Milling question from Noobie.

[Pa Pa Jack]

First of all, I have never milled anything. I cut for firewood. BUT, I have a lot of great timber on my property and milling seems a logical progression.

I have checked out a lot of videos after reading some of the threads on this site. I noticed one thing that seems odd to me but there is probably a reason for it.

In every video I have seen, if a person is using a CSM he/she cuts into and through the log with the bar perpendicular to the line of travel. It would seem to me that you would get a good cut with less strain on the chain if you angled the bar. In essence, you would be noodling more. I would think the cutters would work smoother and wear less. Why?

 

[Greenland South]

First of all, I have never milled anything. I cut for firewood. BUT, I have a lot of great timber on my property and milling seems a logical progression.

I have checked out a lot of videos after reading some of the threads on this site. I noticed one thing that seems odd to me but there is probably a reason for it.

In every video I have seen, if a person is using a CSM he/she cuts into and through the log with the bar perpendicular to the line of travel. It would seem to me that you would get a good cut with less strain on the chain if you angled the bar. In essence, you would be noodling more. I would think the cutters would work smoother and wear less. Why?

I like the question. Being new to CSM myself, some feed back from the more experienced here would be good. Unless their is a really good reason not to do it, I may fab a carriage for my M8 to run the saw at an angle. Anyone know or have a good guess as to what would be a good angle to start with?

 

[showrguy]

great question jack, i've wondered the same thing myself..
i'm all set to do some csmilling but have not dove in yet..

 

[nk14zp]

When you angle the saw you have more chain in the log.

 

[rarefish383]

I always angle my saw/bar, it does seem to pull better/easier at an angle. I'm running an old 100CC Homelite so I'm not turning a lot of r's, but it has a good bit of torque. I milled some Hickory last week and it was definitely slower than Tulip Poplar or White Birch, but still seemed to go better at an angle, Joe.

 

[BobL]

When you angle the saw you have more chain in the log.

This is correct. I have timed a number of cuts and in the wood I cut it works out almost the same.
At first I also though this method might require less sharpening, but while the actual cutting might be easier on the cutters they are in more wood so these two factors cancel each other out.

For angled cuts to be significantly faster the bar needs to be angled a long way from 90º to the log.
Even at 45º to the log (this is a lot harder to do than you think since the cut is 41% longer) the chain is still effectively cutting 70% at fully across the grain.
The bar needs to be at 30º to the log (with a 100% longer cut) for the chain to be cutting 50% cross grain.
The bar needs to be at less than 30º to the log, so that the noodle cutting factor starts to dominate the cutting, to be significantly faster.

One thing that leads to a perception that angled cuts are faster is that of course the saw cuts faster when you start an angled cut but once the bar if fully buried in the wood to its full length, it will slow down substantially.

The tendency is to then angle the saw the other way. The method is what I call see-saw cutting is not faster (I have timed that as well) in the wood that I cut and it will make mess of the finish so I do not recommend it.

I also find it is less fatiguing to allow the saw to naturally nestle up against and ride down the log that to expend energy trying to maintain an angle to the lot.

 

[john taliaferro]

when the chain is dragging chips its not cutting ,but its using up power ,but the chips {noodles } are larger . 10 ' bars are expensive, but 4' rails are light . Length wise is the best way to cut wood ive found . I think but i could be wrong , Ill ask her when she gets back from shopping ?