# CSM adjustment Locking mechanisms



## BobL (May 12, 2007)

As predicted by you all, the addiction has taken root and is flourishing. I am in the process of designing a new CS mill and want to pick your collective brains about locking mechanisms for mill adjustments.

Because it is unlikley to be changed all that often I'm happy enough to lock bar length on the mill using bolts. In terms of the depth of cut adjustment, I'm planning on using an all-thread/screw type of mechanism but still think it will need locking. However, instead of more bolts, I'm wondering if the depth adjustment locking mechanism might be possible using cams or locking-vice-plier type mechanisms.

BTW the mill is mostly going to be made from Ally.

Any thoughts?

Thanks


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## oldsaw (May 13, 2007)

Go with a standard clamping type mechanism. You don't want to make any limitations in how you can mill. For instance, my mill is most often set on 1 1/8", 5/4, 8/4, and 4 1/2" which is typical for the first cut with a 2x as a guide board. But, I'll often have call for something thicker or thinner. That's part of the benefit of having your own mill.

If you use an all-thread type adjustment, it will be time consuming to adjust and hard to line up correctly. Kind of works against what you will normally do. It's best to have the ability to quickly and accurately adjust to your current needs. You could probably make a cam system work, but you would be better off welding a piece of bar onto the nut to make an adjusting handle so you are "wrench free" and going from there.

Mark


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## aggiewoodbutchr (May 13, 2007)

I would think vibration might cause cam type locks to open on their own unless they were real tight. I agree with oldsaw on this one.


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## aquan8tor (May 13, 2007)

I'm not as experienced as either of the 2 previous contributors, but I can tell you that a CSM puts out some pretty wicked vibrations. I had a couple of the (VERY) tight bolts on my alaskan come undone in the middle of cutting a hard hickory slab. It seemed to be cutting pretty smoothly too! They were certainly as tight or more than the factory torque settings. 

I like oldsaw's idea of welding on a handle onto the adjustment nut; I don't have a welder, so I've started carrying a cheapo ratchet wrench from one of those roadside emergency bags that I won't stress over if I lose it in the woods.


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## BobL (May 13, 2007)

Thanks Guys, I have reattached many bits that have vibrated off CS to appreciate how much they vibrate and my limited experience with a CSM suggests they are even more susceptible. I like the idea of a lever welded to nuts/bolts and will leave the cam idea for an experiment at another time.

Cheers


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## Railomatic (May 15, 2007)

BobL said:


> As predicted by you all, the addiction has taken root and is flourishing. I am in the process of designing a new CS mill and want to pick your collective brains about locking mechanisms for mill adjustments.
> 
> BTW the mill is mostly going to be made from Ally.
> 
> ...



Here is how I have done mine an all aluiminum model and a steel model in the 
orange, all have rollersfitted which makes starting and finishing easier and the going three times easier, all have 325 nose conversions for a much faster cut through the log.
After the top handles have been turned to the required depth an elastic bungee is located between the two handles to stop things from moving.


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## Railomatic (May 15, 2007)

Railomatic said:


> Here is how I have done mine an all aluiminum model and a steel model i the
> orange, with rollers which make the going three times easier.
> After the handles have been turned to the required depth an elastic bungee is located between the two handles to stop things from moving.




More photo's of the same.


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## Railomatic (May 15, 2007)

Railomatic said:


> More photo's of the same.



And more of the same of the same, I have never had anything vibrate loose in the ten or so years I have been making my own CSM's, they are some of the best CSM's I have ever made,
cost is nothing to me, quality and ease of use is paramount, I can make myself a CSM cheaper than it is to buy an Alaskan.


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## Railomatic (May 15, 2007)

Railomatic said:


> And more of the same of the same.



Again more of the same of the same.


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## BobL (May 15, 2007)

Thanks railo, some good ideas there. On closer inspection it looks like you don't have any locking mechanisms for the vertical or depth adjustment, you just clip the two winders together with a bungee cord. It doesn't sound like it would suffice but the more I think about it why not!!! My question is then I guess how do you stop the vertical colums rattling around under the CS vibration?

At first I wasn't sure about the screw adjustment mechanism but I put on my small mill against the advice of those who said it would be too slow and I find I really like it. It's not that slow and it does enable quite precise depth adjustment. Even when using it on my mini-rail system for cutting short logs, when I have to adjust it after every minislab cut, I don't find it too onerous.

Thanks again and Cheers


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## Railomatic (May 15, 2007)

BobL said:


> Thanks railo, some good ideas there. On closer inspection it looks like you don't have any locking mechanisms for the vertical or depth adjustment, you just clip the two winders together with a bungee cord. It doesn't sound like it would suffice but the more I think about it why not!!! My question is then I guess how do you stop the vertical colums rattling around under the CS vibration?
> 
> Thanks again and Cheers



The whole system is designed to flex as the mill is cutting, so you have very little vibration overall, if you tighten things up solid like an Alaskan, this is when every vibration is sent through the steel, my mill is very smooth and vibration free almost.
The elasatic bungees are only there to stop the handles turning, the all thread and its threaded block is what holds everything in place, in tests of over a thousand hours nothing has ever broken or worn away, dare I say it is almost idiot proof.


