Home made CSM - First attempt at milling

[DanB]

Hi all,

I'm new to this forum and have already gained an enormous amount of helpful information from it. I've got a 12 acre block with some old timber lying around that we've put on the market and as such I want to get the good timber off before it sells.

As it's very steep and the logs are inaccessible I decided to use a CSM. I bought an 076AV and got a 44" bar and built a cheap CSM after spending a few hours reading the threads in this forum.

The mill as shown in the pic below is just light aluminium and rather dodgy, I'm about to try again and build another one. After about 7 cuts it started to get a bit of movement in the rivet joints and with the 076 on a large log it didn't remain square. I could cross brace it however I think i'll go with steel and weld it. Probably the worst aux oiler you've ever seen (drink bottle with 3m pipe and two inline taps zip tied onto the mill, not hooked up in the pic) but it actually seemed to work ok.

I started with a smaller log and then moved onto the hollow one in the pic. Found that with the flex in the mill and the narrow bars of the mill catching on the log I needed to use the ladder as a guide for every cut. The hollow log was in a perfect sloping spot however the first log had to be moved around to get the clearance and height to mill it. Used a kangaroo/hi lift jack but it was a bit unstable (need to make an attachment like BobL) and stuffed around for ages, complete PITA.

I've got a few logs that are the same size as the hollow one but completely solid and can't wait to get into them but I want to fix the mill first and make sure I do it right. The slabs I got are mostly flat (except a couple of the first ones!) and had good luck as they don't have any rot or termite damage. The chain I'm using is single skip however I haven't ground the cutting angle back for ripping yet, still at 30degrees so probably not as smooth a surface as I could get. Stopped during the cut every now and then which left very obvious gouges.

I know the mill needs improvements including handles, more rigid/solid design, better aux oiling and height adjust methods, but I'd love any tips to improve it.

Also the fuel cap on the 076 leaked fuel out of the valve/breather hole when the tank was fullish and saw hot, however only happened when the saw was not running. Is this normal or is the cap buggered?

 

[AUSSIE1]

Good effort Dan...you'll sort it out.

Something I want to try in the near future.

Looks like redgum?

 

[ErrolC]

Hi Dan,

Your entering into a very satisfying and productive interest...there seems to be for me at least a strong sense of satisfaction of making something from the very grass roots...perhaps a connection to a sense of pioneering...for the want of better words.

Anyway...PM me and I'll get you the info you need to get moving in the right direction.

The mill attached runs a 70" bar and good for a 60" wide cut...a mate and I have 4 of different sizes from 30" bars up.

the frames are 25mm X 1mm BOX steel, welded for stiffness and durability...the design we've come up with has been faultless in use and easy to operate and carry by just one person...the 70" version in the pic is running on 3x2" guide rails screwed to the top of the log after every cut...that log pic'd was cut into 4 & 6m lengths and each cut took two tanks of gas & oil and 25mins for ea 60" cut on the 3120 running Oregon skip.

We run an identical setup on a 42" bar on a ladder guide rail, again for every cut...its the quickest and easiest way to get identical slab thickness without resetting the bar frame...and makes starting and exiting each slab cut easy & simple with the rails overhanging each end...I wouldn't advise any other way. But there'd be others on this site that would argue that point...what ever works!

 

[BobL]

Firstly welcome to AS Dan.

Regarding mill designs, if you haven't done so check out the sticky at the top of this forum.

In that thread I have posted specifically my thoughts on CS mill design here.

If you want to see a mill will more bells and whistles than a Jamaican band have a look at my BIL mill thread in my signature.

Also the fuel cap on the 076 leaked fuel out of the valve/breather hole when the tank was fullish and saw hot, however only happened when the saw was not running. Is this normal or is the cap buggered?

Ah yes, the sideways fuel tank opening, one of the very few weaknesses of the 076 as a milling saw. It's probably dried up mix, or dust jammed in the breather hole. I cured my cap leak by ultrasonicating it in meths. If you don't have access to an ultrasonic bath try soaking it in raw petrol for a day or 2, if still no luck try a syringe to flush raw gas backwards through the valve, then try using a compressor to blow out the gunk.

 

[mtngun]

Haven't seen a wooden ladder for a while.

Thanks for the pics. Keep 'em coming.

 

[huskyhank]

Looking good so far.
Keep at it.

 

[BIG JAKE]

Looks good Dan-Good idea to practice on the hollow log first. On the plastic bottle would the feed work better in the cap? Then you can take the bottle and fill it easier. Nice work mate

 

[DanB]

Thanks for your responses

Al

I’m not sure what species they are but I don’t think there’s any redgum around, lots of grey gum, stringybarks, flooded gum, bloodwoods, box around and there’s other as well. The ones on the ground are old and don’t have any obvious signs of what they would be.

