new project: milling BIG beech/mill build.

[markvanzee]

Hi Guys,

I've been milling last weekend and have cut 4 slabs of the beech log by now. I lost the footage of the first 2 slabs so these are the third and fourth slab that came off. The mill ran pretty good, I've bought a tach and tuned the 084 and 880 to the exact same rpm, now i don't have the problem anymore that the 880 causes the 084 to overrev. the 880 is running a little rich now but no big deal.

I also replaced the rope with steel wire, and i attached a spring to protect the mill against the winch ... this gives a much more steady feed than the rope i had.



thanks for all your help and interest,

mark

 

[BobL]

I'm concerned your mill and saw are flexing far too much and will eventually break something.
To reduce the flexing the powerhead needs to be moved closer to the mill and the mill should be attached direct to the powerhead bolts.
Something like this


In addition you can try linking the 4 points along the lines with a stiff but elastic material to act as a damper and reduce the amount of flexing.



I find just adding one ocky strap like this makes a big difference to the amount of flex.
Also note the full length handle above the mail mill frame - this also helps reduce flex.


One more tip, if you are using a winch it is better (less resistance to pull the saw along the line of the bar and not the line of the mill. Have a look at Will Malloff's set up in his book.

 

[markvanzee]

Hi Bob,

I am indeed having some flexing in the mill. The saws are as close to the mill as possible, i have to put the tensioner in the middle or they wont fit on the bar.

I am indeed going to strenghten the mill but was in a hurry to get the slabs cut so they can go in the kiln.

I understand it better to pull the bar than the mill but my wire is not 2 times the length of this log. And because the mill is quite heavy, i havent found any issues with tipping over or whatsoever.

Btw very good solution to bolt the mill directly to the powerhead. Will look into that.

I was quite surprised the flexing doesnt affect the finish whatsoever

Would you add a auxilary oiler Bob? I can see any oil on the chain even with 2 oilers running at max.

Thanks, mark

 

[BobL]

I understand it better to pull the bar than the mill but my wire is not 2 times the length of this log. And because the mill is quite heavy, i havent found any issues with tipping over or whatsoever.

You won't see any issues but the forces will still be there and be adding to power head load.
I try not to push on the mill itself and instead apply pressure using my legs to the wrap handle of the power head as this transmits a force in a horizontal line to the bar.
I realise that is too hard to do with such a big log but that setup should be cutting much faster than the video shows.

I was quite surprised the flexing doesnt affect the finish whatsoever

That's because the bar isn't flexing but the rest of the rig is and is likely to damage something sooner or later.

Would you add a auxilary oiler Bob? I can see any oil on the chain even with 2 oilers running at max.

I don't quite understand what you mean - can or can't?

Given you have two power heads I am surprised at the slowness of the cut and the amount of dust being generated. What raker depth are you using?
Beech is not that hard and can be cut with much lower raker angles than standard.

 

[markvanzee]

Given you have two power heads I am surprised at the slowness of the cut and the amount of dust being generated. What raker depth are you using?
Beech is not that hard and can be cut with much lower raker angles than standard.[/QUOTE]

sorry Bob i meant to say can't, was waiting for the ferry whilst typing this in a hurry.
I am using the stihl full house ripping chain, i have no idea what raker depth this has but i will look into it an if it's too high adjust it. I'll read your articles again to see what the correct depth was again.

thanks again

mark

 

[markvanzee]

I have been milling yesterday, have not had the opportunity to upgrade the mill but will get to that when the slabs are in the kiln.
once i found the right feed rate i could just sit down and enjoy the cutting from a distance, this way i don't have to stand in the dust and the exhaust fumes. I find this a huge improvement.

mark

 

[DTrap]

Looking good. Need a video of it in action with you sitting and relaxing.

 

[jstare]

This is really a great setup, thank you for sharing with us. The only thing I can suggest is putting in wedges behind the saw as you cut. On these big heavy slabs you are likely going to be getting a lot of pinching on the bar as you go along which only adds more stress on everything.

 

[Yellowbeard]

This makes me really want to get a dual ended setup so I can put both my 084s into action. Color me jealous.