Aux oiler point on bar

Here is my first attempt at making an outboard "in-chain-bar-groove-oiler" line.

Photo 1 shows 5/16 x 1.5" bolt with 3/16" hole drilled down the centre.


Drilling a straight hole in this way even with a drill press is harder than it looks but it doesn't matter if it pokes out the side as long as the break out is near the head of the bolt, you will have to drill a hole in the side of the bolt anyway.

I used a 3/16" round file to open up a slot in the side of the bolt.


Drilling any holes in a bar makes me nervous but fortunately I have an old Oregon bar so I was not that concerned if I messed up. Marking it up was a bit tricky.

I had heard that most CS bars are hard and you will need a TC tipped bit to drill holes in bars so I did not want to be poking a fine bit inside the chain drive link groove to make a fluid connection with the hole so I marked up for a 1mm overlap between the hole and the bottom of the groove.

I first made a pilot hole with a brand new standard 1/8" HSS bit and it cut through the bar easily enough using lotsa coolant and a medium pressure on the DP. Then I switched to a 5/16" TC tipped drill and it went through the bar with very little trouble, a normal HSS would have done it with only a little more trouble.

With the bolt in the hole there is a 5/32" long connection with the bar groove so there is plenty of area for the oil to flow out of.


It's just a whisker too close for my liking because if the bolt rotates in its hole the bottom of the drive links could hit the side of the bolt in the slot. To prevent this I have since cut a slot in the bolt head and part way along the bolt, and brazed a steel tab into the slot. In the bar I cut a thin slot that the tab slides into and stops the bolt rotating allowing the chain drive links to pass without striking the bolt.


So here is the final thing, ready for the oil line from the aux tank to be attached.


When I do it next time I will drill the hole about 3/16" further back from the groove and then drill a 1/8 " hole from the bottom of the chain groove to the bolt hole.

You may also ask why I am placing the hole so close to the bar nose. This is because my mill outboard clamp grabs the very end of the nose to maximize cutting length. If I move my Aux oil hole further back along the bar I lose cutting length.

BobL said:

When I do it next time I will drill the hole about 3/16" further back from the groove and then drill a 1/8 " hole from the bottom of the chain groove to the bolt hole.

You may also ask why I am placing the hole so close to the bar nose. This is because my mill outboard clamp grabs the very end of the nose to maximize cutting length. If I move my Aux oil hole further back along the bar I lose cutting length.

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Nice mod. :biggrinbounce2:

Few things:
1. You need to include a pic of the bolt-head key and slot in the bar. I understand what you're saying but it's bad form to brag about your mod and then not include a pic...

2. Moving the bolt out of the groove altogether is a good idea but I don't know if 1/8 is enough since it's an indirect channel - you might want to drill 2 1/8 holes with a slightly bigger bolt or drill them as close as possible and "merge the holes".


Just wondering out loud on this point....
I don't mill but one thing about aux oilers I've wondered about is the placement of the oiler. Which is better: right before the tip or right after?
Right before the tip ensures the tip gets good oil but more is slung off the tip and this deprives the clutch end. Right after the tip ensures the whole backside of the bar gets coated but if the main oiler isn't putting out enough oil the tip gets deprived.

beelsr said:

Nice mod. :biggrinbounce2:
1. You need to include a pic of the bolt-head key and slot in the bar. I understand what you're saying but it's bad form to brag about your mod and then not include a pic...

Click to expand...

I did take a couple of photos of the final key and slot mod but they were badly out of focus (like the others only worse as didn't have my usual camera) so that's why I drew the picture. I guess I should have explained this in my first post. When I get my good camera back I will retake the photos.

2. Moving the bolt out of the groove altogether is a good idea but I don't know if 1/8 is enough since it's an indirect channel - you might want to drill 2 1/8 holes with a slightly bigger bolt or drill them as close as possible and "merge the holes".

Click to expand...

Good idea. Drilling them close together in the bottom of the groove will be a challenge as it's pretty hard to see what's going on and not possible to get a regular centre punch in there. I have some 5/16 x 1/8 " steel from my wood working tool steel stock that I can probably grind two points 1/16" or maybe even 1/32" apart, and punch the two holes simultaneously. Then connecting the two could be "interesting" - have to think about that one.

