How about a milling chain sharpening thread?

[samdweezel05]

I know Bob has mastered the way of the mill and I am sure many of you guys have done the same, but I am a ways off. I want to see some of your chains with an explanation of what you do for the mill. Would also like to see the chips your chain makes. I am looking for that setup that will self feed through the wood. I am tired of having to push, lol.

 

[Trx250r180]

There is a lot of variables in this question ,my chips look similar to what comes off a jigsaw ,maybe a little bigger

 

[Trx250r180]

if watch this demo ,you can see my chips on the ground and some on the wood ,ms460 actually works ok in my opinion as a light duty milling saw ,i don't think i would run a 36 inch bar ,but the 28 it did ok

 

[samdweezel05]

I like that rig you use Brian. Wish I had the money to get one. Be perfect for making slabs into lumber.

 

[Trx250r180]

Like this ?

 

[mdavlee]

What kind of wood was that Brian? It takes me a lot longer to cut that long in a little wider poplar.

 

[Trx250r180]

What kind of wood was that Brian? It takes me a lot longer to cut that long in a little wider poplar.

Cedar ,it is pretty soft ,doug fir takes a little more effort ,but not a whole lot with this little mill ,i can pop out 2x6 fir boards almost as fast

here is squaring up a slab

 

[samdweezel05]

Like this ?

Just like that except I have bigger slabs. These are 16.5' long and the big ones are 33" wide.

 

[Trx250r180]

And take off the west coast dogs when milling ,if look at the rough edges ,i have to freehand the sides off the log to get it to fit in the dogs ,i end up with a lot of waste ,i have some plans in my head to make wider ones ,so can run a 36 inch bar ,i will have to add some kind of support off the oiler bracket for the bar tip on the 36 so it does not bounce around out there

 

[Trx250r180]

this will work for what you want to do ,will get a 3 sided kant ,then can use your mill for slab boards ,takes some setup time ,has a piece of metal for a saw guide on top of the board

Please excuse the gutless orange saw in the vid ,first on i saw on youtube

 

[jrhannum]

junkman:
I'm not knowing what kinda mill setup yer attaching the chainsaw to so it runs down the track on three wheels and lets the saw rise and fall -- with the bar dead level -- to choose a thickness-of-cut. If this is homemade, I'd like to see how ya made the "elevator". This is something I've been pondering-on to succeed my homemade "alaska" CSM. I'd like to see pics of the "front end" of yer rig so maybe I can weld up something like it. Thanks

 

[BobL]

Darin has kindly permitted me to repost some of my pics in the CS Milling 101 thread.

In this post I explain the various angles on cutters and rakers specific to milling
http://www.arboristsite.com/communi...nts-tips-and-tricks.93458/page-6#post-4507792

Then I highly recommend sloping the log.

 

[sachsmo]

Yes sir,

the chain is Paramount!

You can have the biggest baddest chainsaw ever made or modified, without a proper chain you are going to be very very unhappy with the results.

 

[ptjeep]

Sloping the log helps tremendously, let gravity do the work instead of your back. But,,,, you may want to fasten your slab to the log after starting your cut, if not the slab will slide down the log and hit the ground as soon as you finish the cut. First time this happened to me my chain was still spinning when the slab slid off and pushed my saw and mill into the dirt. Not good!

 

[Trx250r180]

junkman:
I'm not knowing what kinda mill setup yer attaching the chainsaw to so it runs down the track on three wheels and lets the saw rise and fall -- with the bar dead level -- to choose a thickness-of-cut. If this is homemade, I'd like to see how ya made the "elevator". This is something I've been pondering-on to succeed my homemade "alaska" CSM. I'd like to see pics of the "front end" of yer rig so maybe I can weld up something like it. Thanks

It is a norwood mill ,sold by northern tool ,think they are $999 for price ,the oiler is extra i think 100 or so ,it does a pretty good job for a homeowner mill ,i can make some nice true lumber with it ,the length of the wood is limited by the length of the ladder for tracks ,that was tha bad part ,i think the longest ladder i could find in town was 16 feet x2 extention ,so my track is 16 feet which lets me cut about a 13-6 board max because of where the saw is on the cariage ,here are some pics mocked up in the garage ,i tied the 2 2x4 together with a long 2x6 on each end to tighten things up ,i had it screwed down to my car trailer for a while ,that made a nice table that was flat ,and could load the logs from the side with my little skid loader with forks still

 

[Trx250r180]

Here is a demo vid off their site ,shows how portable it can be ,and the adjustments ,i have mine set up and leveled out and i leave it where it is ,once the sawdust gets packed around it ,it feels a lot more solid in the ground ,less chain chatter,i also made an extention to raise my oiler 6 inches higher then it was ,i can cut bigger kants this way ,i want to make wider rollers for the log dogs so i can mill bigger stuff ,right now with bigger logs i have to rip the sides off freehand with a saw to get them to fit ,they recomend a 20 inch bar ,i found a 28 to work perfect with the mill the way it is set up from them

 

[beachcomber]

Hey junk man , thanks for the great explanation on how to sharpen chain

 

[Trx250r180]

Hey junk man , thanks for the great explanation on how to sharpen chain

i reccomend a narrow kerf ripping chain put it in the grinder and adjust the top plate to 10 degrees ,take the rakers down a little lower than normal ,.030-.035 depending on the wood

 

[jrhannum]

Junkman:
Thanks for the pics. The "elevator" looks a lot like a wind-up trailer jack (which I've got) and I have ridgid track from those warehouse gorrilla racks; now to find some wheels or poly sliders and weld-up a tricycle and saw-holding fingers. To end up with a thousand-dollar mill for a bit of scrounging and metal-crafting. Damn! Another project.

 

[sachsmo]

That auxiliary oiler looks kinda out o' place on dat lil' cant?