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## martrix (May 15, 2007)

BobL said:


> At first I wasn't sure about the screw adjustment mechanism but I put on my small mill against the advice of those who said it would be too slow and I find I really like it. It's not that slow and it does enable quite precise depth adjustment. Even when using it on my mini-rail system for cutting short logs, when I have to adjust it after every minislab cut, I don't find it too onerous.
> 
> Thanks again and Cheers




Hi Bob, yeah I was thinking the threaded height adjustment looked a bit fiddly and slow to adjust, but after my last session of milling I had to change the thickness nearly every cut and it was a pain in the butt loosening, tightening, measuring, loosening, tightening, blah blah with my simple bolt'n'tube system.

On my next mill I will definitely be including the threaded height adjustment. 

Railomatic, great pics and info,. You have been a busy boy. Very neat pro looking mills.
I notice most of your mills don't have a bar/handle in the middle but always one on the end of the mill. I guess you always have two man operation when milling?

Also sounds like your mills have minimal vibrations, but have you ever considered designing a little AV in to the handles? just like on Stihl saws?


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## BobL (May 15, 2007)

Something that I was surprised about that no one commented on when I showed the pics on the mini-rail system was the white HDPE skids I added to the bottom of the mill to minimize friction on the metal on metal contact between the mill and the rails. It did make the mill a whole lot easier to move and at times it felt the whole thing was on ball bearings, even a bit disconcerting. After cutting a couple of slabs I ended up taking the skids off and that little bit of extra friction gave me better control.

OTOH with a bigger powerhead like an 076 and a bigger allround mill I'm thinking of reconsidering the use the HDPE skids on the new mill. with a bit of practice it might be a useful body energy saving measure over a day of milling although I have no illusions that Aussie Hardwood is gonna be tough with or without skids or even rollers.

I have considered rollers but I don't want to standardise on a single length bar and only have room for one more mill in my relationship with the missus. (Ha - are they "famous last words" or What!!!!)

Cheers


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## Railomatic (May 15, 2007)

Bob wrote:

OTOH with a bigger powerhead like an 076 and a bigger allround mill I'm thinking of reconsidering the use the HDPE skids on the new mill. with a bit of practice it might be a useful body energy saving measure over a day of milling although I have no illusions that Aussie Hardwood is gonna be tough with or without skids or even rollers.

I have considered rollers but I don't want to standardise on a single length bar and only have room for one more mill in my relationship with the missus. (Ha - are they "famous last words" or What!!!!)

Cheers[/QUOTE]

Rollers every time Bob, also a site roller to stop friction when the saw bites and pulls into the side of the log, very easy run along the log with half the energy used with other systems on the market.

Four rollers instead of one rail, which gives a perfectly located mill, before the chain and bar start cutting, and the same at the other end when finishing.

No need to standardise, just buy a mill to do all you need, 36" is a good size to have, which will cut down to half the width of the mill comfortably without any unsteadiness, don't forget a 36" mill will still handle larger logs, say 40 inch, when you get down to max width, which would be at least 2/5ths of the log then turn her on its side to finish off.

Any bigger than 36" and things really start to slow down, best to keep the saw buzzing and cutting rather than struggling.


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## scottr (May 18, 2007)

Raily , does the white wheel have a ball bearing ? http://www.arboristsite.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=51270&d=1179265941


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## Railomatic (May 18, 2007)

*info*



scottr said:


> Raily , does the white wheel have a ball bearing ? http://www.arboristsite.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=51270&d=1179265941



No the white side wheel is made from high grade nylon and has a solid axle which runs nice and smooth with a little lube, it sits right against the bar, so has a lot of area support for when the pressure is against it.

This makes life that much easier when the saw is puling hard sideways in the cut, save heaps of energy for the operator, because your not wrestling with the saw trying to ride over the rough edges on the side of the log.

I wouldn't be without one of these nowadays.


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## scottr (May 18, 2007)

Raily , thanks for the information .


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## BobL (May 20, 2007)

*Finally I started the new mill (WIP)*

I was going to start a new thread but thought I'd just append the story to this one.

I still haven't really decided how to clamp my height adjustment but it hasn't stopped ally boat building BIL and myself from making a start in a new chainsaw mill. I hope not too much of this post is like teaching granny to suck egs.

I started by removing the clutch and chain brake cover. The standard cover is replaced with this 12mm thick ally plate.







On top of this plate is placed the base of the mill which connects via the ally depth of cut tubes to the rails. The base is made from 6mm thick ally plate. In its final form this base will be gussted in a number of places for extra strength. I'm not happy with the amount of thread the bar bolts are hanging on by. Either I will make a thinner underplate or replace the bar bolts with longer ones. 






The rails are made from a 40 x 44 x 3mm unistrut commonly used on highway signs. The middle cross piece is also a piece of the same unistrut to maintain a constant level when starting and stopping slabbing cuts. This unistrut is a "C-section, atop a, square hollow section" so it is very strong. The C-section fits a 10mm bolt and if cup head bolts are use, the square shank section near the head fits neatly in the groove and makes it really easy to tighten the bolts.

