adding wheels to a stock granberg alaska mill?

[Ancient One]

Since maximizing width of cut is a concern to you, here's something small, cheap and easy to get from lowes that might work. https://www.lowes.com/pd/Prime-Line-1-5-in-Steel-Sliding-Patio-Door-Roller-and-Axle-Kit/3083263

Looks like you can just get some longer bolts. These are only 1.5 inches, so only about 1/4 inch protrudes beyond the edge of your mill if you center the hole for the axle in the base of your mill. This would maximize your cutting width, BUT you may want larger because 1/4 inc can get swallowed in the bark. It certainly would with the pecan bark I'm cutting

Not sturdy enough for me. I will take a pic later today and post of the rollers I have.

I have a machine shop in the back yard, so fabricating a nice aluminum bracket to fit the power end of the mill to attach the rollers will be a piece of cake for me.

 

[csmillingnoob]

Uh, yeah. That's a backyard shop alright.

 

[Ancient One]

Uh, yeah. That's a backyard shop alright.

About a third of the shop. Dirty old retired guys need a place to play!

Albany Georgia. I was born in Brunswick, drafted in 1967, graduated from Auburn in 1972. Moved to the Pacific NW after discharge, fell in love with the rain forest and big timber when I was stationed at Tacoma, WA.

 

[Ancient One]

Rollers from the stash. Moly impregnated nylon, complete with grade 8 shoulder bolts. Maybe I will put them on in tandem, so I will have rollers for above and below the bar without having to switch.

Lonely Stihls just waiting for the mods to the Alaskan Mill to be complete and the snow to go away!

 

[Husky Man]

Uh, yeah. That's a backyard shop alright.

Not the TYPICAL Backyard Shop for sure, but I have known guys that would or have had that or near to it.

It's just a matter of what your Interests and priorities (And BUDGET) are.



Doug

 

[Ancient One]

Not the TYPICAL Backyard Shop for sure, but I have known guys that would or have had that or near to it.

It's just a matter of what your Interests and priorities (And BUDGET) are.



Doug

Some guys spend money on tobacco, alcohol and women. Women were too expensive for me (divorced in 1994). Never smoked, quit all alcohol in my 20's.

You are looking at a 50 year collection. May post more shop photos later.

Never start collecting machinery until you are living in your last homestead!!! The iron is very heavy and extremely difficult to move!

 

[Husky Man]

I Believe you on not getting at least the Major machine tools until you are in your Forever home

If you were a machinist by trade, I can easily see a shop like that, even in retirement many can't get it out of their system, and if you know where to look, while not "Cheap" good condition older NON-CNC machine tools can be found for reasonable prices. Again, Priorities and budget and space have a lot to do with it.


Doug

ps I Truly Envy those with the skills to utilize those tools to their fullest potential

 

[Husky Man]

Ancient One, were you at McChord, or Fort Lewis?, Both are Now JBLM.


Doug

 

[BobL]

I am impressed with the way information is shared all the way from Australia up to where I live in the States, way out on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State in the Pacific North West. Big logging country for sure!

That's how I got started back in 2005 I drifted on/off to AS as a lurker and eventually joined in 2007 - learned quickly from all the great advice and took it from there.

Off to the Stihl shop today to buy a pair of chainsaw chaps, I do not like the idea of my legs so close to a 5-1/5 foot bar with razors flying around without protection!

My risk assessment of a chain injury while actually milling is that it is much safer than regular CS use. The chain has come off or broken on my step a number of times and it just flops down inside the kerf. The most likely time a CS related injury will occur is when prepping logs or the odd emergency trim off the side of a log while milling because the bar is not long enough to get around that point. I know I'm not going to stop and put on chaps for such a small cut so I just wear them all the time. The one time I had a chain come off and hit me in the privates was when I was doing a small trimming job for Mom. I had finished and put the saw away and we were having a coffee when she spied a 5ft high 4" diameter stump (that I had just cut to her specific instructions) and she wanted it completely removed. So I went to the van and got the 441 out and fired it up - chain was way too loose and got me in the, as we say here, "goolies" - no blood - just PAIN, and a bright purple/red bruise thacame up later

I bought a Stihl Pro Mark Forestry Helmet two days ago, I was surprised, much less cost than on the web and Amazon! Our Stihl Shop takes care of the loggers up here, no high prices. The shop is like a candy store to a kid and it is only 2 miles from me, I go buy it every time I have to go into town. Darn truck has automatic steering and wants to pull into the shop each time I pass.

