First chainsaw mill

[chief1911]

I finally started getting my chainsaw mill put together. A little ahead of schedule because I have a post oak on my place that needs to come down. I have read many post on here to try and get a good starting point. I will be using a 661 with a 36' bar.

One question I have is; should I get some skip chain for this hardwood?

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[Hoodiegadoo]

Personally I wouldn’t use skip chain. Just regular milling chain ground at 10°. Looks sweet! Sorry for the addiction you’re about to indulge in. As a member here I always feel a little responsibility.

 

[chief1911]

I went ahead and ordered some milling chain from Bailey's. India's not specify to the angle of the cutter. It would take forever to turn my regular chain to 10 degrees.

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[Hoodiegadoo]

I went ahead and ordered some milling chain from Bailey's. India's not specify to the angle of the cutter. It would take forever to turn my regular chain to 10 degrees.

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Yep. That’ll work. In fact your regular chain will work ok as well. Gives a slightly rougher finish but honestly I think it has more to do with how worn the chain is in the bar groove and then the 35° angle just seems to amplify it. If I’m planing the boards or using them rough I don’t worry about swapping chains specifically to a milling chain all the time. But if I’m going to surface them with a belt sander then I feel like it’s worth the effort to put on a milling chain. Your mileage may vary.

 

[Beetlejuice]

Yep. That’ll work. In fact your regular chain will work ok as well. Gives a slightly rougher finish but honestly I think it has more to do with how worn the chain is in the bar groove and then the 35° angle just seems to amplify it. If I’m planing the boards or using them rough I don’t worry about swapping chains specifically to a milling chain all the time. But if I’m going to surface them with a belt sander then I feel like it’s worth the effort to put on a milling chain. Your mileage may vary.

boss bought an 088 just for milling. I guess there's $$$ in them thar wood.

 

[Brian72]

One thing I noticed is feed makes a big difference in cut smoothness too. Getting one end up and milling downhill allows it to feed smoother (and it's less tiring.) Let gravity and the weight of the saw do the work. I used Stihl RS and Baileys ripping chain. In my opinion, smooth feed makes more of a difference than chain type.

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[BobL]

boss bought an 088 just for milling. I guess there's $$$ in them thar wood.

There's also a serious back killer in there, and aching shoulders and arms. Plus I found holding my arms out straight transferred extra vibe from the saw into my body.

Sorry to keep posting this photo but it clearly shows that if everything is on song (especially the chain) how little slope is needed fora saw to mill on its own even in hard wood.


Together with a sloped log, a locking/remote throttle allows me to stand upright making it heaps more comfortable to mill.
OK I'm fat, lazy and unfit but I found it was the only way I could mill all day.
On the flat I've found it easier to lean on the saws wrap handle with my knee/thigh and that leaves my arms free to do things like drive wedges and pick my nose.
At the end of the day I found tired operators make more mistakes both in terms of general production, and safety.

 

[Brian72]

There's also a serious back killer in there, and aching shoulders and arms. Plus I found holding my arms out straight transferred extra vibe from the saw into my body.

Sorry to keep posting this photo but it clearly shows that if everything is on song (especially the chain) how little slope is needed fora saw to mill on its own even in hard wood.
View attachment 650052

Together with a sloped log, a locking/remote throttle allows me to stand upright making it heaps more comfortable to mill.
OK I'm fat, lazy and unfit but I found it was the only way I could mill all day.
On the flat I've found it easier to lean on the saws wrap handle with my knee/thigh and that leaves my arms free to do things like drive wedges and pick my nose.
At the end of the day I found it really tired operators make more mistakes both in terms of general production, and safety.
View attachment 650055

Always enjoy your pics and wisdom Bob!

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[chief1911]

I have a plan to get the logs on a slope. I also have been trying to come up with an idea of how to do the remote throttle without disassembling the saw throttle. I also used it for some other tasks. If anyone has a pic of such setup it would be appreciated.

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[BobL]

My first remote throttle on my 076 used pieces from a bicycle brake calliper, handle and bike brake cable, and acted direct onto the existing trigger.
There was no throttle disassembly needed and I even used an existing how in the saw base for the cable to pass through.
It worked well, but even though the bicycle brake pad was rubber, long term the vibe wore away the trigger and I had to replace it.






I could also still use the existing trigger


However the motor cycle throttle with the built in lock on the 880 is a ripper and well worth doing.
The original trigger remains fully usable


Hot tip: put the remote on the saw and not the mill - otherwise every time you removed the saw from the mill you have to disconnect the remote throttle

 

[chief1911]

Got to use the mill today. Learned a lot. I will have to modify some things to work better. It was a successful test run on some smaller log before I do the large oak. I got lots of great information on here. That is credit to a good start today.

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[chief1911]

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[BobL]

Good work - nice timber too!

 

[Brian72]

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Some nice stuff you got there!

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[chief1911]

Thanks. Had a few things vibrate loose. I'll go back and use gasket maker on the bolts. An old drag racing trick used to keep nuts on. Also going to the local rubber store and getting some hose to go over the round rod to dampen the vibration.

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[M.R.]

If the hose doesn’t get it one could
also try the snap on water pipe insulation
Wrapped/covered in electrical tape to make
more durable.

 

[BobL]

Try doing this using a bicycle handle bar stem and soft mountain bike handle bar cover .

 

[chief1911]

I have milled my second log. I am using the Bailey's ripping chain at 10 degrees. After my first log I checked the raker angles and found them to be around 5 degrees. I had touched up the cutters twice while cutting the first log. I then set the takers to +/- 6 degrees. It seems to cut ok. It just looks like finer saw cuttings with chips. Is this the norm or should I expect heavier chips like cross cutting?

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[Beetlejuice]

Try doing this using a bicycle handle bar stem and soft mountain bike handle bar cover .
View attachment 651665

I see the problem right there in the pic. Wait for a rainy day, pull that rig out from under it's nice clean sheet, drag it up and down some challenging terrain, across a muddy road, TWICE!! Hook er up and off ya go. No, don't (well maybe) get a hooker, but don't hook er up to a hooker.. Anyway, just couldn't pass on a little ribbing.. All in fun.. Cheers. K

 

[BobL]

Chips are starting to look nice but they'l never be as big as cross cutting chips.
With that saw in that log I would try 7 or even 7.5º raker angles.
I use 6.5º is Aussie hardwood that even when its green is harder that dry Hickory.