HOM: Controls and Layouts

The two chains on the front of the deck carrying core out of the lathes had simple on/off switches. The hydraulic splitter had on/off and up/down switches. The setup at the back of the deck was more complicated. The rollers were turned on or off and were reversible and one section was hinged. A log or core would be rolled back onto the rollers, ran to the right end, the saw would be started & lowered into the wood, then raised. The rollers would be reversed and the two sections of log/core would run to the left. If the little lathe wasn't running, the core ran all the way left and rolled into a conveyor that lifted them up to the overhead belt running to the chipper. There was a ladder next to that conveyor for access to the belt and stray hamburgers. If the lathe was running, there were a set of parallel chains going to its infeed that sat between and on top of the rollers. Sending core down it meant killing the rollers when the first piece was over the chains and then dropping the rollers so the chains could carry the core back to the 4' lathe, then raising them so the second piece could move into position, dropping them again, then raising and reversing them so the next core/log could be run under the saw and cut. ----- Life got a little more complicated when DJ had me start training as the spotter on #2, but also a bit more interesting and profitable. I've described the operation a little before. It taxed my lack of coordination but I did manage well enough to work as Mel's relief. I don't remember the exact layout, but a combination of buttons, levers and foot pedals turned the the infeed on & off, opened and closed the charger arms and ran them over and back, and opened and closed the positioning jaws. In my spare time, I had to scale the logs and write down the measurements on a log sheet. For once there was NEVER time to read! TBC (Me) (Blacktail Books)