Ha - I always wear full face protection. On the very first log I milled with the 076 and teh BIL Mill, the 3/4" BSP brass cap I was using as the lid on my Aux Oiler tank vibrated off and landed on the chain at WOT and it flung the thing right between my eyes. it felt like I had been hit by a small baseball bat. Luckily I was wearing a full face polycarbonate shield - still got a bruise though.

 

[Ancient One]

I have always worn muffs and safety glasses while running the saw, but the muffs were always uncomfortable and the plastic safety glasses were not the best for good vision. So with the mill I decided to buy better muffs as you are close to a loud engine for a long period.

Anyway, after a week of cruising the internet I did not find any muffs that I liked. Almost bought the Husky Forrester Helmet but did not like the reviews. Walked in the Stihl shop 2 days ago, saw the Stihl Pro Mark, tried it on, and was sold. Read comfy and the screen is not visible when looking a few feet away. A plus is it has the knob ratchet adjust.

I want the chaps as I have had a couple of near misses over the years. With big heavy saws and long bars. My older Stihl has a 50 inch bar, years ago big old growth Fir butts were available out in the logging country west of me, left on the landings and were fair game for the firewood guys like me. Both near misses were when I was pulling the bar out of a cut and still had enough RPM for chain movement and grazed my pants leg. Luckily no blood but could have been worse. Ripped up nice Carhartts. I learned to take my finger off the throttle!!!

 

[Ancient One]

Ancient One, were you at McChord, or Fort Lewis?, Both are Now JBLM.


Doug

McChord. 1976. F 106 maintenance Officer. Discharged there, I had enough of the AF Politics!!!!! Before that a few tours in Europe, SE Asia, 4 years at Travis in California. I loved Travis in the early 1970's, right in the center of great Striped Bass fishing. I was in the C-5 program, had a lot of fun getting those big pigs off the ground! A maintenance nightmare.

Now live in Port Angeles. Yea, I hate JBLM, biggest traffic jams on I 5 in that area. Go through there about 5 times a year, glad I am not living in that area now facing a daily commute!!!

 

[Husky Man]

McChord. 1976. F 106 maintenance Officer. Discharged there, I had enough of the AF Politics!!!!! Before that a few tours in Europe, SE Asia, 4 years at Travis in California. I loved Travis in the early 1970's, right in the center of great Striped Bass fishing. I was in the C-5 program, had a lot of fun getting those big pigs off the ground! A maintenance nightmare.

Now live in Port Angeles. Yea, I hate JBLM, biggest traffic jams on I 5 in that area. Go through there about 5 times a year, glad I am not living in that area now facing a daily commute!!!

First, Thank You for your Service

I Know what you mean about the JBLM I-5 Traffic, I'm a Truck Driver, Stihl go that way frequently. My first Driving job (Tractor Trailer) was for a Food service company 1988-2002, on my Tacoma route, I had the Burger King Restaurants on both Lewis and McChord, and Fairchild on my Spokane run, I was 20 minutes from Fairchild, when the second plane hit the WTC on 9/11, I doubt that I need to tellyou about the FUN times following that. Fortunately, I wasn't on base yet, and they had a small order that I could work around, all 3 got real serious at the gates for quite awhile, didn't need to ask if those M16's were loaded, you could see that the TOW missle launchers on the Hummers were too, and I sure didn't argue with them about putting a Dog in my Reefer full of food.


Doug

 

[Ancient One]

It was a lot easier in the 1970's. No threats, maybe two guards at the gate, no dogs or searches. A base sticker on the windshield and you were waved in.

Times were safer back then.

 

[Husky Man]

It was a lot easier in the 1970's. No threats, maybe two guards at the gate, no dogs or searches. A base sticker on the windshield and you were waved in.

Times were safer back then.

Yep, I was born in '65, I remember being a kid/teen in the 70's , it was a Great time to grow up, I wouldn't trade Childhoods with Today's Kids on Dare.

No Lap tops or Cell phones and the Atari 2600 was a "High Tech" video game, but the FREEDOM I/We had back then compared to Now My Friends and I did things that modern Parents would lose their minds over.

Unless He was Pushed in, or the really rare "Panty Raid", a Guy in the Girl's Restroom/Locker room didn't Happen much, NOW? The schools let any Dude that "Identifies" as a Female in

It wasn't just a Different Time, it was a Different WORLD, I really miss it some times


Doug

 

[BobL]

I have always worn muffs and safety glasses while running the saw, but the muffs were always uncomfortable and the plastic safety glasses were not the best for good vision. So with the mill I decided to buy better muffs as you are close to a loud engine for a long period.

Anyway, after a week of cruising the internet I did not find any muffs that I liked.

