First Slab

[Dog_River]

Happy Holidays !

I cut my first slab today ! I learned alot from this slab. First off the ladder I used for rails is junk and I have to come up with a better system. I think I will try unistrut but until then I will have to secure this cheap ladder much better than this first slab. If you look at the photos you can see the chain marks. To a degree I think that these are from the ladder moving up and down and even sideways.

Also the bar and chain was getting pretty hot and I dont think the 153 Dolmar is putting enough bar oil out on the 36" bar to keep the chain and bar lubed and cool, so I will rig up an outboard oiler and hope it solves this issue. The wood I am milling is beetle kill Lodgepole Pine and it's very dry so I am sure this contributes to the heat ?? This slab width was 12" and 12' in length. You can see in the photos of the log end the "Blue" dye that the beetle leaves behind. Not sure how this happens ? but it's kind of cool looking.

The saw ran great for a low reving saw and lots of power.

Any thought's wood be great.

Thanks in advance.

Dog_River

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[TPA]

I am still in the process of acquiring the things I need to start milling. I hope that when I get there, I have as much success as your first try. That means I will not have so much to fix, and mistakes to overcome.

I say, good first attempt. You will be doing very well, very soon. :msp_thumbup:

 

[Mac88]

Cool. :msp_thumbsup:

 

[mikeb1079]

I cut my first slab today !

it's a cool thing eh? nice job. now you can spend all your free time thinking of mill improvements. next thing you know you'll be like bob l.

 

[discounthunter]

nice work. what kind of chain are you using? whats the degree of the cut on the teeth? secure the ladder at multiple points and put supports under it to keep it even.

 

[Dog_River]

I have a brand new Grandburg Ripping chain. Cant recall the degrees. I was in a bit of a hurry and did not secure the ladder enough. It was getting late and I wanted my first slab cut. In hindsight the chain might of been a little slack as well. Tomorrow I will fix all my errors and see if I can get a nice cut and post em up. I wonder if the Dolmar 153 has a chain lube ajustment ?

nice work. what kind of chain are you using? whats the degree of the cut on the teeth? secure the ladder at multiple points and put supports under it to keep it even.

 

[BobL]

Happy Holidays !

And the same for you and congrats on your first slab.

First off the ladder I used for rails is junk and I have to come up with a better system. I think I will try unistrut but until then I will have to secure this cheap ladder much better than this first slab. If you look at the photos you can see the chain marks. To a degree I think that these are from the ladder moving up and down and even sideways.

From the chain marks on the cuts I can tell you are see-sawing the mill horizontally. Even if the ladder is very firmly help against the log this will make gouges in these cuts that are deeper than the cutter gouges. For a better finish it's better to maintain a fixed orientation and hold that steady all the way down the log - you had plenty of slope on that log so you should not have had to push much - if you had to push then your chain is not set up right (ie needs sharpening and/or more hook so that it self feeds).

It will help if the ladder is steady - to make it steady it needs to nestle in closer to the log. One way of doing it is like this.

I lay the ladder or unistrut frame on the log, mark where the rungs are and then free cut divots out of the trunk so the ladder sits firm against the trunk in 3-4 places.

Also the bar and chain was getting pretty hot and I dont think the 153 Dolmar is putting enough bar oil out on the 36" bar to keep the chain and bar lubed and cool, so I will rig up an outboard oiler and hope it solves this issue.

that will almost certainly be the case, I recommend using a aux oiler even on small logs.

 

[Dog_River]

Great advise and photo, the light just came on ! Yes I was see sawing the saw a bit so I wont do that anymore. The chain is brand new so I hope it came with the correct settings. I will make adjustments and mill some more tomorrow I hope.

BobL, how do you hold the unistrut down ? just at the ends attached the your end angle ? or do you secure it in other places as well ?

Thanks for the encouraging comments and advise !

Dog_River

And the same for you and congrats on your first slab.


From the chain marks on the cuts I can tell you are see-sawing the mill horizontally. Even if the ladder is very firmly help against the log this will make gouges in these cuts that are deeper than the cutter gouges. For a better finish it's better to maintain a fixed orientation and hold that steady all the way down the log - you had plenty of slope on that log so you should not have had to push much - if you had to push then your chain is not set up right (ie needs sharpening and/or more hook so that it self feeds).

It will help if the ladder is steady - to make it steady it needs to nestle in closer to the log. One way of doing it is like this.

I lay the ladder or unistrut frame on the log, mark where the rungs are and then free cut divots out of the trunk so the ladder sits firm against the trunk in 3-4 places.

that will almost certainly be the case, I recommend using a aux oiler even on small logs.