The end cross pieces are made from 70 x 40 x 3 mm thick ally angle and are what the 25mm diameter x 3 mm thick vertical ally tubes attach to. The height adjustment (not shown) will be by allthread rods and cranks as per my small CSM.





The length of the mill was determined by the length (3m) of unistrut I had available. I basically cut off a 300mm piece for the middle cross piece leaving me 2.7 m which I cut in half so the mill is 1.35m long and can hold a chainsaw bar that is ~1.25m long. 






Below is as much as we've done so far all just aligned but not fixed in place. Missing is the outboard vertical height adjuster and bar clamping tubes and a couple of other bits and pieces. There is actually very little welding involved in this mill as it is mainly bolted together so it comes apart quickly for easy transport and storage.






The chainsaw bar shown looks tiny but is 750 mm long but I am eventually looking at buying a bar around 1.05 m long. 

Laying it all out like this has enabled me to identify a couple of problems including one of the oil cap access being blocked when boards thinner than 50mm thick are being milled. Fortunately the key welds have not been made and I can fix this without too much problem.

Working with ally is a lot easier than I thought. I had a go at the ally welding, it was not that hard, but I guess having a $7500 welder has got to make it easy. The rest of the tools he uses are mainly woodworking power or air tools (Sliding compound mitre saw, circular saws [he cuts massive 3 m x 3m sheets with just a circular] router, drills, sanders, drill jigsaw, etc. Other tools he uses are oxy to heat before bending, angle grinder and something called a "die grinder" which looks like a large dremel - I gotta get me one of those.

The next time we have any time to work on this is next weekend - anyway I hope you can get something from this "experiment"

Cheers


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## murphyranch (May 21, 2007)

Howdy all,

I have been reading the discussions in this forum for several months now am learning alot from you guys and am pretty addicted to it and my Alaskan CSM. Thanks for all the info and pictures as well.

BobL I know your not in the US but where are you getting the Unistrut in your picture of the CSM your putting together? I am looking to build one as well and would like to use this as well. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks again
Murph


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## BobL (May 22, 2007)

murphyranch said:


> BobL I know your not in the US but where are you getting the Unistrut in your picture of the CSM your putting together? I am looking to build one as well and would like to use this as well. Any info would be greatly appreciated.



I got my unistrut from an Aussie company called Capral who I believe get it from a company called GJames who did the original extrusions in Australia. The extrusion I used is number 984019 and is called a "Street sign post brace." It's a 6063-T6 alloy. A cross section is shown below.






I have investigated a wide range of Al extrusions, most are too small or too soft to use in a biggish CS mill. Another possibility I considered was ICT-059 Marine grade "Seat Track" made of alloy 6082-T6. Although its slightly smaller in cross section, it has more mass per unit length so it is not lighter but the alloy itself would have better inhertent strength and wear characteristics than the 6063 alloy used the the 984019 profile. Unfortunately there was none available in Australia at the time I went to purchase so I bought the 984019.






To utilise the full strength of the ICT059 unistrut a custom clip would be required to grab hold of the small downward facing returns on the top of the C-section. This would make it very strong.

I'm sure there must be many places in the US where you can obtain the same sort of stuff or better (look for aerospace alloys?) but of course at a commensurate price.

One way of comparing the physical properties of materials/alloys is to use the comparison engine at http://www.matweb.com/search/SearchProperty.asp 

So far my mill has cost me AUS$55 for the rails and about $5 for bolts and fixings, and an as yet unspecified number of cases of beer for my BIL which I consider very reasonable (especially as I know he will ask me around to help drink it!).

Cheers


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## murphyranch (May 23, 2007)

Thanks Bobl I will do some digging around and see where I can find it over here. I appreciate your advice and blow the froth off one for me to ok.

Murph


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## BobL (May 29, 2007)

*CS Mill update*

More work on the new alaskan mill on the weekend.

Photo 1 shows about 95% of the bits. The outboard end is nearly complete apart from some bolts for the vertical tube clamping mechanism and the lengthwise tube handle and the all thread adjuster.






Photo 2 shows a close up of the bar nose clamp. The two pieces sandwiching the bar are 25mm solid Al pulled together by a high tensile steel bolt. This clamp is not as critical as a standard alaskan because the bar/mill/saw are all firmly attached at the inboard end to the bar bolts. The main purpose of the outboard clamp is to maintain the bar level while cutting.





Photo 3 shows a front view of the outboard bar clamp.




The outboard end can also be rotated sideways if required. 

The vertical position is determined/maintained by 2 allthread rods (not shown). The 3 vertical 25 mm Al tubes slide inside 38 mm Al tubes which are welded to the mill cross rail. To stop rattles the difference in diameter between the 25-38 mm tubes is packed by by a pair of snug fit PVC tubes and clamped by the following clamping mechanism.

The 38 mm outer pipes have a tab cut unto them and have a 20x20mm solid Al bar welded to the end of the tap to act as a clamp lever. Bolts pull the lever in such a way as to grab the inner 25 mm tube. Remember this is not the critical height determinant (that is done by the all thread) its just a clamp to reduce rattles.

