Winter Milling Fun Has Begun!

[scottr]

Flitch sawing

Max , have you ever made a fixture to flitch saw with the lumber maker to get bookmatched boards ? Scott

 

[max2cam]

Max , have you ever made a fixture to flitch saw with the lumber maker to get bookmatched boards ? Scott

Scott,

I'm not sure what you mean by that exactly, but I don't think that I have. Could you please explain more?

Didn't work too long yesterday as it was very windy and snowing. But I got four 1" x 16" x 8' and one 2" x 16" x 8'. Those 16" inch wide boards are the widest I have ever cut. Last year I got some 13" wide stuff. They are nice but they are somewhat more difficult to mill out.

Solo 690 running good. Upped the idle slightly. Power adequate altho when I'm cutting a full 16-inches the saw knows it. Probably would help if I sharpened the chain more often. One thing I do is after every cut I lay a bead of oil along the chain-bar line with an oil can as it comes out of the cut pretty hot and dry.

Fun and useful too.

 

[weimedog]

Max, the finish depends on a couple of things;

1) The chain size & grind

2) How patient&careful you are when you are trying to bull that saw through a log.

The 3/8 skip chisle chain I have been using leaves a pretty nice finish if I don't "rock" the saw too much. The cost is speed as its harder to cut cross grain than it is at an angle. When you "rock" the saw you are always cutting a corner and it cuts much faster at the expense of finish.

I guess it depends what you are trying to get and what you want from the wood. I'm just doing rough cut lumber for Stalls...It would take much more time to plane my wood to a nice finish than that cut with a bandsaw mill..but an Alaskan mill & saw setup from ebay MIGHT set you back $500 dollars while the Bandsaw mill will set you back over $5000 dollars.

 

[scottr]

Fixture

Max , instead of relocating and dogging your guide beam for every cut you could make a fixture that you place the squared cant on that has a fixed guide beam you then slide the cant with a lever to the next desired thickness of cut . When the cant is too narrow to stand upright you place it in a notch in the fixture that holds it upright . Scott

 

[max2cam]

Back

Down with computer trouble for awhile and not able to check in here at headquarters.

Finished a 2nd eight-foot log on the big red pine and got more nice wide boards and other good useful lumber. Then took down a sun-blocking white spruce (about 16" diameter) that will give me one good log and the rest firewood.

Then temps dropped to way below zero and all I did in the woods was split that knotty spruce when frozen like a rock. Looks very picturesque out there in milling land and I should get the old camera and tripod out there.

But temps are rising again and milling boy is back!

 

[max2cam]

Max, the finish depends on a couple of things;

1) The chain size & grind

2) How patient&careful you are when you are trying to bull that saw through a log.

The 3/8 skip chisle chain I have been using leaves a pretty nice finish if I don't "rock" the saw too much. The cost is speed as its harder to cut cross grain than it is at an angle. When you "rock" the saw you are always cutting a corner and it cuts much faster at the expense of finish.

I guess it depends what you are trying to get and what you want from the wood. I'm just doing rough cut lumber for Stalls...It would take much more time to plane my wood to a nice finish than that cut with a bandsaw mill..but an Alaskan mill & saw setup from ebay MIGHT set you back $500 dollars while the Bandsaw mill will set you back over $5000 dollars.

I get a pretty darn good finish with this 3/8" Cutters Choice special ripping/milling chain. And since this is a rustic log house back in the woods that slightly rough milled look is fine. A sanding block is all I need to make it nice and smooth.

I do tend to "rock" the saw when milling because it is easier. If I keep a steady and careful techinque while rocking the bar in and out of the cut the finish is good. Sometimes I don't pay attention and get a bar ridge but the lumber is still useful. A bigger problem I think are wedge-shaped boards. Some of that stuff I cut into 2x2s, etc.

I also noticed that if I pivot the saw WAY deep so the handle is straight up or even somewhat over top-dead-center the saw starts advancing/walk into the cut on its own! I tried that but messed up a couple boards because I did have to stop and take a rest and the cut didn't resume right. Right now the rocking method seems best. More easy on the back too. Probably easier on the saw too.

 

[max2cam]

Max , instead of relocating and dogging your guide beam for every cut you could make a fixture that you place the squared cant on that has a fixed guide beam you then slide the cant with a lever to the next desired thickness of cut . When the cant is too narrow to stand upright you place it in a notch in the fixture that holds it upright . Scott

I'd like to see one of those fixtures and how it is set up exactly.

I find the most hassle is slabbing the log into a square cant. After that it's easy to mill boards using a set-over gauge. I use a drill and screws instead of nails so removing and reattaching the guide board is easy enough.

Towards the end it does get tricky when the cant gets narrow and tippy. Last year I packed snow around it for support. Worked well, but this year not enough snow. So I used a couple of short rounds for support and maybe a piece of board screwed onto the cant. At least get one more board off the cant and then flop it down and get some oddball 2-3" stuff. There is no such thing as non-useful lumber.

