# Beams with a reg. alaskan style mill



## irishcountry (Sep 16, 2008)

Decided to start a new thread for this. Just curious if anyone has some good pointers on making beams that won't warp or twist ( i'm assuming they have to be boxed heartwood) with a regular alaskan style mill (I have a GB). It seems like the real trick would be getting the center at the end of each log would you forget the level and measure up to set the rails on your far end or maybe a better bet walk you rig to each end to make sure the cut comes out where you want? I'm sure this might require turning the log at least once to get a couple of flat surfaces. I will try it myself either way I am just looking for pointers and hate to screw up a log learning. I know a vertical mini-mill or beam machine would be easier but i'm sure someone here has done it. thanks everyone irishcountry


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## parrisw (Sep 16, 2008)

It doesn't need to be perfectly centered heartwood, get it close. Make your first cut, then drop the saw/mill and do your bottom cut, just put some wedged in so it doesn't collapse on your saw. Now turn 90deg, measure where you want the cut, sqaure it to the side, make the cut, then drop it again, and do the last cut, that way you only have to turn the log once.


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## excess650 (Sep 17, 2008)

yup, what he said! You will need the wedges, and I recommend several pairs depending upon how long the beam is. Measure up from center on the smaller end of the log, but keep in mind to get a square beam, 70% of the round diameter will be the square yield. Mark the height (up from center)on both ends using a level, and make the first cut. Remove the rails that you used to make the first cut, adjust the Alaskan for the desired depth, and make the 2nd cut. It should be parallel.

If you have a mini mill, attach the guide and cut the sides.

If you're using the Alaskan, roll the log 90* and repeat the initial procedure, but you'll need a square in addition to a level.


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## irishcountry (Sep 17, 2008)

Thanks for the posts I figured it would go something like that just wanted to hear it from someone else cuz like I said i'd would hate to screw up a log I don't have a ton of them to play with right now and some are small diameter so it may take a bit more skill and patience! Thanks again irishcountry


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## Zodiac45 (Sep 17, 2008)

Irish,

I posted a thread a while back of an eastern larch (Hatmatack, Tamerack) tree that had too come down on my property. This tree was called the candleabra tree as it had been topped a couple of times in it's day for a view of the sea. It had 6 tops and each was about 18" and the size of a small tree. The truck supporting these was about 9 foot (of good beam stock). I used the tops for firewood and used my alaskan with a dolmar 120si too make an 8 foot 6x6 beam and also got some nice planks out of in the process. I had to rebuild my front porch and after pulling up the rotten tipped floorboards, I realised that the beam was pootched. I spliced in my beam and rebuilt the floor and she'll now outlast me! Mine was done only with the alaskan and ladder guide.


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## irishcountry (Sep 17, 2008)

Ah ha I do remember seeing that! Very nice work beautiful looking beam!! Thank you for the pics I knew someone had had to have done it. I may use a willow that I started on and then gave up on for practice first the play with some "firewood" logs I had delivered early spring from a tree service I ened up with lots of free ash that is now in the firewood pile so that frees up some logs to play around with but they are smaller diameter looks like theres some cherry and hickory though I would like to get some 8x8's and store them for later. Again thanks for the info! irishcountry


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## irishcountry (Sep 26, 2008)

Quick update I sucessfully made a few beams out of a old willow for practice then moved on to a ash I had and wouldn't you know it totally screwed up the first cut like destroyed it, rail fell off then my rail loosened up on my mill powerhead side (seems to be a problem on my GB happens alot!) And before I really realized it the cut was twisted and varied in depth!! Crap I guess I will flip it and have to start over but I threw in the towel last night I was just disgusted!! I have another section to play with and another straight tree that I have to cut down yet but I may wait til I get a mini-mill as I wanted beams out of the ash trees I do have. Anyway I'm sure everyone here has had a day like that guess you have to chalk it up as a learning expirenece and move on! I may have to come up with some kind of locking mod for my mill so that can't happen anymore I really tighten the crap out of it and try to check it through the cut it has been better but it still happens from time to time and can really ruin a cut!! Anyway everyone have a good weekend. irishcountry


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## woodshop (Sep 26, 2008)

irishcountry said:


> Quick update I sucessfully made a few beams out of a old willow for practice then moved on to a ash I had and wouldn't you know it totally screwed up the first cut like destroyed it, rail fell off then my rail loosened up on my mill powerhead side (seems to be a problem on my GB happens alot!)...