I don't mill but one thing about aux oilers I've wondered about is the placement of the oiler. Which is better: right before the tip or right after? Right before the tip ensures the tip gets good oil but more is slung off the tip and this deprives the clutch end. Right after the tip ensures the whole backside of the bar gets coated but if the main oiler isn't putting out enough oil the tip gets deprived.

Click to expand...

To some extent they both get equal time (of lack of time) when the bar is turned but maybe oil lines to both would be even better? Humm, also something to think about, would be interested in experienced millers thoughts on this one.

BobL said:

I did take a couple of photos of the final key and slot mod but they were badly out of focus (like the others only worse as didn't have my usual camera) so that's why I drew the picture. I guess I should have explained this in my first post. When I get my good camera back I will retake the photos.


Good idea. Drilling them close together in the bottom of the groove will be a challenge as it's pretty hard to see what's going on and not possible to get a regular centre punch in there. I have some 5/16 x 1/8 " steel from my wood working tool steel stock that I can probably grind two points 1/16" or maybe even 1/32" apart, and punch the two holes simultaneously. Then connecting the two could be "interesting" - have to think about that one.


To some extent they both get equal time (of lack of time) when the bar is turned but maybe oil lines to both would be even better? Humm, also something to think about, would be interested in experienced millers thoughts on this one.

Click to expand...

Im not going to pretend to be an experienced miller as I am still figuring stuff out all of the time by way of trial and error and with good advice from other AS members. Anyway, I have a 44 inch double ended bar fron Granberg which is drilled at the beginning of the groove on the bottom side of the bar. It is in fact drilled twice so that the bar can be flipped and still have a hole for the oiler. My 395 has always done a good job of oiling the top of the bar. I may catch some grief over this one but here goes anyway, I have several boards that were milled with my 08S with the same bar set-up and the 08 oiled the top of bar very good as well. My vote goes for drilling the bar after the sprocket tip on the lower end of the bar. The bottom part of the bar is catching most of the hell when milling anyway. A few pumps of grease to the tip every now and then should help out with protecting the tip.

BobL said:

Good idea. Drilling them close together in the bottom of the groove will be a challenge as it's pretty hard to see what's going on and not possible to get a regular centre punch in there. I have some 5/16 x 1/8 " steel from my wood working tool steel stock that I can probably grind two points 1/16" or maybe even 1/32" apart, and punch the two holes simultaneously. Then connecting the two could be "interesting" - have to think about that one.

Click to expand...

If you knew someone who was good with a mill and had a ball end mill that small, it would probably be done. I'm nowhere near good enough and I don't have any end mills small enough for that. Or maybe you could use a keyway cutter (the mills that look like a circular saw on the end of the shaft) and cut a scallop out of the middle layer of the bar - would need a large diameter, relatively thin keyway cutter but i do know that _those_ exist.

I drew up a crappy little pic. Red arc represents the cut out portion of the middle layer and the blue is where the bolt would go.

Thanks for the feedback guys.

The keyway cutter or slitting saw idea sound good. The depth of the groove is about 7/16" so Using a 3" diameter slitting saw with a 1" max depth cut, slitting to 1/2" will provide a 1/4" long x 1/16" deep slit in the bottom of the groove. Slitting to 9/16" will make a 11/16" long slit which is 1/8" deep.

If the centre of a 5/16" bolt is located 7/32" below the grove it will intersect with the slitted hole by 1/4" which should be sufficient.

I'm heading for the shop to see what they have!

