even more fun. I will have to practice to get my skills to get to your level....drive up to the belt and go first try...touch the govenor one time and you are right on...video master...what's next? Thanks to the 20 Minneapolis crew for belting up with us.

[Darren Gunderson]

Well I can tell you it does not always go that well belting up. We just hit it lucky. I was pleased with the govenor adjustments too. I had never had to do it like that before, usually you are adjusting to a specific speed on the implement you are driving, not trying to get them to lift at the same time. Just lucky I guess. It was a good learning experience.

You have to thank my wife Shelly for getting some of the angles, she was manning the camera most of the time. I just edited it down to a couple minutes to post. Now I need to do the same thing with some threshing video I shot later that day.

Darren

[M Kerkvliet]

Great work on the video Shelly and Darren!

I have done some video editing, and I know it is a lot of work to get it just the way you want it to work. The quality of your video is excellent!

Nice shots of the sawmill too!

[cjmlarson]

Great job on the video! You guys need to tell us how you edited this, so we can do that on our videos that we post. Shelly, I like it when people videotape and stay in one spot like you did, so you can actually watch the machines work for a period of time. Darren, I did not get to see all of this as it was going on, as I was on the sawyer's handle. You couldn't have gotten the governor more exact than you did. When you watch the video, they both hit identical, which you can see if you watch both of the belts. After seeing this, I'm ready to go again! :woohoo1:

I'd like to think the Russell is smooth, but do you see the coffee mug on the back of the Minneapolis? It just sits there and rocks with the engine. Again, it is so much fun to watch this, due to the fact that I didn't get to see it when it was happening. I'd like to see the rest of the video Shelly. Darren, Jane said it was so much fun operating in tandem with you and your dad. I hope we can do this again sometime. Thanks for posting the great video.

[Darren Gunderson]

Thanks for the kind words. I am glad it gave you a different perspective. I had noticed the coffee cup too. Kind of stands out, I guess I need to clean things up before we get filmed next time.http://www.wmstrcommunityforum.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Looking forward to next time.

Darren

[ICLIDA]

Mary Jo wants to know how to reserve a time on the schedule for sawing this year. She had a blast on the mill last year. It is sure nice to have another exhibit to run the engine on, and it is double the fun when two engines are running!

[cjmlarson]

I am so glad that she enjoyed it. It was fun to have her engine running with ours :thumb:. As for a time and day........ I am hoping that as soon as the board starts to have meetings out on the hill we can come up with a spot to place the mill. This way I will have all summer to get the spot ready and set up. It was a little crazy trying to get ready last year in the amount of time I had :eek:.

[DOXEY41]

Clayton be sure and let me know when you find a spot for the mill I will be more than willing to help you set it up, just try and give me a few days notice so I can plan thanks :thumb:

[ICLIDA]

Am I missing something here? Why wouldn't the mill go right where it was since the footings with the anchor bolts are all ready there?

[M Kerkvliet]

Am I missing something here? Why wouldn't the mill go right where it was since the footings with the anchor bolts are all ready there?

There was an agreement last year when Clayton set up the sawmill on the expo grounds that the spot was a temporary one. The area where it was set up was originally intended for, and has always been "Expo" exhibit area. That is the way the board and a number of other concerned parties want it to remain.

Clayton and family have a very nice exhibit... (they never do anything half way!) and we want the Larson sawmill to remain at Rollag, but we have to find a more suitable spot for the exhibit. There are a number of locations being talked about. We need to meet with Clayton and figure out where he can move that will work for them, and for the show.

[ICLIDA]

I guess I needed "the rest of the story". I just wanted to make sure that we could get some time on the mill again this year as it sure is a lot more fun then sitting around boiling water waiting for another parade. I hope that a suitable place gets picked soon so if Clayton needs some help setting upn the mill I can make it up to the hill to help him.

You are correct about Clayton doing things in a first class fashion. This is a great addition to the show and a lot of fun.

Tom

[cjmlarson]

So far it is looking like the Larson sawmill will be running for the show this fall. The dirt work is almost complete and the drive is being widened so all the engines can set side by side.

With that being said, we are looking for some help at the mill during the show. We had excellent help last year, but not quite enough bodies. The people that came to help worked way too hard, and didn't get any time off to go see the show. If you are interested in putting in a few hours and helping at the newly moved and designed sawmill of the future:eek:, just PM myself here and we can get you a time slot or all weekend if you so desire.

