# Mini-Mill #4 Post 1



## 820wards (Feb 24, 2012)

Finished building #4 Mini-Mill for my friend. He has been hounding me to build him one so here it is.

jerry-

Here is the rails for the mill with the throttle handle.







Used 1/4"-20 thread inserts for holding the dust deflector arm when assembled.






Here is the 1/2" thick block for bolting the bar to the mill. Holes are on 1" centers.






Here is the basic throttle piece that bolts to the saw handle. It is made from 1" angle that is tapered to match the saw handle.






More Pictures Post #2


----------



## 820wards (Feb 24, 2012)

*Mini-Mill #4 Post 2*

More pictures of mini-mill #4

Mount on side of rail for throttle handle. I used NyLock nuts on all pieces I bolt on the mill because of vibration.






Shot of dust deflector. I made it so that it wraps around the saw and also is spring loaded. I will use AC tube-set insulation on the top edge where it contacts the saw bottom. It works slick!






Shot of the spring mount I welded to the frame rail. It was just easier to make a small L-piece and weld it on vs drilling a hole for thread insert and using a bolt, too small.






I machined this piece that bolts to the saw trigger arm. It also allowed me to run the throttle cable through it and make adjustments for trigger clearance to the arm. Made this from 1/2" stock drilled/tapped for 10-32 cap bolts. The throttle shaft size is 1/4" and the arm is stainless steel.






Also machined this piece that the throttle cable housing inserts into. I love silver brazing and that is how I attached this piece to the throttle assembly. A little silver solder is all you need and it is very strong.






More on Post #3


----------



## BobL (Feb 25, 2012)

Nice work, very clean and tidy.


----------



## 820wards (Feb 25, 2012)

*Mini-Mill #4 Post 3*

More pictures of mill build.

Here is view of the the inside of the throttle assembly. I used 1/4" thick material for where the throttle arm bolt pivots to keep stable when in operation.






I welded square 1/4-20 nuts on the outside of the throttle assembly for bolting it to the saw. I like thinks to look right so I made sure the nuts were set at 45* on the bracket. It's just me...






A better shot of the 1/4" stock used for the pivot of the throttle arm.






Fully assembled and painted.






Final assembly Post #4


----------



## 820wards (Feb 25, 2012)

*Mini-Mill #4 Post 4*

Final assembly pictures.

View of saw mounted on mill frame. The bar is a 24" Carlton using 3/8" chain.






Here you can see the insulation I have attached with zip-ties to the spring loaded dust deflector. I'm hoping to use it next week and give it a try. If I find that the stream of dust is to strong for the spring I can always use a stronger spring.






Here I have added a second compression spring to be sure I get full return of the throttle arm assembly.






On the throttle assembly I used a strip of leather with 2-sided tape on the opposite side. On this side I cut a piece of 1/8" thick aluminum that is also 2-sided taped with leather. It goes between the the saw handle and the two lock wing-nuts so I don't gouge the handle with the wing-nuts. I have found that leather doesn't slip even with oil on it. I have used leather on other compression applications, and it works quite well.






Here is a picture of the assembled mill on the non-bar side, you can see the dust deflector how I mounted it to the two thread inserts. It pivots at the bottom with a spring going to the piece I welded to the mill rail.


----------



## 820wards (Feb 25, 2012)

*Mini-Mill #4 Last Post*

Here are the last pictures of the mill build.

Picture is of the throttle trigger arm and how it is bent. I welded it to a 1/4"-28 aircraft stainless steel bolt. It is held on with a NyLock nut and adjusted to limit side movement.






Here is a good view of of the dust deflector and how it is mounted and attached to the recoil spring.






On the throttle handle I used a piece of shrink tube to keep dust out and to keep the cable housing from coming out during milling. I hate things wobbling around.






The trigger pivot is adjustable by moving the entire throttle assembly up or down on the saw handle.






Final shot of the mill. My friend came by today during his lunch and said he can't wait to see it work. Me too!

jerry-


----------



## 820wards (Feb 25, 2012)

BobL said:


> Nice work, very clean and tidy.




Thanks Bob,

It's been a slow build on this one. Had the wife in and out of the hospital a couple of times. She is doing better now.

jerry-


----------



## aus71383 (Feb 25, 2012)

Normally I just lurk but this is very impressive! Thanks for sharing


----------



## bubba3228 (Feb 25, 2012)

Very nice build Jerry; I always wanted to get into milling just do not have the resources yet. You have a gift with your talents. Thanks for taking the time to post, it is an inspiration.