Photo 4 shows the two clamps at the inboard end. The two bolts shown are tightened on the other side pulling the short square ally bars 





Final photo shows the main piece that connects to the CS bar bolts, the two vertical tubes slide inside the two clamping tubes on the mill cross piece - The base plate now has a chunky (50 x 6 mm) curved perpendicular gusset welded onto it.






Clear a mud? Good - that'll give me an excuse to post again when it is complete.

Still to do, allthread adjusters, cranks, finish clamps, attach lengthwise tube handle. Make a short vertical handle (or use a bike handlebar stem), clean up welds, make a couple of guards for the inboard and outboard end and auxillary oiler ie a full weekend at least.

Used in "end on bar nose clamp" mode limits the mill to a max 52" bar length and delivers at least 49" of cut. In the vertical direction the deepest cut possible is ~24" so theoretically a 48" log can be quarter sawn or split. The likelyhood of me needing to do this is VERY small but I don't want to be making another mill in too much of a hurry. [although the strange Aussie bush can do strange things - ] A longer bar length helps when milling trunk bases where even small trees can flare widely at the base, or where bits of branches stick out wider than the regular trunk. Normally these are just hacked off with a CS or couple of mill passes but having a longer bar avoids this - and allows one to mill interesting crotches etc.

I have just purchased a 42" bar and worked out I can get up to 39" of horizontal cut with this setup. 

Cheers


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## aggiewoodbutchr (May 29, 2007)

Awesome! Keep the pics commin'!


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## oldsaw (May 29, 2007)

Nice work!!!

Well thought out mill.

Mark


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## tribalwind (May 30, 2007)

this one is really interesting thinking.
a very portable logosol/side-running type setup. 
nifty!!
http://www.arboristsite.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=51245&d=1179233777


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## BobL (Jun 3, 2007)

*More pics of the BIL mill (WIP)*

I've decided to call the new mill I'm working on the BIL mill after my brother-in-law who did all the ally welding.

First photo shows where it's up to with the 42" bar place to give you an idea of scale. The Al is not all yest cosmetically finished and will undergo some spit and polish once its all done. Not all the bolts and nuts are final and I will change these according to what I have in my bolt drawers, the occasional whim and as needed once I use the mill.





The all thread height adjusters are done and work great.





The allthreads maintain the actual height but to clamp the vertical pipes to the mill to stop the rattles I'm going to try a beefy set of cams (1 2/5" diam with 3/8" bolt).





I know some of you reckon cams won't work but if they fail I will just replace them with 3/8" bolts. The cams are easily adjustable to get serious torque on the locking mechanism and are designed to self lock by going over centre by a couple of poofteenths. They seem to work really well so far but until I try cutting and do a proper vibe test I won't know. The cam seats are made of HDPP and are replaceable and the cams can be easily retensioned by tweaking the big goldy coloured nuts shown here.






If there is going to be a vibe problem it will be with these nuts so I might add a locking nut to these. One problem I still have to fix is the PVC bushes (inside the vertical tube locking mechanism) tend to ride out of their seats and need locking bolts to hold them in place.

More pics in the next post.


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## BobL (Jun 3, 2007)

*BIL mill 2 (WIP)*

Here's the outboard end with the single down tube and the same clamping mechanism as the inboard.






The full length ally tube handle that runs down the middle of the mill is locked in place by two supports. To avoid the locking screw marking the ally tube I added a brass locking plate so the locking screw bites into the brass rather than the tube.

I messed around with a couple of different outboard guards made of expanded ally mesh and they just looked clumsy and ugly. I then found a piece of lexan (same stuff as used in MC helmet visors). Its fantastic stuff to work with as it's very flexible, you can can cut it with tin snips, bend it a fair bit even cold and yet it remains quite tough and it's transparent too! So this is what I came up with.






Here's the back view. 






I reckon my single tube nose-end-clamp is inherently safer than regular mills as the main part of the clamp is outside the nose bar - which also maximises cut capacity. Of course it only works with hardnoses. I just added this guard to make sure someone doesn't acciedntally stick their finger in the vicinity.

Still to do!

- make the inboard clutch cover.
- Auxilliary Oiler.
- try it out !!

Once I'm happy it works
- loctite all none-adjustable screws
- descratch, spit and polish.
- Take pics

Start on the next one (No, No, No, No, No - not for a while anyway)!


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## woodshop (Jun 3, 2007)

Very nice BobL, you obviously put a lot of time into the planning stages of this. I like the cam idea, I use that once in a while on some of my jigs. They are not the easiest to make and set up in your jig, but once you have them dialed in, they work great as they are quick, and you can adjust the amount of pressure. Metal is perhaps the best choice as far as wear, but I have had good results with hard dense wood tightening against hard dense wood. Osage orange works great, as does black locust for cams. Down there you have tons of hard dense "ironwood" types that would work as a cam. Only thing I might do different if I were designing a csm like that would be to try and find a quicker way to raise and lower the bar. Because of the way I mill and use my Granberg csm, I move it up and down frequently, often the full 12-14 inches as I go from slabbing top of log to bottom using same setup without rotating it (saves time that way). But everybody mills a little different here, and that probably isn't a problem for most others.

