Milling Some Ash

[TSRuff]

Headed up to our land in Northern Minnesota last weekend and ended up coming across a nice Ash out in a swampy area... since I am in need of a new coffee table and side tables this seemed like a good tree. Ended up with quite a few nice boards, a couple of pieces to make some rustic benches for the cabin, and some thicker slabs to cut table legs from.

The top of the tree ended up being rotten, so didn't really get as many as I was hoping for. I found a couple of other nice Ash nearby though, so will be heading up there again soon.


First cut off the tree and I liked what I saw:

Dad out in the woods:

The final haul from half a day's cutting:

 

[mtngun]

Thanks for the pics. This is my favorite time of year to mill, when it is not hot.

 

[crashagn]

Nice pictures.. What kind of saw and setup did you use? I got a pile of Ash logs that i took down couple weekends ago and got some more to do and would like to get something more out of them besides splittin them up

 

[TSRuff]

I've got an Alaskan Mk III mill and Husky 3120 with a 28" and 42" bar for the mill and a 359 for dropping and piecing them out. I use ripping chain on the mill and file the rakers down a bit since the 3120 doesn't have any trouble with power.

This was the first time I had milled with that setup in anything other than oak and was very impressed with the cut speed. In oak i was getting about 3/4" per second in 24" logs, whereas in ash it was more like 1 1/2 - 2" per second.

 

[crashagn]

Awesome. Thanks for the reply

 

[mtngun]

I've got an Alaskan Mk III mill and Husky 3120 with a 28" and 42" bar for the mill and a 359 for dropping and piecing them out. I use ripping chain on the mill and file the rakers down a bit since the 3120 doesn't have any trouble with power.

This was the first time I had milled with that setup in anything other than oak and was very impressed with the cut speed. In oak i was getting about 3/4" per second in 24" logs, whereas in ash it was more like 1 1/2 - 2" per second.

0.404" or 0.375" pitch ? 7 pin drive sprocket, or 8 pin ?

Your ripping speed sound great. I'd be thrilled with 1" per second in softwood. That would be a 12 foot slab in less than 3 minutes.

Is the 3120's fixed main jet a problem for you ? (obviously not, if you are cutting 1" per second ).

Anyway, thanks for the info. I'm always trying to learn more about our hobby.

 

[TSRuff]

0.404" or 0.375" pitch ? 7 pin drive sprocket, or 8 pin ?

Your ripping speed sound great. I'd be thrilled with 1" per second in softwood. That would be a 12 foot slab in less than 3 minutes.

Is the 3120's fixed main jet a problem for you ? (obviously not, if you are cutting 1" per second ).

Anyway, thanks for the info. I'm always trying to learn more about our hobby.

I normally run a .375" 8 pin sprocket for milling. I have a 7 pin in case I come across someting that really needs more power than speed, but even in 34" oak I have yet to need that with this saw (my 395 was a different story). The 42" bar is is a .063 and the 28" is .050.

I haven't had any issues with the carb. Mine is the newer style where the jet screws in instead of being held in by a retainer clip (I believe). I heard that the older style was a bit more trouble, but like I said, everything works fine with mine, couldn't be happier with this setup...

 

[BobL]

I've got an Alaskan Mk III mill and Husky 3120 with a 28" and 42" bar for the mill and a 359 for dropping and piecing them out. I use ripping chain on the mill and file the rakers down a bit since the 3120 doesn't have any trouble with power.

This was the first time I had milled with that setup in anything other than oak and was very impressed with the cut speed. In oak i was getting about 3/4" per second in 24" logs, whereas in ash it was more like 1 1/2 - 2" per second.

Good looking wood, it looks a lot like our Lemon Scented and Spotted gums, which are actually Bloodwoods. But this stuff is about twice as hard when its green, as oak is when its dry.

The Ash looks more like about a 16" diameter log? Even so that's still a very impressive milling speed in the oak, what's your finish like? And when you say, you "dropped the rakers a bit...", how much, and what is your gullet size? Lucas mill slabbers use 0.045" or more on new 404 chains get those sorts of milling speeds. One guy I know uses 0.06" rakers and fair rips through his slabs but his finish is not so good.

I'm using progressive raker depths (ie 0.025" for gullet of 0.25", 0.035" for 0.35 gullet etc) currently I'm at about 0.045" for 0.45" gullet and the chain seems to be cutting like when it was brand new. I haven't timed my cutting speed for a while but the last time I measured it I was getting between 1/4 and 1/2" /second on 24" wide cuts - the reason it varies is because the chain goes blunt while cutting the slabs. Of course wood is quite a bit harder than Oak or Ash

 

[TSRuff]

That particular log is about a 20" diameter, and the ash is pretty soft when green. When dry, well that's a completely different story... it is pretty much like trying to slab concrete, only harder.

I try to keep my rakers at right around .035-.040. I agree that this does result in a much rougher finish, but my time in the woods is reduced significantly. I generally cut all my boards at 1 1/8" (28.575mm) and have a local mill run them through their planer to clean things up top/bottom once dried for a 3/4" (19.05mm) finished board. They are only charging me $.10 a lineal foot to clean up the rougher boards vs. $.08 for smoother ones.

The other thing that I've noticed with the rougher board is that the boards dry about 10% faster... which makes sense since there is significantly more surface area. Although I do lose a bit of wood on each cut, I really don't think that the reduction in cutting speed would be offset by the extra 1 slab I would end up with each year...

Last time I was slabbing an oak I was on about the 3rd or 4th cut when things kept getting slower and slower and sloooooooower. Finished up the last 1' of the cut, pulled the board off, and found a piece of LIMESTONE that the tree had picked up and grown around, with no trace on the surface. Let me tell you, cutting through an inch of limestone will really dull the chain.

 

[BobL]

That particular log is about a 20" diameter, and the ash is pretty soft when green. When dry, well that's a completely different story... it is pretty much like trying to slab concrete, only harder.

OK - so you know what we have to deal with when its green!

I try to keep my rakers at right around .035-.040. I agree that this does result in a much rougher finish, but my time in the woods is reduced significantly. I generally cut all my boards at 1 1/8" (28.575mm) and have a local mill run them through their planer to clean things up top/bottom once dried for a 3/4" (19.05mm) finished board. They are only charging me $.10 a lineal foot to clean up the rougher boards vs. $.08 for smoother ones.[/QUOTE]
That is very handy!

The other thing that I've noticed with the rougher board is that the boards dry about 10% faster... which makes sense since there is significantly more surface area. Although I do lose a bit of wood on each cut, I really don't think that the reduction in cutting speed would be offset by the extra 1 slab I would end up with each year...

That is a fair way of looking at ot.

Last time I was slabbing an oak I was on about the 3rd or 4th cut when things kept getting slower and slower and sloooooooower. Finished up the last 1' of the cut, pulled the board off, and found a piece of LIMESTONE that the tree had picked up and grown around, with no trace on the surface. Let me tell you, cutting through an inch of limestone will really dull the chain.

That will do it!