----------



## betterbuilt (Feb 25, 2012)

Nice job.


----------



## irishcountry (Feb 25, 2012)

Very nice work !!!


----------



## 4b316 (Feb 25, 2012)

*mustang*

Hey! I would like to see a better shot of the mustang in the background.Put the saw in front of it so the mods won't holler


----------



## logbob (Feb 25, 2012)

After seeing this I am never gonna post the pictures of the junk I built !!!!
I envy your welding skills...


----------



## MHouse1028 (Feb 25, 2012)

Wow very nice it looks Bad Azz....


----------



## mater (Feb 25, 2012)

Ive been trying to figure a nice clean way to run a throttle remotely for a long time. You made it look so simple. Nice work.


Mark


----------



## 820wards (Feb 25, 2012)

4b316 said:


> Hey! I would like to see a better shot of the mustang in the background.Put the saw in front of it so the mods won't holler




Here is a picture of my GT-350H. When I had it repainted I went with the white/blue stripes. At that time no one made the GT-350H stripes in blue. The car was a red/gold rental at the Oakland, Ca airport. I bought it wrecked in 1971 and took two years putting it back together.

jerry-

Here is a picture of it in the open.


----------



## 820wards (Feb 25, 2012)

mater said:


> Ive been trying to figure a nice clean way to run a throttle remotely for a long time. You made it look so simple. Nice work.
> 
> 
> Mark



Thanks for the kind words everyone. My hopes is that someone aspiring to build their own mill will see these pictures and give it a try. Seeing a picture may give them an idea on how to build something for themselves. I built this mill for a friend and he can't wait to use it.

jerry-


----------



## john taliaferro (Feb 25, 2012)

Some nice work .


----------



## ptjeep (Feb 25, 2012)

820, Very very impressive! Your attention to detail and ergonomics is amazing. I like the remote throttle a lot and just might have to try to duplicate it to some extent on my mini mill. Thanks for all of the detailed pics. Your friend is very lucky!:msp_thumbup:


----------



## 820wards (Feb 25, 2012)

ptjeep said:


> 820, Very very impressive! Your attention to detail and ergonomics is amazing. I like the remote throttle a lot and just might have to try to duplicate it to some extent on my mini mill. Thanks for all of the detailed pics. Your friend is very lucky!:msp_thumbup:




Thanks PT,

Let me know if you have questions, it's a pretty simple piece to make.

jerry-


----------



## BobL (Feb 25, 2012)

Jerry, Thanks for the detailed photos and explanations. I always find your posts informative, very clear and easy to follow, a pleasure to read and something for newbies to learn from, both in terms of what you post and how you post it. I think you should add a post to the milling 101 thread that shows a couple of picture of yourmills and also points to your builds.

BTW I'm surprised your throttle assembly doesn't wear the trigger away, when I tried a direct metal contact like yours on my 076 I eventually wore away the trigger and had to replace it.
I tried all manner of padding and found the best thing was hydraulic hose but even that has eventually worn a dent in the new trigger. This is why I used a direct cable connect on my 880 remote.
What's your secret? I wonder if it's because my spring is fully compressed @ WOT?


----------



## 820wards (Feb 25, 2012)

BobL said:


> Jerry, Thanks for the detailed photos and explanations. I always find your posts informative, very clear and easy to follow, a pleasure to read and something for newbies to learn from. I think you should add a post to the milling 101 thread that shows a couple of pictures of your mills and also points to your builds.



Bob,
Thank you for offering your post to add some of my photos and links to my builds in. I'll do that as soon as I can.




> BTW I'm surprised your throttle assembly doesn't wear the trigger away, when I tried a direct metal contact like yours on my 076 I eventually wore away the trigger and had to replace it.
> I tried all manner of padding and found the best thing was hydraulic hose but even that has eventually worn a dent in the new trigger. This is why I used a direct cable connect on my 880 remote.
> What's your secret?



Bob,

I have a stash of shrink wrap tubing that a friend gave me that I use for the trigger contact points. I added it today because I had forgotten put it on the day I took pictures. I have been using it on my triggers of my other mini-mills and I haven't seen any noticeable sign of wear. The shrink tube material is pretty thick and has a clear adhesive that melts/seals when heated so it doesn't slid off. 



> I wonder if it's because my spring is fully compressed @ WOT?



