# Interesting log lifting arrangement



## BobL (Jun 23, 2010)

I did a search on AS and couldn't find a link to it so I thought I'd post it here.

http://woodgears.ca/chainsaw_mill/index.html

The lift mechanism is based on a scissors action pedal powered hydraulic jack used to lift motorcycles. The weight limit is 1500 lbs so two would lift a 1 ton log OK.

Actually you only really need one jack and then you can mill on a slope.

It also looks like he's using progressive raker setting - here's another quote from that page - 


> The process is not overly fast. Walter says it takes about a minute to cut a board 1 ft wide by 8 foot long. He sharpens the chain to have .040" of cut on each tooth, increasing it to .060" as the chain gets worn. Although there are specialized chainsaw chains for this kind of work, a regular chain will do just fine.


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## Daninvan (Jun 23, 2010)

What I also found interesting on that page was the "angled" jig he uses for cutting clapboard siding. I had been thinking of something like that for cutting QS boards out of a quartered log. Of course there will be more waste as you plane them later to get rid of the angle, but they will be true quartersawn and longer than if you use the usual method of keeping flipping the cant around?

Dan


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## BobL (Jun 23, 2010)

Daninvan said:


> What I also found interesting on that page was the "angled" jig he uses for cutting clapboard siding. I had been thinking of something like that for cutting QS boards out of a quartered log. Of course there will be more waste as you plane them later to get rid of the angle, but they will be true quartersawn and longer than if you use the usual method of keeping flipping the cant around?
> 
> Dan



It's possible to do this with a standard bar clamped alaskan. 
One way to do it is using a set of plates milled or filed to the right angle that slip or clip over the clamps. A big of grade 9 geometry will enable the right angle to be worked out relative to the bar length. Then the mill verticals are adjusted to suit - milling one way down the log and the the other will make consistent angles for siding.
Different angle plates can be made for different angles.


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## DaltonPaull (Jun 24, 2010)

Thanks for the great link Bob! I'd been trying to think of a scissor system so I really like what I see here. The weight limit is a little low but larger logs are already at an ergonamic height to begin with so it would just be a matter of getting them up on the jacks once they are lighter but no longer round.

1'X8' cut in 1 minute - that seams pretty fast.


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## BobL (Jun 24, 2010)

DaltonPaull said:


> Thanks for the great link Bob! I'd been trying to think of a scissor system so I really like what I see here. The weight limit is a little low but larger logs are already at an ergonamic height to begin with so it would just be a matter of getting them up on the jacks once they are lighter but no longer round.
> Cheers DP - my thoughts exactly. My log lifter is cheaper and the log doesn't need rolling but the fact that the log can be left permanently on the jacks is very handy/
> 
> 
> ...


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## jnl502 (Jun 24, 2010)

thanks for the link Bob. you are always comming up with great ideas and info on here to share. You really are an asset to AS. Are you still in the states or have you headed back home yet? Hope you are or had a great time. If you were to ever get over near TN you would be welcome at my home.
jnl


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## Can8ianTimber (Jun 24, 2010)

There are also some good links at the bottom of that page to other sawmill photos. I just never get tired of looking at sawmill pics.


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## mtngun (Jun 24, 2010)

96 inches in one minute would be 1.6 inch/second, double what my 066BB can do in a pine cant of the same size, with lo-pro chain, and never mind pausing to insert wedges.

I'm skeptical. The key word is "*about* one minute." That leaves a lot of wiggle room. Folks, watches that display the seconds are not that scarce. 

I can't see hauling those heavy log lifters around in the woods, nor would they be safe to use on a hillside. 

I was more interested in his guide board. I'm always wishing I had a lighter yet sturdier guide board, so I wish the article would have explained the guide board better.

I also like the phrase "eco-logger." Yeah, we are _eco-loggers_. Maybe I should add that to my signature ?