Is it always the same nut or part that comes loose on your mill? Have you tried Locktite on it?


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## AndyR (Sep 26, 2008)

woodshop said:


> Is it always the same nut or part that comes loose on your mill? Have you tried Locktite on it?



I have two nuts on a few of the bolts on my Alaskan nothing has come loose...so far.


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## irishcountry (Sep 26, 2008)

I gotta say its a matter of KISS keep it simple stupid. The locking mechanism on the GB (not alaskan) is a little under engineered it is obivious that is could be a weak link it the system. I like the 4 posts for stability but the adjustment is not holding and believe me its not for lack of cranking down on it I almost torque my wrists tightening it and I am not tooting my own horn but one of my past times have been lifting my whole life. I wondered how it would hold up from the first time I assembled it it is a heavy duty mill but it needs some kind of mod to keep what happens to me from happening another thing I dont care for is the depth gauge it loosens up from the top and if you don't remember to look at it it can loosen and you think its set right but really it is not down in the tubes all the way. One more thing pretaining to the depth gauge theres a slot that it must pass through if the mill is not abosoluty square it will not go down to like 1 1/4 inches it will get stuck and not come back up through the slots without a real fight need a slot a little bigger. Oh well I will give it a try after this weekend gotta get more firewood in!!! Thanks


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## Brmorgan (Sep 27, 2008)

Nylon nuts or those serrated fan-like antivibe washers are great too. Don't use antivibe washers on soft metal like aluminum or magnesium though, because they eat softer metal for lunch every time you have to loosen or tighten the bolt. I'm not too familiar with those GB mills so I can't really diagnose the cause though. As for the bad days, yeah, I had more than a couple last year when I first got the mill. I was pretty much a noob regarding saws too, so I had a lot to learn at once. I still have a couple beams out back that somehow ended up 6" on one end, and well over 7" on the other. :censored:


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## irishcountry (Sep 28, 2008)

Thanks for the ideas I will try to come up with something. Hopefully I can get back out and flip the log I screwed up and salvage some boards from the other side and forget about it being a beam.


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## irishcountry (Sep 29, 2008)

I went out and somewhat redeemed myself I flipped over the log and got some nice 1 3/4 and 1 1/4 inch boards off the other side sorry no pics our digital camera is now broken and any pics I have had friends take this summer somehow never got back to me even though that was part of the "deal" for some milling. Anyhow I was happy with the results and hopefully will make better use of the ash logs I do have left. Thanks for all the replys and pics of beams that you guys have made. take care irishcountry


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## excess650 (Sep 29, 2008)

If you can make boards, you can make beams; they're just thicker! As you said, keep it simple, and pay attention to what you're doing, and you'll have good results.


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## irishcountry (Sep 29, 2008)

Yeah attention to detail is the key, I sometimes get in a hurry and overlook simple things. I went out tonight and got my rails set really well on the other half of the log they are straight and level and solid as a rock! Hoping for the best this time and I will stop and make sure my mill is as tight as I can possibly get it! thanks again irishcountry


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## slabmaster (Oct 4, 2008)

I'm going to be doing some large ash beams soon.I'll try to take pics of the process i use.I'll be doing them in the woods where i drop the tree.Then draging them out on a fixture i made that i pull behind a honda atv.I'm going to use them for a timber frame building to store wood in.


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## Brmorgan (Oct 5, 2008)

slabmaster said:


> I'm going to be doing some large ash beams soon.I'll try to take pics of the process i use.I'll be doing them in the woods where i drop the tree.Then draging them out on a fixture i made that i pull behind a honda atv.I'm going to use them for a timber frame building to store wood in.



