Old Alaskan Mill Questions

[2dogs]

So right up front, yeah I suck. Generally I'm telling someone they suck but today it's me. Go ahead and read this then let it rain.

I was recently given a very nice Stihl 084 and an old mill set up. The tag says Alaskan Chainsaw Mill, NYGRAN IND, LTD, Richmond California, Serial No. 95. It came with a 60" Stihl Duromatic hardnose bar and .404 skip chain. It will cut a 48" wide slab and has an oil tank mounted to the top bar. The bar is drilled and the mill is bolted to the bar.

The mill appears to have two large double roller attachments that would bolt to the bar? I have not figured out what they are for. Ideas?

Oh. Uh they also give me a super clean full wrap Husqvarna 372XP. I suck.

 

[mdavlee]

It's not a helper handle bearing set up is it?

 

[2dogs]

No the roller frames are about 10" square with two sets of rollers on each side. One short cone shaped roller and on long stepped roller.

 

[BobL]

We need pictures

 

[2dogs]

Bob I think you are correct in that rollers are shown on the few Sperber images I found. I still can't figure what they do unless they ride on the log for the first cut. I'll try to post pics tomorrow.

 

[Brian72]

You certainly do suck but congrats! Could the rollers possibly be to ride along the log for less resistance? I thought about trying to modify my Granberg by adding some rollers to the mounting clamps.

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[BobL]

I initially posted a response suggesting it was a Sperber but then was not sure so I edited it out.
The rollers on a Sperber ride on top of the log for all the cuts.
One problem with the Sperber is they sometimes transfer every little dip and rise from the cut above to the current cut.
The other thing was they were designed for a fixed length bar.
They were around for a while but they fell out of favour - An AS member, English Miller (Railomatic) incorporated the roller design aspect of the Sperber into his mills and he reckoned they were OK.

 

[Brian72]

I initially posted a response suggesting it was a Sperber but then was not sure so I edited it out.
The rollers on a Sperber ride on top of the log for all the cuts.
One problem with the Sperber is they sometimes transfer every little dip and rise from the cut above to the current cut.
The other thing was they were designed for a fixed length bar.
They were around for a while but they fell out of favour - An AS member, English Miller (Railomatic) incorporated the roller design aspect of the Sperber into his mills and he reckoned they were OK.

I never considered rollers on top but did think about adding some to the mounting clamps at the saw end to roll down the side of the log.

Sent from my E6782 using Tapatalk

 

[SeMoTony]

So right up front, yeah I suck. Generally I'm telling someone they suck but today it's me. Go ahead and read this then let it rain.

I was recently given a very nice Stihl 084 and an old mill set up. The tag says Alaskan Chainsaw Mill, NYGRAN IND, LTD, Richmond California, Serial No. 95. It came with a 60" Stihl Duromatic hardnose bar and .404 skip chain. It will cut a 48" wide slab and has an oil tank mounted to the top bar. The bar is drilled and the mill is bolted to the bar.

The mill appears to have two large double roller attachments that would bolt to the bar? I have not figured out what they are for. Ideas?

Oh. Uh they also give me a super clean full wrap Husqvarna 372XP. I suck.

It will be easier to figure this out when you provide pictures

 

[BobL]

Sperber mill

I never considered rollers on top but did think about adding some to the mounting clamps at the saw end to roll down the side of the log.

You only need wheels on the inboard side as the chain pulls the mill into the log.
The wheels on the BIL mill are on the inboard uprights - like this
The black ones are HDPE and ride on the log when cutting the top half of the log.
the white ones are Teflon and ride on the log when cutting the middle and the bottom half of the log - these are adjustable in height so they can be lined up with the bar. This is the best place for wheels.

 

[Brian72]

Sperber mill
View attachment 615359



You only need wheels on the inboard side as the chain pulls the mill into the log.
The wheels on the BIL mill are on the inboard uprights - like this
The black ones are HDPE and ride on the log when cutting the top half of the log.
the white ones are Teflon and ride on the log when cutting the middle and the bottom half of the log - these are adjustable in height so they can be lined up with the bar. This is the best place for wheels.


View attachment 615360

That's an impressive setup you have Bob. Thanks for sharing all your knowledge with us.

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