# new project: milling BIG beech/mill build.



## markvanzee (Feb 25, 2016)

dear milling friends,

I have started a new project lately, I've bought a beech logs that measures 1.85 meter/ 73'' at the butt and is 5 meters long (196'') It weights 9.5 tons. I have been chainsaw milling since i was 18, so a couple of years of experience but this is my largest log so far. but i only cut maybe 2 logs a year because I don't really have the space to mill the logs. but gladly my employer let me delivery this log to my work so I can mill it there. this really helps because I can also use all the equipment; forklifts, woodworking/metalwork equipment.





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stihl880 with 48'' for scale

I have a 42'' alaskan style mill but logosol/stihl (the red frame) with a 48'' bar and i have a logosol big mill basic system. But I have always been intrigued by the dual head milling setups. and since I usually cut slabs for table tabs etc. I have had a couple situations were I have been slabbing freehand because my other mill couldn't handle the logs.

so I've started making a new dual-headed mill. this will run a 87'' bar, with 404 stihl ripping chain. I've constructed the mill with aluminium profiles 40 x 80 mm, and made the rest out of metal. i've used the existing holes in the bar to mount the bar to the mill. I figured this was better than bar clamps since this would allow me to remove the chain for sharpening easiers. for this reason I also plan on running without clutch cover. only a clamp plate. I will add another safety guard so don't worry.. 






the big problem that occurs with these long bars is bar sag. I have fitted a couple plates to tension the bar, this seems to work, at first the bar had sagged quite a bit even with the 2 powerheads. but I was able to remove this sag with the adjustment bolts.






I plan on making 2 U-shaped guide shoes under the mill to run over rails. I have aluminium 100x100 rails to run over. I have a variable speed 12volt winch that I put rope on to run the mill. both the chainsaws have remote throttles. I'm looking forward to milling this log! I have access to a gopro to mill the process. 

*any advice on thickness/drying of the slabs? I thought cutting them about 120 mm thick (5'') but I have no experience with drying/warping of slabs these size. I know beech does move a lot. I can bring the slabs to the lumber mill across to street, to have them dried, but i'm afraid they have very little to no experience drying this stuff. I'm thinking about buying a logosol sauno kiln, any experiences? would love to hear.*






some more pictures of the log:


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## Quietfly (Feb 25, 2016)

that looks like it will give you some amazing slabs. good luck!!!


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## KiwiBro (Feb 25, 2016)

Wow. What a great project. The grain in that log must be very interesting. Sorry I cannot offer any suggestions, but the grain looks like it will make the drying a 'beech' unless you can find someone who can steam dry it. I also have read somewhere your countrymen are experts in this technique, so there should be a commercial kiln operator that will be able to help you or at least offer some advice. 

Good luck and please keep us up to date with the progress.


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## KiwiBro (Feb 25, 2016)

I just googled and found this about Dutch steam drying. It may not help you but it is good reading for someone, I hope.

http://www.coste53.net/downloads/Delft/Presentations/COSTE53-Conference_Delft_Gard_Riepen.pdf


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## markvanzee (Feb 25, 2016)

KiwiBro said:


> I just googled and found this about Dutch steam drying. It may not help you but it is good reading for someone, I hope.
> 
> http://www.coste53.net/downloads/Delft/Presentations/COSTE53-Conference_Delft_Gard_Riepen.pdf



thanks for the link, looks interesting. I believe the logosol sauno wood kiln is based on this principle too.


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## KiwiBro (Feb 25, 2016)

markvanzee said:


> thanks for the link, looks interesting. I believe the logosol sauno wood kiln is based on this principle too.


Thank you. I thought they would be too small for your slabs but I see they do two sizes of dryer and you build the actual kiln/charge box. If you stay within the capacity or max dimensions of the 4 kW dryer, can you build it long and wide enough to take some of these slabs? I do not know what those dimensions are for these kilns but it would be good to know. 

Occasionally I have many interesting forks and wavy grain chunks of wood I pile up for my wood turning friend. I think one of those kilns might be a superb option for him - if he roughed out the bowls from green timber then put them in the kiln, they may dry faster, with less defects, and retain colour better. 

Hmmm, thanks for nothing, now I have another bit of equipment on my wish list that I can't afford.


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## joel logger (Feb 26, 2016)

That looks awesome! I'm using the Sauno Kiln from logosol and i'm happy with it. I usually dry 2" thick slabs and they be dry within five weeks. Looking forward to seeing more pics from you.


