Cleaning up the forest

[BobL]

To be able to mill while standing upright would be great, but it's not going to happen in the woods.

For me to stand up straight, the log you were milling would have to be a foot higher.

Log doesn't have to be much or at all higher - the handle positions and heights on the mill are probably more significant, as shown on this picture.

It's mainly the left hand being up by 8 -10" and closer into the log by the same amount that makes the big difference. The right hand doesn't need to be much further up but if it can be lifted up it can also be moved out to the right a bit to improve leverage. An MC or aux throttle is not really needed, a cable tie over the trigger would for most purposes work as well - I have done this with my mates 3120.

 

[Brmorgan]

What do you have for suspension in your truck? It's packing that load pretty well.

I don't know how the heck you have time to mill all that lumber AND do all the number crunching and keeping track of stuff. You must start earlier than me!

 

[mtngun]

What do you have for suspension in your truck?

Judging by the way it rides, you wouldn't know that it has a suspension.

 

[7oaks]

I think that it was really a nice work you have done, but I think that cleaning the forest is not good as all we know that we should save the environment,

:spam: I think his real name is fruityloose!

 

[mtngun]

Yep, the latest spam trick is to make a polite, complementary reply to a thread.

 

[smokinj]

Looks Greate mntgun

 

[mtngun]

Murphy goes milling

Mr. Murphy and I headed to the woods for another day of milling.

The 066, which had run fine when I tested it at home, decided not to run. It would start, run for a second or two, and then conk out, acting like it wasn't getting any fuel.

Oh well, time to break out the mini-mill and make some 8x8's.

The Oly 980 ran OK for a couple of passes on the mini-mill, then its starter cord snapped.

Oh well, the CS62 was pressed into mini-mill duty. It milled well enough with its new skip chain, if you don't mind the rough finish.

Then on the last pass of the last post, the CS62 conked out. It had been having serious vapor lock problems, so it may have just been vapor locked, or it may be something else.

I finished the day with 4 posts and the usual complement of firewood. Definitely not my most productive day. But, I need the wood, so I'll keep plugging away.

 

[BobL]

To quote an old john Denver sog, "Some days are diamond . . . . . .


Great working view you got there mntgun.

 

[mtngun]

eff'n ethanol

Starting to tear into the saws and figure out what caused yesterday's problems.

This is the gas dumped out of the CS62's tank. Gee, do you think this might cause a problem ? :censored:

This is the 1st gallon from another jug of fuel. There's still another 1 1/2 gallon in that jug that I will inspect before using.

I'm guessing that engine vibration and the moving saw keep the fuel churned up while the saw is running. When you turn the saw off and set it down, the water settles to the bottom of the tank -- where the fuel pick up is. Then when you go to start it, it's sucking water, not fuel.

 

[Metals406]

Starting to tear into the saws and figure out what caused yesterday's problems.

This is the gas dumped out of the CS62's tank. Gee, do you think this might cause a problem ? :censored:

This is the 1st gallon from another jug of fuel. There's still another 1 1/2 gallon in that jug that I will inspect before using.

I'm guessing that engine vibration and the moving saw keep the fuel churned up while the saw is running. When you turn the saw off and set it down, the water settles to the bottom of the tank -- where the fuel pick up is. Then when you go to start it, it's sucking water, not fuel.

That's why I've started paying $2.96 a gallon for 89 octane fuel -- but it doesn't have ethanol. I've noticed my truck idles and runs better too.

Ethanol should be $0.89 a gallon IMO. . . That way, you're getting what you pay for.

 

[mtngun]

Here's the 2nd gallon from that 2 1/2 gallon jug.

Surprisingly, the last 1/2 gallon had very little contamination. Go figure.

Here's what was in the 066's fuel tank.

Meanwhile, the CS62 is running OK now that it has decent fuel. Haven't tried the 066 yet, but I bet good fuel cures its ills, too.

$2.96 for ethanol free high octane ? Geez, regular is $3.11 here, and all the pump gas has ethanol.

 

[Metals406]

Here's the 2nd gallon from that 2 1/2 gallon jug.

Surprisingly, the last 1/2 gallon had very little contamination. Go figure.

Here's what was in the 066's fuel tank.

Meanwhile, the CS62 is running OK now that it has decent fuel. Haven't tried the 066 yet, but I bet good fuel cures its ills, too.

$2.96 for ethanol free high octane ? Geez, regular is $3.11 here, and all the pump gas has ethanol.

Nope, not high octane, just 89. Where as, all the other local stations have 89 octane +-10% ethanol fuel for around $2.72 a gallon. So I'm paying over $.20 a gallon more for the same octane fuel, but without ethanol.