Nice welding job. Is your brother-in-law going to get some of the spoils from this thing once you start slicing logs?


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## BobL (Jun 3, 2007)

Thanks woodshop, 

Yeah the cams take a while longer to make than I thought. I try to do everything wood/metal wise in my home shop but for those cams I had to resort to using the power hacksaw and lathe at work. Even though it took me about 3 hours to make those cams I figure they will save me a lot of time while milling. Of course I'm not sure if they will work with the chainsaw vibes. If they don't I'll switch back to straight bolts and have plenty of other jigs in mind where I can use them.



woodshop said:


> Only thing I might do different if I were designing a csm like that would be to try and find a quicker way to raise and lower the bar.


I also thought the althread/cranks would also be too slow but they are so successful on my small mill I decided to stay with they because of the precision of placement of the bar.



woodshop said:


> Nice welding job. Is your brother-in-law going to get some of the spoils from this thing once you start slicing logs?


 BIL is a real crafstman but unless it's metal, he's not that interested but I will be giving my sister a few wood products starting with a large wooden platter/bread board.

Cheers


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## dustytools (Jun 3, 2007)

Thats one very nice looking mill you have there Bob! Great job!


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## woodshop (Jun 3, 2007)

BobL said:


> Yeah the cams take a while longer to make than I thought... ...Of course I'm not sure if they will work with the chainsaw vibes. If they don't I'll switch back to straight bolts and have plenty of other jigs in mind where I can use them.



Just a thought, if the vibes do start that cam backing off, you might keep that handle in place with a little lever that flips up and prevents the cam handle from moving very far. I've used that technique on other handles and levers in past jigs (but not with a cam handle yet). 

Also... not to get too fancy, but you can incorporate a split thread box for your all-thread similar to some vices. You flip a lever which opens the thread box (in effect splits the "nut" temporarily) and lets the all-thread move up or down, then flip it back which closes the box and lets the threads operate again. That would be getting a little complicated, but I could see it being done with modest tools. I suppose I would start with an aluminum block maybe inch cubed (OK... say 3cm for you guys) and drill a hole into it, then tap it, then cut it in half and incorporate one of the halves into a lever that opens and closes on the all-thread.


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## martrix (Jun 3, 2007)

Awesome Bob! Looks like you have provision for a longer bar? A 50" bar?

Minus the bar, can you weigh the mill when you have a chance? cheers....greenie incoming.


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## BobL (Jun 3, 2007)

Thanks for the feedback guys



woodshop said:


> Just a thought, if the vibes do start that cam backing off, you might keep that handle in place with a little lever that flips up and prevents the cam handle from moving very far. I've used that technique on other handles and levers in past jigs (but not with a cam handle yet).


Ah Ha - you read my mind - It's on the plan - see the picture. I'll only add these if they're needed. 







woodshop said:


> Also... not to get too fancy, but you can incorporate a split thread box for your all-thread similar to some vices.



Interesting, I've made one before for a 3/4" thread and it worked well. This allthread is only 5/16" so it could be trickier.


RE: Provision for a longer bar. There is just enough room for a 1.35m or 53" or a 52" blade but I'm not planning on that anytime soon.

OK will weigh the mill and post tonight. It feels more awkward than heavy when moving it around but it should be fine on the log.


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## BobL (Jun 17, 2007)

*Mill update*

Busy time at the day job so not much shed time this week or weekend.

The few hours spare I've had, I've been mainly doing cosmetic things like replacing the scummy looking main 10mm galavnized nuts with some shmick looking brass dome nuts. Sanded down the whole thing with 180 then 400 grit and the ran the whole thing past the buff. That grey, and then white ally buffing compound sure does the trick. I could have made it all mirror finish but don't have time.






I've also made a change to the main central cross piece locking mechanisms and added a vertical central handle. 





The locking mechanisms were just bolts but are now cams. It's taken quite a long time to make these cams and If I'd known it was going to take this long I would not have bothered although I can now turn out this style of cam out pretty quickly now if I had to. 

The handle is an ally bicycle handlebar stem (inverted) with a mountain bike handlebar grip pushed onto it. I tried putting a cam on the allen locking bolt for the handle but at 6mm its pretty hard to get enough pressure to lock tight enough and I've snapped two locking mechanism pins in trying. I have a plan to start with a 10 mm high tensile steel bolt and work from there.

Here's a close up of the cross piece locking cams.





The cam holding force can be adjusted by releasing the cam and turning the dome nuts by hand. When the cam locks into place the dome nuts are very tight. It will be interesting to see if they vibrate loose with the CS operating. If they do I can tweak the cam to lock even harder or just lock the dome nuts down with a spanner - the cam will still work but the adjustment will require a spanner.

Finally heres a close up of the vertical position locking cams all polished up and look fancy.




My wife thinks I'm building a strange piece of surgical equipment and my son says it looks like a "trepanning instrument for giants".

