BobL's next CS mill

[BobL]

Looking at the pictures I was trying to figure out how the wheels adjusted. It looks like they just swivel. Do you have a way to hold them in a specific position. I like the simple design. nice.

yep - they just swivel inwards or outwards. The position is held by 1/4 locking nut "L".

This means they can also come off very quickly.

if the 1/4" locking nuts don't work I'll up them to 3/8", could even go to 7/16" if I have to. I have a similar system on my small mill I use with the 441 and they work fine with 1/4" locking screws but the forces with the bigger saws will be greater.

 

[betterbuilt]

I like it. I thought there might be more to them then I could tell by the pictures. Nice and simple.

 

[DRB]

I love the inboard mounting set up. I have always thought of doing something like that but have never gotten around to it. The chain brake on my 088 always seems to get in the way when maximizing cut length.

Keep up the good work of posting the SUPER GEEKY CMS STUFF

 

[Daninvan]

Great stuff Bob! Are the wheels adjustable in the vertical plane? I was wondering if you made your hinge pin longer and secured it at both ends, then you could slide the wheel assembly up and down on it. (of course you could not remove the wheels readily then either)

That being said it looks like the hinge pin and the strap that secures it are going to be subject to a lot of force with your big mills. As will be the single locking nut that holds the wheel to the pin. It's good to hear that a similar setup works well on your smaller mill though, that gives me hope for this version. But If it were me I'd try to beef that part up before putting it into service.

Speaking of that, when are you going to make the first cuts with this one?!

Dan

 

[BobL]

Great stuff Bob!

Thank Dan and DRB.

Are the wheels adjustable in the vertical plane? I was wondering if you made your hinge pin longer and secured it at both ends, then you could slide the wheel assembly up and down on it. (of course you could not remove the wheels readily then either)

That would help on for cuts on the bottom half of the log, for cuts on the top half, the wheels need to drop below the bar and that would mean an extension to the mill which then gets in the way when milling the lower half of the log. Moving the wheels up and down and away from the plane of the cut also means the resulting forces generated squish the mill and push the bar (and chain) upwards increasing friction and losing power. This is why I have gone for wheels that stay in the same plane as the bar and just swivel out to meet the log. 8" of travel should cope with most cuts but since the wheel arm can be easily changed I will also make some arms with shorter (maybe 4") travel for use on thinner cuts. I'm also toying with the idea of a kind of "riving knife" for the trailing wheel. eg a piece of rounded edge 1/8" thick ally plate maybe 4" long attached to the wheel end of the arm. The plate is long enough to extend past the wheel and into the kerf. This will hold the wheel along the line of the cut and stop it wandering up and down as sometimes happens on ribbed or lumpy barked logs

That being said it looks like the hinge pin and the strap that secures it are going to be subject to a lot of force with your big mills. As will be the single locking nut that holds the wheel to the pin. It's good to hear that a similar setup works well on your smaller mill though, that gives me hope for this version. But If it were me I'd try to beef that part up before putting it into service.

I agree, the forces that act on wheels can be quite significant. I'll change the locking screw to a 3/8. I might also modify the hinge to make the pin longer and the the hinge wider and then use two locking screws.

Speaking of that, when are you going to make the first cuts with this one?!

Still a bit to do. I have to make up a chain loop, find some MC valve springs, aux oiler tank and plumbing, and make some sort of a clutch cover, I'm thinking of going with a simple Aggiewoodbutchr model. I'll also maybe give the exposed steel bits an undercoating. I find rushing to the cut is best put off just in case I think of a problem or two ;-)

 

[BobL]

I decided to upgrade the trailing wheel bracket lock and add a riving 5/16" thick riving knife that rides inside the kerf.

Here's a comparison of the old and new locks.

Old one has one 1/4" locking socketscrew, new one has 2 x 8 mm socket screws

Here's the riving knife with fully extended wheel bracket

Wheel fully retracted to prevent log rubbing on mill/saw..

Even though that wheel arm is trailing arm, the riving knife is made of ally in case it comes loose and runs downslope and hits the chain! EEK!

It's all speculation of course - it could all fall apart on the first cut

 

[betterbuilt]

I like the riving knike. My question is, is it gonna create drag down the log. If the wheel wants to ride up or down it could create friction and you might want to add that hand crank. I guess the only way to find out is to try.

Where is the seat gonna mount on that caddy?

 

[BobL]

I like the riving knike. My question is, is it gonna create drag down the log. If the wheel wants to ride up or down it could create friction and you might want to add that hand crank.

This thing weighs so much it's not going to need a crank.
If the riving knife creates drag and pulls the wheel into line then that tells me it's doing its job. However I don't want it to get hung up on any ridges etc but my mills cut pretty well without ridges as I usually use the log rails on every cut. I will round the riving knife edges over some more so they should not get caught all that easily

I guess the only way to find out is to try.

Yep

Where is the seat gonna mount on that caddy?

 

[BobL]

Well - I weighed in the B3M today with the 076 and the 44" bar. All up it weighs 85 lbs so its a back breaker all right. For comparison, the BIL mill weighs 72 lbs with the 60" bar. Like I said this piggy is not going to need any winches.