I have some ethanol fuel left for my saws (mixed up already). . . After it's gone -- I won't be buying any more.

 

[Ted J]

I always enjoy your milling in the woods posts! Looks like a good haul back home.

I like to see how much wood he crams in the bed of that ol' pick-up, it's a workhorse for sure, as he is also.

 

[Philbert]

This is slightly off topic, but inspired by your photos (great photos by the way): When you are ripping boards, I assume that the trunk is pretty stiff for the top few boards. Does it ever start to sag for the last few? Do you have to support it to get uniform thickness on the bottom boards?

Thanks

Philbert

 

[mtngun]

This is slightly off topic, but inspired by your photos (great photos by the way): When you are ripping boards, I assume that the trunk is pretty stiff for the top few boards. Does it ever start to sag for the last few? Do you have to support it to get uniform thickness on the bottom boards?

Well, I usually sit on the log as I mill, much to BobL's dismay (sorry Bob, but after spending all week standing up at my day job, it feels good to sit down for a few minutes).

For the last pass or two, the log is not strong enough to support my weight, so I have to -- gasp ! ! ! -- bend over, or heaven forbid, get down on my knees ! ! ! I don't post pictures of milling on my knees because BobL might have a heart attack.

Normally I fasten the guide rail with a single screw at each end of the log, but sometimes for the last pass, I will add a 3rd screw in the middle of the log, to keep it from flexing. It's not so much that the log sags, as that sometimes the saw can create a resonant frequency in the log that causes it to hop around.

 

[BIG JAKE]

I might look into the AV gas come winter time. Never liked alcohol for my applications. How old was your fuel?

 

[BobL]

For the last pass or two, the log is not strong enough to support my weight, so I have to -- gasp ! ! ! -- bend over, or heaven forbid, get down on my knees ! ! ! I don't post pictures of milling on my knees because BobL might have a heart attack.

Post away - hearts doing fine. Did a 7 mile walk yesterday, and a 7.5 mile round trip hike with 1842 ft elevation gain today at Moraine Lake. For lazy old me thats a fair achievement. (but that little blister on my toe next to my right pinky hurts like blazes)

BTW - if the log is not strong enough to support your weight that means it should be possible to lift it up above the ground.

BTW if you think your gas is expensive the cheapest gas in Perth today is $4.00 a US gallon

 

[Brmorgan]

That's some pretty ugly stuff you got jarred up there. The only time I've gotten any appreciable amount of water in my gas is after letting a saw sit out in the rain or lots of hot/cold night cycles.

Do you ever add fuel stabilizer to your mix?

 

[mtngun]

How old was your fuel?

The mix was fresh, but the gasoline was purchased last fall.

I purchase fuel by the barrel for the woodhauler because it seldom leaves pavement and it's a 4 - 5 hour round trip to the nearest gas station. Plus, I sometimes get snowed in for months at a time. Stale or not, I'm dependent on that barrel of gas to keep the chainsaws and snowplow running during the winter.

Anyway, typically I buy a 55 gallon barrel of gas in the fall, enough to last all winter.

Normally, the old gas in the barrel is used for the woodhauler while the chainsaws get fresher fuel from 5 gallon jugs.

But, I ran out of "fresh" fuel for the saws and had to dip into the barrel of stale gas.

In hindsight, even the stale gas would have sufficed if I had taken care to let it separate, and then siphoned off the good stuff.

No, I don't use stabilizer, nor would it have helped with this watery gas.

Did a 7 mile walk yesterday, and a 7.5 mile round trip hike with 1842 ft elevation gain today at Moraine Lake. For lazy old me thats a fair achievement. (but that little blister on my toe next to my right pinky hurts like blazes)

BTW - if the log is not strong enough to support your weight that means it should be possible to lift it up above the ground.

Glad to hear you are enjoying the mountains, Bob.

Yes, I do lift the lightened log onto chunks of firewood, but that's still pretty low on the ground, and even at that low height the log will often tip over or roll off the firewood due to the uneven forest floor.

 

[betterbuilt]

Anyway, typically I buy a 55 gallon barrel of gas in the fall, enough to last all winter.

Normally, the old gas in the barrel is used for the woodhauler while the chainsaws get fresher fuel from 5 gallon jugs.

But, I ran out of "fresh" fuel for the saws and had to dip into the barrel of stale gas.

Maybe that premixed stuff I see the dealers peddling with a shelf life would help.

I wish I could get my hands on some aspen2T Its supposed to have a shelf life of two years and I hear it doesn't pollute like gas. The people I've talked to say their saws last longer on it also. I see its available in Canada but not the US.