# Milling saw



## Marklambert61 (Jun 4, 2008)

I want to upgrade my saw im a little underpower now (Husky 359) is a Husky 385 big enough?

Or should i look for a 395?


Mark


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## BobL (Jun 4, 2008)

Marklambert61 said:


> I want to upgrade my saw im a little underpower now (Husky 359) is a Husky 385 big enough?
> 
> Or should i look for a 395?
> 
> ...



It depends what you intend to mill?


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## Zodiac45 (Jun 4, 2008)

Pretty much what Bob said about what your milling. Bigger as always better for milling as far as I can see. Husq 385xp is a nice saw though but for the difference in price I think I'd go all the way and get the 395xp. It's about $140 more for the 395xp.


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## dustytools (Jun 4, 2008)

Zodiac45 said:


> Pretty much what Bob said about what your milling. Bigger as always better for milling as far as I can see. Husq 385xp is a nice saw though but for the difference in price I think I'd go all the way and get the 395xp.



+1. If you can afford to do so, go with the 395, you never know when you might need the extra juice. Good luck.


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## woodshop (Jun 4, 2008)

dustytools said:


> +1. If you can afford to do so, go with the 395, you never know when you might need the extra juice. Good luck.



I guess I always wondered to myself if some body was going to spend that much money on a big saw... spend the diff and get the 395, they are not that far apart. Then again, I know money can be tight... and so don't wanna tell somebody how to spend theirs.


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## Ironbark (Jun 5, 2008)

What about a 390? 

Lots of people talk about the 385 (not available in the UK) and the 395, but not the 390.


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## Matildasmate (Jun 5, 2008)

*Husky and StihL filter demo*

For milling , the bigger the better . I watched a small video on youtube the other day , they did a test on a stihL and husky filter system , the husky system is way better , almost unbelievable , this little video is well worth watching . Cheers MM http://youtube.com/watch?v=Rztm0HM9XzE&feature=related


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## bombdude (Jun 5, 2008)

Man, that's an impressive video. Thanks for sharing.


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## Marklambert61 (Jun 5, 2008)

*saw upgrade*

You know the more I think about spending a grand on a new milling saw....I keep coming back to the thought that I should just invest that money in building a band mill....


Mark


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## Zodiac45 (Jun 5, 2008)

Marklambert61 said:


> You know the more I think about spending a grand on a new milling saw....I keep coming back to the thought that I should just invest that money in building a band mill....
> 
> 
> Mark



If you have the welding skills and access too steel I would certainly go for it. There plenty of plans available, plus there some very skilled guys right here that have done so and might help you along. Rollermatic comes too mind in the UK and others. Here's his website if you'd like to check out the unit he build. http://www.chainsawmills.co.uk/


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## woodshop (Jun 5, 2008)

Matildasmate said:


> For milling , the bigger the better . I watched a small video on youtube the other day , they did a test on a stihL and husky filter system , the husky system is way better , almost unbelievable , this little video is well worth watching . Cheers MM http://youtube.com/watch?v=Rztm0HM9XzE&feature=related



Amazing vid Matildasmate... let me just say that I have personally seen similar results on my saws. I own several Stihl AND Husky saws, and by FAR the Husky filters stay much cleaner in all situations than my Stihl 036, 361 or 460. I have only milled with the 460, but when I did I had to stop and clean up the filter and carb area often... where with my Husky 395, I pop it off and tap it clean every once in a while even though it rarely needs it.


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## MJR (Jun 5, 2008)

Well, I got got out of the CSM thing about as fast I got into it, but my 385 did well by me. The 385, plus bar and a few loops is still less than a 395 ( in Syracuse NY). I will pick my little band mill any day over the CSM. I still keep keep the CSM rig around in case I get my hands on one of those free perfect huge logs I see posted here. You never know. The 385 is a great saw, just a little dusty around my other saws right now. Good luck.