[dachtera]

Let's see if I can get a video embedded!

Here's a clip from this years Memories on the Hill DVD with Clayton giving some information on the sawmill!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JlZFtKbMS8

[DOXEY41]

Yep Clayton is going to need more help he keeps loosen guys to steam shovels :rof:

[40avery]

I Should be well healed by then Clayton. If you will have me I will be there and I do not need much time off.

Rick

[M Kerkvliet]

Yep Clayton is going to need more help he keeps loosen guys to steam shovels :rof:

All of this kidding might be making Clayton a little nervous!

I would be willing to help, but I cannot commit to anything but an Avery, and it seems there is not enough time to commit to that... I get drug a lot of different directions!

The Larson family has a pretty sweet exhibit, and a great new location. I don't think they are going to have any trouble finding good people to work with them up there... at least not any more trouble than the rest of us do!

Keep up the great work Clayton and crew!

[cjmlarson]

The new location has been approved and we are now in the process of dirt work and excavation. I did not have the camera with during the times of hauling dirt but S.D. Jon & his girlfriend :rof:, stopped by and were kind enough to send me a picture of dirt hauling. I will try to keep the photos in order to make it easier to follow the process.


http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/Rollag_1_008.jpg
Here's Adam Meyer running the Versatile for me on a Saturday morning. I think we got 7 trips made on this day, so we got off to a decent start.


http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/100_2777-1.jpg
After talking to all the steam engine operators last year, the decision was made to try and keep the engines side by side while belted up to the sawmill. This makes the communication between operators much easier while operating. So I widened the drive, so now even the engines with extension rims should be able to be side by side while belted up to the drive. This picture shows the completed widened drive. Just needs some paint and it should be good to go.

[cjmlarson]

It was time to get the holes drilled for placing the drive assembly. Some of these pictures were taken by Jerry C who was helping us with this process.


http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/sawmill_002-1.jpg

Here Jane & I are starting the process of drilling the 4 anchor holes.


http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/sawmill_005-1.jpg

Here Ryan is calculating on his phone what the weight will be for Klinger's truck... "Let's see, X times Y, carry the 5, divided by the square root of 1/4 yard of cement, times 4 = Holy Crap, this is going to be heavy Clayton!"


http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/sawmill_006-1.jpg

Here I am putting the hook on the pillar so we can lift it up with the Bobcat. Then we picked the drive up with Klinger's truck and we bolted the 4 pillars onto the drive.


http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/sawmill_008-1.jpg

Everybody was watching closely as Klinger is ready to pick the drive up and set it down in the holes we had drilled. The original cement pillars were 12" in diameter. Last spring Louie and I pulled them out of the ground so I could use them over. The new holes we drilled are 18" in diameter, that way we had room to pour new cement around them.


http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/sawmill_009-1.jpg

Here Klinger is gently lowering the drive down into place. Then we leveled the drive with blocks and poured concrete around the pillars.

There will be more pictures coming later as the process continues.

[cjmlarson]

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/100_2783-1-1.jpg

The drive has been put in place and it's time for Klinger to put his truck away.


http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/100_2787-1-1.jpg

Now we needed to get busy and mix cement to put in the holes. This got to be a bigger project than I expected and it didn't take me long to call the cement truck. I bought 16 bags of sakrete and that got 1 1/8 holes done. I guess my math isn't very good!


http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/100_2788-1-1.jpg

Now it's just wait for the cement to cure and put the final leveling touches to the drive.

[cjmlarson]

This past weekend, Jane & I got a late Friday start on digging the pit where the auger goes to take the sawchips away from the mill. Jerry C showed up and helped with this process.


http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/July_31_003-1.jpg

Here I'm using the excavator to dig the pit.


http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/July_31_004-1.jpg

Jane is giving directions.


http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/July_31_007-1.jpg

Putting the final touches on the pit, squaring up the bottom and cleaning it out by hand.


http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/100_2893-1.jpg

This is the result of our Friday evening work. Time to take a break until Saturday.


http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/July_31_009-1.jpg

This picture came from Jerry C at the time we were calling it quits for the evening. This is what you get to see when working on the showgrounds during the summer. What a sight!