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## smokinj (Jun 24, 2010)

mtngun said:


> 96 inches in one minute would be 1.6 inch/second, double what my 066BB can do in a pine cant of the same size, with lo-pro chain, and never mind pausing to insert wedges.
> 
> I'm skeptical. The key word is "*about* one minute." That leaves a lot of wiggle room. Folks, watches that display the seconds are not that scarce.
> 
> ...



I dont know how fast I am running but thought the whole process was much quickier than it was going to be.


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## BobL (Jun 24, 2010)

jnl502 said:


> thanks for the link Bob. you are always comming up with great ideas and info on here to share. You really are an asset to AS. Are you still in the states or have you headed back home yet? Hope you are or had a great time. If you were to ever get over near TN you would be welcome at my home.
> jnl



Cheers JNL - I'm working in Calgary for the next two months - not many decent sized trees here 

I really miss my mills and trees but I am getting a chance to see some amazing stuff compared to what we see in Oz. When I'm traveling and I can't play with saws and wood at least gives me time to work on my other hobby, photography. Have taken over 4000 photos in 4 weeks (2 of those weeks have been work)

Here's a few places we saw last weekend.


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## BobL (Jun 24, 2010)

mtngun said:


> 96 inches in one minute would be 1.6 inch/second, double what my 066BB can do in a pine cant of the same size, with lo-pro chain, and never mind pausing to insert wedges.
> 
> I'm skeptical. The key word is "*about* one minute." That leaves a lot of wiggle room. Folks, watches that display the seconds are not that scarce.


Agreed. Some would call 3 minutes about a minute. In the case of SWMBO, "I'll be there in a minute" translates to about ha;f an hour :0 



> I can't see hauling those heavy log lifters around in the woods, nor would they be safe to use on a hillside.


Not to mention on soft ground. I would consider using one or a similar on one end of the log to lift it after every few cuts but I would let it back down onto large cookies to actually do the cut. 



> I was more interested in his guide board. I'm always wishing I had a lighter yet sturdier guide board, so I wish the article would have explained the guide board better.
> 
> I also like the phrase "eco-logger." Yeah, we are _eco-loggers_. Maybe I should add that to my signature ?



YEah - I reckon prefixes like "eco" and "i" already look pretty lame and are just going to look lamer as the they get older.


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## mtngun (Jun 24, 2010)

Beautiful pics, Bob. Looks similar to Glacier National Park on the Montana/Canada border. 

Ready to take up residence in Western Canada yet ? Admittedly, you'd have to give up your exotic Aussie hardwoods, and learn to love douglas fir.  

It's been 25 years since I did some camping and hiking in Glacier park, right along the border. Some of the glaciers that I saw then, no longer exist, even though global warming isn't real.  

Enjoy those glaciers while you can, because they may not be around much longer.


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## BobL (Jun 24, 2010)

mtngun said:


> Beautiful pics, Bob. Looks similar to Glacier National Park on the Montana/Canada border.


That's where we're going this weekend, well good as anyway. We're going to Waterton Lakes NP which abuts Glacier NP. 



> Ready to take up residence in Western Canada yet ? Admittedly, you'd have to give up your exotic Aussie hardwoods, and learn to love douglas fir.


There's no doubt about the scenery - I love it - it's stunning. My Dad is from the Italian alps and I am drawn to mountains like a magnet and would love to live on a terrain that has some variation to it, but I'd rather have our woods and our weather even though it gets too hot to mill in summer. 



> It's been 25 years since I did some camping and hiking in Glacier park, right along the border. Some of the glaciers that I saw then, no longer exist, even though global warming isn't real.
> 
> Enjoy those glaciers while you can, because they may not be around much longer.



The picture below is taken from the visitor centre of the Columbia Icefields.
The green dot on theLHSleft was where we caught a regular bus that drove us to the orange dot high up on the side of the Athabasca glacier.
Then a special ice bus drove us to the red dot on the glacier itself.
The blue dot on the right shows where the glacier face was in 1842 - kinda disturbing.


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## huskyhank (Jun 24, 2010)

Nice panoramas, Bob!
Enjoy the cool weather up there.