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## Nikko (Jun 5, 2008)

Marklambert61 said:


> You know the more I think about spending a grand on a new milling saw....I keep coming back to the thought that I should just invest that money in building a band mill....Mark



A grand? I'm into mine for about $650 and that includes everything - 48" mill, extra chains, aux. oiler, used saw (Husky 2100 with modded muffler mods, 37" bar (new tip), new clutch/sprocket , new starter, etc. etc. ), log moving tools (peaveys, cant hooks, log tongs, jack, chains/straps, come-a-long etc..), box-o-crap that I take with me that has everything you need on site - the works. Hell, even if you add in my sharpener and extra stones I only hit $800 - and that sharpener can make $$ back!

Nothing against bandmills - nothing at all actually, I'd love one. But you can put together a solid CSM for a lot less than a grand - it just takes a little ingenuity, scrounging and effort. And I could not have milled that last beech with a bandmill - not without hoisting the log out with a crane etc. Sometimes the mill has to come to the tree.

Nikko


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## oldsaw (Jun 5, 2008)

I'm with Nikko. I've got very little money in my set up, have no place to park a bandmill, don't mill enough wood anymore to justify the money I'd invest in one, I mill most of what I mill where it lays since I don't have a truck or heavy equipment.

My mill hangs in my garage, the saws sit nicely on a shelf, and the bars hang off of that shelf. I've got a milk crate that holds my bar oil, mix oil, gas can, aux oiler and cordless drill when needed on the shelf above the saws. Cant hooks lean against the shelf. Another plastic box has my chains. Much smaller and less expensive than a bandmill. Works for me.


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## Burlhunter13 (Jun 5, 2008)

Marklambert61 said:


> You know the more I think about spending a grand on a new milling saw....I keep coming back to the thought that I should just invest that money in building a band mill....
> 
> 
> Mark



The bandmills sure do cut faster.....and you will get more life out of the engine. Also the blades are cheaper and I think they last alot longer too . But a nice chainsaw mill might still be needed for those extra large logs, or the ones way too heavy to move.


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## Burlhunter13 (Jun 5, 2008)

oldsaw said:


> I'm with Nikko. I've got very little money in my set up, have no place to park a bandmill, don't mill enough wood anymore to justify the money I'd invest in one, I mill most of what I mill where it lays since I don't have a truck or heavy equipment.
> 
> My mill hangs in my garage, the saws sit nicely on a shelf, and the bars hang off of that shelf. I've got a milk crate that holds my bar oil, mix oil, gas can, aux oiler and cordless drill when needed on the shelf above the saws. Cant hooks lean against the shelf. Another plastic box has my chains. Much smaller and less expensive than a bandmill. Works for me.



Good point too.....you do need the space for it.....I'm kinda eatin up a chunk of my driveway right now......sucks.


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## irishcountry (Jun 5, 2008)

All I can say is I bought a 395xp and I am surprised how much power it has I own a 455 rancher as a firewood saw and the 395 would eat it for breakfast! I milled a very old dead red oak and the speed was much faster than I expected. I just tore into a old willow limb and it was a little slower but I think the chain wasn't up to par hopefully I will get some pics up over the weekend. I checked my air filter after milling the red oak and not one spec of sawdust or dirt I blew it out with my air compressor anyway but no dust and I had it buried in the cuts I took! I think my saw is capable of much more in the rpm's department as when it runs out of gas it really rev's up I may take it in and see if it needs/should be adjusted I would rather run it backed off a bit and not burn it out quick. I'm sure stihl is a good saw too I don't think you could go wrong with either and for the record CMS may require a certain type of person one that really appreciates wood and has just a tad more patience than the average person and isn't tied to putting dollar signs on every peice they turn out but all in all it is a very viable way to make lumber I am addicted!! Good luck irishcountry


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## MJR (Jun 6, 2008)

Irishcounty, I am not sure what is worse an elm or willow. Either will challenge any saw. 