Cheers

I have been reading this thread trying to keep up with the machine work going on. I've got a question regarding the bolt used for oiling the chain at the tip. Would it be possible to cut a ring around the bolt. (lathe and thin cutoff tool as a plunge cut) This could be done so it aligns with the center of the bar. The advantage would be if the bolt does turn it won't matter as it's turning to another area that won't hit the chain. ??? Leroy

Leroy in Kansas said:

I have been reading this thread trying to keep up with the machine work going on. I've got a question regarding the bolt used for oiling the chain at the tip. Would it be possible to cut a ring around the bolt. (lathe and thin cutoff tool as a plunge cut) This could be done so it aligns with the center of the bar. The advantage would be if the bolt does turn it won't matter as it's turning to another area that won't hit the chain. ??? Leroy

Click to expand...

yes it would an advantage but it would have to be a shallow groove, a small exit hole in the bar, or using a larger bolt. If not the bolt might snap.

After trying both "bolt thru bar" and the "oil dropping on chain" methods I no longer use the bolt through bar method because bolt through bar method;
- requires two holes in the bar and the feed positions have to be swapped every time the bar is flipped.
- Because the oil is relying on gravity feed the oil holes in the bar can easily get blocked by sawdust.
- On sprocket or roller nose bars the bolt thru the bar cannot be placed in the area of the nose so cutting width is lost on mills that hold the bar through the nose..

Maybe I am missing the point on this, but doesn't Granberg sell these for cheap?

I have theirs, I find the biggest problem (only one really) is that the bar groove gets filled up with oil soaked dust and blocks off the slot in the oiler bolt. I have to take the chain off and scrape/blow out the bar groove to unblock it. I am not sure that this new design will solve that problem?

Cheers Bob,

Dan

Daninvan said:

Maybe I am missing the point on this, but doesn't Granberg sell these for cheap?

I have theirs, I find the biggest problem (only one really) is that the bar groove gets filled up with oil soaked dust and blocks off the slot in the oiler bolt. I have to take the chain off and scrape/blow out the bar groove to unblock it. I am not sure that this new design will solve that problem?

Cheers Bob,

Dan

Click to expand...

Bob explained that in his last post above, I think. Pretty much everyone just uses a dripper setup now, it seems.

PS - This thread is three years old from back when Bob and I were still milling n00bs and before I even joined AS. LOL!

Ooops, I need to start reading these threads a bit more carefully - Thanks Brad!

Dan

i just read this and realized the date it was posted. i thought Bob was regressing on us!

Daninvan said:

Ooops, I need to start reading these threads a bit more carefully - Thanks Brad!

Dan

Click to expand...

No worries, good threads/experiences are timeless!

I know this is an old thread, but BobL would you happen to have the pictures and descriptions from the making of the aux oiler? i'm looking to make one would appreciate any and all help.
thanks!
-Chris

I no longer advocate the "drilling the bar method" for aux oiling because it gets blocked with saw dust and doesn't suit sprocket nose bars unless the holes are made away from the sprocket which reduces cutting length.

Anyway FWTW here are the photos.

What do you recommend then?

Quietfly said:

What do you recommend then?

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Sorry I should have indicated this.
I recommend just dripping bar oil directly onto the bar just behind the chain up near the nose.

One advantage of the drip method is that the bar can be more easily removed from the mill.

If the log is sloped the oil will run down the bar into the gap between the bar and chain and provide adequate lubrication.
The reason I try to do it this way is that the moving chain tends to flick a lot of oil of the chain
However if the log is not sloped or for whatever reason the oil cannot run into the gap then I drip direct onto the gap.

Here are a few pics
The oiler point is a piece of brass all thread rod with a hole drilled down the middle (it's easiest to do this on a lathe)
Using something like brass is important because brass will not damage a chain if they happen to kiss.
The end of the rod is turned to a point and located on a movable plate above the gap between chain and bar.
The picture shows the plate and how the position can be adjusted to suit different bar nose shapes etc


In this one I show the drip point (coming down from above) compared to the old thru bar oiler from below.




I can adjust the oil flow while running the saw via this tap


An this lever.


BTW in the photos above I show I am using a braided SS flexible plumbing mains water hose to connect the oiler point to the aux oiler tank and the connections are screw fittings.
The canola oil I was using eventually (over about 2 years) made the plastic tube inside the hose swell and reduce the flow which is one reason why I switched back to bar oil.

This is the patch of oil I like to see on the bar

Thank you for sharing this and the pictures