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Southern Lumberman Yesteryear

Natalbany Lumber Co. is operating its chain of sawmills in Tangipahoa Parish, La. day and night in an effort to salvage large amounts of prime pine timber felled during a tornado on April 24. Trees on more than 2,000 acres were uprooted or broken.

Likewise, Brooks-Scanlon Lumber Co., which has a sawmill at Kentwood and much timberland in the area, is trying desperately to round up what it can of an estimated 85 million feet of storm-impacted timber.

The Latest News

Fifty-three percent of survey respondents from the softwood lumber industry expect their respective softwood lumber sawmills to spend at least $1 million for machinery and systems during the remainder of this decade.

The Sawmill Capital Expenditure Survey, conducted by Timber Processing magazine, an affiliate of Southern Lumberman, was completed in March by 121 softwood lumber sawmill owners, executives and management personnel.

The Responsibility and Training of a Saw Filer by Bill Guthridge

In the world today with high-priced raw material, sophisticated sawing equipment and high technology filing rooms, the filer’s responsibility has grown to new heights over his predecessors’ responsibility. You only get one chance to saw a log correctly when it comes into the mill. Once it has been sawn into lumber there is no putting it back to start over again. It is our responsibility to see that the equipment and saws are capable of doing the best possible job.

I realize other factors enter the equation, like the millwright’s responsibility for machine maintenance, and the electrician’s for all things electric. It is essential that these three positions cooperate together for the good of the sawmill. When they do, things run smoother and production and grade are improved to the highest level possible. It is up to the filer to see that everything in his sphere of responsibility is ready for optimal production.

Hydraulic Accumulators – What You Don’t Know Can Kill You by C.A. “AL” SMILEY, JR

What do you normally discuss in your safety meetings? PPE equipment, chain guards, safety harnesses, lock out–tag procedures are common topics. When was the last time hydraulic accumulators were discussed in one of your safety meetings? If you’re like most plants, they have NEVER been discussed. Why? Because most plants, maintenance and safety managers are not aware of the dangers that exist with accumulators.

Better Than Expected

Turnout was somewhat subdued compared to previous years but expected given the state of the industry. However, many of the more than 300 exhibitors were pleasantly surprised at the level of activity and interest expressed by visitors to the 3lst East Coast Sawmill and Logging Equipment Expo in Richmond, Va.

More Than Just Business by David Abbott

More than four decades have passed since the first Price company, J.P. Price Lumber Co., a hardwood lumber sawmill, went to work in Monticello, Ark., where the company is still based. A lot has changed in that time. Price grew from a single sawmill and logging operation to one of the largest and most progressive wood fiber operations in the U.S.

In 1972 Price started its first chip mill in Monticello, but it wasn’t until 1987 that the company started its first contract chip mill, Coast Chips, the only one of its kind at the time. In an essay entitled “What is a contract chip mill?” featured on the Price web site, company founder and industry visionary John Porter Price describes the arrangement as one whereby “a paper company contracts with an independent contractor to design, finance, build and operate a chip mill” for the paper company. The contractor is providing a service, but the paper company procures and owns the wood and all its byproducts. The reason for doing this,

Old Mill New Life by David Abbott

Is it a case of loggers to the rescue? Winn Forest Products, a chip mill based in Winnfield, La., has been in operation for about 20 years, but was recently purchased by Mickey Hawkins and Travis Taylor, two giants of the Southern logging industry for the past 40 years (Taylor started in 1968 and Hawkins in 1971). Their goal: rejuvenate the mill, which is an important outlet for local loggers, and save it from oblivion in order to protect hundreds of related jobs in Winn Parish.

Although both men maintain their logging operations—Hawkins still owns three jobs while Taylor runs one logging job and an in-woods chipping operation with fellow Louisiana logging icon Jimmy Carter—both men are now focusing most of their time and energy on renovating their new venture, working from the Winn Forest office every day (Hawkins also maintains his own office in a separate location for his logging business).

Outsourcing Saw Filing by David Abbott

One often overlooked aspect of many sawmills is the filing room, a vital piece of any successful milling formula where the most basic component of a sawmill—the saws—are kept sharp and ready for service. Depending on the size of the mill and its capacity, this can be a never-ending job. It’s also very expensive, and increasingly difficult to find talented filers. For these reasons a number of mills, especially smaller mills, turn to contract saw filers to handle these needs.

An example is U-Cut Enterprises in Jamesville, NY, which grew out of its parent company, B&B Lumber Co., a sawmill. B&B was dissatisfied with the filing service it had received from other contractors, and decided to handle its own. It found, however, that the price of the equipment was so high, it made sense to spread the cost out to other mills by offering filing services to its competitors.