Band mills don’t take up that much room. Mine sits proudly in the front yard wearing its’ blue HF tarp, I conceder it a fine example of red neck lawn art. OK I promised the wife I will move it up to the farm next weekend…


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## irishcountry (Jun 6, 2008)

MJR I figured that was why it took so long to cut after I got my first peice off and put the block plane on it I knew what happened the grain runs allover!! Very fuzzy even when sanded so not sure how much more of it I will mill but it is right by our pond and it will make a great natural bench to fish off if I ever get it dredged and stocked (on the to do list!!) Never tried elm but the firewood I had looked like it would make nice lumber even if it is hard to mill. This morning I got out early to split up some logs I bought early spring for firewood and it is killing me the grain looks very nice in some of them I think I am going to save some of them now that I have gotten a good look at them. I would like to get a mini-mill and make some beams 6x6 or 8x8 not sure how hard it will be to line up the heartwood but I can't cut them into firewood!!! What a dillema heat or lumber sure i'm not the first that has had that problem on this site. For the record a bandmill would be nice too just not in the budget for me right now your lucky!! irishcountry


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## Zodiac45 (Jun 6, 2008)

irishcountry said:


> All I can say is I bought a 395xp and I am surprised how much power it has I own a 455 rancher as a firewood saw and the 395 would eat it for breakfast! I milled a very old dead red oak and the speed was much faster than I expected. I just tore into a old willow limb and it was a little slower but I think the chain wasn't up to par hopefully I will get some pics up over the weekend. I checked my air filter after milling the red oak and not one spec of sawdust or dirt I blew it out with my air compressor anyway but no dust and I had it buried in the cuts I took! I think my saw is capable of much more in the rpm's department as when it runs out of gas it really rev's up I may take it in and see if it needs/should be adjusted I would rather run it backed off a bit and not burn it out quick. I'm sure stihl is a good saw too I don't think you could go wrong with either and for the record CMS may require a certain type of person one that really appreciates wood and has just a tad more patience than the average person and isn't tied to putting dollar signs on every peice they turn out but all in all it is a very viable way to make lumber I am addicted!! Good luck irishcountry



Irish,

Your saw is probably going a little lean as it runs out of fuel. That's what the "extra" speed is. In reality, I would not try too tune for those higher revs when using it for milling. In normal chainsaw usage, your bucking a log at wide open throttle for a minute, maybe, then idling. This is what they were designed for. When milling you've got allot more time at WOT. I would prefer to run the saw slightly richer and for-go that little extra in revs for the cooling that slightly richer allows. Maybe your only getting 90% of the available power but over time the saw will last longer.


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## MJR (Jun 6, 2008)

This spring I milled some willow. It was really neat looking stuff. I just took a look at it (home on lunch) and still looks fine. Try splitting some of it. It sucks. Nothing goes to waste. The woood stove will eat it. No milling or firewood this weekend, taking the kids fishing. Have a safe one.


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## irishcountry (Jun 6, 2008)

Zodiac thanks I will take your advice I would rather it last longer than gain RPM's!! MJR I really like the grain of willow and it would make some very nice looking wood to use for lots of projects just not sure yet how to get rid of the fuzz. I just picked up a couple of peices of angle iron to make a jig for my router so I can plane some wide slabs of wood need to get a large bit for it though mines a little small which will make it alot more tedious!! Have fun fishing sounds like fun! I have about a week to go on my seasonal business then hopefully I can get some milling and fishing in!! Take care irishcountry


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## Burlhunter13 (Jun 6, 2008)

MJR said:


> Irishcounty, I am not sure what is worse an elm or willow. Either will challenge any saw.
> 
> Band mills don’t take up that much room. Mine sits proudly in the front yard wearing its’ blue HF tarp, I conceder it a fine example of red neck lawn art. OK I promised the wife I will move it up to the farm next weekend…



HAHA! True, mine is the same way, old blue tarp lol. I need to get a black tarp or something, this is redneck


