BIL Mill's maiden voyage

[martrix]

Bob that is awesome! Beautiful timber, I have major FOMO.

How are you finding the weight issue of the mill? Is it hard work lifting and maneuvering the mill around etc? After a good half day of milling, does it take a toll on your body>

 

[BobL]

Bob that is awesome! Beautiful timber, I have major FOMO.

How are you finding the weight issue of the mill? Is it hard work lifting and maneuvering the mill around etc? After a good half day of milling, does it take a toll on your body

Short answer is yes,

I am still some way from what I would consider as "production" or "regular mode", where I don't stop after every slab and check x, y, & z on the mill. This has its +/-, it means I am working slower, but I am also lifting the mill off the log/rails and onto a set of saw horses and then back onto the log ie moving it around a lot more than I think I need to. This should not be necessary as I get more experienced. Yes teh CS/Mill is heavy and it seems to get heavier as the day wears on. I figure as long as I can get the mill into my van at the end of the day it's OK.

The bit I thought might be hard and require more energy/force is controlling the mill as it moves along the rails but that is by far the easiest bit especially with the log on a slope trick - you also don't need much slope, just a few degrees helps enormously.

Overall I think that lifting and stacking the slabs is by far the hardest on the body. As from next week I get to use a small 4WD tractor/Bobcat thingo to help do that so hopefully my aches and pains will be less than usual.

Cheers
Bob

 

[woodshop]

Another interesting post, thanks. I see in your profile that you are a photographer. It shows in your posts. I'd like to see that Casuarina Fraserana after it's gone through the planer and sanded or scraped. It does look a lot like some oaks here in the eastern US, although apparently not an oak at all. Found that it's pricey stuff if you want to buy some. (I'm a woodworker also). It looks heavy and dense, is it?

Milling... I too find that it doesn't take much of a slope to make going down the log MUCH easier. Milling even a slight uphill grade seems to double the effort needed to push the mills down the log with both my csm or my Ripsaw. Don't know the physics of it, but apparently it's not a linear deal.

 

[aggiewoodbutchr]

Nice looking stuff.

Sometimes when I know I'll use a log in slab form, I'll intentionally let it set for a while to get the dry rot on the edges. As long as it stays solid it adds to the character of the slab IMO.

Looks like you're well on your way to having sawdust in your veins.

 

[BobL]

Another interesting post.

Thanks

RE: I see in your profile that you are a photographer. It shows in your posts.
I don't know much about the artistic aspects but have taught the technical side of photography (film and digital) at highschool and college levels for many years, and I take about 5000 photos a year of all sorts of stuff but mainly panoramas.

RE: I'd like to see that Casuarina Fraserana after it's gone through the planer and sanded or scraped.
I make a lot of things out of sheoak and here are a few pics that highlight the grain.
A mallet I made from a piece last year. This is a really nice tool to use - and I do use it.

An oilstone box (sorry the photos are not sharp)

Letter opener handle

RE: It does look a lot like some oaks here in the eastern US, although apparently not an oak at all.
Correct.
RE: Found that it's pricey stuff if you want to buy some. (I'm a woodworker also).
It's very pricey here too, Millable size logs are rare outside national parks

RE: It looks heavy and dense, is it?
Its about 45 lb/ft^3 (12% humidity) which makes it on the mid to low side for Aussie hardwoods. Its reasonably hard and is difficult to dry without checking so one tends to go through a fair bit of filler resin working with this stuff. Nevertheless highly satisfying to work with.

RE: Milling even a slight uphill grade seems to double the effort needed to push the mills down the log with both my csm or my Ripsaw. Don't know the physics of it, but apparently it's not a linear deal.
It's not linear because of frictional effects. If I get a big enough slope I can get away with effectively zero effort downhill, so technically, compared to working on the flat or up hill is actually "infinitely" more effort. (just in case you don't know, that's because something divided by nothing mathematically = infinity)

 

[Matildasmate]

Bil mill

Hi Bob I was just checking out your signature Bil mill pic's , look's great , I bet that was fun , even with any hiccup's , I am about to try and download your vid , this should be interesting . Cheer's MM

 

[BobL]

Hi Bob I was just checking out your signature Bil mill pic's , look's great , I bet that was fun , even with any hiccup's , I am about to try and download your vid , this should be interesting . Cheer's MM

Yeah it's a real fun project alright. Seeing as I can only mill outside it's just been too hot to mill here and I've been getting serious milling withdrawal! It would be good if I could use this spare time to devote to other woodworking projects but it's also been too hot to work in my shop at home so I have used the metal shop at work to make some hand plane blades using the water cooled surface grinder.

Here's the latest products. The blades are D2 tool steel and are 5/16" thick x 2" wide, bevels range from 26.5º on the LHS to 23º on the right.

 

[Matildasmate]

Movie playback

As I said there was a lot of mucking about stopping and checking, chain tension, oil flow, etc.

After a couple of slabs I decided to try AggieWb slope method.

As this picture shows, it's a bit more awkward to start being higher up like that.

WOW! it works really well! As my video shows, like Aggie the mill slides down the rails on its own. I'm only holding the CS trigger with my left hand I'm not holding back or pushing at all.

As you can hear in the movie, as the mill reached the wider part of the trunk the engine bogs down a bit probably because there were too many cutters in the cut. In the end I needed to hold it back - not very comfortable. Conclusion : Some slope is good but not too much.

Next week, hopefully a sheaok.

With lotsa thanks to BIL and his yard propreitor (Jeff) who gave me the logs.

