First millings

[gink595]

Well after a few months of waiting to try out my CSM I fianlly got the chance last night. A friend and member here Maldeney brought some oak logs over a little while back and we gave her a try, I was surprised by how well it worked. I thought I'd have to fight it to stay straight and push like hell to keep it going foward but everything was okay. It was very gratifying to do for some reason.
I can see planning to make some projects in the future. Probably first the wifes chicken coop! The 7900 did a good job I richen it up for safteys sake, I want to break in my 066 before assigning it to milling duty. It has a fresh Stihl P&C on it. Well here's some pics of my first millings.

 

[Maldeney]

Hee Hee Hee Hee!!!

 

[BobL]

Sweet stuff - well done guys! No milling on your knees - all good!
Wood looks good and clean as well!

Did you find it bogging down much on the side of the log?

When you get over the initial rush of making heaps of boards (this may take some time) think about adding an extra handle to the wrap handle like this;

If you are crafty you can add a remote throttle to that handle but if not just add a cable tie around the finger throttle and move your left hand to that new position. It brings your left hand closer to the right so you can stand with straighten arms and it brings your whole stance upright making it much easier on your back.

One other thing I'd recommend is some eye protection. Within 5 minutes of me running my big mill a bolt came loose on the mill and hit the chain which shot the bolt straight into my face shield!

 

[Maldeney]

Yeah I agree about the eye protection! I watched Gink closing his eyes quite often from the breeze blowing dust back up at him... I guess we always wear all that stuff when just cutting firewood but the excitment of just getting to mill we got a head of ourselves.

 

[Ironbark]

Cool pics. I'd like to have that much room to work in!

 

[woodsrunner]

Oh Boy!!!! You're in trouble now!!! You'll be as addicted as the rest of us crazies.
Fun isn't it?

Scott

 

[gink595]

LOL, Yeah I avoid working on knees as much as possible.(wow I left that one widw open for jokes) It does make it nice to have the equipment to move stuff around so I can be as comfortable as possible. But I'm positive I'll have to work on the ground at some point when it doesn't make sense to haul equipment around. Kinda the idea behind the CSM.

I guess I don't know what you meant at bogging down on the side of the log. The 7900 had plenty of power I never felt that I was under powered, but than again this is my first expereence and I don't know what a bigger saw would feel like. I like the idea of the extra handle and throttle, I probably won't be doing that to mty Dolmar but if I get into doing alot of milling than I could see setting up the 066 for such a deal. I see the one that you out on your 880, very nice setup you have there!!!

I forgot about any PPE, it sad because I must have 5 pairs of saftey glasses in my toolbox. I could see a dust mask also when it's windy out, I'm all stuffed up this morning from teh fumes and dust.

 

[gink595]

Cool pics. I'd like to have that much room to work in!

Yeah it's an old dairy farm, probably 2-3 acres in concrete and 2 building 150'-0 long. Used to be three but we jsut tore one down, You can see the old feeder bunk in the back gorund.

 

[gink595]

Oh Boy!!!! You're in trouble now!!! You'll be as addicted as the rest of us crazies.
Fun isn't it?

Scott

It was very fun I'll say that. But I haven't hit any hardware yet or had to sharpen the chain, thats not so much fun

 

[BobL]

It was very fun I'll say that. But I haven't hit any hardware yet or had to sharpen the chain, thats not so much fun

"Sharpening the chain" is the Zen part of the milling process.

 

[BobL]

I guess I don't know what you meant at bogging down on the side of the log. The 7900 had plenty of power I never felt that I was under powered, but than again this is my first expereence and I don't know what a bigger saw would feel like.

The 7900 should be fine on logs like the one you were cutting. What I was referring to was the standard alaskan mill rubbing up against the sides of the log so that is does not slide so easily. When I use a standard mill I find myself having to use quite a bit of energy to pull the mill away from the side of the log.

I like the idea of the extra handle and throttle, I probably won't be doing that to mty Dolmar but if I get into doing alot of milling than I could see setting up the 066 for such a deal. I see the one that you out on your 880, very nice setup you have there!!!

I have a remote throttle on my 076 as well and am thinking of putting just the handle (They are just bicycle stems) on my 441 as well. It doesn't get in the way at all when bucking and it's not that inconvenient when falling. They are also held on by a couple of Allen screws so if they do get in the way they can be removed in a couple of minutes.

. . . . I'm all stuffed up this morning from teh fumes and dust.

Because the 076 has an exhaust that points down and away from the operator, fumes are something I did not notice until I used a saw with a forward pointing exhaust. The exhaust is deflected by the mill and the log up into the user. That's why I muffler modded the 880 - that seems to be working really well.

 

[jkupcha]

Hey BobL
I've heard you talk about those side wheels and saw some of your photos. I'd like to have some but not as talented as you at making stuff. Are they available commercially or aftermarket? Thanks.

 

[BobL]

Hey BobL
I've heard you talk about those side wheels and saw some of your photos. I'd like to have some but not as talented as you at making stuff. Are they available commercially or aftermarket? Thanks.

Unfortunately I have seen nothing available commercially or after market.

The simplest and quickest solution is a roller blade wheel attached to the middle of the bottom of the inboard clamp. You have to drill a recess in the face of the clamp for the head of the bolt but it will not affect the holding power of the clamp. This works reasonable well on my little mill.

Another mod I have helped a mate with is using two rollerblade wheels - one at each end of the inboard clamp - sorry I don't have any pics of it. It works better than the single wheel.

The best solution is actually four wheels - this post describes why - scroll down to see the diagrams that explain why 4 wheels is best.