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## MJR (Jun 8, 2008)

Back from the lake. The fishing was fine and the weather made the beer just right. I screwed up the pictures of my little willow last time. I will try a couple more. I am not sure on the planner fuzz, I will see about that next yearish...


http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u54/MJR007/IMG_1081.jpg

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u54/MJR007/IMG_1085.jpg

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u54/MJR007/Copy2ofCopyofIMG_1268.jpg


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## Burlhunter13 (Jun 8, 2008)

MJR said:


> Back from the lake. The fishing was fine and the weather made the beer just right. I screwed up the pictures of my little willow last time. I will try a couple more. I am not sure on the planner fuzz, I will see about that next yearish...
> 
> 
> http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u54/MJR007/IMG_1081.jpg
> ...






Sweet deal with the wood, nice looking 

Also fishing had been good too! I've been doing a bit at night 

Cheers!


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## irishcountry (Jun 8, 2008)

Your willow looks better than mine!! With the weather we have had at least here beer sounds really good especially sitting in the shade. Nothing better than seeing your kids smiling after a day of fishing my 3yr. old daughter has fallen in love with it she even has granma and granpa fillet and fry them as soon as they come in from the dock she is hooked! Thanks for the pics irishcountry


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## Burlhunter13 (Jun 9, 2008)

irishcountry said:


> Your willow looks better than mine!! With the weather we have had at least here beer sounds really good especially sitting in the shade. Nothing better than seeing your kids smiling after a day of fishing my 3yr. old daughter has fallen in love with it she even has granma and granpa fillet and fry them as soon as they come in from the dock she is hooked! Thanks for the pics irishcountry



Actually its box elder  Thats why the neat colors. It's from a fungus that's only in certian parts of the US. Fusarium reticulatum (F. negundi) is the name of the fungus that causes the red stain in boxelder (Acer negundo). But then again the red color has been know to form sometimes without the fungus. Anyway, neat stuff .

Willow is also a pretty wood though, I've haven't milled any yet, hoping to though!

I just fried up some channel catfish yesterday that we caught (6 lbs -25" long), in some tinfoil on the grill with honey and lemon. I cant wait to go fishing tomorrow....it was storming tonight. Its good that you got your daughter stuck on fishing . Dont let her help in cleaning the fish yet, she might get turned off by that lol!!! Cheers and best of luck!


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## irishcountry (Jun 9, 2008)

Catfish is one of my favorites!! Sounds good. My daughter doesn't seem to mind seeing them cleaned (yet) maybe it won't bug her later either at least I hope it won't, hate to see her not like it as much later!! Boxelder looks good like it willow has some nice graining too but like I said not sure how you get it fuzz free!! Take care irishcountry


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## Zodiac45 (Jun 9, 2008)

I went and did a little fly fishing fishing for brookies on Saturday. Great fun, but a pain thrashing through the brush of course too get too my spot. It's always worth the price of admission though. Little brookies feel like bigger fish on fly rods! We caught our limit and ended up making a small fire too chill around. Cooked up my lunch on sticks. Fishsicles! Yummy!


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## MJR (Jun 9, 2008)

I could be wrong on the willow/box alder ID. I said it before here, my dendrology sinks. I took the log off my neighbors rot pile I did not cut the tree. I will check the leaves on what is left. After googling the two trees even I should be able to correctly ID the tree. Hell, I even cut down a sweet gum thinking it was an ash once. It made the prettyist ash boards I have done - joke. The big willow I did at the lake was a SOB and it did slow the 385 down. I will find those pictures tonight. We fried up some pike on the fire with a loon signing in the back ground. Nothing but smiles.