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## gemniii (Jun 24, 2010)

mtngun said:


> <snip>
> 
> I was more interested in his guide board. I'm always wishing I had a lighter yet sturdier guide board, so I wish the article would have explained the guide board better.
> 
> ...


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## BobL (Jun 24, 2010)

gemniii said:


> mtngun said:
> 
> 
> > <snip>
> ...


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## mtngun (Jun 24, 2010)

BobL said:


> Do you know they gauge of this stuff?


2.25" tall x 1.75" wide. Tractor Supply claims 1.6 pounds per foot, for a single rail. They are used for hanging sliding barn doors. 

Unistrut is 1.63" x 1.63", one source claims 1.82 pounds per foot.

If you believe the numbers, the box rail material must be thinner than unistrut.

The larger cross section should make it stiffer than unistrut, but the thinner gage may be more apt to twist.


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## DaltonPaull (Jun 24, 2010)

I take some pride in being able to take some salvageable wood without disturbing nature with heavy equipment. I think Will Malloff said the same in the opening of his 30 year old book - he just didn't have the buzz words we use now. It's all just marketing but if words like 'eco' and 'sustainability' can help a guy get business doing one of the worlds oldest and most sustainable crafts I don't have a problem with it. 

It's a coincidence that BobL just went to glacier - I grew up in north Idaho not all that far from there but have never been to the park so I've been planing to spend a few nights there when I drive up to visit next week. The photos posted here are making me even more excited. 

If you are still in the area Bob and want to see some big trees, stop by Ross creek Montana near the Idaho border, where there is a grove of the largest ceder trees I've ever seen. 

I stopped by a local plumbing supply the other day to ask about uni-strut. They have the square stuff for $30 for 10 feet which is fairly reasonable so I'll probably use it for my next set of rails. Plumbers use tons of the stuff to hang pipes so a plumbing supply might be a good place to look.


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## BobL (Jun 24, 2010)

DaltonPaull said:


> I take some pride in being able to take some salvageable wood without disturbing nature with heavy equipment. I think Will Malloff said the same in the opening of his 30 year old book - he just didn't have the buzz words we use now. It's all just marketing but if words like 'eco' and 'sustainability' can help a guy get business doing one of the worlds oldest and most sustainable crafts I don't have a problem with it.



Sure, I have no problem with the term "sustainable" - it's a real word, but "eco" as a prefix just kinda rubs me the wrong way.



> It's a coincidence that BobL just went to glacier - I grew up in north Idaho not all that far from there but have never been to the park so I've been planing to spend a few nights there when I drive up to visit next week. The photos posted here are making me even more excited.
> 
> If you are still in the area Bob and want to see some big trees, stop by Ross creek Montana near the Idaho border, where there is a grove of the largest ceder trees I've ever seen.


Thanks for the info DP, I'd love to that but it will have to be another time as we are all booked out for places to go etc



> I stopped by a local plumbing supply the other day to ask about uni-strut. They have the square stuff for $30 for 10 feet which is fairly reasonable so I'll probably use it for my next set of rails. Plumbers use tons of the stuff to hang pipes so a plumbing supply might be a good place to look.


I bought mine as 2 x 20 ft lengths and cut them in half. My plan was to use them as two 10 ft lengths and join them together if required.

Since then I have decided that was not a good decision as I find 10 ft lengths are too short for even 8 ft long logs. I like to have 18" or so of overhang at the start and 12" of over hang at the end so that I can start and stop the mill on the log rails.

Next time I am going to cut them at something like 12' and 8'.


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## betterbuilt (Jun 24, 2010)

I'm kinda excited. I've had this pile of unistrut I've been trying to figure out what I should use it for. I'm gonna try to do something similar to the one you made BobL. I like the way it connects to the end of the log. What do you use to put the two sections together with to make it longer? I usually use a ladder but I find they sag under the weight of the mill. Thanks for the idea.


