My first experience CSMing

[earlthegoat2]

I finally went and done it. Thanks for the advice here in my thread below. In the end, I purchased a 660 to do most of the work but I did spend the first day using the 460. I cut 4 boards 2 1/2 inches thick and 10 inches wide and 10 feet long with the 460 total. I filed the chain every tank of fuel free hand and got excellent results doing it this way. I could usually get 3 cuts out of the 660 before it got low on fuel and I could tell a huge difference between the 3rd cut when the fuel ran out and the 1st cut after touching up the chain. I would take the chain to work the next day to touch it up and get all the teeth back uniform on the grinder from any inconsistencies I may have had while free hand filing. I also took the rakers back to .030 since I was cutting softwood.

I do not recall with the 460, but the 660 would cut an inch every 1-1.5 seconds in 12-15 inch wide stock. I thought this was very acceptable. The thing the 460 lacked was proper oiling. I have heard this is a problem with them and the high output oiler should be put on any saw that is not an R model. The 660 however nearly oils too much on the 28" bar. I put it all the way down and it appeared to be just right. All the way up and I could feel an oil mist on my face and hands while cutting. Im not complaining. It doesn't leak or have any other detrimental effects so I will leave it as is.

The 660 was also muffler modded. It was so loud that I took to wearing earplugs underneath ear muffs. Tuning it by ear with no hearing protection was downright painful. Do any of you others also wear double hearing protection?

I also found using an axe to chop away high spots to be fast and easy rather than trying to use a chainsaw with precision to shave away a small area.

I ended up using some marine timbers I salvaged from the storm as saw guides for my first cuts and for use with the Granberg mini mill. They were slightly warped but the screws pulled them back true enough. I used a torpedo level to keep things as close as possible. I also milled the logs on the ground. This, I know, is not recommended. I do not have anything to get them up off the ground though that would be convenient such as a modified high lift jack. Maybe in the future.

Pics a little later. Photobucket is acting up for me.

 

[IyaMan]

Good to hear you're happy with your results. Were you using ripping chain?

 

[earlthegoat2]

Yes, the Woodland Pro (Carlton) ripping chain.

 

[IyaMan]

I've found it useful/better to use guide rails on every cut, not just the first one. If they extend a foot or so off each end, it allows for easier and more level cuts on the tips of the board/log when entering and exiting. I ended up making my own with some 2x4s screwed together with crossmembers between, like a ladder. I also screwed on some angle iron down the top edges so the mill slides along the metal instead (with a bit of wax, its way smoother than pushing it on the bare wood face).

I also made the whole rail set-up in two parts, with the main one long enough for 6.5 foot (2 meter) logs (so with the overhang, the whole rail length is about 8.5 foot), and I made a secondary 3 foot extender that screws on that makes it good for up to 10 foot logs (3 meter). I have some 13 foot (4 meter) logs I want to cut, so I'll make another extender to screw on the other side eventually.

 

[SeMoTony]

I finally went and done it. Thanks for the advice here in my thread below. In the end, I purchased a 660 to do most of the work but I did spend the first day using the 460. I cut 4 boards 2 1/2 inches thick and 10 inches wide and 10 feet long with the 460 total. I filed the chain every tank of fuel free hand and got excellent results doing it this way. I could usually get 3 cuts out of the 660 before it got low on fuel and I could tell a huge difference between the 3rd cut when the fuel ran out and the 1st cut after touching up the chain. I would take the chain to work the next day to touch it up and get all the teeth back uniform on the grinder from any inconsistencies I may have had while free hand filing. I also took the rakers back to .030 since I was cutting softwood.

I do not recall with the 460, but the 660 would cut an inch every 1-1.5 seconds in 12-15 inch wide stock. I thought this was very acceptable. The thing the 460 lacked was proper oiling. I have heard this is a problem with them and the high output oiler should be put on any saw that is not an R model. The 660 however nearly oils too much on the 28" bar. I put it all the way down and it appeared to be just right. All the way up and I could feel an oil mist on my face and hands while cutting. Im not complaining. It doesn't leak or have any other detrimental effects so I will leave it as is.

The 660 was also muffler modded. It was so loud that I took to wearing earplugs underneath ear muffs. Tuning it by ear with no hearing protection was downright painful. Do any of you others also wear double hearing protection?

I also found using an axe to chop away high spots to be fast and easy rather than trying to use a chainsaw with precision to shave away a small area.

I ended up using some marine timbers I salvaged from the storm as saw guides for my first cuts and for use with the Granberg mini mill. They were slightly warped but the screws pulled them back true enough. I used a torpedo level to keep things as close as possible. I also milled the logs on the ground. This, I know, is not recommended. I do not have anything to get them up off the ground though that would be convenient such as a modified high lift jack. Maybe in the future.

Pics a little later. Photobucket is acting up for me.

Congrats on your success. Experience will have you happier as you pick up shortcuts in set up and aquire more bits & pieces to assist ;-)

 

[BobL]

The 660 however nearly oils too much on the 28" bar. I put it all the way down and it appeared to be just right. All the way up and I could feel an oil mist on my face and hands while cutting. Im not complaining. It doesn't leak or have any other detrimental effects so I will leave it as is.

Oiling misting sounds like too much lube in the mix, what's your mix ratio?
I get more of that when I run a saw with a conventional forward facing muffler - the exhaust bounces off the top of the log up into the operators face.

If too much B&C oil is flinging off at the nose try adding some tackifier. Something like STP oil treatment usually does the trick.

The 660 was also muffler modded. It was so loud that I took to wearing earplugs underneath ear muffs. Tuning it by ear with no hearing protection was downright painful. Do any of you others also wear double hearing protection?

Yep.

I also found using an axe to chop away high spots to be fast and easy rather than trying to use a chainsaw with precision to shave away a small area.

A sharp axe is a good thing t have in your tool kit.

Pics a little later. Photobucket is acting up for me.

I'm looking forward to them

 

[earlthegoat2]

Bar and chain oil is what I was referring to. Im running 50:1 gas mix.

 

[BobL]

Bar and chain oil is what I was referring to.

Try the tackifier.

 

[earlthegoat2]

Here is the first picture I took after I had started.



Here is the last and biggest log I had.



Here is the biggest log in which I could not get the saw to fit as it exceeded the 22" capacity of my 28" bar. So I had to rig up the mini mill to cut off two sides.



Then I set my guide on the top again to straighten the cut since I could not properly align my mini mill guide on the barked surface. This will give you an idea of my guide setup. This worked excellently as a starter guide on the smaller logs that would fit my saw. Took some tweaking with some shims, a torpedo level, and some 4" hanger scews. In this picture specifically though I am using the mini mill again to cut 6x6 posts at 5.75" square. I made one cut with the mini mill and am about to make my second cut with it. Then when I make a cut with the ALaskan, 2 posts will be formed.



Here is the end result. There are only 3 posts pictured but I did make 4. I moved the other one. It must have weighed 250 lbs.



Here are some miscellaneous pictures of the other logs.










Here is the picture of my stack after the second day of milling. Unfortunately I don't have my finished stack with the 4/4 and 6x6s. The 4/4 boards are 15" wide. Pretty cool even if it is just pine. Im going to use the lumber for building a lean to addition onto the side of the garage you can see in some of the pics. Its the blue building. Right where those sawhorses are is where the addition will be

 

[BobL]

Thanks for the pictures.
I can see why you don't need a lot of bar oil on those size cuts - should have paid more attention when reading your first post.