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## Burlhunter13 (Jun 9, 2008)

irishcountry said:


> Catfish is one of my favorites!! Sounds good. My daughter doesn't seem to mind seeing them cleaned (yet) maybe it won't bug her later either at least I hope it won't, hate to see her not like it as much later!! Boxelder looks good like it willow has some nice graining too but like I said not sure how you get it fuzz free!! Take care irishcountry




Irishcountry-I hate the fuzz on box elder! I've tried different cutting speeds and increased water flow on my bandmill (didnt think it would work lol) and still.....fuzzy edges on the boards. I just kinda picked some of it off after I was done milling. Nice looking color in it Here are some photos below....


Zodiac- Fishsicles  lol sounds good.....I might have to use that one for the bluegill lol

MJR- Yea, I'm not too good with identifying willow yet, I haven't worked much with it. But if you dropped any form of maple, cherry, walnut, box elder, or exotic burl in my lap then I might be able to help  I've never had pike though...is that good?


Sounds like all you guys are living the life! I might have to change my signature!


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## MJR (Jun 9, 2008)

Walleye - cast iron pan, peanut oil, flour, egg, bread crumbs (cooked on flat sided fire wood - milling site - from the tree that was dropped with a 385 -milling site) a cold beer, a beautiful wife, smiling kids, and a happy loon. Life does not get any better. In the winter the northern taste just as good. 

Every once in a while you need to slow things down and enjoy the finer things in life. 

It was a box elder, maybe to much beer...


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## oldsaw (Jun 9, 2008)

MJR said:


> Walleye - cast iron pan, peanut oil, flour, egg, bread crumbs (cooked on flat sided fire wood - milling site - from the tree that was dropped with a 385 -milling site) a cold beer, a beautiful wife, smiling kids, and a happy loon. Life does not get any better. In the winter the northern taste just as good.
> 
> Every once in a while you need to slow things down and enjoy the finer things in life.
> 
> It was a box elder, maybe to much beer...



Try cracker crumbs, French's mustard, and Zatarain's seasoning. Brush mustard on filets, roll in breadcrumb/seasoning mix, fry up, and eat.

Mark


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## irishcountry (Jun 9, 2008)

You guys are making me hunger!! Pike is excellent we troll for them with spoon plugs almost exclusively , my dad has been a spoonplugger for years now he is very good at cutting out the y bones and keeping lots of the meat in all the fish frys we have had I can't count the bones i've gotten on one hand. We just use drakes batter in any oil but I bet peanut oil gives it a little extra will have to try it!! Happy fishing/milling~!!!


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## Burlhunter13 (Jun 9, 2008)

I caught a small Walleye about 3 hours ago and a small channel cat. Threw both back . Now I'm in the mood for some of those recipes that you guys posted. I might have to go morning fishing before work! 4:00am if I can wake up lol. There are some really big carp at the spot I fish, I don't know how to cook it to make it worthwhile...since we are on the topic of fish lol....ideas? 

Ahhhh.....the finer things in life


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## woodshop (Jun 10, 2008)

Burlhunter13 said:


> Irishcountry-I hate the fuzz on box elder! I've tried different cutting speeds and increased water flow on my bandmill (didnt think it would work lol) and still.....fuzzy edges on the boards. I just kinda picked some of it off after I was done milling...


I work with all kinds of wood in the woodshop, and some species, like some soft maples (boxelder is one) as well as some cottonwood species and many willows, will have that "fuzz" you talk about. It's just the nature of the beast, the way the wood grows. Progressive sanding is one way to get the finish smooth, but most planers and jointers will produce that fuzzy finish you're referring to.


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## Zodiac45 (Jun 10, 2008)

Yep agreed, some wood just seems suseptable too it. I repainted my whole house about 12 years ago (now I do a side each year!) and pressure washed and scraped it down. These are old clear cedar clapboards I'm talking about but the pressure washer had a tendency too fuzz up the boards if you got too aggressive with it. Added another step too the process (sanding).