On a standard mill the most jamming I have experienced is when cutting thickish slabs on the lower half of the log. The inboard clamp skids are useless because they do not even make contact with the log, instead it is the sharp corner of the mill upright that constantly jams up against the log. My quick and dirty solution to this problem is this adjustable position rub plate. It's not quite as good as a wheel in the same position but is better than the corner of the upright.

Full post here.

Once you experience wheels on a CS mill you will wonder why they are not standard.

Same with feet

 

[jkupcha]

BobL
I also noticed that it appears you made a slight change to the 2 bolts that raise and lower the thickness of the cut. One of your bolts looks to be a normal nut, the other looks like a hand turned one that you drilled a hole in and stuck a nail into to help tighten it by hand. Do you find that works? just using the one side of the U bolt to tighten and move?

 

[excess650]

Uh huh, you're hooked. Get yourself a Mini Mill as a companion piece to the Alaskan so that you can square the sides from the top surface without rolling the log.

When I get tired(lazy) I sometimes sit on the log as I follow the mill, but you must use wedges to keep the kerf open.

A shield and ear protection are suggested. Even with a shield you might get a nose full of sawdust, and there is no avoiding the exhaust unless the wind is working with you.

Were you using milling chain? Stihl semi-chisel worked very well for me as did Bailey's milling chain. Keep it sharp and it goes faster.

What is great about an Alaskan is that you can cut live edge slabs, and make odd table tops out of crotch sections normally cut for firewood. Cherry and walnut crotch slabs can be stunning.

 

[BobL]

BobL
I also noticed that it appears you made a slight change to the 2 bolts that raise and lower the thickness of the cut. One of your bolts looks to be a normal nut, the other looks like a hand turned one that you drilled a hole in and stuck a nail into to help tighten it by hand. Do you find that works? just using the one side of the U bolt to tighten and move?

That is not my mill but is one made by "Westford" just down the road from where I live in Western Australia. It is very similar to the Granberg but the nut you refer to comes standard with that thin steel rod through it as you say to act as a handle to enable the user to tighten it by hand. We found it does not tighten anywhere near hard enough so we still have to use a spanner on it.

The Westford does not use a U bolt to grip the height adjuster, instead it uses a thick ally casting .

 

[gink595]

The 7900 should be fine on logs like the one you were cutting. What I was referring to was the standard alaskan mill rubbing up against the sides of the log so that is does not slide so easily. When I use a standard mill I find myself having to use quite a bit of energy to pull the mill away from the side of the log.

Okay I see understand know, yeah it did a little in the dips, not bad but I can see it being a problem down the road. I like your solution to it. I'll keep that in my later solutions also.

Because the 076 has an exhaust that points down and away from the operator, fumes are something I did not notice until I used a saw with a forward pointing exhaust. The exhaust is deflected by the mill and the log up into the user. That's why I muffler modded the 880 - that seems to be working really well.

I remember seeing your post about that. The Dolmar kinda points downward but not enough. The 066 has a dual port muffler assembly, that might have to change. As always I enjoy seeing your pics of your mill mods and milling. Thanks for the advice.

 

[gink595]

Uh huh, you're hooked. Get yourself a Mini Mill as a companion piece to the Alaskan so that you can square the sides from the top surface without rolling the log.

Do the Mini's work well? They don't look like they would hold true??? Is there a better make than another?

When I get tired(lazy) I sometimes sit on the log as I follow the mill, but you must use wedges to keep the kerf open.

A shield and ear protection are suggested. Even with a shield you might get a nose full of sawdust, and there is no avoiding the exhaust unless the wind is working with you.

Yeah, yeah I know. Like I said earlier I even have the stuff just was to lazy or excited to bother. I will make it a point to have it next time

Were you using milling chain? Stihl semi-chisel worked very well for me as did Bailey's milling chain. Keep it sharp and it goes faster.

Yeah I was using Baileys ripping chain. Sharpening will be the hard part, I do by hand. That might have to change, hmmm good reason to buy a sharpener now.

What is great about an Alaskan is that you can cut live edge slabs, and make odd table tops out of crotch sections normally cut for firewood. Cherry and walnut crotch slabs can be stunning.

I dropped a bunch of cheery this past winter and was saving some of the straight logs for milling. But I got impatient about it and ended up cutting it for firewood. At least NE Indiana is loaded with Cherry and Walnut's. That is another project is to make a picnic table, that would be beautiful out of cherry!

 

[BobL]

Okay I see understand know, yeah it did a little in the dips, not bad but I can see it being a problem down the road. I like your solution to it. I'll keep that in my later solutions also.

I remember seeing your post about that. The Dolmar kinda points downward but not enough. The 066 has a dual port muffler assembly, that might have to change. As always I enjoy seeing your pics of your mill mods and milling. Thanks for the advice.

Thanks. I should say I learned a lot from a lot of other guys here who are not posting much these days. In someways I am just the a mouth piece for their experiments. If they read any of this they must be occasionally saying - I told him that!

Jamming up against the side of the log becomes more of an issue when to improve your cutting speed you might want to try a bit more of an aggressive chain sharpening profile, while this will cut a little faster - it also may become more grabby - that's when the wheels really kick in.

 

[stipes]

Uh huh, you're hooked. Get yourself a Mini Mill as a companion piece to the Alaskan so that you can square the sides from the top surface without rolling the log.

Great first time!! As someone told me too,,save your first slab and mark it and hang it up as a keepsake....
As Excess said about the Mini Mill...
It would save you alot of work down the road ...Since I adjusted mine to my bar it runs true,,and square...Simple to set up and can cut faster with it than the Alaskan... I do enjoy mine.....
Congrats and have fun!!!!!