CS Milling 101, Hints tips and tricks

[Rockfarmer]

I like the deck screws as well, 3 1/2", torx head

They work great and can be used over and over

 

[BobL]

I have a check list that is a word document that I print out so I can check to make sure I have everything I need loaded in the truck. I wish I had enough duplicate tools to not have to take some out of my milling tool box but such is not the case.

I have a tool box full of the tools dedicated to CS ops and milling that I keep in a tool box in my home shed and always put those tools back in there so I can just pick it up any time and go milling.

I list everthing I might need including food & water. that way I can check it off and know I didn't leave it sitting on the kitchen counter. I find this list particularly helpful when I havn't been out to mill for several months.

That's way too organized for me but I definitely tips me hat to you!

Milling Check List

075/076 with 42" bar and soon the 880!
051/441 with 24" bar and soon a 660 !
038/
homelite/check with 20" bar
mill/check
fresh gas/check
mix oil/check
bar oil/check
guide board/I use unistrut rails
cant hooks/check
broom/check
ax/check
shovel/check
fire extinguisher/check
cordless drill /check
respirator/check
gloves/check
tool tote/check
rags/check

PLUS
Plastic tub full of wedges
Crow bar
Pair of strong collapsible sawhorses
Kangaroo jack for lifting logs
2 x 6ft portable tressle table for servicing saw
Funnel
What I call my offset rack for starting awkward shaped logs
Oil can - filled with bar oil
Paint and paint brush
Box of spare chains - I use an old power tool box and wrap the chains in rags or place inside chinese food containers
Spare bars
Alternate set of mill rails for mill
Tarpaulin to throw over gear if it rains

Tool Tote
Scrench(2)/check
Regular screw driver/check
#2 phillips screw driver/check
carb adjusting screw driver/check
pliers/check
crescent wrench/check
vice grips /check
tape measure /check
wood chisel/ Nope but good idea!
driver tips #2 & #3/check
round files/check
flat file/check
3/16” drill/check
counter sink/
allen wrench/I take a whole set
ear plugs/Peltor Muffs
deck screws/check

PLUS
Small regular screwdriver
Small 2" vice
Pair of 12" clamps
Digital Angle finder
regular level
Torx driver for new Stihls
Small socket set
Spare nuts and bolts for log rails, mill and saw.
Magnetic anti-sag device for long bars.
Chaps
Full Face mask
Gloves

food/check
water/check
spare clothes/check
camera/check

PLUS
Hat
Sun Screen
Toilet Paper
Cell phone
First aid kit
Pack of moist towlettes (fer cleanin greasy hands before eating)
Plastic chair for sittin and filing!

and a partridge in a pear tree!!!!!!!

 

[dallasm1]

NOT to start any controversy, but IF you decide to use vegetable oil for chain oil:

1) If you leave your saw for any length of time (more than 2 weeks). Remove your chain and soak in motor oil until next time. Drain your saw oil resevoir completely. Vegetable oil will reduce down to a sticky goo after a relatively short period of time. In fact I NEVER leave the veg oil in my saw. Always empty the tank after every session.

2) Do not store your oil in plastic containers where VARMINTS can get to it. I left my jug of Canola oil out one day and when I returned the rats had knawed through the container. Lost 5 liters of Mazola on that one. Animals LOVE the oil (all animals! My dogs are always licking up the dirt and sawdust around where I am milling).

3) I have no opinion on canola vs. olive oil, virgin or otherwise.

4) I also have no expert opinion on benefits. I have been using veg oil and the saw seems to behave the same in every way as when I was using official bar oil. I think there have been several threads here and on the chainsaw forum that discuss this in hideous detail.

 

[BlueRider]

No controversy intended here but if you use the comercial vegetable bar oils like Stihl's Bio plus there is no need to drain you saw. I have been using Bio plus for a over a year now and have not had any pronblems with it in the tank, even when the saw sat unused for several months. The outside of the saw is a different story, it needs to be cleaned off within a couple of weeks or it will get crusty. I feel it is worth the additional cost over bulk vegetable cooking oil.