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## Burlhunter13 (Jun 10, 2008)

Zodiac45 said:


> Yep agreed, some wood just seems suseptable too it. I repainted my whole house about 12 years ago (now I do a side each year!) and pressure washed and scraped it down. These are old clear cedar clapboards I'm talking about but the pressure washer had a tendency too fuzz up the boards if you got too aggressive with it. Added another step too the process (sanding).



I hate fuzz....I didnt know that it's still there after running it through the planer. I havent run any of my box elder through yet, its still drying. I also have the same problem with the soft maple I've been cutting too.....true about the nature of the beast  

Zodiac - We have a cedar fence at one of my dads rental properties, we have to oil that thing every 2 years and it has been there forever. We skipped the oil the last 5 years I think....kinda keep putting it off. Now its gray-scaled! By brother was messing around with a pressure washer last year and ended up crushing the wood fibers, making it fuzzy. At least it was in a hidden spot. Oil works nice on cedar....I'm not too sure about paint....solution...expensive Benjamin Moore exterior oil base paint and primer....it will cost a small fortune though, I think a 5 gallon runs around $180 out here for the paint. Not sure though, It's been awhile since we used it on the houses. 
Heart goes out ta ya!


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## woodshop (Jun 10, 2008)

Burlhunter13 said:


> I hate fuzz....I didnt know that it's still there after running it through the planer. I havent run any of my box elder through yet, its still drying. I also have the same problem with the soft maple I've been cutting too.....true about the nature of the beast


Well there ARE steps you can take if your really serious about planing very soft woods that tend to get that fuzzy finish. For one, use a very sharp planer knives. For most woods, as the knives get dull your finish is not as smooth, there is more tear out in figured wood, and you get lines down your board from nicks in the knife, but with something like soft willow, all that gets exaggerated, and a dull blade will create more fuzz and even rougher surface. In effect, when your knives are not sharp, instead of planing the boards, you are kinda "beating and hacking" at them (it's also hard on your planer bearings). Another solution if you can justify it, is switch the planer head to an indexable spiral cutterhead with those little solid carbide knives. I can tell you from experience that they produce much less tear out in figured wood, and much less fuzz in very soft wood. They do sometimes produce very slight linear lines you can sometimes see in certain grain, but they are almost negligible. Point is, they really do a better job planing with less fuzzies. Problem is they usually raise the price of the planer by at least a third, although they are getting cheaper every year. I liked them so much I got a spiral head to upgrade my jointer also.


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## Burlhunter13 (Jun 10, 2008)

woodshop said:


> Well there ARE steps you can take if your really serious about planing very soft woods that tend to get that fuzzy finish. For one, use a very sharp planer knives. For most woods, as the knives get dull your finish is not as smooth, there is more tear out in figured wood, and you get lines down your board from nicks in the knife, but with something like soft willow, all that gets exaggerated, and a dull blade will create more fuzz and even rougher surface. In effect, when your knives are not sharp, instead of planing the boards, you are kinda "beating and hacking" at them (it's also hard on your planer bearings). Another solution if you can justify it, is switch the planer head to an indexable spiral cutterhead with those little solid carbide knives. I can tell you from experience that they produce much less tear out in figured wood, and much less fuzz in very soft wood. They do sometimes produce very slight linear lines you can sometimes see in certain grain, but they are almost negligible. Point is, they really do a better job planing with less fuzzies. Problem is they usually raise the price of the planer by at least a third, although they are getting cheaper every year. I liked them so much I got a spiral head to upgrade my jointer also.





Yea, I've seen those spiral cutters. They seem like a great idea, also your able to rotate the cutters so you get 4X the wear right? I was looking into getting one for our planer...but yea....a bit pricey. We are do for new knives on ours, our are nicked up slightly and dull...maybe thats the way to go. Our joiner is kinda starting to dull too....