I don't use real heavy spring tension on my secondary return spring. Your big mill also runs for long periods of time which I can see would want to wear the triggers. The mini-mills I build and use, don't run as long as yours. Have you though of making a trigger from aluminum, or, what about using a small needle bearing on the shaft. You could double the bearings side-by-side to make the bearing surface wide enough for the trigger with. Hummm, I think I will try that on the next build. Isn't this fun stuff?

jerry-


----------



## Dan_IN_MN (Feb 26, 2012)

820wards said:


> Thanks for the kind words everyone. *My hopes is that someone aspiring to build their own mill *will see these pictures and give it a try. Seeing a picture may give them an idea on how to build something for themselves. I built this mill for a friend and he can't wait to use it.
> 
> jerry-



Your friend must be a GOOD friend! 

I would like to build such an animal! I like this idea instead of just a 'U' shaped piece of steel running over a 2X4.

What did you build your tracks/rails out of? I didn't see any thing mentioned in your posts.

I take it this is your 4th mini mill you've built. What other things have you built? You can keep it to a 'nutshell' if you want.


----------



## John D (Feb 26, 2012)

Awesome work! Very nice welding, engineering and detail ! Makes most store bought ones look unfinished...

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk


----------



## Old Blue (Feb 26, 2012)

*Great work and a very nice post Jerry !*

I didn't even know that I wanted a mini mill until I read this Your use of silver solder for the fine parts is a nice touch.

I'll bet that anyone who has done any milling would love to have the remote throttle and your design is nice and clean. I hope to incorporate it into one of my own.

Thanks for taking the time to share this with us

Old Blue
Apparently not taxed enough cause I still got change in my pocket, in....
Kali-bone-ya


----------



## 820wards (Feb 26, 2012)

manyhobies said:


> Your friend must be a GOOD friend!



He's a real good friend, I worked with him before I retired in 2007.



> I would like to build such an animal! I like this idea instead of just a 'U' shaped piece of steel running over a 2X4. What did you build your tracks/rails out of? I didn't see any thing mentioned in your posts.



* My rail board is a 2x6x8' redwood board that I ran through my joiner to get on edge straight. 

* I then set the 1" rail that has the saw bar bolted to it so that it is flush with the outer edge of the mill rail and jointed edge of the board. Use a couple of clamps to keep it flush with the edge.

* I used two pieces 3/4" x 3/4" angle iron as my guide rails. 

* I then drilled each angle iron piece about every 7"-8" the length of the iron. I made my guide rail board 8' long. If you plan to mill beams or lumber to 8' long I suggest that you use a 10' board and angle iron.

* With the mill rails clamped to the guide board I put the angle on the inside of the mill rail and put the first screw into the board. Then I released the clamp and slid the mill along the board keeping it flush with the jointed edge, and put in the next screw. Keep doing this the entire length of the angle iron. Once I had the first piece of angle iron attached the length of the board I was ready to attache the second piece. 

* BEFORE you start screwing down the second rail, you need to be sure your rails are square. The measurement between the front of the rails needs to be the same as the back or the mill will not slide smoothly along the guide board. 

* Once you have squared the mill rails your ready to start attaching the back angle iron rail to the board. I used a clamp on the front mill rail to the 3/4" guide rail to hold it in place while setting and screwing the back angle iron down.

* Once both rails are attached you can then tune/adjust the mill rails to slide the length of the guide rail board. Angle iron isn't perfect.

Here is a picture of the guide rail board with one of my mini-mills in operation.









> I take it this is your 4th mini mill you've built. What other things have you built? You can keep it to a 'nutshell' if you want.



If you look at my signature you will see my large Alaskan style mill and my first mini-mill builds and how I milled using them. There is more detailed descriptions/dimensions/pictures covering the builds and use of the mills. 

Enjoy

jerry-


----------



## 820wards (Feb 26, 2012)

John D said:


> Awesome work! Very nice welding, engineering and detail ! Makes most store bought ones look unfinished...
> 
> Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk



Thanks John, I've had many years to practice and get it right. My Dad taught me right, I had no choice, he was an engineer.

jerry-


----------



## 820wards (Feb 26, 2012)

Old Blue said:


> I didn't even know that I wanted a mini mill until I read this Your use of silver solder for the fine parts is a nice touch.
> 
> I'll bet that anyone who has done any milling would love to have the remote throttle and your design is nice and clean. I hope to incorporate it into one of my own.
> 
> ...



Old Blue,

I've found that the remote trigger pieces that I've made, clamps to the handle fits my Husky and a Stihl chainsaws. They must make most saw handles with about the same size and taper. Once you have a remote trigger, you will find it so much nicer to mill with and you are back farther away from the chain/bar.

jerry-


----------

