How Would You Do It?

[max2cam]

Say you were milling lumber from trees using a 90cc chainsaw with a simple Lumber Maker attachment bolted to the 24" bar and running along a ten foot long 2x6" guide board screwed to the eight foot logs.

Would you lock the throttle wide open and make one long continuous cut?

Or, would you saw in incremental steps. That is, cut down at wide open trottle, then let off on the throttle, pull the bar out of the cut and yank the saw back a couple inches, then repeat the process over and over until reaching the end of the log?

I have experimented both ways and the saw seems to run cooler using the second method. It might take longer to cut the board off, but when I lock the throttle wide open and keep running full blast down the entire length of the log the saw seems to run hotter. Letting off on the throttle seems to help keep things cooler.

What do you guys do?

http://www.atthecreation.com/

 

[buckwheat]

I've never milled with a chainsaw, so I can only reference shop tools. By cutting incrementally, wouldn't you have an issue with smoothness, or doesn't it matter since the cut has a certain roughness to it regardless that will have to be planed down?

 

[IndyIan]

Max,
I run my 372 w/o straight through, but I back off the pressure every couple feet so the saw 4 strokes for 10-20 seconds while still cutting. Then I lean on the alaskan a bit harder and so the saw runs cleanly.

My theory is that the 4 stroking lets mixture go through the saw cooling it more because its unburnt. I also run my saw richer when milling so the rpm the saw 4 strokes at is lower than for normal cutting.

I don't like stopping in the cut as it shows up on the boards or beams as grooves.

If you feel your saw is loosing power in a long cut you might want to richen the carb and check your piston for scoring. I don't think there is any other downside to running rich than loosing a bit of high rpm power. I'd rather be safe and a bit slower. Check your plug as well, white is bad! brown is good.

Ian

 

[Sam Reynolds]

i am not very well educated around mills but i would think that you would want the saw to run cooler wouldn't you? i mean doesn't that prolong the life of the saw?

 

[scottr]

With a Ripsaw

My Ripsaw has 5.2hp. .050 kerf and cuts 12ft./min. in softwood . Much less waste of the log . The down side is a throat size of 9in. by 14in. which limits the maximum log size for practical sawing to 20in. dia. PM me if you have any questions.Scott.