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## Zodiac45 (Jun 11, 2008)

Burlhunter13 said:


> I hate fuzz....I didnt know that it's still there after running it through the planer. I havent run any of my box elder through yet, its still drying. I also have the same problem with the soft maple I've been cutting too.....true about the nature of the beast
> 
> Zodiac - We have a cedar fence at one of my dads rental properties, we have to oil that thing every 2 years and it has been there forever. We skipped the oil the last 5 years I think....kinda keep putting it off. Now its gray-scaled! By brother was messing around with a pressure washer last year and ended up crushing the wood fibers, making it fuzzy. At least it was in a hidden spot. Oil works nice on cedar....I'm not too sure about paint....solution...expensive Benjamin Moore exterior oil base paint and primer....it will cost a small fortune though, I think a 5 gallon runs around $180 out here for the paint. Not sure though, It's been awhile since we used it on the houses.
> Heart goes out ta ya!



Yep you're right on the money Burl,

It was from getting too aggressive trying to "scrape" with a pressure washer. Needless to say it added allot of work but in the end, I have to say, it came out well since that paintjob was done nearly 13 years ago and it's really held up well. Now the program is one side a year whether it needs it or not! Go's fast and is good maintanence.


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## woodshop (Jun 11, 2008)

Burlhunter13 said:


> Yea, I've seen those spiral cutters. They seem like a great idea, also your able to rotate the cutters so you get 4X the wear right? ....


Correct, when dull, you rotate each carbide cutter 90 degrees to a new side, so you effectively get 4 solid carbide "blade changes" with each set. I was leery of some of the claims of how long the carbide lasted compared to steel knives, but was not disappointed. I've gotten over a year on the first side of the set in my planer at this point, and they still don't need changing. At this rate, that set will last me 5 years. Of course, I'm not a true full blown production shop, but I probably run more wood through my shop than most woodworkers. The set I installed on my 8" jointer though, about 9 months so far, do need to be rotated soon, so they do wear out eventually. Some of that was due to a job where I edged a lot of plywood, which because of the glue and other factors, is hard on cutters. At any rate, in my humble opinion, from what I've seen so far with these things, if you can stomach the initial higher cost, in the long run they are not any more expensive than standard knives because they last so long. The icing on the cake is they also give you a superior finish in situations like planing figured lumber.


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## Burlhunter13 (Jun 11, 2008)

woodshop said:


> Correct, when dull, you rotate each carbide cutter 90 degrees to a new side, so you effectively get 4 solid carbide "blade changes" with each set. I was leery of some of the claims of how long the carbide lasted compared to steel knives, but was not disappointed. I've gotten over a year on the first side of the set in my planer at this point, and they still don't need changing. At this rate, that set will last me 5 years. Of course, I'm not a true full blown production shop, but I probably run more wood through my shop than most woodworkers. The set I installed on my 8" jointer though, about 9 months so far, do need to be rotated soon, so they do wear out eventually. Some of that was due to a job where I edged a lot of plywood, which because of the glue and other factors, is hard on cutters. At any rate, in my humble opinion, from what I've seen so far with these things, if you can stomach the initial higher cost, in the long run they are not any more expensive than standard knives because they last so long. The icing on the cake is they also give you a superior finish in situations like planing figured lumber.





Zodiac - At least you keep up with the regular maintenance with you house! Keeping constantly on top of it will save the headache in the end. I have yet to find a good way to clean the fence without just sanding it after pressure washing. I like how you do business!  

Woodshop - I think you sold me on the idea of the spiral cutters....I will probably use the plainer less then you do (I have the bandmill here and for the most part thats what the main use will be, just cleaning up the lumber from it.) Yours lasted 12 months on one side, heck, that'll do for me! I have some figured wood here as well as burls that will need to be plained in the future, I would like to avoid tear-out. The carbide feature sounds 10X better than the steel blades......now to come up with the money . Thanks for the review!


