https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juyeayuej4Y

PEMDAS? Do you remember what that means? I’ll give you a second…. How about Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally? That’s the easy way to remember it. It’s actually the order of operations for algebra. Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication and Division (from left to right), and Addition and Subtraction (from left to right). Everything has an order of operations, including sawmill work. You can’t run before you walk, and you can’t pile lumber until you have a place to put it.

In order to have a stockpile of my own lumber, I need to let the stacks dry out for a while. In order for the lumber to dry, I need to cut stickers to create air gaps around the wet lumber. In order to move the stack of lumber around, I need to make pallets. Which means, there is a lot of work to be done before I can just start cutting lumber to use.

As it turns out, TLPSL is my order of operations on this property. Trees to Logs to Pallets to Stickers to Lumber. I’m just now reaching the halfway point; Pallets. There’s a lot of work to do, and nothing works unless you do!

Jigs are used in woodworking to make repetitive tasks easier, faster, and often safer. In this case, the jig will be a stencil on the floor of the shop. Positioned right next to the door, it will allow me to quickly lay out the runners for three sizes of pallets: 8′, 10′, and 12′.