# First time milling



## mweba (Jul 6, 2010)

Well, I have been reading in this forum for some time now. First off thanks for the great info.
Purchased an "alaskan" style mill several months ago and finally got around to trying it out today. I'm was sure I would do some things wrong and planned on this so I started with some birch to get the hang of it. All in all I believe it went smoothly but would appreciate an outside eye. I know this for sure I need to change the angles on my chain. 
Couple pics and vid for you guys.














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## mweba (Jul 6, 2010)

Well for some reason I can't get it to embed today. Man that exhaust port is in the wrong place for milling.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a05TRzDLr2I


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## mweba (Jul 6, 2010)

Couple cell phone pics. Camera battery went dead.


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## BC WetCoast (Jul 6, 2010)

mweba said:


> Well for some reason I can't get it to embed today. Man that exhaust port is in the wrong place for milling.
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a05TRzDLr2I



Nice video, you might consider lifting one end of the log to allow gravity to assist you. The only thing I could see was to hit the vuvuzela button and improve the audio portion of the video.


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## mtngun (Jul 6, 2010)

Thanks for the pics ! Nice looking board. 

Was the ladder attached to the log somehow ?

Ya, that exhaust pipe is blowing right in your face.


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## PineFever (Jul 6, 2010)

Great Job and nice pics and video.
I also wondered how the ladder was attached to the log.


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## mweba (Jul 7, 2010)

BC WetCoast said:


> Nice video, you might consider lifting one end of the log to allow gravity to assist you. The only thing I could see was to hit the vuvuzela button and improve the audio portion of the video.


This was a last minute decision so not an optimal setup. Gravity would have been nice, I sweeted my a off.


mtngun said:


> Thanks for the pics ! Nice looking board.
> 
> Was the ladder attached to the load somehow ?
> 
> Ya, that exhaust pipe is blowing right in your face.



Yes it was attached with deck screws.

This is the other vid. Why are the vids not embedding tonight? Is it just me?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92NOFwXXw0A


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## mweba (Jul 7, 2010)

Will river Birch dry well or would I be wasting my time finishing this off? Other than practice ofcourse.


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## BobL (Jul 7, 2010)

mweba said:


> This was a last minute decision so not an optimal setup. Gravity would have been nice, I sweeted my a off.
> 
> 
> Yes it was attached with deck screws.
> ...



Vids are not permitted to be embedded in the milling forum - check the box in the Bottom left hand corner - HTML is off. I've asked the mods several times if this could be changed and they said they would look at it but so far nothing has happened.


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## BobL (Jul 7, 2010)

mweba said:


> . . . . .All in all I believe it went smoothly but would appreciate an outside eye. I know this for sure I need to change the angles on my chain.



The first thing that strikes me is you look about as comfortable as an aetheist in a catholic church. What really gives it away is at the 2:20 min mark or thereabouts on the video you cock your left leg off to the side. There is rarely a need to mill on ones knees, especially with the mill design you have - more about this later

I see you have a bobcat with forks on that trailer. The first thing I'd be doing is getting the log up off the ground - even with one end of the log on top of that log behind will provide a significant slope to work with and can stand up to the mill. If everything is on song you should not even have to push when a log is on that much slope.

Next, if you can somehow redirect that exhaust, you have an interesting and useful mill design that will help you stand up to the mill during use like this. 





On your mill you can do a quick and dirty adaptation of what I do as follows.
- Loosely loop a cable tie around your trigger handle that will enable it to slide it up over the trigger so it can run WOT.
- Then add a short extension to the left hand side of the full length top tube handle as show in the picture below - - jam a piece of pipe into the end of the SHS and add a mountain bike grip for comfort.




- Place your two hands in the positions shown by the two arrows.
- Place a leg knee or thigh up against the wrap handle as shown and use it (not your arms) to provide forward pressure - your arms should now be much closer together and in a much more comfortable position than before. Your arms should mainly be used for steering the mill with the main forward pressure on the wrap handle.

If necessary your arms can also be locked straight and the operator can step back and lean their whole body weight on the mill. The only time I find I have to do this is towards then end of a hard cut when the chain is getting blunt. All this is much easier than milling on your knees and you can mill day after day under these conditions. 

Other tips - place you wedges and hammer close by or get yourself a waist bag and belt so you can carry the wedges and a hammer with you and if you push with your knee your arms are free to add wedges and keep milling.


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## mweba (Jul 7, 2010)

Thanks for the advice Bob. Now that I know I will enjoy doing this, my setup will improve greatly. I already have a wood cutting setup at the farm. Will just have to expand a bit.

Handles will be added and muffler changed for sure. Loader will come in handy for setting up the logs but on the hunt for a larger one.


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## smokinj (Jul 7, 2010)

Looks good!


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## huskyhank (Jul 7, 2010)

I'd have to figure a way to stop the metal on metal vibration I hear in the video. A chainsaw is loud but that high pitched buzzing is obscene.

As BobL wrote getting the log up in a better position will be worth it -- especially since you have equipment that will do it easily. You might also figure how to position the log for the prevailing wind to help move the exhaust and sawdust away from you.

Finally, a smooth continuous feed will give you a much smoother finish. No more stopping and starting than you have to do.

