Dawgs and Alaskan mill

[BobL]

Bob, you mentioned bolting the bar to the mill. Do you have any pics of the Granberg with the bar bolted to it? Curious about how and where you attached to the mill. Thanks!

By "GB'' wasn't referring "Granberg" - but a mill made by company called "GB".
I don't have either of the above - there was a member called Aggiewoodbutcher when had a modified GB and show some pics of his mill back in about 2007? but the pics have vanished with the forum's great picture loss about 10 years ago..

What I do have is similar to the GB, ie bolts the power head direct to the mill/bar using the bar bolts.
This one shows my 076 bolted to mill using the bar bolts.
The bar bolts have to be extended to achieve this and any single mill "depth of cutting adjustment uprights" are then replaced with two uprights that sort of straddle the power head.


Here's the same mill with the 880, which has a longer distance between the bar bolts the front of the saw so I added an adapter plate.

Heres the 880 with another home made mill that uses the same approach.
This is achieved with a piece of angle and a short piece of SHS welded together


These setups produce a much stiffer powerhead/mill connection which I believe assists in getting a good finish.
It looks like the powerhead has to be removed from the mill to replace the chain but provided the nose is clear this is not the case. Its a bit a a contortion to achieve this but hey it works.

 

[Stonewoodiron]

I like the idea of incorporating the power head into the mill. Seems like it would curb deflection in the bar. That brings up this thought/question: I’ve been slabbing with the priority of speed and not finish under the assumption that I’m going to have to flatten the slab on the radial arm saw or router rail jig anyway. Figured that there would be some type of warping in the drying process. Are you able to skip this flattening step and go right to sanding?

 

[BobL]

I like the idea of incorporating the power head into the mill. Seems like it would curb deflection in the bar. That brings up this thought/question: I’ve been slabbing with the priority of speed and not finish under the assumption that I’m going to have to flatten the slab on the radial arm saw or router rail jig anyway. Figured that there would be some type of warping in the drying process. Are you able to skip this flattening step and go right to sanding?

Bolting mill to bar does help with finish but its not a guarantee against warping when drying.
Even when everything is done right eg slabs are well stored etc, on average I'd say only about a third of slabs in a slab pack can go straight to sanding, assuming you are OK with the thickness. Fortunately I cut so many slabs I have plenty to choose from.

This "Spotted Gum" bench top was an example that was able to be flattened with a large belt sander. The slab was less than 1/25" out of flat across the slab diagonal.

 

[Stonewoodiron]

Bolting mill to bar does help with finish but its not a guarantee against warping when drying.
Even when everything is done right eg slabs are well stored etc, on average I'd say only about a third of slabs in a slab pack can go straight to sanding, assuming you are OK with the thickness. Fortunately I cut so many slabs I have plenty to choose from.

This "Spotted Gum" bench top was an example that was able to be flattened with a large belt sander. The slab was less than 1/25" out of flat across the slab diagonal.

View attachment 902456

Thank you for that input . It will be a helpful guide during the first rounds of drying and finishing.

 

[John T super cab]

My bar is bolted to the mill then saw is held with the nuts makes changing chains quick or removing it for a quick trim up of the log .