To do: 
1) Aux Oil tank - I have all the pieces except the tank. I found a reasonable and cheap ($6) brass air tap, it uses 1/4" BSP fittings, and I have connected that to a real smooth brass needle valve (7/16 UNF). After hunting around for the right taps and dies I couldn't find what I needed so I made my own 1/4" BSP and 7/16" UNF taps from 1/2" bolts and the respective dies.
2) Clutch guard: Still thinking about that.

Cheers


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## dustytools (Jun 17, 2007)

Nice work Bob! Its almost gonna be a shame to mill with it. LOL.


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## BobL (Jun 17, 2007)

dustytools said:


> Nice work Bob! Its almost gonna be a shame to mill with it. LOL.



Nah - can't wait to get get it smothered in sap and sawdust. I'd be doing that now if I had a big enough block of time available. Instead, all I have is an hour here and there when all I can really do is muck about prettying it up.


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## martrix (Jun 17, 2007)

Sweet Bob. Its probably a good thing that you buffing/polishing it as it means all the crap that will get on it will come off easy as with a good pressure washing.

How much longer before you think you can give it a run?opcorn:


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## BobL (Jun 17, 2007)

martrix said:


> Sweet Bob. Its probably a good thing that you buffing/polishing it as it means all the crap that will get on it will come off easy as with a good pressure washing.


Good point!



martrix said:


> How much longer before you think you can give it a run?opcorn:



Good question! As well as the day job, SWMBO has just had surgery on her right hand so muggings here is currently doin' all the household chores and fetching and carrying, taking her mother to the airport, and cooking real food (take away are not allowed!) etc

If her hand recovers and I can sort out the oil tank out this week it could be next weekend ?

Cheers


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## martrix (Jun 17, 2007)

> take away are not allowed!


 Doh!



BobL said:


> Good question! As well as the day job, SWMBO has just had surgery on her right hand so muggings here is currently doin' all the household chores and fetching and carrying, taking her mother to the airport, and cooking real food (take away are not allowed!) etc
> 
> If her hand recovers and I can sort out the oil tank out this week it could be next weekend ?
> 
> Cheers



Oh well, at least you will be earning some brownie points and a couple of Milling pass'. I'm sure you're doing a fine job of being Mrs Doubtfire. 

ps....hope SWMBO heals up well.


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## woodshop (Jun 17, 2007)

Beautiful piece of machinery Bob... I'm enjoying seeing this thing evolve. Can't wait to hear how it works with all that "sap and sawdust" you mentioned enters the picture. From the looks of it, I think you have designed and built something that will be very functional. Keep us up to date.


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## BobL (Jun 22, 2007)

*Aux oiler tank*

In keeping with the "over the top" theme on this one, here is the Aux Oiler tank.







The tank is made from 3mm thick 100 mm diameter ally pipe capped with 4mm thick ally plate. It looks small but it holds a litre of fluid. The top refill cap and pipe are standard brass plumbing fittings from my plumbing scraps box. The clear PVC tubing is to see the oil level in the tank.






The T-piece and stopcock tap are standard 1/4" air handling fittings while the needle valve I found in the odds'n'sods box at work.





Minimum zero resistance flow rate (tank almost empty) to the blade is 44 mL/min with a 7 cm head. Of course that will be reduced using the needle valve.

Cheers


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## zopi (Jun 22, 2007)

it's gonna suck to get that dirty....it's too pretty.


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## BobL (Jun 24, 2007)

*Sprocket/Clutch cover*

My plan here was to buy a new cover and butcher the old one to suit the mill. However, the butchering required was so significant I thought I would just make one from scratch out of ally. BIL said he would help but that it would be better to make a cardboard mock up first. Instead of using cardboard I used some 1 mm (0.04") thick galv plate and some 1 mm polycarbonate sheeting and here's what resulted.






Here's a closeup. 






The 2 large headed 6mm brassplated allen bolts are all that is needed to attach/remove the cover. These bolts also pass through some 1/2" ally tube to brace the cover internally onto the CS housing The large hole through the polycarbonate is so the bar nuts can be loosened to adjust the chain. I may add one more bolt in the lower RH corner threaded direct onto the mill base to stop that bit flapping around. 

It was really easy to make. If it works out OK and does a good job of shedding the sawdust , at some stage I will remove the rivets, unfold it all and lay it out on some 3mm ally plate, mark around it, cut out the bits, weld joints, drill holes, and I'll an even more robust cover. I'm keeping the transparent cover though.

And one more thing I added as to help the mill skid over the logs I added 6mm thick UHMWPE skids to the underneath of the rails.





If they get mangled I can replace them instead of the relatively more expensive ally unistrut.

It's nearly there - just have to finish locktite-ing all the unadjustable nuts, fiddle the faddle, and tuneup the fandangler. Nah . . . . I bet I'll find at least one more doohickey to add yet!

Cheers


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## woodshop (Jun 24, 2007)

OK Bobl, I've decided I need you in my woodshop when I design and build my jigs for various product runs. So... how far away is Australia????? This has been a fascinating thread. Don't stop.


