Chainsaw Mills

[junkman]

west coast cedar is not that red

 

[Hedgerow]

Forage Farmer's Cedar is not a true cedar like what you're used to.
It's the same stuff we have here, and is a member of the Juniper family.
But we call it cedar. awesome stuff if you can find good logs of it like FF has.

 

[foragefarmer]

Forage Farmer's Cedar is not a true cedar like what you're used to.
It's the same stuff we have here, and is a member of the Juniper family.
But we call it cedar. awesome stuff if you can find good logs of it like FF has.

Yes, juniperus virginiana. I got another log I thought was going to be good for today. And it was looking good for the first cut then there was wormy rot in the center and my hopes were dashed.

 

[Terry Hennessy]

You might have a clearance problem with a 20" bar and the larger wood. I have a 24" bar I mill with and only get about 18" effective cutting width with it. YMMV

You can remove your bar tip hardware and slab it, then reinstall to get best boards

 

[foragefarmer]

I have a 3

You can remove your bar tip hardware and slab it, then reinstall to get best boards

I have a 36" as well. But for the OP That would be an option.

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

GREAT thread on milling ops, etc. enjoyed seeing all the millpix! that cedar gate is very nice. I see some big logs being milled. thick lumber, beams. how does most of it get used? personal use or sell? I have only seen one mill in operation... well, two now that I think about it. one on trailer frame w/wheels. comml unit. the other mill driven by V8 engine and it turned a large, very large saw blade. milled a lot of cedar at that ops.

the wood is aged, dried? is twisting, checking, cracking etc a problem?

trees to lumber... lumber to wood... wood to boards...

can fine cabinetry be far behind?

great show! i'd buy a ticked to see it any day... thanks for all the very interesting pix!

 

[quietfly]

yes sir its pretty simple really. The angles are simply as follows:

Top plate angle set at 0°
Grinder set at 50° from vertical (40° from horizontal)
Raker depth is set at .045"

Standard chain with a top plate angle gets dull much faster than when set at 0°. this is because the greater angle causes side pressure on the cutters and drive links. This makes the corner of each cutter the primary cutting area, once it dulls, your saws abiltiy to cut becomes greatly reduced. This put a tremendous load on the saws and creates more heat and friction on Bar and chain, thus further accelerating the demise of both the Saw and Bar and Chain.
These modified angles resolve that problem and create a much greater surface area to even that pressure and greatly extends the area of cutting edge being engaged in the wood during the cut. Therefore longer lasting sharpness equalling many more passes before sharpening is necessary. The added .005-.010" of depth guage removal allows for faster feed rate as long as you have a powerhead with the discplacement to provide the torque necessary. I will say that you still need to pay particular attention to feed rate and as soon as you notice a great reduction in that rate, go ahead and dress the chain with a few strokes of the file at that point. Dont let it get so dull that you are using excessive pressure to finsh a cut. This will gaurantee a longer life for your equipment. I have milled several thousands of brdft of slabs and lumber using the same Bar and powerhead without any major incident.

I'm just getting into milling. Just purchased my first setup. This might be a dumb/obvious question, but i'll ask anyway.
How does this setup compare to the "standard" 10 degree setup? I see the logic of your (Malloff's) method makes.
It really makes sense to the engineer in me. Whats the logic in the 10 degree setup?
Thanks for the insight.
-Chris

 

[junkman]

10 degrees is less aggressive and gives a smoother finish

 

[lumberjackchef]

Yes! the degree of angle does two things.. First it determines how smooth the finished cut is. The closer to 0 the smoother the finish. Also the feed rate is effected by the top plate angle. The more aggressive the top plate angle the faster it seems to feed. This is not always positive though because if your saw lacks the displacement it will simply bog in the cut. This causes your finish to have gouges from having to re-rev the chain and start cutting again and again. I have used 10-15 degree chains on several occasions and tend to use it more than the other angles that I have experimented with.

 

[junkman]

if saw is under powered ,can grind 2 teeth off for scratchers ,then have 2 reg teeth ,then 2 scratchers again like this image

 

[junkman]

good info on this page for chain mods
http://www.sawchain.com.au/services/modifications/

 

[Nitroman]

View attachment 1665 View attachment 1666 View attachment 1667

That's pretty crafty, using a ladder for the rolling element of your mill.

 

[junkman]

That's pretty crafty, using a ladder for the rolling element of your mill.

Here is my mill ,northern tool sells them
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/to...oTD_EzBzXWcKceFmQ_h9YrUhf3d8MND_rkaAs1T8P8HAQ

 

[Flip]

Here is my mill ,northern tool sells them
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200325617_200325617?cm_mmc=Google-pla&utm_source=Google_PLA&utm_medium=Logging > Saw Milling + Accessories&utm_campaign=Norwood Industries&utm_content=190610&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=190610&gclid=Cj0KEQiAl5u2BRC6yszC1_75v5wBEiQAD-hdzwSsrxS11oTD_EzBzXWcKceFmQ_h9YrUhf3d8MND_rkaAs1T8P8HAQ

How do you like that mill, looks like a pretty good setup and how big of a log can it cut? I've been researching mills and that looks pretty nice.

Most of the barns and sheds on the farm were built after grandpa and his brothers came back from WWII, and have been needing some repairs for a while now.

 

[junkman]

With a 16 foot ladder 13-6 long boards ,as far as around ,most of a 32 inch bar gets used on some of my cuts so maybe 28 or so inch log max ? I have cheated when needd a 16 foot beam ,i cutthe 13-6 square ,then slid it down the rollers to finish ladt couple feet ,if i had my 2 16 foot ladders welded together could do a 28 foot long beam .i mounted it to some timbets so it is solid without twist. Bolting it to a car trailer would work also or a concrete slab.

 

[Sty57]

Can any of you guys post up some pic's, of how you setup for the first cut.
Ive seen some use a ladder as a rail and some use 2x4's or such with a mount on the end of the log.

 

[Sty57]

I'm getting close to breaking my cherry on milling. And just need a little push to get started.

 

[junkman]

Can any of you guys post up some pic's, of how you setup for the first cut.
Ive seen some use a ladder as a rail and some use 2x4's or such with a mount on the end of the log.

Here is a great demo vid

 

[Sty57]

Here is a great demo vid

Thank you fine Sir....

 

[junkman]

Thank you fine Sir....

If you do not want to drill holes in a ladder step like he did ,can hold it down with scraps of wood across the steps also ,if the log has a lot of curve ,can shim the ladder on one end with wood so do not waste as much .The wedges are very important as you go ,the slab will start to pinch the bar and mess up the finish on your board without them .