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## mtngun (Jun 24, 2010)

DaltonPaull said:


> I grew up in north Idaho not all that far from there but have never been to the park so I've been planing to spend a few nights there when I drive up to visit next week.


It's a good time of year to visit -- maybe a little early, even, because some of the hiking trails may not open up until July.

My favorite area in the park is Kintla Lake at the North end of the park, next to the Canadian border. It had the clearest water and the fewest people. 



> I stopped by a local plumbing supply the other day to ask about uni-strut. They have the square stuff for $30 for 10 feet


I bought 10's and welded them together to get the length I wanted, but it tends to warp when welded. If I had to do it over, I'd get 20's and cut them to the desired length. Actually, if I had to do it over, I'd go with an aluminum guide board.


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## mtngun (Jun 24, 2010)

betterbuilt said:


> I usually use a ladder but I find they sag under the weight of the mill.


Unistrut will sag, too. It typically needs one or two supports in the middle to keep it from sagging. I've been wedging in a stick or a cookie, but there's got to be a better way.


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## Brmorgan (Jun 24, 2010)

Glad you're having a great time, Bob. Love those panos, too. 

I'm only 28, and when I was quite young, maybe 7-8, we drove the Icefields Parkway and the glacier was right down near the road even then - it was very early spring when we went through, and I can remember a solid 20'+ wall of snow and ice at the side of the road along a few stretches up there. It is a sad loss. That much ice takes a loooong time to build up, but disappears quickly.

A little more on-topic, I picked up a great big floor/trolley jack yesterday at the scrap for $10. It's a combo manual hydraulic or pneumatic lift. The air line has been cut so I need to try to fix that, but the manual action works just fine and is all I'd use if I had it out in the field to lift a log anyway. I can't find a tonnage rating on it, but I have a 2-1/2 ton jack of the same design and it's much, much smaller. This one's a good 3' long with a ~4' handle.


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## BobL (Jun 24, 2010)

betterbuilt said:


> I'm kinda excited. I've had this pile of unistrut I've been trying to figure out what I should use it for. I'm gonna try to do something similar to the one you made BobL. I like the way it connects to the end of the log. What do you use to put the two sections together with to make it longer? I usually use a ladder but I find they sag under the weight of the mill. Thanks for the idea.



I use 3/8" all thread rod to join it together - like this.






Under this arrangement Unistrut will still sag, and it will twist more than most ladders - the advantage is it is a lot more adjustable for width and length than a ladder.

I also use the unistrut for just about all of my cuts and usually write off the first cut for twist and bow accuracy so that most of the unistrut can sit on a flatish piece of fresh cut log. Then I measure monitor twist and bow in the cut using a digital angle finder and adjust the unistrut with small wedges.

An decent size ally guide board would be one way to go. About 2 years ago I was looking at a 20 ft length of 8 x 2" x 1/8" piece of ally but they wanted AUS$200 for it.

For a few $ less an ally scaffold board of about the same size was available. It has a very strong cross section that looks like this and looks like it would not buckle as 





One disadvantage is those little ridges all along the length but these could be belt sanded off.
The T-slots in the corners could be useful for adding end cross pieces that grip onto the ends of logs.

My interest in chasing these is the possibility of getting hold of used boards but the only used ones I have seen were a touch too bent and beat up to warrant purchasing. 
They also weigh about the same per unit length as unistrut.

I'd like to use two of these and make a more rigid connection between the two than all thread rod but it will too expensive to do with new material.


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## betterbuilt (Jun 25, 2010)

Great picture. I think I'll make a 12 foot set of rails from the unistrut. I like how you've made it expand with the 3/8 threaded rod and wingnuts. 

I have so much unistrut I'm wondering If I used 3 foot sections of unistrut with spring nuts instead of the 3/8 rod and made an attachment screw similar to the one Granberg uses on their Ez rails to support the rail mid span. 

I was looking for something similar to the guide boards you described but I never found anything that was close.


