Logosol

[SpaceBus]

I ran the mill yesterday with the 16" bar and was pretty satisfied. Not sure why sometimes I get deep ruffles and other times it is almost perfectly smooth. I can't wait to park this thing on a slab.

 

[EbS-P]

Not sure why sometimes I get deep ruffles

So I was much happier with my results with a wench. It’s about 22’ of paracord that has some significant stretch. I think the more constant feed pressure from the stretchy cord kept the saw at more consistent RPM. I think the ruffles have to be back side cutters pulling/being flung out of the grove and then grabbing the side cutter. Can you match the ruffles to both top and bottom of the cut? Maybe see if it’s related to chain tension. Maybe their is a harmonic frequency between rpm and the chain more or less tension might mitigate it some? Maybe retune to 1000k rpm lower (or higher if you think you have that headroom). I might even be tempted to try a full chisel chain as the sharp corner is the widest part where as the semi chisel it’s the bottom chisel corner. That’s just a wild guess. Chain tension was just and educated guess. Could always try and pound some wedges to get a bit more separation? Full disclosure I’ve never seen that ruffle on my big slab cuts. Only really abnormal is where i started and stopped for refueling or stalled. I have watched the back side chain pull out of the where it sticks out of the log on my really long bar. Appears most often when thinks get chattering at higher when I’m not feeding the cut fast enough.

 

[SpaceBus]

So I was much happier with my results with a wench. It’s about 22’ of paracord that has some significant stretch. I think the more constant feed pressure from the stretchy cord kept the saw at more consistent RPM. I think the ruffles have to be back side cutters pulling/being flung out of the grove and then grabbing the side cutter. Can you match the ruffles to both top and bottom of the cut? Maybe see if it’s related to chain tension. Maybe their is a harmonic frequency between rpm and the chain more or less tension might mitigate it some? Maybe retune to 1000k rpm lower (or higher if you think you have that headroom). I might even be tempted to try a full chisel chain as the sharp corner is the widest part where as the semi chisel it’s the bottom chisel corner. That’s just a wild guess. Chain tension was just and educated guess. Could always try and pound some wedges to get a bit more separation? Full disclosure I’ve never seen that ruffle on my big slab cuts. Only really abnormal is where i started and stopped for refueling or stalled. I have watched the back side chain pull out of the where it sticks out of the log on my really long bar. Appears most often when thinks get chattering at higher when I’m not feeding the cut fast enough.

I have a hand crank on my saw carriage. The first time I set up the mill I was getting quite a bit of the waves but they cleared up after sharpening the chain. Yesterday I tried higher tension and also just enough to keep the chain on the bar. Perhaps part of my problem is the 6-9" logs I'm cutting and the small surface area coupled with the 16" bar might be pulling the chain a lot faster than I'm used to amplifying any irregular cutters or rakers. I'll take some pics of the 4x4's and slabs I cut when this rain clears up. There were areas that were very smooth, almost finish quality, some had deep ruffles, and other areas had shallow scuff marks more normally associated with CSM finishes. Next time I'll pay more attention and see if this is happening at joints in the mill guide rail. I could probably pull a few saw logs out of the woods and do more testing. The incoming Super Jolly grinder should also be a big help in making my chains more consistent.

This week I broke down and ordered some Stihl 63PMX loops from Bailey's and look forward to more testing with the 24" bar. There is one large spruce blowdown I've already limbed that is probably going to be the next mill log.

 

[SpaceBus]

All of the slab pics depict fir, which is definitely the softest wood I have available to mill. Used the 16" bar and 3/8 lp chain for all of this. The largest log was maybe 10" on the big side, smallest was barely 6" on the small end. The Super Jolly arrived today and I hope to get it set up over the next few days. I think perfectly equal cutters and rakers will help quite a bit.

 

[SpaceBus]

This morning I set up the grinder and sharpened four chains. I managed not to burn any cutters until I tried the Stihl 1/4 picco micro loop. The first PM loop was a disaster, but learning from my mistakes I cleaned up a decent looking loop without burning any cutters or rakers.

The first loop I sharpened was a .058 3/8 full chisel 60dl loop for my Husky 460. I will never go back to hand filing or using a bar mounted jig. Even with the rakers wayyy too low it cuts like a light saber. Can't wait to find finer grinding stones for the old Super Jolly. I wish there was a way to disable the hydro chain lock for getting the grinder set up. Does anyone know roughly how far each "tick" on the chain pawl screw cap advances the pawl? Same with the screw on the grinder arm.

 

[SpaceBus]

I think CBN wheels may be in my future, unless I get really good at dressing the green wheels.

 

[SpaceBus]

I felled some trees a few days ago, some dead standing and the rest were on their way. The really small logs are from a tamarack tree and will be used as fence posts. Honestly most of what I'm sawing will be 4x4's for fence posts.

 

[Firedog]

I have the super jolly grinder. I bought the CBN for my 3/8 chain, it does a really nice job. Did you adjust the knob in front of the chain brake for the type of chain your using. I have been using this grinder almost daily, it was worth every dime. I was on here tonight hoping to find out if I can use the 63PMX on my husqvarna 390XP. I’m currently using standard 24” 3/8 ripping chain. I have 4 loops of PMX63 20” that came with my mill that I would like to try. After reading for two hours, it sounds like it’s possible, but not as simple as buying a new bar.