free hand and home made ladder mill

[Hammered]

Hi group
I'm new to the form from Costa Rica central America.

Not alway practical to send raw logs to a mill here, so we mill them on site.

Free hand is my choice.
Recently built a ladder mill with some stuff in my scrap pile.
I love it.
Less work on the planer to finish the lumber.

I have to make a longer track for this mill set up though.
20 is my plan for long beams.
It's a project that is evolving.

I find I still have to free hand the logs into pieces so 2 of us can get it on the mill.

The really hard woods here have to be cut free hand.

I work with mostly teak, eucalyptus, laurel, Spanish cedar, Mohagany, Madero negro, cortez and guachapaline.

 

[srcarr52]

Looks good. Is that a 61 you are using?

 

[Hammered]

61 it is.
One of my favorite saws.
Tried the 272 and no difference.
It's all about the clutch.
Bit light for this mill but work but chews nicely along as long as it's not forced or clutch bogs down.


Going to buy a 390xp and mount this as the power head.
Still short $ but should make enough this week to cancel the balance at the dealer.

Tried the 070 but guzzled to much fuel and noise factor becomes a serious issue.

My neighbour's don't like me much if I use the old 070 for hrs on end.
They don't wave but flip me the bird as I drive by.

 

[junkman]

Looks real similar to my norwood mill setup ,but the steel looks more rigid on yours ,i need to redo mine a little stronger like yours ,on the log dog area .
Nice work .

 

[TimRD]

That's a nice setup. I think that's going to be my special winter project along with my usual woodworking stuff.

Thanks for posting, I have some ideas now!

 

[Hammered]

I like the look of the Norwood.
Came across it recently online.
Price is great!

How do like yours?
That Norwood frame looks much lighter than the deck I made up

Pulled some 2x2 tube out today and going to lighten my mill deck design.
It's the hardest part to lug in so will see if I can lighten the load.

Will post photos and diamentions as I fabricate it in case others want to make one up.

 

[Iron.and.bark]

Great work! Can certainly free hand better than me.

Have you considered something like the westfords mill for breaking down logs with.

http://www.farmsetpng.com/westford-mills.html

It's great to see a different approach, when so many people say it's too expensive to get started chainsaw milling.

What chain are you using with the 61? 3/8 or .325?

 

[Hammered]

Great work! Can certainly free hand better than me.

Have you considered something like the westfords mill for breaking down logs with.

http://www.farmsetpng.com/westford-mills.html

It's great to see a different approach, when so many people say it's too expensive to get started chainsaw milling.

What chain are you using with the 61? 3/8 or .325?

That westford mill is cool iron & Bark.
Never seen this before.
I made up a 2x4 rail guide years ago for marking my cut lines.
Uncomfortable as hell for cutting though but gives a good line to follow for that 1st cut.
Then a chalk line does the rest.


I normally use a piece of chicken feed sac string and stretch it out like dental floss as a guide to follow.
I try to keep it as light as possible.
It's hot here all the time and lugging gear around takes its toll.
100 degrees is a normal day in the shade.

As for chain.
Oregon 3/8 ripping chain.
15' flat out.
Rakes always cut down to get curls flying.

I don't know any different to be honest.
That's the way I was shown and never done it different.
Open to suggestions if anyone knows better.

Me and my buddies go through a lot of chain here.
$25 at the local shop.
Barb wire is all to common and blows a chain apart.
I have a collection hanging out on the deck post.

A lot of trees were planted as fence lines a hundred years ago.
That barb wire seems to get mummified once inside the truck.
Some days I get lucky and cut through it.
Other days it blows everything apart and derails the chain. This is creepy!

Resharpening after 50' on some trees here is normal.
Silica I was told gets absorbed into the tree.
Laurel and teak are the worst.
Good excuse to find a shady spot for 15 min.

The iron hard wood never takes the edge off. Go figure.

 

[Grateful11]

I know this is an old thread but what do you folks think of the Norwood Portamill after some of you have used it for a while? I can't start a new thread yet.

 

[Marshy]

Welcome to the site @Grateful11. I don't have any advicere for you regarding the mill unfortunately. Maybe someone will be along to help. You should be able to post a thread though. Maybe @Jon1212 can help with that? Maybe you just need a post or 5 before you can start your own thread..?

 

[Hammered]

I know this is an old thread but what do you folks think of the Norwood Portamill after some of you have used it for a while? I can't start a new thread yet.

I haven't tried a Norwood mill but that ladder mill they sell looks like a slick set up.

I did however tear up a ladder so made a steel tube truss.

I have the newest model somewhere on this form.

You can easily copy it if you or a friend has some fabrication skills.

 

[Grateful11]

I haven't tried a Norwood mill but that ladder mill they sell looks like a slick set up.

I did however tear up a ladder so made a steel tube truss.

I have the newest model somewhere on this form.

You can easily copy it if you or a friend has some fabrication skills.

If you could find the link to it on here I would appreciate it.

 

[Hammered]

3120 improvement mill page 2 of this form.
Doesn't let past the link here????

Look up gas axe costa rica on you tube and you can see it running.

 

[Trevj1]

Liking that freehand work!

I have need of a bunch of 10 or 11 foot by 8 or so square beams for our barn soon, I figure to try my hand at it on Douglas Fir, as that's what we have here.

Cheers
Trev

 

[Mag Craft]

Liking that freehand work!

I have need of a bunch of 10 or 11 foot by 8 or so square beams for our barn soon, I figure to try my hand at it on Douglas Fir, as that's what we have here.

Cheers
Trev

I think you will find that it is a lot easier than it looks. Just watch some youtube videos and a little reading on the forums.

If you can weld I would buy some square tubing and build your own guide rails. not that hard. Put some leveling screws on it too. That will keep the guide from flexing when you screw it down or when you are milling. Just make sure you keep your chain good a sharp.