Excellent, I'll be doing the same in the spring for a garden/wood shed. Do you have any prior knowledge or training in timber-framing? I don't, but I figure that a 10X10 foot structure shouldn't need anything terribly fancy. I already have my initial design drawn out on isometric graph paper (EXPENSIVE!!!). Glad I still know my trigonometry for that. But I'm just running out of time this year. I guess I COULD do it, but I don't like working cold and/or wet all that much unless I'm getting paid. Good luck with those ash beams, those must weigh a mint compared to the woods I mostly deal with - I know that I can barely lift (and won't again anytime soon...) a green Birch 6" beam.


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## slabmaster (Oct 5, 2008)

yea,timber-frame construction is pretty basic as long as you can make tight mortice and tenons.The key is in proper measuring and well seasoned pegs as green wood can shrink and loosen up after assembly.It's usually done on the ground,so unless you have a skylift or in my case a backhoe those walls can be very taxing to raise.Just remember that wood shears more easily along the grain than it does across so just make the long grain area of the mortice in the beam greater than the cross grain area of the tenon and your building should stand strong.Good luck,Mark


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## irishcountry (Oct 5, 2008)

Sweet I look forward to seeing that I love anything timberframe I have a couple book one from Ted Benson its seems like a lost art but very cool and heavy duty! Thanks


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## Brmorgan (Oct 5, 2008)

You'd probably like this then:






That bridge was built in the town of Golden, here in BC. It crosses the Kicking Horse river just before it dumps into the Columbia. I watched a documentary show about the construction of that bridge a few months back. It was really amazing to see the effort and co-ordination involved in building it. There were timber-framers and volunteers from literally all over the world, many from Europe and even some from New Zealand if I remember correctly. There were even a few younger guys of the old-school European trade training who were actually doing their 4-year "journey" around the world. I got respect for those guys, that's a helluva thing to dedicate to.

Another link about the bridge:

http://www.tourismgolden.com/activities/other/142

EDIT: I managed to track down a bit of info on that film about the construction. There is a page at the Knowledge Network (where it first aired in '05) website about it HERE and there is also a very short (unfortunately) preview video there as well.

You can also buy a copy direct from WoodMizer (their mills cut all the timbers) for $10.20, which I'm seriously considering because I would like to watch it a couple more times, and I missed the very beginning anyway.

Hope I didn't drag this thread too far off-topic, I guess this could handle having its own thread.


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## slabmaster (Oct 5, 2008)

Wow! That's a nice looking bridge.Thanks for posting that pic.and info.


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## irishcountry (Oct 5, 2008)

Wow that is beautiful! I can't imagine the amount of work that went into that awesome. Timberframing rules!!! thanks for the pics and links irishcountry


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## redoak (Oct 10, 2008)

*cutting beams*

Hi Irish. I'm a relative newbie to milling, but have gotten some great results with my Alaskan 36". I've got to figure out how to shrink the file size on some pics, but here's a decription of the process.

First, to box the heart properly you need to set the rail plane parallel to the heart. I have my logs on a crib (a couple other logs) so they are supported in two places. This makes it real easy to cut the bottom out first. For an 8x8 I set the depth to cut 4" below the heart and slice the bottom out. Then set depth to 8", roll the log over, and cut out the parallel. To get the 90 degree cut I use a framming level and stand the log up plumb, dog it in place, then set the rails level (on both ends!) and viola, nice and sqaure! Again, cut the bottom out 4" below the heart, re set mill to 8", roll the log, and with one more pass you've got a nice 8x8.

I'm building a 20'x20' high post timber framed barn. Just cut the first of five 20' 8x8 tie beams and plates. Same technique. If I can figure out how to shrink the pictures I've got some neat ones to show off.

Good luck Irish.