[cjmlarson]

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/100_2895-1.jpg

Saturday morning Josh & I put plywood up, framed that and poured cement in the bottom of the pit for the sawdust auger drive and placed the drain in the cement.


http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/100_2907-1.jpg

This is what it looked like when Josh & I were done.


http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/100_2898-1.jpg

Josh got the cadillac and started to haul the dirt away from the dug out pit, while Jerry C, Jane & I were up at the service building repairing the trencher and getting it ready to dig our drain pipe in.


http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/100_2899-1.jpg

Here Jerry C and Vern are starting to trench for the drain pipe under the close supervision of Josh.


http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/100_2902-1.jpg

Tried to keep the shovel out of Vern's hands but he does not listen very well. This was an extremely hot & humid Saturday, but we had great help all around.

[cjmlarson]

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/100_2905-1.jpg

While Jerry was trenching away, Josh is checking the depth with the laser and making sure it is correct. We needed to go from 36" deep out to daylight at the end of the pipe. So Jerry had to keep lifting the trencher as he travelled forward. When he got to the end of the 45' run, it was perfect. Very little shoveling and tamping had to be done.


http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/100_2910-1.jpg

Here we're backfilling the trench and S.D. Jon & Kevin are supervising the process.

[cjmlarson]

By afternoon, we were ready to place the sawmill and more help showed up. This was good, because we were working on a slight incline and we didn't want the sawmill to roll down the hill and get away from us. Kelly Muhl ran the excavator, which freed myself up to help with the placement of the mill.


http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/100_2911-1.jpg

Nothing pretty but this is how you get wheels over the sawdust pit. Now it's time to remove the transport wheels and block the frame.


http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/100_2913-1.jpg

Here Kelly is running the excavator, I'm lining him up so we can hook the chain up to the sawmill. We lifted it up and S.D. Jon and Mike B. removed the transport wheels. Then we lowered it down and blocked it. We then went to the other side and removed those transport wheels also. It was extremely hot and muggy but I didn't want to quit until we got to this point, due to all of the good help we had that afternoon. Thanks to everyone who helped out!

[Fredward]

Clayton,
I would sure have to say the hard work paid off. The Mill worked perfectly! I'd dare say it couldn't have gone much better. Sorry the Russell didn't get more hours in but it gives you something else to work on this winter.

Thanks for letting me sign on to the crew!

Fred Thomson

[cjmlarson]

As for the mill I don't want to say to much, that could bite us next year! As for the Russell we just said there was trouble with it so all of the other brands of engines would get a chance to run on the mill:rof:.

Thank You Fred for just coming down and offering to help. It was much needed and really helped, specially with the big lumber that we cut on Friday.There will be more on the people that helped in the near future, its just that Jane has to get involved with that. As most of you know computers and typing don't work with me very kindly.

[Darren Gunderson]

I am surprised some video has not shown up yet. I worked a little this weekend and got some sample video put together showing some of the time the 20 Minneapolis was helping out on the sawmill. The first part of this is with Larson's Russell and the second part is with Dillon's Advance. I was not expecting to be there Sunday afternoon so I did not get any when we were on the mill with Anderson's Case. Maybe some will surface. We had a great time again on the mill and hope we can make it a regular stop. Between the two mills, threshing, spark shows and steam engine games, we did not let the 20 Minneapolis have much down time this show, which was great.

Thanks on behalf of the 20 Minneapolis crew, Darren and Rob Gunderson, Justin Miller and Jeff Knutson.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoIF-eAmyEQ


Darren

[Big Coulee Russell]

Darren,
Thanks for the fine video, again. The sawmill can always count on the 20 Minneapolis and crew, as well as the Advance and crew. It was fun having Anderson's Case on as well. Speaking for myself, all of you have a spot on a belt when we go again. Thanks for helping make the sawmill venue work.

[Fredward]

Hey Darren,
Nice footage. Tough to beat the sound of a steamer under load.

Now I know what you were doing leaving your camera sitting around strategically positioned on the tripod. I sure enjoyed meeting you guys and all of Bob's anecdotes.
Fred Thomson

[cjmlarson]

Here's a few pictures of the sawmill and several different engines that ran over the weekend. We will be posting more pictures and video soon, so will try to include all of the engines that ran on the mill.