In fact I cut a 3" slab from a 24" diameter red pine for kneading bread dough on! Works great and the bread doesn't taste like pine pitch either -- altho I wouldn't mind if it did.

 

[cbfarmall]

I just milled a couple boards this morning. Haven't been at it for awhile. Last count, I have 8 or 9 logs to mill. All of them white oak, 10 foot or longer, ranging from 20" to 30" diameter.

I took stihltech's advice, and bypassed the governor valve on my 075's carburetor. That saw runs slow enough without a governor screwing things up. What a difference it made. Used to load up in the cut and I'd have to back off and let it rev up to clean out. Now she just digs in. It'll handle the largest log I have.

Now, I'm trying to fit the mill to an 084 but it won't work with a 3/4 wrap so I need a half-wrap.

I can post some pics if there is any interest. I did once back in the late summer. Got some pretty good boards then.

Chris B.

 

[max2cam]

I just milled a couple boards this morning. Haven't been at it for awhile. Last count, I have 8 or 9 logs to mill. All of them white oak, 10 foot or longer, ranging from 20" to 30" diameter.

I took stihltech's advice, and bypassed the governor valve on my 075's carburetor. That saw runs slow enough without a governor screwing things up. What a difference it made. Used to load up in the cut and I'd have to back off and let it rev up to clean out. Now she just digs in. It'll handle the largest log I have.

Now, I'm trying to fit the mill to an 084 but it won't work with a 3/4 wrap so I need a half-wrap.

I can post some pics if there is any interest. I did once back in the late summer. Got some pretty good boards then.

Chris B.

I'd like to see some pictures of those nice boards and your mill.

30" white oak in ten foot lengths is pretty big stuff. What do you move them around with?

Hate to sound dumb, but do all modern carbs have a governor valve to bypass? I'd have to double-check, but I think this Solo 690 has a Zama carb on it.

Doesn't seem to load up when milling. (My lower back loads up instead). But then I do take the saw out of the cut frequently anyway and rev it to clear the sawdust out of the sprocket housing so it can oil properly. It would be nice to have an override manual oil pump like the old Homelite had.

This milling is a whole other world from firewood cutting. In fact, it "cuts" into my normal firewood cutting time, but I'll catch up in Feb. and March. Besides I have a big stockpile of firewood anyway and some of it sitting out in the weather.

 

[max2cam]

Out yesterday and made a squared cant out of the 3rd 8-foot log from the big red pine. Then milled off six really fine 1x12" boards. Was careful and got a nice smooth finish and no wedges. Still part of the cant left. Forgot my mittens and had to go back for them. Gloves no good although it got up to 13 F. Warm enough to mill again. Snowing now.

 

[weimedog]

max2cam, most of my logs also range from 24-32inches. (I posted some pic's in that thread "mange wanted a pic or two"). Just did another one last weekend. One end was well over 34inchs and the small 26inchs. I just took another saw and lopped a few chunks off the side of the wide end so my chain saw mill could handle the width. I have been milling either Hard Wood Maple or Ash.Drug up a couple of more Ash trees to mill. I plan to take down two more trees if the weather holds. One Ash should net me three logs in the 12ft long range and ranging from 36inches in Diameter to 24. One Red Oak is roughly the same size. One good thing about that Ash is you can burn it green so cleaning up the tops adds to the firewood pile right now.

As far as handling the big wood, I skid with an old Farm Tractor (International 1066 aprox 110hp. & 11,000lbs) and if its too heavy to push around by all the kids, my Case 780C Backhoe (115hp turbo & 24,500lbs) does the trick.

 

[cbfarmall]

I don't know which carbs have it, but I'd imagine it's a feature mainly found on older saws. But the 090 has an airvane which operates the choke. Nowadays, any governing is done with the ignition. A look at the parts list identified the component as a governor valve. Didn't pay any attention till stihltech pointed it out.

My setup is none too sophisticated. I pretty much mill the logs where they lay. I use a cant hook to roll them up off the ground and onto supports. It would be nice to stand up and mill.

I'll shoot some current pics, but for now here's the thread I started a while back:

http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=16799

Chris B.

 

[max2cam]

max2cam, most of my logs also range from 24-32inches. (I posted some pic's in that thread "mange wanted a pic or two"). Just did another one last weekend. One end was well over 34inchs and the small 26inchs. I just took another saw and lopped a few chunks off the side of the wide end so my chain saw mill could handle the width. I have been milling either Hard Wood Maple or Ash.Drug up a couple of more Ash trees to mill. I plan to take down two more trees if the weather holds. One Ash should net me three logs in the 12ft long range and ranging from 36inches in Diameter to 24. One Red Oak is roughly the same size. One good thing about that Ash is you can burn it green so cleaning up the tops adds to the firewood pile right now.