-redoak


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## Brmorgan (Oct 10, 2008)

redoak said:


> Hi Irish. I'm a relative newbie to milling, but have gotten some great results with my Alaskan 36". I've got to figure out how to shrink the file size on some pics, but here's a decription of the process.
> 
> First, to box the heart properly you need to set the rail plane parallel to the heart. I have my logs on a crib (a couple other logs) so they are supported in two places. This makes it real easy to cut the bottom out first. For an 8x8 I set the depth to cut 4" below the heart and slice the bottom out. Then set depth to 8", roll the log over, and cut out the parallel. To get the 90 degree cut I use a framming level and stand the log up plumb, dog it in place, then set the rails level (on both ends!) and viola, nice and sqaure! Again, cut the bottom out 4" below the heart, re set mill to 8", roll the log, and with one more pass you've got a nice 8x8.
> 
> ...



I've started out the same way as you, making the two parallel cuts, but to make the 3rd square cut I prefer to use a framing square rather than a level because sometimes the log is not so big, and it's hard to make sure that the cut sides are perfectly plumb when it's turned 90 degrees. With a square you can be off-plumb a few degrees and it won't matter, as long as the guide board is square to the sides that are already cut. I don't use this system so much anymore though, the mini-mill is much faster to make the 3rd cut with than having to re-attach and tweak a guide board.

As for shrinking pictures, do you mean the resolution (print size) of the picture, or the filesize? I've found that lowering the resolution to 800 X 600 will almost always get in under the 300KB filesize limit anyway. If you're using Windows, you can do that in Windows Paint (start --> accessories --> Paint, then go to Resize/Skew on the Image menu at the top) but I don't think you can set JPEG quality options to change the filesize. I use a program called ACDSee to deal with all my photos, it's a super fast image organizer and has a lot of basic editing tools too. If you're using a Mac dizzy then you're on your own though. But I'm sure there's a program included that can do it - I'd hope so for the exorbitant price of the things.


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## irishcountry (Oct 10, 2008)

Hey thanks alot for the technique I will have to give it a try didn't think about making the bottom cut first!! Hope to see some pics and its nice to hear someone is building something with CSM beams that is what I would like to do down the road. Again thanks for all the info. irishcountry


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## Brmorgan (Oct 11, 2008)

Yep, bottom first is the easiest way to make it a perfect heart center since the mill's depth adjustment is indexed to the top of the chain kerf, not the bottom. If you try top cut first, you need to know exactly how wide your kerf will be, and adjust the depth settings to compensate. I still maintain, though, that if you're going to be making a substantial amount of beams, or for that matter anything with 2 sides at 90 degrees, the extra $100 or less for the Mini-Mill is worth every penny and will pay for itself in time savings in just a couple days' work squaring cants. The other advantage of the mini-mill is that I could theoretically split and quarter a 5-foot diameter log with my 090 w/33" bar if I was careful about lining up both cuts. I don't know how badly the buried bar tip would wander, and chip clearing might be an issue, but it COULD be done.

I did just think of one caveat though: I am sort-of assuming having two milling saws. I have the 090, 395, and 660 to choose from, so I'll usually throw either of the two former ones on the Alaskan, and mount my homebrew mini-mill to the 066. So I guess if you are limited to one saw, it might be even slower to unmount the saw from one mill and mount to the other, and back again.


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## irishcountry (Oct 11, 2008)

I want a mini-mill BAD!! I think its going to be on my Christmas list I can see how handy one would be especially if you interested in making any qty. of beams!! Thanks again guys


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## slabmaster (Oct 11, 2008)

I think i will strap my 394 on this when i make those beams,so i won't have to turn the log as much.It should save me alot of measuring also.


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## redoak (Oct 12, 2008)

I bought a "beam machine" last week... seems a lot like the mini-mill. Looking forward to trying it out. Seems like it could really save time and create a more accurate 90 degree cut. I'm planning to mount a 18" bar and chain to it and just switch the 660 power head. Shouldn't be too much of a p in the a. I assume once you make the 90 you go back to the Alaskan to get a nice parallel 4th cut?

Thanks for the advice about pictures. I'll give it a try!

-redoak


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## slabmaster (Oct 12, 2008)

That's the way i plan to do it.Top cut with the alaskan than two side cuts with mini mill then bottom cut with the alaskan so i don't have to roll the log at all.Alot easyier on the back as i'm making large beams. I'll be using my 395 on the alaskan and 394 on the mini mill.


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