We want to thank everyone that brought their engines down to run on the mill. Every year I'm trying to make it better and more enjoyable for all those that take part. We also want to thank everyone who helped us at the sawmill over the weekend. It's alot of work and we couldn't do it without you. We may not have still pictures of everyone right now, but we should have everyone on the video that we will post later.



http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/DSCN2166.jpg

This is part of our Sunday crew. From Left to Right: Fred, Craig, Brett, Rick, Josh (Danger Boy), Pete, Clayton & Jane.


http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/100_2941-2.jpg

Tom Dillon was thinking it would be neat to put the Monster 45 of Mark Peterson's on to run with the Russell (or maybe the Russell will run the 45!). In the end, it didn't work out as we planned and Tom elected to back out of the belt so the noises we heard on the 45 wouldn't get worse.



http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/100_2956-2.jpg

It just so happened that Gary Muhl had the 40 Avery close by, so he backed down the hill and belted up with the Russell.



http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/100_2971-2.jpg

Tim was not in our group picture, so here he is running the edger while the 2 Averys are on the mill.

[DOXEY41]

We should thank Clayton and Jane for all there hard work they put alot of time and it shows thank you. I sure had fun this year on the mill what a great group we had. Everyone was so easy to work with and the best thing is we all had fun. I can’t wait till next year I am already counting the days! If Clayton will have me back after all that jump ship talk I filled him up this summer. :rof:
Thanks Thick & Thin Mill
Josh (aka Danger Boy)

[Fredward]

Hey Josh. Maybe we could all wear sombreros next year? Block the sun, deflect hot embers, generally look cool. Then Larsons wouldn't need to make embroidered shirts for us all.
Fred

[cjmlarson]

Darren's video showed 3 different engines on the sawmill. What we got done this weekend, was to look through our hour-long tape and we have some Avery highlights that we have uploaded. These 2 engines ran Saturday afternoon and the following clips show a little of the engines running and some of the sawmill operation. We had a total of 9 different engines that ran on the mill, so there is more to come, just be patient with us.

Oh by the way, thanks Darren for the video. It's always fun to see what someone else has gotten on film.


http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/th_Averys2010.jpg (http://s155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/?action=view&current=Averys2010.mp4)

This shows Briden's 40 Avery, along with Ellingson's 18 Avery (Mark, I believe the 18 Avery was helping it along!). I will have to say, these engines definitely have a distinctive sound that's fun to listen to.

[cjmlarson]

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/th_Sawing2010.jpg (http://s155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/?action=view&current=Sawing2010.mp4)

The Averys are still running the mill at this point and this just shows the operation of the sawmill with the sound of the Averys in the background.

[Fredward]

Excellent Videos. Bring on some more! Clayton, the shots of you running the mill are fantastic!
Fred

[Ray Wangler]

WOW!!! Those videos are excellent. Clayton makes a fine looking sawyer, but he looks a little uncomfortable when there’s nothing to do! Unlike me, who’s fully comfortable when someone else is doing the work and I’m standing around doing nothing!

Good job on the mill all the way around. I’m predicting Clayton has the most prime real estate on the grounds in about 15 years. It’ll be the center of the show. Already, he’s the first thing people see coming in and the last thing they see leaving, great job Clayton, Jane and crew!

Ray

[cjmlarson]

Thanks Ray.....Your right I am not sure just how to handle it when I have people helping me, specially the great help I have. I am still soaking up all the fun I had at this years show!!!!!!

Also I do believe We at the Thick and Thin sawmill are going to enjoy the location we are at.

I wanted to come over to Edins this year, but I will not make it. It is high on the priority list but one thing got in the way. You guys and gals have fun and report back with the events that take place

[cjmlarson]

Here is a clip of Kevin Anderson running his 60 Case and Gunderson's running Jeff Knutson's Minneapolis. When Jane was talking to Kevin, he said this was only the 5th time his engine had been fired since the restoration was completed.


http://s155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/?action=view&current=Sawing2010Case00000.mp4

[cjmlarson]

This clip shows the same engines running on Sunday along with Josh feeding the edger and Fred and Wayne helping him.


http://s155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/cjmlarson/?action=view&current=Sawing2010Case2.mp4