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## Quietfly (Feb 26, 2016)

That was a great paper!!! I'd love to be able to dry beech in 3 days!!! it's a super cool principle too! using increased atmospheric pressure quickly move the moisture out of the wood. I'm sure i'd burn down the garage if i attempted this myself.....


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## BigOakAdot (Feb 26, 2016)

I would imagine with all those leaders you will have issues with cracks and warping. Hopefully they hold up though. Good luck!


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## DonnerParty (Feb 26, 2016)

Nice work on the mill build. Cool project and interesting tree. I agree with BigOakAdot that you are likely to have a lot of movement in the slabs. 5" is really thick. If it was me, I would go 3-3.5". They will still be incredibly heavy. Look forward to seeing the inside.


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## Daninvan (Mar 2, 2016)

My (limited) experience with beech is that it is very difficult to air dry without excessive movement. I've also had bad luck with cracking. I hope the kiln you are considering will help with your slabs. 

Here are a couple of threads on my experience milling and then air drying some 48" wide beech slabs.

http://www.arboristsite.com/community/threads/not-quite-beach-milling.250069/

http://www.arboristsite.com/community/threads/problem-drying-large-thick-beech-slabs.257506/

Several of these slabs were so thoroughly cracked after only partial drying that I wound up cutting them down into much smaller pieces, basically table leg and pepper mill sized. Quite a waste! Others that did not crack as bad still wound up cupping so much as they dried that in order to have any thickness remaining after they were flattened I had to rip them in half. 

And these slabs were clear wood from the trunk of a tree. Looking at your piece I have to +1 for BigOakAdot's comment, slabs from that will be a real challenge to dry. I think your losses will be high even with the most gentle kiln drying. However, if I had that log I would definitely mill it too! Hope to see more pictures of it as you progress.

Dan


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## BobL (Mar 3, 2016)

markvanzee said:


> I figured this was better than bar clamps since this would allow me to remove the chain for sharpening easiers. for this reason I also plan on running without clutch cover. only a clamp plate. I will add another safety guard so don't worry..



When I tried that, sawdust, resin and bar oil ended up all over the RHS of the powerhead including the cylinder fins, and the filter blocked up quicker. Adding a minimal guard to help shoot the sawdust and oil away from the saw really helps. The Exhaust of my 880 also further shoots the sawdust away from the operators feet so I never have to walk in or on sawdust.


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## markvanzee (Mar 10, 2016)

BobL said:


> When I tried that, sawdust, resin and bar oil ended up all over the RHS of the powerhead including the cylinder fins, and the filter blocked up quicker. Adding a minimal guard to help shoot the sawdust and oil away from the saw really helps. The Exhaust of my 880 also further shoots the sawdust away from the operators feet so I never have to walk in or on sawdust.



thanks Bob, I'm going to make a guard to redirect the shavings/oil etc.


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## markvanzee (Mar 15, 2016)

dear sawmillers, 

I made a video of me using my new dual ended chainsaw mill. I have milled 2 slabs of a beech log that i partialy cut with my logosol. I had a couple of issues that i need to adress, but all in all it worked out as i expected. enjoy the video and feel free to comment!



mark


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## joel logger (Mar 15, 2016)

Nice work! Looks like its running great. I hope everything keeps going well and that you get a bunch of really nice lumber out of that log. Hoping to see more video as things progress.


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## PhilB (Mar 15, 2016)

Nice Mill and well done video.


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## Marshy (Mar 15, 2016)

Any thoughts to sealing the log ends with something..? Only reason I ask is some logs will dry out and check/crack at the ends and make that part of the log waste... Is that an issue with this?


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## DTrap (Mar 15, 2016)

Wow that is a sweet setup. Nice video and mill.


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## KiwiBro (Jun 17, 2016)

Are there any pictures of the big beech log slabs please? By now they should be out of the kiln and hopefully *not* looking like giant crinkle-cut potato chips or corrugated roofing.