Anyway - here is what looks like - I threw a coat of phosphoric acid and charcoal hammer finish on it to slow down any rusting.

I made up a 3/8 chain for it and ran it with the 076 in my back garden today for about 15 minutes but not having any logs at my place I can't try it cutting anything.

I have put some MC valve springs on it and they provide a fair bit of back tension but I can still easily pull the chain back by hand but it seems to sit on the bar very nicely at WOT.

Blipping the throttle makes the springs twitch and tighten up a touch.

 

[BobL]

Then I spent some time fitting the 880 to the B3M.

As I said previously the 880 is a much taller saw so it cannot fit in the mill using the same bracket as the 076. Because the B3M is not all welded its easy to replace just the inboard saw mount bracket with one to suit the 880.

Here's the 076 and the 880 brackets.

The top one is for the 076 and the bottom one fits the 880.
Yeah I know I drilled the bar bolt holes in the wrong place and had to open up them up to fit !

Here's how the 880 fits in the mill.

I can use the same custom clutch cover as for for the BIL mill.

Here you can see the clearance around the chain brake handle.

replacing the chain on this design will be a little easier than on the BIL mill.

Here's a botton view showing the net displacement of the 880 sideways is quite significant.

I haven't run the 880 yet - I ran out of gas and I have no car so have to wait for SWMBO to get home from work. My wrecked van is still with the insurers. I've taken a week of holidays to hunt for a new car (have seen a few but can't buy anything until I get the final figure from the insurers) get the B3M finished, and do some ground work on getting a workshop extension happening.

 

[gemniii]

Does that mass include a full aux oiler?

 

[Daninvan]

New mill, new van, workshop extension, I'm liking the way things are starting to look up!

85 lbs, that's a beast. I guess if you can lift it onto the log it should self feed nicely. Careful with the back.

Hurry up and get that hand better so we can see some pictures of milling!

 

[BobL]

Does that mass include a full aux oiler?

Nope - forgot the oiler - add another two lbs, or add oiler and replace the 076 with the 880 and it will stay at 85 lbs.

 

[BobL]

Here's a short vid of the outboard nose reacting to tweaking the throttle on the 880.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asfa9iYHKts
When I wind it up it reaches 11200 rpm ,- the H screw needs to be opned just a tad to get it out of that just above the burbling zone.

 

[820wards]

Here's a short vid of the outboard nose reacting to tweaking the throttle on the 880.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asfa9iYHKts
When I wind it up it reaches 11200 rpm ,- the H screw needs to be opned just a tad to get it out of that just above the burbling zone.

Bob,

Your new mill looks nice, I'm sure your itching to give it a try. I was looking at the spring on the nose. It appears to be a small engine spring, am I right?

If you need strong springs, try some automotive valve springs that also use a second inter spring. Something off a big motor would be preferable. Most small block Ford/GM V8 engines have installed spring weights of 140-180 foot pounds. When compressed the spring weight at .500" lift can go up to 380-450 foot pounds. Just a spring suggestion. You could use a stock spring retainer on each end or machine a retainer to fit each end of the spring.

jerry-

 

[BobL]

Bob,
Your new mill looks nice, I'm sure your itching to give it a try. I was looking at the spring on the nose. It appears to be a small engine spring, am I right?

Yep - they're from a MC but I don't know which make or model.

If you need strong springs, try some automotive valve springs that also use a second inter spring. Something off a big motor would be preferable. Most small block Ford/GM V8 engines have installed spring weights of 140-180 foot pounds. When compressed the spring weight at .500" lift can go up to 380-450 foot pounds. Just a spring suggestion.

I have a couple of thicker springs which I'll try if these don't work.

You could use a stock spring retainer on each end or machine a retainer to fit each end of the spring.

Good idea about using proper retainers I'll turn some up when I go back to work next week.

 

[BobL]

New mill, new van, workshop extension, I'm liking the way things are starting to look up!

85 lbs, that's a beast. I guess if you can lift it onto the log it should self feed nicely. Careful with the back.

Hurry up and get that hand better so we can see some pictures of milling!

Hand is OK for short bursts on the mill - I've been toting the B3M around the back garden in short bursts yesterday and today and my hand seems like it's doing OK. The problem would be moving the slabs - even though I use a forklift there is still a fair bit of maneuvering of large pieces of wood that weight a lot more than 85 lb.

New shed extension will be really handy. SWMBO is happy too since it means that I can get the bandsaw and thicknesser off the back veranda and the metal work lathe out of the car port. Stll a fair bit of work to do though.

 

[BobL]

Here was spring loaded outboard nose

Following a suggestion from Jerry machined up some custom spring retainers - so here they are.

And here's the 2 pint aux oiler made from the usual garden reticulation products.

 

[polardoo]

How about a travel limiter inside the springs allowing tension and movement but hopfully no derailment? On a side note I am working on an Orline chainsaw(about the smallest saw made) and it has a spring bar adjuster and no screw.

 

[DRB]

That looks better BobL. Nice machine work.