 

[BobL]

Bar nose clamp options

I get a few questions from folk about my bar nose clamps to maximize bar cutting length so I thought I would summarize some options here.



1: Shows the conventional Alaskan bar nose clamp on a roller or sprocket nose bar. Around 3-4 inches of bar length is lost because the clamp needs to steer clear of the roller

2: Shows where the clamp can be placed on a hard nose bar. If you are careful and the clamp pads are not too large you can place the corners of the pads right up to where the bottom of the bar groove starts on the nose. Making the clamp pad as small as 1 sq inch can get you closer still.

3: Shows a clamping mechanism that clamps onto a small (3/8" or less) bolt thru the middle of the roller. This is a safe place to drill on most bars.

4: Is the same as 3: but with a small recess drilled into the middle of the clamp pad. This provides a more positive grip of the bolt. This won't work If you have a GB mill where the powerhead connects to the bar bolts since you wont be able to adjust the chain without adjusting the position of the outboard part of the mill. So instead of a hole you can also use a slot like this.


A thread about this is here.

5: shows a bolt thru everything. This is one of THE safest methods.

6: Shows the location of the bolt/nut should sit inside the rivets that hold the roller/sprocket onto the nose.

7. Putting a small bolt thru each clamp pad so that it contacts only the middle of the sprocket. No bar drilling needed!

8. A variation of 5: with a bolt thru everything. This is also one of THE safest methods and on a GB style mill allows the chain to be changed without removing saw from mill.

 

[aggiewoodbutchr]

Here's a link to a thread showing my modified GB mill.

http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=64299&highlight=GB

As you can see I'm using a through bolt on the roller nose so I can change chains without dismounting the saw.

 

[BIG JAKE]

Oil reservoirs

Anybody have pics of oil reservoirs you made? I'd rather trade money for time and just buy one but need to keep cost down pending some head cutting at my company withing next 4-5 weeks. Never know. Anyway I saw aggies ball valve from a bathroom sink but didn't see the whole unit. I was thinking of an aluminum oxygen bottle cut down what capacity is optimal?

 

[BobL]

Here's a link to a thread showing my modified GB mill.

http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=64299&highlight=GB

As you can see I'm using a through bolt on the roller nose so I can change chains without dismounting the saw.

Ah Ha - I forgot that option - picture and post above modified to that effect.

CHeers

 

[aggiewoodbutchr]

My reservoir is just made from a 3" PVC pipe, cap and clean-out.

 

[BobL]

Anybody have pics of oil reservoirs you made? I'd rather trade money for time and just buy one but need to keep cost down pending some head cutting at my company withing next 4-5 weeks. Never know. Anyway I saw aggies ball valve from a bathroom sink but didn't see the whole unit. I was thinking of an aluminum oxygen bottle cut down what capacity is optimal?

I reckon somewhere around a quart works pretty well.
This one (Got the idea from Aggie, 3.5" pvc pipe) is just over a quart .


As is this one on the BIL mill


This one is just under a quart: Can you see a certain house style here?


This one is from another Aussie (Dai Sensei)

 

[Brmorgan]

I emptied, stripped, and inverted an old fire extinguisher, put a ball valve on the neck and a hose leading to a fitting on the bar, and cut a hole in the bottom (now top) of the fire extinguisher as a fill point. Cost: $0

 

[Brmorgan]

3) I have no opinion on canola vs. olive oil, virgin or otherwise.

I do... One's Canadian and costs a fraction of the other.

 

[BIG JAKE]

My reservoir is just made from a 3" PVC pipe, cap and clean-out.

Nice-that would be easy too.

I reckon somewhere around a quart works pretty well.

I emptied, stripped, and inverted an old fire extinguisher, put a ball valve on the neck and a hose leading to a fitting on the bar, and cut a hole in the bottom (now top) of the fire extinguisher as a fill point. Cost: $0

Nice examples-I'll have to see what's lying around. What point is optimal to drop the oil down onto? Was thinking seam on nose between rails and chain-almost 1/8" gap there on a new rollernose. Guess I could do a paper test and see how much oil flings off at certain points but you guys probably have this nailed already. Drip rate for 36-42" bars? I'll look at pics again. Be nice to segment a thread into categories so info isn't spread all over. Thks

 

[BobL]

Nice-that would be easy too.
Nice examples-I'll have to see what's lying around. What point is optimal to drop the oil down onto?

