BIL Mill's maiden voyage

Today I managed to get into BIL's yard and use the BIL Mill. There was lots of bolt tightening and retightening and checking and rechecking and even triple checking.

Unfortunately I did not have my own digital camera and had to wait till I was well into it before being able to borrow one for a few shots and very short movie.

The log I tried it out on was a 800mm (32") diameter x 1.2 m (48") long piece of liquid amber. I cut 2 x 50 mm (2") thick slabs and 5 x 82mm (3 1/4") plus a few experimental cuts

Firstly the rail system.

The rails are made from 6ft lengths of 19mm (3/4") SHS steel I picked up out of the skip at work. I converted half the lengths of SHS into channel and welded a length of converted channel to another length of SHS to form 19 x 38 mm (1 1/2") thick rails. The rails are held together by all 5/16" thread and two bits of adjustable steel angle that have tapped holes in which pointy ended bolts a threaded to grip the long at each end as shown here.



I arrange about a foot of excess rail to hang over the ends of the log so I can place the mill onto the rails and start the engine.



Another view:


Some Observations:
1) the mill is still pretty heavy but glides very smoothly on its HDPE runners. Just like any decent mill with a sharp chain, minimal pushing is needed.
2) The vibrations are significant:
- 3 nuts and assorted wasters and a bolt from the mill disappeared into the sawdust during the slabbing - more locktite needed by teh look of things
- one hex head exhaust cover bolt worked its way loose.
- the Brass auxillary oiler filler cap (is kept loose to allow the tank to breath) worked its way off and hit the moving chain and ricocheted into my Face Mask making a significant dent in the mask.
3) the cams used to lock the height adjustments (see discussion thread regarding this) worked really well. Obviously more testing is needed but not a sign of the cams working their way loose. The all thread height adjustment also worked as expected.
4) Aux oiler seems to work OK but my need more flow/pressure when working in dry wood.

All in all, not quite as exhasting as I expected and very very satisfying satisfying. More shots and hopefully a movie in the next post.

Cheers

BIL mill maiden voyage (2)

As I said there was a lot of mucking about stopping and checking, chain tension, oil flow, etc.

After a couple of slabs I decided to try AggieWb slope method.


As this picture shows, it's a bit more awkward to start being higher up like that.



WOW! it works really well! As my video shows, like Aggie the mill slides down the rails on its own. I'm only holding the CS trigger with my left hand I'm not holding back or pushing at all.

As you can hear in the movie, as the mill reached the wider part of the trunk the engine bogs down a bit probably because there were too many cutters in the cut. In the end I needed to hold it back - not very comfortable. Conclusion : Some slope is good but not too much.

Next week, hopefully a sheaok.

With lotsa thanks to BIL and his yard propreitor (Jeff) who gave me the logs.

Cheers

well done! :biggrinbounce2: you must be stoked to give it a run, bet you found it hard to sleep the night before it's funny, no matter how hard you try theirs is always something you could have done better or theirs a bug or two to sort out, don't get me wrong not picking on your work at all !!! nice pic hope to see that mill spilling more saw dust . oz

OZDOG said:

well done! :biggrinbounce2: you must be stoked to give it a run, bet you found it hard to sleep the night before it's funny, no matter how hard you try theirs is always something you could have done better or theirs a bug or two to sort out, don't get me wrong not picking on your work at all !!! nice pic hope to see that mill spilling more saw dust . oz

Click to expand...

Thanks OZ.

Yeah always bugs but I think of those as a rule these days rather than the opposite. I kept waiting for the "BIG disasters" but when I think about it, the biggest mishaps were the aux-oil filler cap coming off and hitting me, and leaving my own digital camera at home.

Those aside I still need to work out which tools I need to take with me and for increased efficiency workflow etc which spanners I should set up maybe as ratchets etc.

I also reckon adding some detachable wheels to the outboard end of the mill rails would make it much easier to move the mill and saw around on relatively flat surfaces.

Cheers

Nice work Bob! Its always a treat to use something that you've built yourself. Congratulations on a job well done.

Well done!

She's a beaut' alright!

How did all the cam locks work out?

BTW-
When the saw bogs down in a wider cut it just means you need a bigger saw! just kidding

Thanks DustyT and AggieWB.