As far as handling the big wood, I skid with an old Farm Tractor (International 1066 aprox 110hp. & 11,000lbs) and if its too heavy to push around by all the kids, my Case 780C Backhoe (115hp turbo & 24,500lbs) does the trick.

Those are some good sized logs. When they are standing its nice to think about all that board feet of lumber -- until you start handling them.

I imagine that's big white ash you've got? In my swamp there is some decent sized black ash which makes attractive boards as years ago I paid to have some milled. And ash makes good firewood to be sure. In fact I've got some dead ones for firewood down in there. But my best milling stuff is red pine as the logs are perfectly straight and much of it knot free.

You've got the "heavy" equipment and that would be nice. But I get by with my 90cc saw & lumbermaker, cant hook, tripod, and chains.

 

[max2cam]

I don't know which carbs have it, but I'd imagine it's a feature mainly found on older saws. But the 090 has an airvane which operates the choke. Nowadays, any governing is done with the ignition. A look at the parts list identified the component as a governor valve. Didn't pay any attention till stihltech pointed it out.

My setup is none too sophisticated. I pretty much mill the logs where they lay. I use a cant hook to roll them up off the ground and onto supports. It would be nice to stand up and mill.

I'll shoot some current pics, but for now here's the thread I started a while back:

http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=16799

Chris B.

I liked the photos. That is an interesting thread with lots of good info. I had read it before but had forgotten all about it. Memory burnt out....

I'll look at the 690 parts list and see if the carb is broken down for a "gov. valve" but it is a new type saw. It's running quite well as is. As it turns out, the 90cc displacement is about right for this usage. Running it sounds like a dirt bike.

Only trouble I've had so far with this Solo is a screw vibrated out of the starter cover and got lost. But I just took a screw out of my worn out Jonsered 451 and used that. Also the space between the handle and the brake is kinda cramped so I tend to get some contact and vibration against my hand when bearing down. Heavy chopper mitts help, plus holding it in different ways.

I also mill them up where they fall and that is one secret of success. Even if I had power equipment I couldn't get it to all the timbered spots on this land due to the swamps and thick woods. Milling onsite doesn't impact the land much at all if you burn the branches and cut up the limbs for firewood. I even collect the sawdust for my composting outhouse.

If you have any difficulties "rolling" the logs up on supports, try using a tripod. I did the rolling technique last winter and it wasn't real easy. This new tripod I made is really fast and efficient and you can get them up high as you want depending on the size of the tripod.

 

[max2cam]

So yesterday I finished the cant from the 3rd log. Got one more 1x12" and several 1x4" and a hefty stud with some bark on it. All go into my lumber warehouse for future useage. Having all this various sized lumber on hand is a real luxury. I even use the slabs for siding outbuildings. Helps keep the infernal property taxes low. Having an outhouse doesn't hurt either.

Having an odd desire for 60-70cc chainsaw. Trying to fight it back. But there is a gap between 50cc and 90cc that seems to need filling...

 

[Lawn Masters]

My 038 filled the gap for me. filled it real nice too.

 

[max2cam]

I could have used a bigger saw yesterday cutting up that biggish spruce. Got one 16" 8-foot milling log and the rest went for firewood.

I notice that spruce throws "chunks" like little bullets when you touch it with the chain. I think this was still frozen green stuff although it warmed up yesterday so that it was raining! Looks like a skating rink out there today.

Gotta get a $3 county firewood permit so I can wander over the "cutting line" and get some of that nice dead jackpine over there. Winter's flying by fast!

 

[WRW]

Yeah, I just hope the ground will freeze enough to get back in the woods. Got a couple of yellow poplar down that need milling, and they have to be moved somehow.

 

[max2cam]

Yeah, crazy weather here. Must be global warming. Raining like heck one day then an ice pond the next. Must have used 100 lbs of sand on the icy walkway. Just a little crusty snow on the ground. Now big snow coming they claim. Ground is frozen....

Yesterday milled up red pine #4 log. Lumber getting smaller. Only 10" wide stuff out of this log. Went fast tho. Am perfecting my milling technique little by little.

The "green" red pine mills very nicely. I wonder how the "green" white spruce log will go? Luckily I have so many large red pines that I wouldn't normally need to bother with anything else for milling unless like this spruce they are in the way blocking sunlight to my solar panels or I want something different like black ash.

I also need to cut out a nice slab of white pine to make a trial pattern for a Schuetzen rifle buttstock. A good sized white pine uprooted in the swamp, but I'm not sure how sound the log is. About 16" in diameter and nice and straight and tall with no limbs. As that tree is still alive I hesitate to cut it up, but I doubt if it will survive for long anyway. I'd better reduce it to good clear lumber this winter yet.

This milling sure is a fun and useful winter activity. No fancy mill outfit necessary either if one wants to low-buck it like I did. But of course this hand milling method is much slower.

 

[max2cam]

My saw is down. The muffler vibrated loose without my knowing it and one of the muffler mounts cracked.

Curses!