Tough Day Milling Elm

[BobL]

I'm pretty jealous! English Bay/Burrard Inlet? How do you get access down there? There must be tons of gates! I do a lot of work on the coast, maybe I'll give you a heads up one day and bring the mill down. I currently have no interest in anything but softwoods, but I'd like to learn from another miller.

Thanks,
Chad.

I've been there - not a single gate or fence - pull of main road and park in the car park , walk 10 yards and you're there.

 

[rarefish383]

What a place to be able to mill! When I was a kid my Dad had a contract with Wash DC to remove street trees infected with Dutch Elm, and we removed many residential trees as well. All of the lap wood that was easy fire place size went on our wood pile. The brush and big wood went on a burn pile. Part of the contract with DC stipulated that all equipment that came in contact with the wood had to be "washed down" with alcohal. So, it was my job to take a gallon jug and a rag and wash all of the chainsaws, pole and pruning saws every day before we left the job site, Joe.

 

[Daninvan]

Nice pics, but it looks cold?

I forget, do you always mill with a dust mask?

Not that cold. It was probably about 7 degrees C. We really lucked out with the rain though, I was up at about 6 AM and it was raining like the end of the world. Surprisingly by 10 AM or so it was quite decent.

I use a combined particle/organic vapours mask, my friends were using some kind of dust mask. Digging into that kind of subject a bit, I'm not happy with my eye protection. I wear either plastic safety glasses, or a mesh shield (before I stepped on it and broke it). I find both of them allow stuff to come up underneath and I still wind up with crap in my eye, especially my left eye as it is closest to the mill. I'm considering switching to goggles but am pretty sure that fogging up will be a problem with them.

Chad, as for access, as Bobl says, access is simple and completely unrestricted. Let me know when you come to town and we can get together and mill something up.

What happened to elm (and Chestnut) in eastern Canada and the US was terrible. Doubly bad that so much of it was just wasted by burning, as in the end whatever measures were taken to prevent the spread of the blight were not successful. We do have some of each of them here in Vancouver, I guess we are too far from their native range for the disease to have reached here.

Dan

 

[pwoller]

How big a mill do you run on those 2100's? How long of a bar?

 

[TSRuff]

I use mesh goggles and have found them to be quite good at keeping the sawdust out and also do not fog. My only caution is that in the sunlight you can end up with some interesting tan lines. Since you are in Vancouver that should be less of an issue

I get mine from Bailey's: http://www.baileysonline.com/itemdetail.asp?item=35750&utm_source=base&utm_medium=cse

 

[jimdad07]

Great thread Danivan. I have major wood envy. All the elms up here in Northern New York are lost to the Dutch elm disease as soon as the bark starts to get a little rough it seems. I have a bunch in the eight to ten inch range on my property that have died off in the last two years, the good ones I will mill and the others will be firewood.

 

[BobL]

I love that Photo Dan, . . . orange sawdust and blue sky, ocean & city in the background. . .

Re: Dust mask

The only time I've felt the need to wear a organic vapor mask while milling was using a 3120 running 25:1 mix on windless days - the exhaust fumes made me feel quite ill. As soon as we switched to 40:1 this problem seemed to reduce quite a bit but one of course does not know and there could have been some effect going on that my senses could not detect. The other thing I noticed was that the 3120 warmed my legs a bit more than I liked. To some extent all saws with with forward facing mufflers where the exhaust bounces off the log will have these problems. I haven't experienced this that badly with the 440 or the 660, probably because I haven't milled for long periods with either saw. I do notice the air is generally clearer around me when when I switch from the 440/660 to the 076/880 on the same day.

In the case of dust, maybe it's our timber but dust does not seem to be a problem to me that I know about. My standard cumulative detector is the "size and color of boogers test". These are always smaller after a day of milling than I seem to get after an hour of wood turning, even though I have a dust collector running while I'm turning. Of course, once again stuff could be happening I'm not seeing.

I guess all this is a good argument for a winch

 

[Daninvan]

Thanjks for all the kind comments.

I think I'm fortunate to have easy access to this type of wood for free. I'm sure it'll come to an end someday, with city budgets being tight and all, but I understand the city has been allowing it since the 70's.

Mesh goggles! Brilliant! Thank you for pointing that out to me, I will order up a pair ASAP.

On the 2100 I normally use a 36" bar, my mill will permit me to mill about 31" wide. I also have a 60" bar, the 2100 seems up to the task, but the operator finds it to be waaaay more work, so a helper is essential with the bigger bar!

I wear the vapour mask it it seems like cheap insurance, but I do find sometimes still feeling a bit woozy at the end of the day. It depends a lot on which way the wind is blowing.

I got a chip that wouldn't come out in my eye last year. I had to go to the eye doctor to get it taken out. Ironically the piece came out while I was sitting in her waiting room, but I still got a tongue lashing from her!

Dan

 

[Kaps]

Could you get away with only doing one side - that is, the one that the chain 'pulls' through? Seems like it wouldn't be all that critical to get the other as the cut goes from clean wood out....