BTW if you are having trouble playing the movie it is in Quicktime format.

Aggie, much of the design is attributable to your mills, posts and discussions, so if anyone is the godfather of this mill it is you. In some way or other everyone else on this forum contributed as well, even if it was just your enthusiasm for milling. So a BIG thanks to everyone!

In terms of the cam locks for the height adjustment, they (and the all thread depth adjusters) worked really well with not a hint of movement. Of course a few more milling sessions will be needed to check out the longer term reliability of these sorts of features.

BTW, if anyone decides to try the sloping log milling method, watch out for the slab sliding down the log when you break thru at the end - it certainly surprised me and trapped the mill between the slab and the ground, luckily BIL was there to help. Before it does this, it is advisable to anchor the slab to the log. There a several ways of doing this, but next time I will do the following:



Thanks to all again.
Cheers

ouch

That old stihl must leave your hands, arms and back numb after a pass or two :O

cantcutter said:

That old stihl must leave your hands, arms and back numb after a pass or two :O

Click to expand...

I would have though so too, but I have to say it surprised me at how insignificant the vibrations are on my setup. There are quite a few possible reasons but some of this has to be that by placing the log on a bit of a slope means the mill sort of goes down by itself so I don't really need to push the mill much to begin with. The main handle on the mill (it's an inverted racing bicycle steering stem) has a high-quality soft-rubber mountain bike handle bar grip on it, and I wear gloves with soft rubber pads.

Today my hands and arms are just fine, much less aches than using a new CS to cut a trailer load of firewood. It's my legs and shoulders that ache and I'd put that down to moving several logs around, lifting/moving the slabs, and lifting the mill on and off the rails.

BobL said:

Thanks DustyT and AggieWB.

BTW if you are having trouble playing the movie it is in Quicktime format.

Aggie, much of the design is attributable to your mills, posts and discussions, so if anyone is the godfather of this mill it is you. In some way or other everyone else on this forum contributed as well, even if it was just your enthusiasm for milling. So a BIG thanks to everyone!

In terms of the cam locks for the height adjustment, they (and the all thread depth adjusters) worked really well with not a hint of movement. Of course a few more milling sessions will be needed to check out the longer term reliability of these sorts of features.

BTW, if anyone decides to try the sloping log milling method, watch out for the slab sliding down the log when you break thru at the end - it certainly surprised me and trapped the mill between the slab and the ground, luckily BIL was there to help. Before it does this, it is advisable to anchor the slab to the log. There a several ways of doing this, but next time I will do the following:

Thanks to all again.
Cheers

Click to expand...

I'm excited about the outcome of your mill and I'm happy I was a little help. I guess I should have mentioned the sliding thing.:bang: I had my rails touching the ground so the slab didn't move much.

Congrats BobL... well done. Interesting little video there too... that sucker was moving through that log faster than I thought it would given the width of that thing. Isn't it great when lots of hard work eventually pays off and you have something unique that you designed and built yourself? Greatest feeling in the world.

woodshop said:

Congrats BobL... well done. Interesting little video there too... that sucker was moving through that log faster than I thought it would given the width of that thing.

Click to expand...

Yeah I was pleasantly surprised at the cutting speed even though I did have all my planets aligned with a freshly tuned engine and a new bar and chain.

woodshop said:

Isn't it great when lots of hard work eventually pays off and you have something unique that you designed and built yourself? Greatest feeling in the world.

Click to expand...

Yes - a very good feeling. BIL is also very pleased with himself and has showed the video to all his mates.

Now I gotta get on a do some milling and resist the urge to mod the mill.

Cheers

and--though some may not agree--milling is hard on the saw--so--i run the oil mix a bit stronger---so no chance of burndown--

olyman said:

and--though some may not agree--milling is hard on the saw--so--i run the oil mix a bit stronger---so no chance of burndown--

Click to expand...

Unless you're running a very big saw down a very small log, in which case you can often saw almost as fast as you can push it, chain saw milling definitely gives any saw a workout. I don't think anybody disagrees with that one. As for whether to make the mix a little richer... gosh there are threads miles long over in the chainsaw section on both sides of that fence. I and many other csm'ers do run slightly richer mix on the big saws when milling, as well as tune the saws down a bit.

