# Took a while but I'm cuttin wood!



## Old Blue (Oct 25, 2012)

Wish I could claim all the engineering and fab talent but my hats off to my brother . I was just the instigator and helper although I did get to cut my teeth on the old bridgeport mill and actually made a lot of the parts which was fun and very satisfying.

Enjoy the pics. (if I can get em to show)

Here's one of the crossmembers
View attachment 259132


A close up of one of the clamps
View attachment 259133


The rails clamped up with my first log.
View attachment 259134


The crank assembly to raise and lower the saw.
View attachment 259135


First cut
View attachment 259136


The results! Looks like I have to continue on another post. Hang on a minute.


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## Old Blue (Oct 25, 2012)

*The results*

OK let me try it again.


Ok there it is.
View attachment 259137


Old Blue
Trying to cut wood before our alleged representatives and legislative law breakers start taxing it, in....
Kali-bone-ya


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## john taliaferro (Oct 25, 2012)

Your lucky to have a brother with such skill, we need more pictures .


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## discounthunter (Oct 25, 2012)

awesome! perfect set-up for unusual shapes and small pieces along with big logs. only this i see is get a guard on the bar tip.


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## WidowMaker1 (Oct 25, 2012)

looking good! could go a Auxiliary oiler


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## Old Blue (Oct 25, 2012)

john taliaferro said:


> Your lucky to have a brother with such skill, we need more pictures .



He's really not much to look at and I don't think he wants me to post his pic, but he sure is handy as all get out in the engineering and fab department!

Old Blue
Where we have to sign the bill to find out whats in it! In.................
Kali-bone-ya


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## Dave Boyt (Oct 26, 2012)

Outstanding! Thanks for sharing. Looks like you've got an ideal slabbing machine. What are you using for a chain? I agree about the oiler and the safety shield. If you're not careful, you'll have to make a couple dozen of those contraptions! Nice slabs, too, by the way.


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## terryknight (Oct 28, 2012)

awesome looking mill


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## Old Blue (Oct 28, 2012)

*Thanks for the comments guys.*

Yeah the noseguard and the auxilliary oiler are tied for first things to correct. I just couldn't help myself cause everything else was all ready to go and I'd had my eye on blown down tree for a while. So I went ahead with the first run cause I just couldn't wait. I'm really liking that nice candy red oiler that widowmaker put on his. 

I think second on the list is probably to get a tach and tune it to 40:1 mix or some other milling friendly mix.

The chain I'm using is just the 404 ripping chain since I got a 36 and 42 inch bars with the saw. I suppose if it holds up well enough I might see if I can swap it over to something thinner, but it would have to be able to also fit a potential replacent saw before spending up for that.

John, I know you meant mill pics but I just couldn't resist:hmm3grin2orange: it was a two beer post, what can I say. Next time I run it, I'll take some more but I need to figure out how to make the pic show in the post.

I think the wood was some kind of eucalyptus. It had roundish leaves and the whole crown has a bluish color to it, they plant them along the freeway around here. When I was cutting it, it smelled just like the enlish walnut I cut a while back but man it was hard as heck and it seems to be checking, splitting and tearing itself apart.

Old Blue
Suffering under predatory taxation with no representation in..
Kali-bone-ya


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## john taliaferro (Oct 30, 2012)

Maybe you should wrap it up in a sheet or blanket to slow the drying so it doesn't crack . My milling friend Mike works at a large fabricating shop and all their steel comes in raped in cloth tarps they shed water but still breathe some they were destroying them .


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## BobL (Oct 30, 2012)

Old Blue said:


> I think the wood was some kind of eucalyptus. It had roundish leaves and the whole crown has a bluish color to it, they plant them along the freeway around here. When I was cutting it, it smelled just like the enlish walnut I cut a while back but man it was hard as heck and it seems to be checking, splitting and tearing itself apart.



Having lived in SD/CA and seeing the eucalypts, it's most likely Corymbia maculata. Technically speaking it's not really a eucalyptus but a "bloodwood". The stunted and often twisted CA specimens are a far cry from how they can grow in Oz where they reach 150 ft in height and more than 4 ft diam In Australia. It's considered a medium hard timber with a dry Janka hardness of 2400 lbF (for comparison hickory is about 1800 lbF). It is best milled 3-6 months after felling or when the bark falls off. Milled to early and it will check badly, too late and it makes a mess of sharp chains. The ends of logs become especially hardened and it's usually best to buck the first and last 6" off a log before milling.

For more details see here.


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