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## BobL (Jun 24, 2007)

woodshop said:


> OK Bobl, I've decided I need you in my woodshop when I design and build my jigs for various product runs. So... how far away is Australia????? This has been a fascinating thread. Don't stop.



Hey - I'm only an email away! Just PM me anytime - no worries


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## BobL (Aug 30, 2007)

*BIL Mill Aux Oiler make-over*

After milling 3 logs and tightening and retightening various nuts and bolts the only thing that is not staying tight on the BIL mill is the brass plumbing on the aux oiler. 

The joint that seems to shake loose the quickest is the brass tap connection to the underside of the tank. One of the reasons is the tank ally is only 4 mm thick so there's not much thread for the 1/4" BSP fittings to grab and I'm concerned about stripping the thread if I really tighten it. A similar problem exists at the opening at the top of the tank. So, to get around this I got BIL to weld a pipe stub at each opening into which I could tap a longer thread. It's now all reassembled and loctited and ready to go.






While I was at it I wanted an easier way than using standard hose clamps to attach the oil line to to the CS blade since that needs to be regularly removed for maintenance purposes. I wanted something that I could remove easily and quickly with a spanner so I changed the clear PVC tubing for an old chrome plated steel covered shower hose that uses standard 1/2" BSP tap fittings so some adaptation of the plumbing was needed. The hose can now be removed with a couple of turns of the hose end with a spanner.

Here's a picture of how it connects to the blade.





The metal covered plastic hose is a bit less of a tangle than the pvc one and it looks a hell of a lot better. One disadvantage is you can't see if there's oil flowing in the pipe but that is not such a big problem as the oil can flow fairly readily at the blade when the needle valve is full open. Another disadvantage is one doesn't really want the metal hose to come into contact with the chain so some judicious curling up is needed.

Cheers


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## aggiewoodbutchr (Aug 30, 2007)

As usual, very nice work!



That deserves rep! Somebody get him for me. "They" wont let me.


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## beelsr (Aug 30, 2007)

aggiewoodbutchr said:


> As usual, very nice work!
> 
> 
> 
> That deserves rep! Somebody get him for me. "They" wont let me.



got 'em.


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## BobL (Aug 30, 2007)

Cheers Guys! 

A guy at work asked me why bother to make the mill out of ally and then load it up with heavy bits of brass plumbing? 

I said one alternative would to make it out of steel and plastic, or ally and plastic, but would I get the same :jawdrop: when people see it in the flesh


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## BlueRider (Aug 31, 2007)

*polished the knob too?*

very nice mill. Thought I would toss out the notion of using a quick adjust knob on the vetical push handle. I find I like to move mine some depending on the width of the slab. I sometimes move mine after the first couple of slabs on a large log and again for the last couple. That is a nice looking push grip by they way, much more comfy looking than the turned wood knob I use.


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## martrix (Sep 1, 2007)

awesome, awesome, awesome! I am going to rip so many of your neat ideas when I get on to building my mill. 

So you get plenty of good oil flowing to the bar with just the pressure provided by gravity?

I love the metal oil line! :rockn: Might have to one-up ya by using braided line and anodised fittings, ha ha.


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## BobL (Sep 1, 2007)

BlueRider said:


> very nice mill. Thought I would toss out the notion of using a quick adjust knob on the vetical push handle. I find I like to move mine some depending on the width of the slab. I sometimes move mine after the first couple of slabs on a large log and again for the last couple. That is a nice looking push grip by they way, much more comfy looking than the turned wood knob I use.



Thanks BlueRider. I have thought of quick adjust on the vertical push hand and I even made one using a very curvaceaous looking small diameter brass cam with a through pin made from a 3/16" bolt but the through pin sheared off at the head while testing so this is on hold until I turn a pin up from tensile steel.

The push grip is from a mountain bike handlebar - it really has a good feel to it.

Martrix, aux oiler works really well. I was worried about the lack of height above the bar not providing a sufficient pressure head but this does not seem to be a problem. Even today when the River gum saw dust was clogging every thing else the aux oiler was still delivering. Having a on-off tap and needle valve does make adjustments easier. I'm using about 1/3 to 1/2 a litre per big slab and about the same on the powerhead.

I cut 4 x 85 mm slabs on a 880mm diameter x 2.6 m long WA River gum today. Even though it was green it really gave the BILL mill (and me) a good work out. I started with the chain that I had milled the Sheoak with last week and while the first cut was OK it was clearly dulling the chain. 

This stuff is really really hard. According to the arborist who provided the tree it's getting up there towards wandoo and tuart which are both the the SOB hardness range. The other issue is this tree has a thick fibrous bark and it was rolled around in the sand during set up and even though I carefully hosed it down i'm sure there was still some sand trapped in the bark. Also a lot of resin gumming up he chain probably didn't help. To give you an idea of the work effort required with the dulling chain, in the thickest part of the log it took 2 tanks of fuel to get through the slab. I then put on a freshly sharpened chain and I got through the next slab with less than one tankful. Interesting tawny yellow sawdust coming out at the rooster tails but it reddened up noticeably as the day wore on.

Sorry no pics - I remembered my camera but not the memory card :bang: !