Passing the Torch by Tonya Cooner-Vots

This is a story about the kind of people that are the heart and soul of the American dream—those not afraid to take a chance, work hard, and hold high the meaning of honesty and fairness. Frank Capps Jr., 43, is the son of Frank Capps and Bruce Capps, 54, is the son of Francis Capps. Frank, Francis and a third brother, Noble, established a solid reputation in the chipping business in the 1980s, driven by their determination, eagerness to work and sheer ability to make something out of nothing, raising Capps Bros. Woodyard from the dust alongside U.S. 176 in Landrum, SC.

These same qualities were instilled in their offspring, who run the business today. Frank Jr. and Bruce mentor the third generation of Capps, their own sons, Frankie, Donnie and Tyler, who work it very much like their fathers and grandfathers before them. Blood, sweat, sometimes tears and long hours are what built the woodyard.

Scragg Mill Low-Down by Brian Perkins and Brian Bond

In the Eastern U.S. hardwood region, non-industrial forest landowners supply mills with the majority of their logs for processing. Select-cutting is often the predominate method for harvesting timber. The largest and highest value timber is usually harvested and the smaller lower value timber resides in the stand. This practice has occurred for decades in hardwood forests and has resulted in more residual low value, low quality, smaller timber. The conventional wisdom has been that in order to be able to utilize this resource, additional markets other than pulpwood would be needed. One potential market for these small logs is as sawlogs. While most sawmills would not consider trying to cut pulpwood-sized logs, small scragg mills have the capability to do so profitably.

Hollywood & Politics by David Abbott

Well, we finally have our two candidates. Comedy Central’s Daily Show uses the title “Indecision” for its mock coverage of every election year, and this year it is more apt than ever before. Democrats barely decided which candidate they liked best, while Republicans grudgingly settled on the one they hated least. Who’s your choice?

Why am I Married?

‘A Woman’s Prayer:

Dear Lord, I pray for: Wisdom, To understand a man, to love and to forgive him, and for patience for his moods. Because Lord, if I pray for strength I’ll just beat him to death.’

Industry Developments

The owners of Maine Wood Turning, Inc. and American Pride, LLC, New Vineyard, Me., have formed a parent company, Maine Wood Concepts.

The company operates sawmill, woodturning, molding and finishing divisions, and American Pride & Maine Wood Turning. Also included is the Lutz File and Tool Co., which offers a range of wooden file handles and file cleaners. The new company has also added a flooring division, which produces unfinished hardwood flooring sold under the brand name Nature’s Cut. Visit mainewoodsconcepts.com.

Equipment & Supplier News

Lucidyne Technologies has expanded its technical staff in response to an increase in automated grading installations, adding Dr. Eric Mortensen and Phil Heintz. Dr. Mortensen, formerly of Oregon State University, adds his skills to Lucidyne’s scanner staff. Heintz will manage scanner maintenance support program. Both are involved in Lucidyne’s GradeScan automated lumber grading systems, the most recent installations found at two Weyerhaeuser plants in Alberta, Canada. Phone: 541-753-5111.

How To Keep Keeping The Ball Rolling by Robert Wilson

I know an advertising agency owner who never fully takes a vacation. He takes his family to fairly exotic locations, but never so alien that they are outside the reach of modern communication. In other words, he is never further than a cell phone call or email away. He checks in with the office several times a day – much to the chagrin of his family who want him to be fully engaged in the holiday at hand. So, he ends up sneaking off under the guise of visiting the restroom, or going to the bar for a cocktail, in order to connect with his staff, a client or a prospect. His wife and kids aren’t fooled; they just sigh and accept the inevitable. I used to think he was a control freak – someone who couldn’t let go and let someone else take over – until I came to understand the concept of Momentum.

New Product Information

The Brunette Vertical Log Singulator (VLS) processes logs from 4 in.-27 in. diameter, lengths from 8 ft.-72 ft., and speeds to 30 cycles per minute. The VLS face is precisely profiled for maximum separating efficiency in any depth of log pile, and this profile also reduces wedging forces when lifting logs from the pile. The final log loading stage is driven and controlled separately for catch-up, plus is designed with a minimum drop into the take-a-way conveyor for quick loading, to eliminate log gaps and lost production.

Custom units can be manufactured for special situations, such as stacking vertically to obtain greater lift height, ending rolls built into the final loading section, or supplied with tandem drives for alternating long or short wood operations. Standard length units shipped in one piece for minimum field installation costs. Phone 604-809-9997; e-mail: paul@brunetteindustries.com
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