 

[cityslicker]

That blue stain really is neat looking, way to go. My first slab looked more like a city park's playground slide! I think your ladder system will be just fine if you continue to tweak it as it sounds you will. I think if you could fix some uni-strut to the top rails of the ladder with bolts it would stiffen the structure but also give the alaskan mill a slicker surface to ride on being that it is harder than the aluminum ladder, just make sure to get the big thick wall unistrut not the thin wall light duty stuff. Just be careful there are not any rough spots on the uni-strut that may chew through the mill rails. Also if you don't let in the support rails like Bob does then bolt cross rails to the ends of the log so you can fasten the ladder to them to keep it more rigid. A little side to side movement is better than a little up and down movement, but none of either is best!

 

[mad murdock]

Hats off to you on yer maiden voyage! Milling is a work in progress. Every time I mill I figure out ways to do it a little faster, and with more efficiency. Your New Years resolutions will be full of project plans!

 

[Dave Boyt]

Congratulations on getting your mill up and running. I see more chain saws and longer bars in your future. Chain may have been overheating, but it doesn't look like you were! Nice looking slabs. What will you do with them?

 

[Dog_River]

Thanks guys,

First off I am going to replace our flimsy fireplace mantle with a nice skoocum one with the blue die running through it, should be cool. Second some shelves the wifes office and a nice timber frame bed. I will be sure to post em up as they come about.

Thank, Dog_River

 

[sachsmo]

Great Job!

What is this 153 you talk of?

Just kidding, I use a more rigid ladder, and used conduit clamps at first.

Then I drilled three holes in every other rung and use lags that penetrate a few inches. (those little rechargeble impacts are great!)



The 153 does have an adjustable oiler, mine is full tilt for milling. (i mix a bit of diesel to make it flow better)

You are going to be hooked bro'.



I still have the pics of my first go at it;

 

[Dog_River]

sachsmo.......I was hoping youd chime in on the 153 oiler !! where do I find the oiler adjustment ?

I love it, what do you mean "going to be hooked" :cool2:



Thanks for the advise

Great Job!

What is this 153 you talk of?

Just kidding, I use a more rigid ladder, and used conduit clamps at first.

Then I drilled three holes in every other rung and use lags that penetrate a few inches. (those little rechargeble impacts are great!)



The 153 does have an adjustable oiler, mine is full tilt for milling. (i mix a bit of diesel to make it flow better)

You are going to be hooked bro'.



I still have the pics of my first go at it;

 

[sachsmo]

Bottom left hand corner of the muffler about 1.5 inches in.

Tried to get a pic, but it didn't come out. There is a magnesium boss with a tiny slotted head, that is not it.

It is in there deeper (1.5 inches deeper) CCW all the way is max, mine does really good without an outboard oiler, just need the bar oil cut a bit.

Hope this helps,

mo


Oh by the way,

If you love it, you are already hooked

 

[sachsmo]

"Nother from my maiden voyage;

 

[Dog_River]

Hello,

My name is Dog_River and I have an addiction to milling slabs ! It only took one slab and I was/am addicted, so everyone should excercise caution before you partake in milling ! :cool2:


Dog_River

 

[hamish]

Well how bout we call you Dog_River_Dave!

Its highly addictive, the snow is too deep and soft for the snowmobile here right now, was out on my snowshoes this morning picking trees for the spring, got back to the mill and spend an hour digging out my last too logs at the mill site, remembered where I left the boat after my last trip, gotta remember to mark it so I dont run into/over it with the snowmobile.

Leaves me back up at the house, getting my csm ready..............

 

[Ax-man]

I did some milling about a week ago with a wooden ladder we had around for doing the first cut. The ladder worked better than I thought it would. I didn't think a wooden ladder would flex downward in the middle of the cut but it must have because my cut is dipped in the middle a little, not much but it is there when you a lay a straight edge lengthways down the length of the log.

Bob,L is right you have to get that ladder down onto the log so it doesn't move. I just didn't think a big chainsaw like a 76 with the csm would be that heavy to cause the ladder to flex. I set-up a second log to cut and before I got started I put my hand down on the ladder in the middle and sure enough it did flex without too much weight. This time I shimmed under the ladder with some bits laying around and got a little better first cut. this doesn't bother me because I bought a new planer to surface these slabs and get them a little more true and square. That will be another learning curve to master.

 

[BobL]

BobL, how do you hold the unistrut down ? just at the ends attached the your end angle ? or do you secure it in other places as well ?

There are two angle iron brackets at each end of the log. The bracket has threaded holes in it where bolts with ground points pass thru it and bite into the ends of the log.
The brackets also has slot cut into one end of the top so that the width of the log rails can be changed to suit a log.

I find I don't need to secure/support the rail anywhere else unless the log is very irregular in shape.