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## markvanzee (Jun 18, 2016)

Hi KiwiBro,

I do not have any pictures of the dry slabs yet, I have been milling today, have cut 2 slabs of the BIG BEECH log. (the log in the vid is a different log) 
these slabs will go straight into the kiln, no air drying so i guess these will be drying for the next 2 months at least. I have been filming the milling process today and will post this as soon as i get the video ready.

mark


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## markvanzee (Jun 21, 2016)

Hi Guys,

I've been milling last weekend and have cut 4 slabs of the beech log by now. I lost the footage of the first 2 slabs so these are the third and fourth slab that came off. The mill ran pretty good, I've bought a tach and tuned the 084 and 880 to the exact same rpm, now i don't have the problem anymore that the 880 causes the 084 to overrev. the 880 is running a little rich now but no big deal. 

I also replaced the rope with steel wire, and i attached a spring to protect the mill against the winch ... this gives a much more steady feed than the rope i had.



thanks for all your help and interest,

mark


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## BobL (Jun 21, 2016)

I'm concerned your mill and saw are flexing far too much and will eventually break something.
To reduce the flexing the powerhead needs to be moved closer to the mill and the mill should be attached direct to the powerhead bolts.
Something like this



In addition you can try linking the 4 points along the lines with a stiff but elastic material to act as a damper and reduce the amount of flexing.




I find just adding one ocky strap like this makes a big difference to the amount of flex.
Also note the full length handle above the mail mill frame - this also helps reduce flex.



One more tip, if you are using a winch it is better (less resistance to pull the saw along the line of the bar and not the line of the mill. Have a look at Will Malloff's set up in his book.


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## markvanzee (Jun 22, 2016)

Hi Bob,

I am indeed having some flexing in the mill. The saws are as close to the mill as possible, i have to put the tensioner in the middle or they wont fit on the bar. 

I am indeed going to strenghten the mill but was in a hurry to get the slabs cut so they can go in the kiln. 

I understand it better to pull the bar than the mill but my wire is not 2 times the length of this log. And because the mill is quite heavy, i havent found any issues with tipping over or whatsoever.

Btw very good solution to bolt the mill directly to the powerhead. Will look into that.

I was quite surprised the flexing doesnt affect the finish whatsoever

Would you add a auxilary oiler Bob? I can see any oil on the chain even with 2 oilers running at max. 

Thanks, mark


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## BobL (Jun 22, 2016)

markvanzee said:


> I understand it better to pull the bar than the mill but my wire is not 2 times the length of this log. And because the mill is quite heavy, i havent found any issues with tipping over or whatsoever.


You won't see any issues but the forces will still be there and be adding to power head load. 
I try not to push on the mill itself and instead apply pressure using my legs to the wrap handle of the power head as this transmits a force in a horizontal line to the bar. 
I realise that is too hard to do with such a big log but that setup should be cutting much faster than the video shows.



> I was quite surprised the flexing doesnt affect the finish whatsoever


That's because the bar isn't flexing but the rest of the rig is and is likely to damage something sooner or later. 



> Would you add a auxilary oiler Bob? I can see any oil on the chain even with 2 oilers running at max.


I don't quite understand what you mean - can or can't?

Given you have two power heads I am surprised at the slowness of the cut and the amount of dust being generated. What raker depth are you using?
Beech is not that hard and can be cut with much lower raker angles than standard.


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## markvanzee (Jul 3, 2016)

Given you have two power heads I am surprised at the slowness of the cut and the amount of dust being generated. What raker depth are you using?
Beech is not that hard and can be cut with much lower raker angles than standard.[/QUOTE]

sorry Bob i meant to say can't, was waiting for the ferry whilst typing this in a hurry.
I am using the stihl full house ripping chain, i have no idea what raker depth this has but i will look into it an if it's too high adjust it. I'll read your articles again to see what the correct depth was again. 

thanks again

mark


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## markvanzee (Aug 28, 2016)

I have been milling yesterday, have not had the opportunity to upgrade the mill but will get to that when the slabs are in the kiln.
once i found the right feed rate i could just sit down and enjoy the cutting from a distance, this way i don't have to stand in the dust and the exhaust fumes. I find this a huge improvement.






















mark


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## DTrap (Aug 28, 2016)

Looking good. Need a video of it in action with you sitting and relaxing.


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## jstare (Sep 24, 2016)

This is really a great setup, thank you for sharing with us. The only thing I can suggest is putting in wedges behind the saw as you cut. On these big heavy slabs you are likely going to be getting a lot of pinching on the bar as you go along which only adds more stress on everything.


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## Yellowbeard (Sep 25, 2016)

This makes me really want to get a dual ended setup so I can put both my 084s into action. Color me jealous.


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