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## BobL (Jun 25, 2010)

betterbuilt said:


> Great picture. I think I'll make a 12 foot set of rails from the unistrut. I like how you've made it expand with the 3/8 threaded rod and wingnuts.



If I was making another set of unistrut rails from scratch I would consider using something else other than all-thread for the cross pieces because the all-threads are too slow to adjust for width and for length. Because I like my rails to sit as flush as possible on the subsequent sawn surface I can't have any cross pieces that connect from underneath the unistrut so they have to connect through the unistrut. I don't know what I would use instead - I'd have to think about it.



> I have so much unistrut I'm wondering If I used 3 foot sections of unistrut with spring nuts instead of the 3/8 rod and made an attachment screw similar to the one Granberg uses on their Ez rails to support the rail mid span.


That means having cross pieces that are underneath the log rails and having the whole log rails perched up in the air like the granberg system. I have tried this and I don't reckon they work as well as having as much as possible of the rails sitting direct on the log itself. I place the log rails on the log and mark on the log where the all-thread touc,hes the log and then use a CS to cut notches in the bark etc until the whole log rail assembly sits snug on the surface of the log - like this.





The granberg rails are also first-cut fixed-width rails. I don't know how big the logs are you plan to cut, but a narrow fixed width rail does not work well for wide logs and VV. So making the width adjustable is really useful.

Also, watch out for the maximum width of your cross pieces, Using 3 ft cross pieces assumes you have at least something like a 42" bar as the cross pieces have to pass inside the mill. I have two sets of cross pieces - 30" for my big bars/mill and 18" for my smaller ones.



> was looking for something similar to the guide boards you described but I never found anything that was close.


Scafolding supplier yards in Australia have them so I'd imagine it would be the same in the US.


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## betterbuilt (Jun 25, 2010)

BobL said:


> If I was making another set of unistrut rails from scratch I would consider using something else other than all-thread for the cross pieces because the all-threads are too slow to adjust for width and for length. Because I like my rails to sit as flush as possible on the subsequent sawn surface I can't have any cross pieces that connect from underneath the unistrut so they have to connect through the unistrut. I don't know what I would use instead - I'd have to think about it.
> 
> 
> That means having cross pieces that are underneath the log rails and having the whole log rails perched up in the air like the granberg system. I have tried this and I don't reckon they work as well as having as much as possible of the rails sitting direct on the log itself. I place the log rails on the log and mark on the log where the all-thread touches the log and then use a CS to cut notches in the bark etc until the whole log rail assembly sits snug on the surface of the log




I see what your saying. I normally use a ladder that is almost impossible to keep it from sagging or bouncing around. Its really a joke getting it set up. I have made probably five different attachment brackets for the ladder and I find that every log has to be setup completely different. 

Most of the logs I do are 30inch and bigger. Anything smaller I take to the Mill. I can cut up to 45 inches right now. I plan on upgrading in the future. 

Well I guess I continue to think this over for a while prior to making anything. I'm sure there has to be a way to build a rail that will work better than a Ladder. Thanks


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## betterbuilt (Jun 25, 2010)

I was checking out your log lift 2. I'm gonna have to make one of those. I currently use a floor jack and cookies to lift my logs but it hard to get them started unless they are off the ground a little. Nice work.


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## huskyhank (Jun 25, 2010)

I use the Maloof style end guides and board. Mine is made from a 10 foot long 2x12 and some 1.5 inch angle iron. Its pretty stiff but its really heavy.

Pictures in this thread from earlier this year:

http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=127798

Maybe the next thing I'll tackle is an improvement over this system. I'd love to have a guide board that was plenty stiff and easy to move.

The most explanatory photo moved here:


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## betterbuilt (Jun 25, 2010)

Nice looking setup. It sure looks a lot bigger than a 2x12. Thanks for the Info.


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## DRB (Jun 25, 2010)

huskyhank said:


> I use the Maloof style end guides and board. Mine is made from a 10 foot long 2x12 and some 1.5 inch angle iron. Its pretty stiff but its really heavy.
> 
> Pictures in this thread from earlier this year:
> 
> ...



