Cleaning long milling chains

[BobL]

I finally felt my left hand is doing OK to start making a few things in my shed.

Here is a link to a thread in the CS forum about a gizmo I made over the last couple of days to clean long milling chains.

http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=150418

You will see me deliberately stick my hands onto an running chain and come off totally unscathed

 

[betterbuilt]

Really nice work. I really like the simplicity of the whole thing. Thanks

 

[BobL]

Cheers BB.

Some "how d'yja do that" notes.

The ally bearing holders were cut from a piece of 1/2" thick ally plate with a wood working table saw and the neat fit holes for the bearings were drilled with a wood working forstner bit with metho lube. It probably doesn't need ball bearings for intermittent use, just plastic bearings would probably be OK.

The rim sprocket bush with the spline was turned on a metal work lathe and the keyway was cut with an dremel with a thin cutting wheel and tidied up with a needle file but I don't think it needs to be that fancy. Given the back pressure provided by a wire brush is not high a simple firm fitting bush (ie no spline) bolted in position and the rim sprocket help in place by firm oversized washers would also work just as well.

If I was making it again I would make the spline over length like a chainsaw, so the rim sprocket could float into position in line with the bar. On my system the bar is allowed to hang by the chain and find its own sideways position and bar nuts are the turned into position behind the bar so the bar stays aligned.

At low speeds the chain will run without a bar but at higher drill speeds a free wheeling chain can tangle up on itself quite badly and also whip around and hit you (I tried all these things )

The setup also doesn't need bar nuts, but it does need bar bolts. Without the bar bolts, (ie a free hanging bar/chain) the chain may jump the bar (especially if bar and chain are dirty) and the bar will fall out - if a soft receptacle is arranged for the bar to fall into (I used a polystyrene box) and a slow chain speed is used this may be acceptable to you. However, if the drill is too fast, which also contributes to why the bar falls out) when the bar falls out is also when the chain usually tangles and whips around and hits you - I also tried this.

At a minimum I'd recommend bar bolts or something else that prevents the bar from twisting and then fall out of the chain cradle.
Bar nuts allow you to go full speed with the drill safely which I think is also probably better for the drill.

BTW this was all done with a cordless drill at 500 rpm or less. I would not use a corded drill that can go above these RPMs. I've tried it with my setup - its dead scary!

 

[aggiewoodbutchr]

Neat contraption.

Sorry to hear about your hand (yea, I've been gone too long). I hope it's healing well.

 

[BobL]

Sorry to hear about your hand (yea, I've been gone too long). I hope it's healing well.

Thanks AWB, left hand is healing slowly. It's very stiff and still a long way from forming a fist ie being able to curl the fingers up, and I can't apply much pressure on my first and second finger - I'm supposed to squeeze a stress ball 20 times for exercises every hour, but 5 small squeezes is about all I can manage without pain. Still, as they say - no pain - no gain.

All this makes it hard to hold anything firmly with my left hand. While working in my shed on the new mill on sunday I had to cut several welds and reweld them because my left hand was not able to hold the pieces firmly in place the first time. I also clearly over stressed the hand because sunday night it was aching a lot more than usual.

 

[Old Hilly]

Well Bob, even if the body isn't working all that well, at least your mind is still working. That's a bloomin' simple and effective little gadget.
Briliant!

 

[BobL]

Well Bob, even if the body isn't working all that well, at least your mind is still working. That's a bloomin' simple and effective little gadget.
Briliant!

Thanks OH. I know it's not going to be much use to most punters, but it works for me and that's my main game.
Cheers

 

[Old Hilly]

Thanks OH. I know it's not going to be much use to most punters, but it works for me and that's my main game.
Cheers

I did read an article in "Silicon Chip" magazine where they had designed a large-size ultra-sonic cleaner. Their design used an old plastic toilet cistern as the cleaning tank and from memory you could use chemicals other than water for the cleaning medium. Aparently the machine would clean some automotive parts like carburettors. Silly thing is, when were carburettors last used on cars? We have been EFI for about the last 15 years or so now! Lord help us when we have to take our chainsaw in to have the injectors serviced and the computer interorgated to make shure we aren't causing too much polution.
Think of the posibilities!!!

