# Yes I Cant



## wavefreak (May 18, 2009)

So, just finished my first little milling experiment yesterday. Don't laugh too hard, but I used one of these: http://www.woodcraft.com/product.aspx?ProductID=03P53&FamilyID=3037

and a Solo 650 with a 20" bar. (The plan is to convince my wife that a dork like me really CAN make a tree into a board, then after my son gets married in June get an Alaskan and a real chain saw).

Now that you are done snorting your coffee, you can laugh a little more. Sorry. No pics, but I got into what I was doing and didn't stop till I was done. There was a large maple on my property that was triple stemmed (is that what you call it?) and had split down the seams to about a foot above the ground. So last year I had it felled. The tree guy dropped it and I put a sign up "free fire wood". Everything disappeared except the monstrosity of the main trunk. So this ugly, 10 foot long, three fanged monster sat in my yard all fall and winter.

Why oh why would I pick something like this as my first milling, using a puny saw and what amounts to a jig?

Well, spending $1000 for tools just before the wedding was just not going to fly and I figure just about every problem possible could arise while doing this so WTF.

The flag pole stub in one side was the answer to the possibility of metal. Then there was the question of how to cut it up. I must have got lucky because I plunged about 8 holes along the seams and drove wedges in. It split apart rather nicely into 3 18" "logs". It was rotted in a few spots but was 90% sound. So me and my helper used 4x4s as levers and stuff and blocked them up off the ground. (Simple machines are fascinating, but I need to get better log handling tools.) 

Using the little old Haddon I cut up the first log yesterday and ended up with four usable 2.5"x11.5"x8' maple boards, stacked and drying. Cool. They will eventually be surface planed down to 2", ripped into 1/8" strips and applied to the wall of the sun room I'm building.

So I am no longer a milling virgin.

As for the Haddon? It worked surprisingly well considering that it is nothing more than a jig to clamp on your bar. The cant I got was not quite square, but close enough. With more care that could probably be better. The cut was fairly smooth. But I think this could only be useful in the long run for something quick and small that doesn't require huge precision. But setup is really fast. Basically nail a guide board to the log.

But I think I'll be doing some more of this milling stuff. Seems a little more primal than sitting in front of a computer all day at my job. And primal can be good.


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## SilverBox (May 18, 2009)

Congrats! Now get some pics!!


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## mtngun (May 18, 2009)

The Haddon appears identical to the Horror Fright lumber maker. Perhaps the Haddon is made of better metal, but the HF's clamp is springy and doesn't grip the bar reliably. 

But, welcome to the elite milling club !!!!!!


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## wavefreak (May 18, 2009)

mtngun said:


> The Haddon appears identical to the Horror Fright lumber maker. Perhaps the Haddon is made of better metal, but the HF's clamp is springy and doesn't grip the bar reliably.
> 
> But, welcome to the elite milling club !!!!!!



Bwhahhaha. Horror Fright. That one looks pretty close but it looks like it only has one set screw. The extra $40 for the Haddon must be for those two more set screws. The other problem with these is that you can rock the whole thing on the guide. Not a precision instrument. Also, the tip of the bar is isn't anchored and I could see a lot of lateral vibration.

An Alaskan is definitely in my future.


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## mtngun (May 18, 2009)

I can't find my HF lumbermaker at the moment (no great loss) but I'm pretty sure it has two setscrews. I ended up drilling my bar so it can use through bolts instead of the setscrews -- a pain, but it did make the lumbermaker useable.

Here's a pic of similar unit (borrowed from an ebay seller) showing two setscrews. 






I'd like to buy or make a Granberg-style mini-mill to replace my HF unit. The mini-mills/lumbermakers are handy for edging slabs and cutting a slab into posts (I've tried cutting posts with a 36" Alaskan, and it can be done, but it's awkward as all get out).


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## jkupcha (May 18, 2009)

I have a Haddon lumber maker. Just used it today to make the cants I sent pictures in on another thread. Mine has 3 set screws to grip the bar. 2 are tightened, The third is like a backup. If I tighten the third then the other 2 get loose. I guess the third flexes the bar. So the two work very well. Nothing I can't plane out.


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## excess650 (May 18, 2009)

With the Haddon Lumbermaker you have the choice of using 3 set screws or drilling your bar and bolting up tight. The Haddon needs some sort of handle attached to the guide, IMO. Any of these "beam machine" types are only as good as the operator and the board being used as the guide.

For a few $ more, the Granberg Mini Mill is a much better piece of equipment. Its not dependent upon the width of the guide board, but rather, the straightness of the aluminum guide rail attached to the board.

With an Alaskan and Minil Mill its possible to make square, parallel boards, beams or cants without ever turning the log.


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## wavefreak (May 18, 2009)

jkupcha said:


> I have a Haddon lumber maker. Just used it today to make the cants I sent pictures in on another thread. Mine has 3 set screws to grip the bar. 2 are tightened, The third is like a backup. If I tighten the third then the other 2 get loose. I guess the third flexes the bar. So the two work very well. Nothing I can't plane out.



I didn't have trouble with the three screws. I tightened each one just barely at first and then kept tightening each on 1/4 turn until the were all about the same.


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## wavefreak (May 18, 2009)

excess650 said:


> With the Haddon Lumbermaker you have the choice of using 3 set screws or drilling your bar and bolting up tight. The Haddon needs some sort of handle attached to the guide, IMO. Any of these "beam machine" types are only as good as the operator and the board being used as the guide.
> 
> For a few $ more, the Granberg Mini Mill is a much better piece of equipment. Its not dependent upon the width of the guide board, but rather, the straightness of the aluminum guide rail attached to the board.
> 
> With an Alaskan and Minil Mill its possible to make square, parallel boards, beams or cants without ever turning the log.



You're right about "as good as the operator". Not to blow my horn, but I was patient and concentrated on keeping it seated on the guide board properly.

I bought the Haddon before I found out about the Granberg or would have bought that instead. The handle on the Granberg looks like a no brainer feature.

After using it I could see how combining it with an Alaskan could be the best way to utilize it. Not having to roll the logs sounds good to me.


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## wavefreak (May 18, 2009)

*Some pics.*

The foundation of the sun room and the two remaining pieces of the trunk. 

Pretty, ain't they?


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## irishcountry (May 19, 2009)

Nice block work there!! Good to hear you milling too!!


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