Great job for your first time!!


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## BobL (Jul 7, 2010)

mweba said:


> Thanks for the advice Bob. Now that I know I will enjoy doing this, my setup will improve greatly. I already have a wood cutting setup at the farm. Will just have to expand a bit.


No worries. What you did was pretty good for a first try. 



> Handles will be added and muffler changed for sure. Loader will come in handy for setting up the logs but on the hunt for a larger one.


It will be interesting to see what you come up with. BTW, the loader only has to be able to lift one end of the log at a time



huskyhank said:


> I'd have to figure a way to stop the metal on metal vibration I hear in the video. A chainsaw is loud but that high pitched buzzing is obscene.



That just sounds to me like some ladder rungs are loose. A judiciously placed weld or even a pop rivet will fix that.


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## mweba (Jul 7, 2010)

Yes the ladder is a bit worn and rattles some.

Had a stump job today that i found a nice piece of 3/8 cable in....Now I have a dedicated milling chain ground to 10 D. I can see this being addictive.


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## mweba (Jul 7, 2010)

Ok, I made some adjustments. Added a handle using round bar as Bob recommended and a great call that was. Ordered a new muffler today and tacked a deflector on the mill to get by. I don't want to move this log to the farm so I set it on some logs to get it off the ground. This was by far more comfortable and the cut was more consistant. Not sure about the clamp for the trigger yet but it did work well. Couple pics for you guys.


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## BobL (Jul 7, 2010)

Great job, and kudos for such a rapid response time. 

I'm not there to "Feel the setup", but I would have made the new handle stick out about another 2-4 inches just to provide a bit more leverage. 

The clamp on the trigger will be too hard and will wear a patch on the handle and maybe the trigger - you may be able to pad the clamp grip with something to protect the handle and trigger or you may want to think about the cable tie again. I know people who have used a cable tie for many years and they swear by them.


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## Charsha1 (Jul 13, 2010)

Not to be a pain but what size saw do you need to mill with? I have a brand new stihl 460 is that big enough? Also how do u keep the wood from cracking after you cut it?


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## smokinj (Jul 13, 2010)

Charsha1 said:


> Not to be a pain but what size saw do you need to mill with? I have a brand new stihl 460 is that big enough? Also how do u keep the wood from cracking after you cut it?



460 would do some milling just do not over do it....Stack the slabs using stickers, but you will still get some checking.


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## Charsha1 (Jul 14, 2010)

What is a goo size saw to use then? A 660 or a 880 or is there a different size size for milling.


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## BobL (Jul 14, 2010)

Charsha1 said:


> What is a goo size saw to use then? A 660 or a 880 or is there a different size size for milling.



The size of the saw approximately depends on size of the logs you wish to mill.

The information below will give you an idea of what you need - the information is not hard and fast and some people often mill outside these ranges.

Less than about 12" diameter logs - 50cc or larger saw
12 - 24" diameter use a 70+ cc
24 - 36" use a 90+ cc saw
More than 36" diameter use a 110+cc saw

Yes you can use an 880 to mill a 12" log but you and the saw will use a lot more energy than necessary


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## betterbuilt (Aug 25, 2010)

kpantherpro said:


> hey, thanks for showing my mill on this forum, just wanted to let you know that as far as a handle you could just loosen the top 2 bolts and move the bar out to the left instead of right, if you needed also you have the mill bodies reversed the 2 1/4" x 1 1/4" stubs (where the skidbar and pushbar connect) should be facing outward, the saw is going to want to pull the mill towards the log and you'll be fighting it the whole time, reverse them and i bet you'll get smoother cuts as well as being alot more comfortable especially once you get the log to a comfortable working height. I think I need to make my own video might clarify some things.



I think a video would be in order. It might be nice to see some pics of your larger mills.


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## BobL (Aug 25, 2010)

kpantherpro said:


> hey, thanks for showing my mill on this forum, just wanted to let you know that as far as a handle you could just loosen the top 2 bolts and move the bar out to the left instead of right,


This would work but SHS does not make a good handle to hang onto for long periods even if it is covered or padded you can feel the squareness through the hande. It would be better if the SHS was replaced by a round tube. Also it would be very useful if the handle height could be adjusted to suit the operator - it looks like this could be done by welding a 2.25 x 1.25 vertical stub to the handle stub?



> if you needed also you have the mill bodies reversed the 2 1/4" x 1 1/4" stubs (where the skidbar and pushbar connect) should be facing outward, the saw is going to want to pull the mill towards the log and you'll be fighting it the whole time, reverse them and i bet you'll get smoother cuts as well as being alot more comfortable especially once you get the log to a comfortable working height.



Reversing the mill ends also means losing some cutting width and having the saw even further away from the log because the 2.25" x 1.25" stubs are going to make contact with the chain brake. What about just making that stub shorter and maybe out of heavier gauge material?


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## mweba (Aug 25, 2010)

Yup that is why I assembled it the way I did. The instructions were great and really do not need improving. The mill is good bang for the buck and is also easily modified to suit your needs.

I just wish I had more time to use it!


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## mweba (Aug 25, 2010)

Post a pic of the correct assembly.


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