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

Thanks AWB, left hand is healing slowly. It's very stiff and still a long way from forming a fist ie being able to curl the fingers up, and I can't apply much pressure on my first and second finger - I'm supposed to squeeze a stress ball 20 times for exercises every hour, but 5 small squeezes is about all I can manage without pain. Still, as they say - no pain - no gain.

All this makes it hard to hold anything firmly with my left hand. While working in my shed on the new mill on sunday I had to cut several welds and reweld them because my left hand was not able to hold the pieces firmly in place the first time. I also clearly over stressed the hand because sunday night it was aching a lot more than usual.

Bob, here's something that REALLY helps with healing:

http://www.drchristophers.com/capsules/complete-tissue-bone.html


No hype. This stuff works. It stimulates the body's own growth mechanisms, so you heal faster. For us old farts, we need all the help we can get.

This healed up a bad elbow of mine that just was NOT healing otherwise.

 

[BobL]

Bob, here's something that REALLY helps with healing:

http://www.drchristophers.com/capsules/complete-tissue-bone.html


No hype. This stuff works. It stimulates the body's own growth mechanisms, so you heal faster. For us old farts, we need all the help we can get.

This healed up a bad elbow of mine that just was NOT healing otherwise.

Thanks Mark. I'll see if I can track some down. I saw the doc this morning and he reckons I'm too impatient and given the injury I am well ahead of where I should be. I did a bit more welding tonight (just 4 straps and 4 bolts) and found it easier than Sunday so things are improving.

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

I think you can buy it right on the site there. If not, just do a search - there are plenty of places online that carry it, or your local health food store might.

 

[Hillbilly3995]

Heya Bob, glad yer hand is coming around...

When I clean my long chains I just roll em into a ball put them in a cut off quart plastic bottle and cover with PB blaster penetrant. cleans lubes and 0 effort.

Another little trick from the hangar; try soaking tools or other rusty items in antifreeze, the results may surprise you.

Good luck all!

 

[fiasco]

Bob, be good to that hand and listen to your doc and physical/occupational therapist!

My right wrist lost a fight with a circular saw and lost about 9 years ago. I'm left handed, was using a right handed saw left handed on some plywood (and holding up the wood with my right hand. The saw kicked and bounced off my wrist, cutting 5 tendons and putting a nice little blade width notch in the bone. Fortunately it was on the top side, so it was not too bloody and severed extensor tendons. Had surgery to reattach everything, then spent the next three months doing therapy and not much else waiting for it to heal.

Ended up with a bit of scarring in there, but if I didn't tell you what happened, you wouldn't know. I'll never play the piano again (ha, ha), and it's tough to give somebody a single digit salute with my right hand. All the fingers are a little more "connected" than they should be. Funny thing is, I have better grip with the "bad" hand.

Heal up, Bob!

 

[BobL]

Heya Bob, glad yer hand is coming around...

When I clean my long chains I just roll em into a ball put them in a cut off quart plastic bottle and cover with PB blaster penetrant. cleans lubes and 0 effort.

Another little trick from the hangar; try soaking tools or other rusty items in antifreeze, the results may surprise you.

Thanks for the tips. I've tried quite a few things to get gum off chains

Could be hard to find antifreeze around here but, it only goes below zero for a few hours a year

 

[Hillbilly3995]

Thanks for the tips. I've tried quite a few things to get gum off chains

Could be hard to find antifreeze around here but, it only goes below zero for a few hours a year

Yeah sorry bout that I didnt consider that you were baligtad (Tagalog for upside down)

my wife and I have a good friend in M'bourne, she comes to visit every year or two (must be nice, if I had her money I'd have the biggest chainsaw in the county.
- Hillbilly