Cheers


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## woodshop (Sep 2, 2007)

BobL said:


> This stuff is really really hard. According to the arborist who provided the tree it's getting up there towards wandoo and tuart which are both the the SOB hardness range. The other issue is this tree has a thick fibrous bark and it was rolled around in the sand during set up and even though I carefully hosed it down i'm sure there was still some sand trapped in the bark. Also a lot of resin gumming up he chain probably didn't help. To give you an idea of the work effort required with the dulling chain, in the thickest part of the log it took 2 tanks of fuel to get through the slab. I then put on a freshly sharpened chain and I got through the next slab with less than one tankful. Interesting tawny yellow sawdust coming out at the rooster tails but it reddened up noticeably as the day wore on.



Interesting wood... and you confirm rule #1 re: milling, a sharp chain is absolutely essential or you will need much more patience than I currently have. I was slabbing a 14 inch wide cherry yesterday, and ran into some dirt embedded in the bark I missed when setting up. In a heartbeat the mill slowed to a crawl. I pulled the mill backwards a few feet (plastic wedges) and finished the last foot freehand with my 036. The chain was toast THAT quickly.

Yeah... can somebody here with a chemical background tell me why many of my rooster tails come out of the saw creamy white, but then turn orange in a few minutes laying on the ground in the Sun? Is it oxidizing? What in the wood turns brown like that?


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## BobL (Sep 2, 2007)

woodshop said:


> Interesting wood... and you confirm rule #1 re: milling, a sharp chain is absolutely essential or you will need much more patience than I currently have. I was slabbing a 14 inch wide cherry yesterday, and ran into some dirt embedded in the bark I missed when setting up. In a heartbeat the mill slowed to a crawl. I pulled the mill backwards a few feet (plastic wedges) and finished the last foot freehand with my 036. The chain was toast THAT quickly.
> 
> Yeah... can somebody here with a chemical background tell me why many of my rooster tails come out of the saw creamy white, but then turn orange in a few minutes laying on the ground in the Sun? Is it oxidizing? What in the wood turns brown like that?



According to the arborist who owns the yard I've been milling in, it's the natural resins in the wood oxidising. With some woods it's a combined reaction between the wood and the bar oil and the air.

I was thinking about the milling of those slabs on that River Gum (880 mm diameter by 2.6 m) long. If my 3/8" chain has a 6.8 mm (measured) kerf (actual kerf will be greater) and I mill 9 slabs (@85mm thick = 8 cuts) from this log I worked out that I'm generating at least 120 kg of sawdust! I can see now where all those tankfulls of gas are going!


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## diesel&coffee (Mar 9, 2011)

Mr Wizard

Guess I don't really understand the cam unit its self! Can't see what it looks like inside the cam slot - how the cam unit is attached to the bolt/nut? - How the ??? in the cam unit does ???...

So yes the cam unit is clear as mud :bang:

Charles


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## BobL (Mar 9, 2011)

Here you go.








The cam lobe has a slot milled 85% of the way through the cam.
The tension bolt has a hole in the end and a short bolt passes through the cam and the hole in the tension bolt.


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## diesel&coffee (Mar 9, 2011)

thanks

The mud is clearing up :msp_lol: What was the size of the bolt and did have the hole to begin with! If not what kind of bolt was it??

ps: doesn't look like an reg eye bolt

Man your mill should be in the Smithsonian in D.C :msp_blink:


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## BobL (Mar 9, 2011)

diesel&coffee said:


> thanks
> 
> The mud is clearing up :msp_lol: What was the size of the bolt and did have the hole to begin with! If not what kind of bolt was it??
> 
> ps: doesn't look like an reg eye bolt



It's not a regular bolt. It starts as a 5/16 UNF bolt. I cut the head off and rotated it 90º and welded it back onto the shaft. Then I drilled a hole in it. and rounded all the hex corners off on a grinder.

I also ground some of the bolt shaft so it would fit more easily through the cam slot. 




> Man your mill should be in the Smithsonian in D.C :msp_blink:


 
Thanks - it sure was fun making it and even more fun using it!


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## Stihlman441 (Mar 10, 2011)

What a magnifecent peace of engineery there Bobl,you will have to where sunnys when using it from all the bling........


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## BobL (Mar 10, 2011)

Stihlman441 said:


> What a magnifecent peace of engineery there Bobl,you will have to where sunnys when using it from all the bling........


 
Ah, that was back in winter 2007 - it was raining solid one weekend and I was bored so I took the BIL mill apart and ran all the ally pieces over the buff so it came up all nice and shiny - actually it did help to keep it clean. Now is just that dull gray ally color covered in bar oil and sawdust.


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## diesel&coffee (Mar 12, 2011)

Mr bob

question on your alum 38mm pipe - is that the inside dia?? ie: 1.49 inch Inside dia piping..


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## BobL (Mar 13, 2011)

diesel&coffee said:


> Mr bob
> 
> question on your alum 38mm pipe - is that the inside dia?? ie: 1.49 inch Inside dia piping..


 
Sorry I didn't see this till now - it's 38 mm od, 32 mm id.


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