Don't wanna derail this thread though... I'd like to see some more pics of the BIL Mill in action. I was impressed with how fast it sliced through that wide log.

woodshop said:

Don't wanna derail this thread though... I'd like to see some more pics of the BIL Mill in action. I was impressed with how fast it sliced through that wide log.

Click to expand...

Patience my friends. . . . As you can imagine I'm itchin to get stuck into more logs. I'd love to be millin at home but my small house block inner city neighbors wouldn't! The site where the logs are located is about 12 miles from my place and I only really have access on Saturdays.

I spent a couple of evenings this week stripping parts of the mill down and checking for wear/contact points etc. I found an unwanted contact point where one of the all thread rods appears to occasionally touch the powerhead oil tank and has scratched away the paint - I fixed that by cutting an un-used inch off the end of the all thread rod.

The mill is attached to the powerhead at the bar bolts but despite proper tightening the bar bolts I can detect a small longitudinal roll of the power head on the mill. Under operation the mill also slightly vibrates in this orientation. To reduce this I've added a 3rd bolt between the powerhead and the mill. This bolt passes through the mill base and screws directly into a 6mm thread used by the chain brake (i've taken the chain brake completely off). The 3rd bolt forms a firm triangle with the two bar bolts and this kills the roll. Unfortunately I will have to remove this bolt to take off the chain otherwise the chain can be removed without completely removing the CS from the mill.

I have made a list of small mods but have to resist the urge to fiddle and get millin' !!!!

Anyway I'm all set for action tomorrow although rain is forecast and I have a few jobs to deal with first. Hopefully I'll remember my camera.

BobL said:

Anyway I'm all set for action tomorrow although rain is forecast and I have a few jobs to deal with first. Hopefully I'll remember my camera.

Click to expand...

opcorn:opcorn:opcorn:

An aux oiler filler cap one way valve

The most dangerous thing that happened on BIL mill's maiden voyage was the brass aux oiler filler cap falling off and hitting the chain and getting flung into my face guard. Tightening the cap on hard was no good because otherwise no oil would flow.

I thought of just drilling a little breather hole in the cap but didn't like the idea of oil dribbling out of the hole every time I lay the mill over on its side so I decided to make a one way breather valve.

The valve is made from a short (1") piece of 5/16" threaded brass rod that is threaded into the aux oil cap and held firm with a brass nut.



An 5/64" hole is drilled longitudinally all the way through the brass rod and a 9/64 hole drilled half way along the same hole. A 3/32" ballbearing is inserted is inserted into the 9/64" hole and its exit partically bocked by a small brass chain link. The chain is also attached to the inside of the tank so the cap won't get dirty or lost.



Here is a cross section of what the cap looks like.


The ball bearing allows air to pass one way but if oil tries to run out if the Aux oiler is tipped over the bearing runs down the tube and blocks the oil from escaping.

So far it seems to work.

Neat... well illustrated and well defined post. You should go to work for a magazine. Of course the proof is in the pudding... will it work as designed. Wish I had a dime for every jig I designed and built that had to have MAJOR tweaks once I put it in action. This one looks pretty strait forward though, as long as the ball drops and does indeed stop the flow.

Not much time for milling today, chores to attend to and spent about an hour hours rebuilding the rails to suit a a longer log.

Nevertheless managed to get to BILs work and here is what was on today's menu
A 7ft long, ~18" diameter Western Australian Sheoak (Casuarina Fraserana)


Here was what removing the first 2" showed


Unfortunately the top third has a fungal dry rot - bummer! The rest is OK.

You can get an idea of the coarseness of the cutting by this shot.

Second cut - in this shot you can also see the extended rails (~10ft long)


More pics in the next post.

Here are a few shots of the slabs with water squirted on top.





Close up of grain.


The full set:


Next weeks menu.


So how did BIL mill perform.
No bolts or nuts fell off
The Aux oiler she'sa working good - one way breather valve has a wee leak.
Setting aside the "knife through hot butter" cutting of the dry rot section, the freshly sharpened chain when through the sound part of this relatively hard hardwood veryeasily because it was only 18" in diameter.

Are we having fun yet - YOU BETTCHA!

Sorry no video's, BIL was not around - my camera doesn't do movies and no one to take em anyway.