This post is about bar noses and oiler delivery points. Look at post number 3

Was thinking seam on nose between rails and chain-almost 1/8" gap there on a new rollernose. Guess I could do a paper test and see how much oil flings off at certain points but you guys probably have this nailed already. Drip rate for 36-42" bars? I'll look at pics again. Be nice to segment a thread into categories so info isn't spread all over. Thks

My 076 can deliver bar oil at the rate of 19 ml/min but no matter the quality of bar oil used (I use Stihl) quite a bit of this is flung off at the nose - I typically match that with the aux oiler - pretty well all of which gets to the cut. I also use canola in the Aux oiler as it doesn't need to be sticky because it doesn't need to go around a bar nose.

The 880 can deliver 38 ml/min but quite a bit of this is also flung of at the nose so I run the aux oiler the same (maybe a touch less) as I do for the 076.

The 3120 can deliver 58 mL/min - it's a real waste of oil as far as milling is concered as most of this get flung off at the nose.

 

[aggiewoodbutchr]

Here some pics of the oiler. I have since drilled the bar and have the oil going directly into the roller nose but I can't find the pics.

The large section of hose just below the valve acts like an IV drip so I can see exactly how much oil is being delivered.

 

[BIG JAKE]

My 076 can deliver bar oil at the rate of 19 ml/min but no matter the quality of bar oil used (I use Stihl) quite a bit of this is flung off at the nose - I typically match that with the aux oiler - pretty well all of which gets to the cut. I also use canola in the Aux oiler as it doesn't need to be sticky because it doesn't need to go around a bar nose.

The 880 can deliver 38 ml/min but quite a bit of this is also flung of at the nose so I run the aux oiler the same (maybe a touch less) as I do for the 076.

The 3120 can deliver 58 mL/min - it's a real waste of oil as far as milling is concered as most of this get flung off at the nose.[/QUOTE]

Here some pics of the oiler. I have since drilled the bar and have the oil going directly into the roller nose but I can't find the pics.

The large section of hose just below the valve acts like an IV drip so I can see exactly how much oil is being delivered.

You're both dropping the aux oil in the same place-good enough for me I've seen the stuff you guys mill. I like the IV visual drip too easier to quantify what yer putting on. Thanx fellers I'll post some pics on what I come up with.

 

[BobL]

Aggie, if the bar nose is bolted to the outboard end of the mill and the inboard end is bolted by the bar bolts, how do you adjust your chain tension?

 

[aggiewoodbutchr]

The mill is bolted to the bar independently from the saw. I can dismount the powerhead without changing anything on the mill.

What you see here is a stiffener plate that takes the place of the stock cover and prevents the bar from flexing or bending.

I may have started with a GB mill but there's now much of it left now.

 

[BobL]

Ah ha . . so its more or less identical to a "bolts onto the bar at both ends" with no bar underclamps, type alaskan?

I also thought your sawdust guard was connected to your saw but I see it is not, does much sawdust sneak past the edge of the guard?

My new 880 setup has also got a little away from the original BIL Mill connection (plus more sexy ally work courtesy of BIL!) I ended up using a longer support plate because the 880 is longer at the front of the saw than the 076 so I had to move it back from the mill a bit to get it to fit.



Thanks
Bob

 

[aggiewoodbutchr]

Ah ha . . so its more or less identical to a "bolts onto the bar at both ends" with no bar underclamps, type alaskan?

Some what. It bolts through the bar.

I also thought your sawdust guard was connected to your saw but I see it is not, does much sawdust sneak past the edge of the guard?

It is attached to the saw. What you see touching the mill is not attached. Not much really gets past. Not enough to notice a difference anyway.

My new 880 setup has also got a little away from the original BIL Mill connection (plus more sexy ally work courtesy of BIL!) I ended up using a longer support plate because the 880 is longer at the front of the saw than the 076 so I had to move it back from the mill a bit to get it to fit.

Thanks
Bob

Nice