Cheers

Hi Bob can you tell me what player I need to use to play the movie on , I tried window's media player . Thank's Cheer's MM

 

[Matildasmate]

Yeah it's a real fun project alright. Seeing as I can only mill outside it's just been too hot to mill here and I've been getting serious milling withdrawal! It would be good if I could use this spare time to devote to other woodworking projects but it's also been too hot to work in my shop at home so I have used the metal shop at work to make some hand plane blades using the water cooled surface grinder.

Here's the latest products. The blades are D2 tool steel and are 5/16" thick x 2" wide, bevels range from 26.5º on the LHS to 23º on the right.

Wonderful stuff Bob , they look almost to good to use , I bet you could make some nice axe head's out of that type of steel . I use tomahawk fairly often . Cheer's MM

 

[BobL]

Wonderful stuff Bob , they look almost to good to use , I bet you could make some nice axe head's out of that type of steel . I use tomahawk fairly often . Cheer's MM

I agree they look good, but they are a bit exxy and a bit hard/brittle for axe heads MM. An tomahawk head size piece would cost about US$50 and small bits would chip off if it was to hit one of our decent hardwoods. Axes work better with softer steel that does not shatter.

 

[Matildasmate]

I agree they look good, but they are a bit exxy and a bit hard/brittle for axe heads MM. An tomahawk head size piece would cost about US$50 and small bits would chip off if it was to hit one of our decent hardwoods. Axes work better with softer steel that does not shatter.

Very interesting Bob , I bought a couple of though's cheap fibreglass handled tomahawks some time ago , they must have used rubber steel in them bloody hopeless and they dont hold there edge , $50.00 sound's good considering I bought a couple of good tomahawk's about 20 year's ago for $58.00Au each , these one's really hold there edge , anyway that's very interesting Bob . Cheer's MM

 

[big daddio]

hey bob, what's the year model on that big saw. i've got an 051 that looks to be the same as it out in the shed.

 

[BobL]

hey bob, what's the year model on that big saw. i've got an 051 that looks to be the same as it out in the shed.

It's an 076 (111 ccs), early-mid 90's model from the serial number. It's spent a lot of its life bouncing around in the back of a pickup but has not had much use so it still got plenty of grunt.

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

Hi Bob can you tell me what player I need to use to play the movie on , I tried window's media player . Thank's Cheer's MM

Quicktime. It's free here.


Also, no need to re-post the entire post to ask a question. You can edit the quoted part down to just what you want to ask about. Like this:

As my video shows...

As you can hear in the movie....

That way you don't clutter up the thread with the same pics over and over and over....

If you don't need to quote something, just use the "Reply" button instead of the "Quote" button.

 

[chrislemiller]

076 & 051 similarities

I`ve heard the Stihl 051 & 076 are very similar.Both have M10 chain/bar securing bolts which is good.Logosol make a Timberjig for the 051.I`m just trying to find out if it will fit my 076.
Thanks BobL for referring me to this particular thread.Very interesting! Presumably BIL is the name of someone else. Took me a while to work out what CSM meant.I`m a bit slow,coming from Herefordshire probably has something to do with that.

 

[harrygrey382]

I`ve heard the Stihl 051 & 076 are very similar.Both have M10 chain/bar securing bolts which is good.Logosol make a Timberjig for the 051.I`m just trying to find out if it will fit my 076.
Thanks BobL for referring me to this particular thread.Very interesting! Presumably BIL is the name of someone else. Took me a while to work out what CSM meant.I`m a bit slow,coming from Herefordshire probably has something to do with that.

051 and 076 are identical (but 051 has less cc and no manual back-up oiler) - if it fits an 051 it'll fit the 076.
Also, I've heard negative things about the timberjig - I know this is being discussed in another thread though. Apparently it's hard to cut a striaght cut/two parallel cuts, and is flimsy. The 076 calls for an alaskan really, or a granberg minimill would be nice too I reckon. But still a bit small for the 076.
Nice to have another uk member btw!
EDIT: Big fat mistake - I'm getting the timberjig mixed up with the beam machine... The minimill still looks better IMO though

 

[BobL]

I`ve heard the Stihl 051 & 076 are very similar.Both have M10 chain/bar securing bolts which is good.Logosol make a Timberjig for the 051.I`m just trying to find out if it will fit my 076.
Thanks BobL for referring me to this particular thread.Very interesting! Presumably BIL is the name of someone else. Took me a while to work out what CSM meant.I`m a bit slow,coming from Herefordshire probably has something to do with that.

BIL is brother-in-law (Joe) who is the gun ally welder who did the ally welding on the mill.

As you said the 076 is heavy and you carry it around in a wheelbarrow. When it's in an alaskan mill form you can do this, or before that, this.

And in case you haven't seen it, here is the BIL mill upgrade thread.

 

[petersenj20]

I use the slopped log milling as well. I stood a 2 foot section on end, cut a v notch out of it and rest the log into the V. Stable enough so far. My back can't handle bending over forcing my little saw through a slice.

 

[chrislemiller]

Abbreviations

Thanks for clarifying BIL. BobL. Thanks also for the links.To prove I`ve read every word 73 lbs lifted in and out of a van and 5 foot blade on the 076 and welding aluminium-all a side of milling I`m now familiar with but not ready for yet !

Just ordered a Logosol Timberjig. Should come next week.

 

[BobL]

Thanks for clarifying BIL. BobL. Thanks also for the links.To prove I`ve read every word 73 lbs lifted in and out of a van and 5 foot blade on the 076 and welding aluminium-all a side of milling I`m now familiar with but not ready for yet !

Just ordered a Logosol Timberjig. Should come next week.

Chris - you get an "A+" for comprehension - or at least a good memory.

Cheers