The show? Sawlex was a bit different to what I’d imagined. Brownie and I were looking at each other in disbelief as we pulled into the large mall parking lot where the event took place. It could happen anywhere in the United States. But how cool…a show that was centered around the Portable Sawmill industry and its support equipment - truly a great place for those interested in buying a portable sawmill!!

The actual event? Well, the judges were great. The rules were easy to understand, and they seemed fair across the board.

My heart was pounding throughout the sawing ‘demonstration’ (yeah right – race!) I cut the two bigger logs, and Brownie finished off the two little ones. I didn’t even think twice about the poison ivy that had been on them yesterday (I’m allergic). All I could think of, was trying to get those logs sawn up real quick. And when I was in doubt about a size, I went up a click instead of down. Just in case. When it was all over, there were great cheers from the crowd – I felt so proud!

The crowd? Well, let’s just say that the Peterson faithfuls were great, and the announcer had to say more than a few times “This is not a competition” (Go Peterson!!)

Grading though? The lumber grading was tough.

I returned to our display area to get our mill set back up, with several Forestry Forum members helping out. Thanks a bunch to Maple Flats (Dave Klish) Ga_Boy (Mark Strickland, now a Peterson State Rep), and Part Timer (Tom Doepker). Brownie stayed on to watch the grading. He came back dismayed with the fact that they rejected heaps of boards for excessive thickness.

The scaler was using a “go, no-go” gauge and it fit, but was just a bit tight. Tight = rejected = BUMMER. I’m not gonna make excuses here. I’m new at this, and I think I did a great job for a part-time miller and first time “shooter”.

I must say I was bit bummed that the new “imperial” sizing decals on the mill were different from the one on my older mill, and I didn’t discover this until it was too late (Brownie says sorry, mate). By our personal tally, we nearly broke 700BF an hour cutting 1x material if we could have kept the boards that were rejected.

What did I learn? That even a newbie can do great things on this mill. Next year I’m gonna make sure the mill gets to me earlier, so I can cut with it, check its sizing, and have a repeat performance on speed (we did very well in that category). I am a few years behind Brownie on pace, so I've got a bit to make up.

For now though, it's back to being a part time sawyer, and helping spread the word of the amazing Peterson Sawmill that I discovered four years ago. And lets see . . . the barn needs a new side, the wife needs new stables . . .