Your guide board looks a lot like my set up. I made mine 14' long so I can cut 10' 6" comfortably. Your right it is a bit on the heavy side. I cut a handle into the end so that I can drag it with one hand and carry something else with the other hand. I was thinking of putting a set of bicycle wheels on the end then I could wheel it around with my saw and mill on it.


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## huskyhank (Jun 25, 2010)

It is a 2X12 - that's only about a 16" log - a little small but a really nice one with very little sapwood. And the saw being at the far end makes it look smaller.


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## Kicker_92 (Jun 25, 2010)

We just use full length 2"x4" steel rails. 






Tip: If your rails overhang the end supports by 1/4 of the length, they won't sage as much in the middle...


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## DRB (Jun 25, 2010)

BobL said:


> Cheers JNL - I'm working in Calgary for the next two months - not many decent sized trees here
> 
> I really miss my mills and trees but I am getting a chance to see some amazing stuff compared to what we see in Oz. When I'm traveling and I can't play with saws and wood at least gives me time to work on my other hobby, photography. Have taken over 4000 photos in 4 weeks (2 of those weeks have been work)
> 
> Here's a few places we saw last weekend.



The weather in western Alberta is pretty severe so the growing season is very short. I think Calgary's is in Zone 2 were only Spruce and Cottonwood trees will thrive. 
I was driving through the Columbia Ice Fields on Aug 1st on my way to a Wedding in Rocky Mountain House and it was snowing so hard we could not see the ice fields from the highway. The summit before the ice fields there was 6" of snow on the highway in the middle of the afternoon. The whole weekend it did not get above 8 degrees.
This was shocking being from BC. None of us had pants, sweaters or jackets. It was August long weekend we were supposed to be swimming, drinking beer and watching girls. Instead we had the furness on in the camper and struggled through the snow flurries to play golf.
It is beautiful country thou. Enjoy your stay in our country BobL


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## betterbuilt (Jun 25, 2010)

I see a poll coming! 

This is about the most helpful site I've ever used. I wish I had found it a few years ago when I was getting started. 

The steel 2x4's isn't a bad idea except for the weight. 


This is what I'd love to do If I could move all my logs around 
I found this picture on BC Woodwork's web site
View attachment 141964


The problem I've found is most of them are 2000lbs and up. When I pull up to mill a log with a truck and trailer full of stuff I'm always wondering how am I gonna get all the wood home. Some how I can usually fit most of it. It would be nice to leave the ladder home and have something that broke down or collapsed a little.


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## gemniii (Jun 25, 2010)

BobL

How about some sort of cam-lock on the threaded rods for a quicker fastener?






something that would tighten down on the rod when you closed the cam, but loosened up enough so you could slide the rod thru when open, instead of turning a bolt.

or a slip-on nut?






OR!!! Morton Button Thread nuts!!
http://mortonmachine.thomasnet.com/...read-hex-nuts/hn-750?&plpver=10&assetid=a1198


available here http://www.jtsmach.com/jtswebshop/Toolroom/TA191.asp for about [email protected]


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## betterbuilt (Jun 25, 2010)

How about a slip lock nutView attachment 141967


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## BobL (Jun 25, 2010)

Yeah I have seen those slip lock thingies but I would need at least 15 of them and @ $6+ each thats a bit much


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## gemniii (Jun 25, 2010)

BobL said:


> Yeah I have seen those slip lock thingies but I would need at least 15 of them and @ $6+ each thats a bit much



No - you would not need 15. You would need 30 because your going to lose them in the sawdust!

I've got to find out the size of my STEEL THREADED ROD and I might order 8 of the morton's, for 4 sections of rod.


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## BobL (Jun 25, 2010)

gemniii said:


> No - you would not need 15. You would need 30 because your going to lose them in the sawdust!
> 
> I've got to find out the size of my STEEL THREADED ROD and I might order 8 of the morton's, for 4 sections of rod.



