Built mini-mill for Bush Alaska

[mainer_in_ak]

Just finished building a good milling powerhead for my upcoming remote trapline. It needed to be extremely compact for a 200+ mile run up some sketchy rivers this spring.

Powerhead build here:
https://opeforum.com/threads/echo-echo-echo.759/page-65#post-1406121

The rest of the goodies just came from Australia. A GB 3/8 low profile bar and rim sprockets. I can totally see how much more fitting a 3/8 low profile sprocket is to a regular 3/8 sprocket. will really save my pmx ripping chain from undue damage.

It's kind of crazy, the saw shops or any sawmen I've chatted with up here dont have any clue about these awesome milling goodies from overseas.

Should run like a fkn light-saber through cabin logs. I'm guessing a 5 gallon jug of mix will do an entire cabin.

I'll make a video as soon as this thing is together.

 

[mainer_in_ak]

That little saw pulled purdy good on a 16ft long rip, in white spruce. In 15-17 inch wide slabs, about 2-3 minutes per 16 ft long cut. The saw is set on the rich side, and only burns about 1/3 of a tank per 16 ft rip. The saw maintained its rpms ver well in rock-hard spruce knots.

Even better,was the manual snot-rocket. When the saw would bog slightly in big knots, I'd hit that manual oiler and rpms would immediately rise, putting the saw back in it's powerband, without changing feed-pressure.

This is definitely the maximum the powerhead can muster, up to an 18 inch wide cut. In softwood, count on 1/2 hp per cutter. 10-12 cutters were working in this cut, and the little 6700 did well. Next, I'll see how she pulls in frozen Alaskan Birch. I can tell right now, I'd probably limit out in a 14 inch diameter piece.

The 3/8 low profile ripping chain is must-have stuff on a smaller powerhead. It was too cold to get a video out of my phone, so pictures only this time:

 

[Eduardo K]

I have a clone 660 that I run on that same mill. I use a 20” bar with .325 chain and a 9 pin. My neighbor has been taking down yellow poplars just to get more sun for his pool. Before the price of lumber came down, I would take that mill next door whenever I needed some project wood. It’s almost fun milling a 18” poplar with that setup when you’re used to milling 30” oak.
It looks cold, but it also sounds like you’re having fun. Be safe.

 

[mainer_in_ak]

Eduardo,yep poplar/cottonwood/aspen sure does mill like butter.

That sounds like a great match: .325 on a 90 cc saw. That would put about 14 cutters in the wood on a full-width cut using a 20" bar in the mini mill.

One thing I like about the mini mill, is when you're cutting a slab that is wider than the bar, you can swing the saw around and cut the other side against the top-side of the bar.

This white spruce is doable for the little 6700, about 12 cutters in a full bar of spruce. With careful feed-pressure, it maintained rpms but did bog-down in a couple large knots:

Gawd I love an all-metal oiler gear and an outboard clutch! Nothing to strip out, or melt like the worm gears in my old 660 magnum.
Cool-running after a 16 ft rip, the outboard clutch doesn't keep any heat against the saw.

Where I used to high-idle for at least 45-60 seconds to cool the saw after a 16 ft rip, this 6700 only gets about 15 seconds.

 

[Eduardo K]

I'll be honest, the .325 and 20" bar isn't by design, more based on what I had lying for a D025 mount and milling loops. The small log mill was my first mill, I bought it and a few loops of 81DL .325 milling chain to run on my little MS290. After building a few clones and using a bigger mill, I was wondering if there was a less clunky solution for milling smaller logs. It just so happened that everything worked nicely once I got a .325 sprocket and hit the wood.

I'm a few hundred yards from my house pretending to do what you're doing. If something breaks in my setup, I can just walk home and call it a day. Building a mill to be dependable and compact for your use case certainly takes a good bit of knowledge and thought...