Alaskan mill bar length?

[MR4WD]

I've seen it around before, but I'm under the weather and my brains only running about half the cylinders!

I don't have an Alaskan Mill yet, but I'd like to buy one. I'm looking at making up some tables of out of 3 foot Doug fir, milling some slabs down etc. I understand that with a 36" mill, I'll be able to make a 32" cut but only with at least a 42" bar? This is the best info I can find on Bailey's website. Seems like the bar would be a bit on the long side, but is that correct?

I don't think I want a double ended bar or aux. oiler, since I want to only mill a few wide slabs down and probably stick to under ~20" milling in the future. I'd be using a rather "hot" 385 for now but as money (wife more like it) allows upgrade to a larger powerhead. Or would I desperately need an aux. oiler for a 32" cut?

Thanks,
Chad.

 

[Adkpk]

I understand that with a 36" mill, I'll be able to make a 32" cut but only with at least a 42" bar?
Thanks,
Chad.

36" bar is what you need.

 

[woodshop]

36" bar is what you need.

Yup, a 36" bar on a 36" Granberg Mk III mill will mill about 32 inches if you take off the dogs on the saw before clamping it into the mill. Oiler, some guys use them, but I don't seem to need to with my 395XP as long as I have the oil cranked up as high as it goes.

 

[MR4WD]

Awesome! Thanks! With a 36" mill, can you eek out a 36" slab, or is 32" the max cut no matter what?

Thanks,
Chad.

 

[glennschumann]

I use a 42" bar on my 36" mill. I do not use an extra oiler, and I don't intend to on that bar based on my experience with it so far (about 30 logs). I do not think that the 42" bar is too long, but rather, just about right for the 36" mill. I do not clamp on the sprocket tip, so that takes up a few inches on that end, and a couple more inches at the power head allows the chain brake to still work. I don't have excessive amounts of bar hanging out of the mill. For the few extra $ for the 42" bar, it will allow you to take full advantage of the full cutting capacity of the 36" mill. You may find that you want it some day. Just my thoughts.

 

[stipes]

I have a 30 inch mill...

Have a 28 inch bar and found out I can only get a 22 inch cut...I'll end up gettin a longer bar,,measured I can go up to a 36 inch bar myself...I didnt think about using a roller sprocket type bar that you cant tighten up on the end or will lock everything up...Guess thats part of the learning process....

 

[BobL]

Have a 28 inch bar and found out I can only get a 22 inch cut...I'll end up gettin a longer bar,,measured I can go up to a 36 inch bar myself...I didnt think about using a roller sprocket type bar that you cant tighten up on the end or will lock everything up...Guess thats part of the learning process....

You can clamp onto the centre of of the roller or sprocket. There is a thread about how to do it here. Briefly, drill a hole through the middle of the roller and insert a 1/4" bolt through the hole and add a nut and cut the excess threaded section off. If you clamp onto the bolt and nut you can gain about an inch and half in cutting length. You may need to drill a couple of shallow holes in the clamp for the 1/4 bolt/nut to sit in. This should not be hard to do

At the other or inboard end, mills that connect to the bar bolts do not use the bar for clamping and if the dogs are removed you get the full length of the inboard part of the bar to cut with.

My mill has both features and I get 39.5" of cut on a 42" bar.

Anyway, no matter what you do if you want 36" wide slabs you won't mill that wide with a 36" blade. A 42" would be needed.

Cheers