This is how I would do it - so I would need 18, 





The green nuts on mine are acron nuts so the mill slides past them easily. The green ones need to be slip nuts


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## BobL (Jun 27, 2010)

WHOOPS - just reread this and too late to edit.



BobL said:


> The*ORANGE* ones need to be slip nuts


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## dallasm1 (Jun 27, 2010)

I double up the unistrut, but it is heavy.. Especially at 20' lengths. I have tried several methods also, but I find that the biggest challenge is the middle support to maintain level. I have scoured the scrap metal yards and have not been able to find anything that I can lift by myself that did NOT sag over a longer distance. Currently I am trying to come up with an adjustable center sag support that is easy to work with. By the way, if I had ally unitstrut, I would double it back to back and then weld it. It would easily span up to 12' that way.


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## betterbuilt (Jun 27, 2010)

I just checked the strut that I have and its not galvanized. It has some sort of paint or a zinc coating thats kinda a drab green. Welding two together isn't a bad idea. The weight doesn't seem to be to Bad at least with just the two. I'm thinking about that center support now. It seems like every log would pose its own problem. Thanks for the pictures everyone. I've been Cleaning my shop and all my garbage is looking like mill modifications parts.


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## Kicker_92 (Jun 27, 2010)

dallasm1 said:


> I double up the unistrut, but it is heavy.. Especially at 20' lengths. I have scoured the scrap metal yards and have not been able to find anything that I can lift by myself that did NOT sag over a longer distance.



For stiff rails, looks for taller profiles rather than thicker. The 2"x4" tubing that we use are only 1/8" wall, so 4.7 lbs per foot. Your doubled unistrut is already 3.6 lbs per foot.

Find some 1"x4" or even 2"x6" in a thin wall section (1/16"?) and you'd be set...


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## dallasm1 (Jun 27, 2010)

Kicker_92 said:


> For stiff rails, looks for taller profiles rather than thicker. The 2"x4" tubing that we use are only 1/8" wall, so 4.7 lbs per foot. Your doubled unistrut is already 3.6 lbs per foot.
> 
> Find some 1"x4" or even 2"x6" in a thin wall section (1/16"?) and you'd be set...



I did try some taller section square tube like that, but when I pick it up by one end and look down, it has the familiar sag in it (15' plus). After about 8" the sag disappears but that puts the riggin too tall. One thing I might try do next week is to "preload" the unistrut. As my strut is bolted back to back, I could loosen the bolts, apply a little opposite bend and then tighten up.. One thing to watch out for is the potential of the saw pulling unevenly (up and down). With a stiff rail you might not notice it, but with a floppy rail the saw would pull down noticably and cut a nice bow shaped plank. I wonder if there is a way to measure the downward load?


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## BobL (Jun 28, 2010)

Kicker_92 said:


> For stiff rails, looks for taller profiles rather than thicker. The 2"x4" tubing that we use are only 1/8" wall, so 4.7 lbs per foot. Your doubled unistrut is already 3.6 lbs per foot.
> 
> Find some 1"x4" or even 2"x6" in a thin wall section (1/16"?) and you'd be set...



I use two 3 x 1 x 1/16" welded together in a T-shape for my mini-mill. Still very heavy though. 





I have heaps of that stuff around, never though of using it for log rails.


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## oldsaw (Jun 30, 2010)

mtngun said:


> Beautiful pics, Bob. Looks similar to Glacier National Park on the Montana/Canada border.
> 
> Ready to take up residence in Western Canada yet ? Admittedly, you'd have to give up your exotic Aussie hardwoods, and learn to love douglas fir.
> 
> ...



Only took 15,000 years to get rid of them


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## jrmywstr (Nov 5, 2017)

BobL said:


> I use 3/8" all thread rod to join it together - like this.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Anyway you can repost these old photos? They don't load for me, I'm looking into Unistrut options for guide rails and am hoping for some inspiration..


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## BobL (Nov 6, 2017)

Look in the milling 101 thread for the unistrut setups.


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