Alder I’m milling tomorrow

[motolife313]

not totally sure if I wanna mill it in half or try and get a flat slab or 2. What would you do?im leaning towards 1 thick slab or 2 or do people like a lot of live edge like if I cut it in half? It went down in the snow storm last week and I bucked it up today, not huge maybe 1’ diameter, might be more.

 

[motolife313]

Not the most exotic grain but got some curves to it. 10” diameter and about 3” thick. For some reason my mill kept getting stuck. Somehow it was getting tight between the mill and bar on the 2x8 I was using. Was frustrating but got it done. I’m very green at this so there’s a lot to learn lol. Is this puppy going to want and try to split down the middle? This a good slab or will it rip itself apart?

 

[Husky Man]

Not the most exotic grain but got some curves to it. 10” diameter and about 3” thick. For some reason my mill kept getting stuck. Somehow it was getting tight between the mill and bar on the 2x8 I was using. Was frustrating but got it done. I’m very green at this so there’s a lot to learn lol. Is this puppy going to want and try to split down the middle? This a good slab or will it rip itself apart?View attachment 716546View attachment 716545 View attachment 716544

Hi Morolife313, I'm New to CSM myself, and I'm not familiar with the Mill You have, my first guess would be that the guide/index plate and your Bar aren't exactly parallel, if it is binding/pinching the leading edges might be a little farther apart than the trailing edges, which would make the bar "Dive" and fight against the guide/index plate.

If it was a bit narrow between the leading edges and wide between the trailing edges your bar would want to "Climb", and would lift the guide/index plate off the log.

What part of Portland are you in?

I'm East of Sandy, OR between Brightwood and Zig Zag, and I work near NE Sandy Blvd and 158th Ave


Doug

 

[motolife313]

I’ll check the plate.It was going about 3’ then got tight. Maybe itS off a touch and that’s all it takes. I milled 3 other logs last week without this problem. I build my mill in a real machinery mill so it’s very accurate. I used to be a fedex driver over there at the troutdale hub but doing this now and firewood.

 

[Husky Man]

I’ll check the plate.It was going about 3’ then got tight. Maybe itS off a touch and that’s all it takes. I milled 3 other logs last week without this problem. I build my mill in a real machinery mill so it’s very accurate. I used to be a fedex driver over there at the troutdale hub but doing this now and firewood.

If the bar and guide plate are parallel, it could be a Chain or bar problem.

With the chain just being dull could cause a saw to not cut straight, or the cutters being sharper on one side than the other, or the rakers not being even right to left, that's not likely the problem if you milled 3 other logs with the same chain, which does come back to how sharp was the chain when it started to Bind/Pinch?

How much use is on the bar?

Your bar may need to be Dressed, if the groove is getting worn, it will get a little wide in gauge, and not hold the chain straight and square, that could cause the trouble that you are having.

Also, if the bar Rails have worn unevenly,that could also cause your troubles.

Good Luck, I Hope you get it figured out


Doug

 

[motolife313]

The chain is sharp and it actually wasn’t pinching the chain because it would rev up with no load when stuck. The bar was recently dressed and I lifted the plate so the front is a touch high and it cuts great now thanks. It hardley even moves in the grooves. Guess it doesn’t take much. Doing my setup like this now since I’ve hit 2 of my own screws going in only from the top lol. This log and slabs are just over 6’ and about a foot diameter

 

[Husky Man]

I'm Glad you figured it out, I thought that it was some sort of alignment Issue, there are several things that could have caused that.

Did you drive package or tractor trailer?


Doug

 

[motolife313]

Actually that might have been it maybe not. I tried a different used chain and that was it. Because it got stuck going for the second slab. I tried messing with the mill nothing. So I switched the chain and boom, cutting good no binding. Sold 3 slabs today. First time selling one and get 2 customers in 1 day. 125$ each and I let the customer no there at 15%. The board in the middle is jacked up from bad chain. It was really sharp not sure the deal

 

[Husky Man]

One other thought, I didn't see any, are you using wedges to keep the cut from pinching the bar while you mill?

Even just one at the starting end after you are a ways into the cut would help, if you have someone that could drive some wedges for you while you cut, it is Nice, but I have stopped mid cut to drive some wedges, and still had Good results, but not stopping in the cut could only be Good, if you have a helper handy


Doug

 

[motolife313]

For now I’ve just been putting a felling wedge where I started after couple of a foot or 2. I want to get some real little wood wedges or make them. Also wanna get some kind of winch system on it becuase Im get tired pushing it and bending over or kneeling

 

[motolife313]

It’s starting to turn red. Is this normal with alder?its still turning red. I cut this yesterday morning and its 9 pm now

 

[Ancient One]

Yep, red is normal. Air exposure does the trick. Once cured and planed or sanded it is the white color we are familiar with.

I am in Port Angeles, up north of you on the Straits of Juan de Fuca. Lots of snow over the past 3 weeks, this much is unusual for this area.

I just bought a 48 inch Granberg. Will use a Stihl 090 AV with 66 inch bar. Have the Firs in one of the photos below to try the mill out. Got worried after the big windstorm before Christmas and dropped three big ones, they were too close to the house.

Lots of Alder and more Firs on the farm, plus a few Maples. Will be fun after this darn snow goes away!

36 inch bar on the 'ol 795L McCulloch.

Biggest log is 44 inches diameter about 10 feet from the butt.

 

[motolife313]

Nice pics! Were you going to make some lumber with the Fir?

 

[Ancient One]

Nice pics! Were you going to make some lumber with the Fir?

Well it was all to be firewood until I ran across the Alaskan Mill ad. Then I started thinking: 10 to 20 foot sections of big firs, 44 inches down to over 30 in diameter. Would be nice to have some slabs for outdoor furniture, work bench tops and other items. So I committed to buying the Alaskan.

I have used one in the past and just happened to have several large saws in my collection so it was a no brainer.

Thinking about buying a 24 inch for the smaller logs as I have lots of wood, both on the ground and still standing. And a couple of nice saws with 28 and 32 bars, just the ticket.

 

[motolife313]

There you go. I think I’d mostly use the Fir for outdoor building and spray it with motor oil and see how it does. I’m planing on doing that actually here real soon. And make a simple wood shed.

 

[Ancient One]

No motor oil. Nasty stuff. Bad chemicals and it will never cure.

Seal the ends of the slabs, then stack with stickers and dry. The go to the finishing.

Sand the wood properly. Better yet is to plane then sand.

Oil finish, Teak sealer first then Teak finish. I put on 3 coats of sealer, drying between each coat, then 6 coats of the Teak oil, drying between each coat.

Before, hatch on my Mako 22 foot Center Console boat:

Seafin Ship N Shore is Teak sealer.

After. Wood is Teak.

Or a good brew of Linseed oil and dryers. Or Shingle oil. Or a good deck sealer oil. Use your stain of choice prior to the oil. Raw linseed oil takes forever to dry, maybe never here in the damp Northwest.

Indoors, clear or satin Spar Varnish.

Below is a test piece of Pacific Bigleaf Maple about 3 inches wide. With a stain "brew" of mine and 20 hand rubbed coats of Plinkington's gun stock oil.

The maple was white like the blanks in the below photo prior to finishing.