When I was around 40 my wife suggested I get my ears tested and it turned out I had hearing loss across the range and significant hearing damage from in a specific frequency range from what the audiologist called "exposure to too much 70's rock music". On average my hearing was more damaged than my peers. After that I investigated muffs and found that Peltor Muffs had one of the best noise reduction profiles so I bought pair and used them mainly in my shop and always seemed to have them on. I was also doing a lot of air travel back then so I bough a pair of Bose noise cancelling muffs for this - I ended up with several pairs of these muffs. I even used the Peltors on short flights as they are VERY effective at sound reduction on aircraft - the only problem is they use a very high sideways pressure to get that attenuation so they do become uncomfortable on flights longer than a few hours (that's nearly ALL flights out of Perth)

Once I found myself in SF international in a very crowded departure lounge - it was HOT and the AC was not coping and there was nowhere to sit. When a very loud alarm went off it was so loud every left the lounge so I put the muffs on and plonked myself on the best seat. When security eventually (20 minutes) turned up they looked at me with bewildered looks on their faces - it turns out someone had forced a secure door open. One of the security guards looked at me suspiciously and I was asked a few questions - like, "Are you deaf. how can your sit there with that racket going on?"

When I started milling about 13 years ago I was copious that I was going to need to wear the muffs for long periods so tried out the Bose noise cancelling muffs but the Peltors were better so I bought another pair and now I have 4 pairs of Peltors and these days I always find myself with Muffs on. When I had my hearing tested again recently it turned out my hearing was close to average for my peers. Your hearing cannot improve as you get older BUT you can slow the hearing loss down and this is what has happened - everyone else has continued to degrade faster than mine had even though I was using muffler modded chainsaws.

At the local "Men's shop" (a community shop used mainly by retired men) that I attend for a few years after I retired I was surprised to see how many members did not use muffs when using machinery. It turned out many of these members were already so deaf they did not think they had to wear muffs. They could not understand that the deafer they are, all the more reason to wear muffs to protect what little hearing they had left.

 

[BetzyF4ever]

When I was around 40 my wife suggested I get my ears tested and it turned out I had hearing loss across the range and significant hearing damage from in a specific frequency range from what the audiologist called "exposure to too much 70's rock music". On average my hearing was more damaged than my peers. After that I investigated muffs and found that Peltor Muffs had one of the best noise reduction profiles so I bought pair and used them mainly in my shop and always seemed to have them on. I was also doing a lot of air travel back then so I bough a pair of Bose noise cancelling muffs for this - I ended up with several pairs of these muffs. I even used the Peltors on short flights as they are VERY effective at sound reduction on aircraft - the only problem is they use a very high sideways pressure to get that attenuation so they do become uncomfortable on flights longer than a few hours (that's nearly ALL flights out of Perth)

Once I found myself in SF international in a very crowded departure lounge - it was HOT and the AC was not coping and there was nowhere to sit. When a very loud alarm went off it was so loud every left the lounge so I put the muffs on and plonked myself on the best seat. When security eventually (20 minutes) turned up they looked at me with bewildered looks on their faces - it turns out someone had forced a secure door open. One of the security guards looked at me suspiciously and I was asked a few questions - like, "Are you deaf. how can your sit there with that racket going on?"

When I started milling about 13 years ago I was copious that I was going to need to wear the muffs for long periods so tried out the Bose noise cancelling muffs but the Peltors were better so I bought another pair and now I have 4 pairs of Peltors and these days I always find myself with Muffs on. When I had my hearing tested again recently it turned out my hearing was close to average for my peers. Your hearing cannot improve as you get older BUT you can slow the hearing loss down and this is what has happened - everyone else has continued to degrade faster than mine had even though I was using muffler modded chainsaws.

At the local "Men's shop" (a community shop used mainly by retired men) that I attend for a few years after I retired I was surprised to see how many members did not use muffs when using machinery. It turned out many of these members were already so deaf they did not think they had to wear muffs. They could not understand that the deafer they are, all the more reason to wear muffs to protect what little hearing they had left.

Happy Wednesday from Ontario Canada Bob Just checking in here to see if you have any more interesting super practical wheel setups for the alaskan mill, hehe. I'm a newbie to the milling game but loving it all the way. I am noticing the drag factor along the logs edge for sure, hoping to come up with something like yours for my mill (48″ ALASKAN® MKIV CHAINSAW MILL – G778-48)
Really like the idea of upper and lower ones plus adjustable for the different log shapes, cut depths etc.
Thanks in advance for any input/reply
My latest logs milling before the snow flies...