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## woodshop (Jun 13, 2008)

Burlhunter13 said:


> Woodshop - I think you sold me on the idea of the spiral cutters....I will probably use the plainer less then you do (I have the bandmill here and for the most part thats what the main use will be, just cleaning up the lumber from it.) Yours lasted 12 months on one side, heck, that'll do for me! I have some figured wood here as well as burls that will need to be planed in the future, I would like to avoid tear-out. The carbide feature sounds 10X better than the steel blades......now to come up with the money . Thanks for the review!



When I upgrade or contemplate buying equipment I always take hands on experience from guys who have used the stuff as better info than anything else. If you follow the money, that is where the bias will be. Woodworking mags are often the worst culprits as they try not to bite off the hand that feeds them, advertising is where they make their money. 

Spiral cutterheads with solid carbide cutters ARE superior in many ways, but they do have a few drawbacks as with anything. One of the biggest is that it does take more effort to run the wood past them. In a 15" planer with huge serrated rollers pulling the wood through, no big deal, but on a jointer you can definitely feel the difference. It does take more effort to push that board over that cutterhead. As you would suspect, I notice it most in 8 inch boards (I only have an 8 inch jointer). In some woods, you really do have to push harder, and when you're dealing with an 8ft long 8"wide board, that becomes a factor. Something else you may already know... you CAN sharpen steel to a slightly finer edge than carbide. Nature of the metal. That means for a newly sharpened set of knives in your machine you will actually get a cleaner sharper cut than any carbide blade. The diff is often negligible though, and the flip side of that is that steel blades lose that super sharp edge much quicker. A carbide edge will technically not be quite as sharp, but it will stay sharp way longer as you run wood through it day after day. As far as tearout on figured wood... note that although the spiral cutterhead does do a much much better job on that, there is little you can do about some tearout in some figured stuff... that grain is going every which way and sometimes there is no planer or jointer in the world that will slice it completely clean. Bottom line... if you do a lot of planing or jointing, in the long run the spiral cutterheads are simply cheaper, wiith less down time and less maintenance... and that's enough reason for me regardless of anything else.


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## Burlhunter13 (Jun 17, 2008)

woodshop said:


> When I upgrade or contemplate buying equipment I always take hands on experience from guys who have used the stuff as better info than anything else. If you follow the money, that is where the bias will be. Woodworking mags are often the worst culprits as they try not to bite off the hand that feeds them, advertising is where they make their money.
> 
> Spiral cutterheads with solid carbide cutters ARE superior in many ways, but they do have a few drawbacks as with anything. One of the biggest is that it does take more effort to run the wood past them. In a 15" planer with huge serrated rollers pulling the wood through, no big deal, but on a jointer you can definitely feel the difference. It does take more effort to push that board over that cutterhead. As you would suspect, I notice it most in 8 inch boards (I only have an 8 inch jointer). In some woods, you really do have to push harder, and when you're dealing with an 8ft long 8"wide board, that becomes a factor. Something else you may already know... you CAN sharpen steel to a slightly finer edge than carbide. Nature of the metal. That means for a newly sharpened set of knives in your machine you will actually get a cleaner sharper cut than any carbide blade. The diff is often negligible though, and the flip side of that is that steel blades lose that super sharp edge much quicker. A carbide edge will technically not be quite as sharp, but it will stay sharp way longer as you run wood through it day after day. As far as tearout on figured wood... note that although the spiral cutterhead does do a much much better job on that, there is little you can do about some tearout in some figured stuff... that grain is going every which way and sometimes there is no planer or jointer in the world that will slice it completely clean. Bottom line... if you do a lot of planing or jointing, in the long run the spiral cutterheads are simply cheaper, wiith less down time and less maintenance... and that's enough reason for me regardless of anything else.





Its going to be awhile before I can afford a spiral cutter, but I'm taking you advice on this one! I have a 26" woodmaster planer...the spiral cutter is somewhere around $1500-$2000 depending where I go. I was also looking into getting a totality new planer through Grizzly....most of them come with the spiral cutter new. I have to figure it out with my old man first... but he's hooked on the idea too.
I appreciate it buddy!


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