ErrolC

I’m looking forward to making things from the timber I’ve cut but I need to focus on milling it all first. Might just use it slowly over however many years it takes. Welded steel frame sounds like the go. I’d be interested seeing your setups you mention, are they in the forum somewhere?

BobL

Have read the sticky a couple of times and have seen your BIL mill. If I had the time and resources I’d do something similar, maybe if milling becomes a serious hobby or more I’ll consider it. I think I’ll try a simple welded steel frame next and maybe a design that bolts to the C/S bar bolts, I don’t like the saw hanging from the bar only.

I’ll try flushing the fuel cap with petrol as I don’t have access to an ultrasonic bath.

Mtngun

Have had the old timber ladder lying around for years, not suitable for climbing anymore but has come in handy for a few things.

Big Jake

Probably would be smarter to be able to remove the bottle, not sure how I’d re-attach it each time, a permanent oiler with a proper attachment is certainly on the cards.

 

[BobL]

RE maybe if milling becomes a serious hobby or more I’ll consider it.

Oh don't worry about that - it wil!

At the very least avoid welding the frame up to fit only one length of bar. If you look around for some unistrut or small section C-channel then I would use that for the mill rails. If you don't know what I mean them let me know and I will post some photos of the sorts of different channels that are suitable.

 

[DanB]

I must admit it would be easy to get hooked, chainsaws and timber, what more could you want?

I'll look aroung for some c channel for mill rails, I noticed a bit of flex in the old timber ladder and had to make sure I didn't warp it when strapping it onto the log.

What do people recommed for the thickness of hardwood slabs? 1.5 to 2" seems about right for strength in bigger slabs but might limit what can be made with them. Does anyone cut thinner slabs for use in indoor furniture?

Also had a think about what type of tree the logs are from and I'm pretty sure it is grey gum. There's not many other threes around that would have the red colour timber, we do have some flooded gum but the form of the trees doesn't fit, they're to wide/short to be flooded gum.

I'm planning on getting back to the block mid week so I'll post some more pics later in the week.

 

[betterbuilt]

I cut my slabs 2 1/8. I added the 1/8 because most American woods shrink a lot when they dry.

I have cut some smaller stuff and have been surprised at how it turned out. I haven't cut any 1 1/2 in a while because I always have a few boards from every log that warp a little and after surfacing them I end up with 1 1/2.

I know your wood is a lot harder. I often wonder how Australian wood dries. Does it crack and split and warp and twist like American wood or is it just so slow growing that it a lot more stable.

 

[BobL]

I know your wood is a lot harder. I often wonder how Australian wood dries. Does it crack and split and warp and twist like American wood or is it just so slow growing that it a lot more stable.

yes it does crack and split. Losses depend on the type of tree, how it is cut, and how well it is stored and stickered and weighted down

 

[DanB]

Here's a couple of pics of the next log, again had good luck and the log was solid through. Slabs are about 12ft long and I cut them 2" thick. The picture with my son on the slab on the 7x4 trailer shows the size. It's hard to see the timber grain through the sawdust but it does look quite nice.

 

[mtngun]

Looks like you've got quite the helper.

Nice boards.

 

[BobL]

Here's a couple of pics of the next log, again had good luck and the log was solid through. Slabs are about 12ft long and I cut them 2" thick. The picture with my son on the slab on the 7x4 trailer shows the size. It's hard to see the timber grain through the sawdust but it does look quite nice.

Looks good Dan. What sort of tree is it?

Oh yeah and be careful with kids on trailers. When our son was a similar age he managed to tip a trailer half full of black wet topsoil on top of himself. It frightened the hell out of him and us.

 

[DanB]

My best guess is grey gum as they're the only tree around here I know that would have that colour timber. We have flooded gums too but they usually only grow in the gullies while these ones are on a ridge.

All the other trees around are stringy barks, bloodwoods and brush box none of which would have the pink/red timber colour.

I think the next few logs are probably the same timber, I've attached a piture of the next ones I have set up ready to go. You can se they've been lying for a long time and there's no sign of bark or sapwood left.

Yeah you can't turn your back for 2 secs with kids around, he thinks the slabs make good bridges and ramps for playing on. I certainly don't have him around while I'm milling.

 

[BobL]

My best guess is grey gum as they're the only tree around here I know that would have that colour timber. We have flooded gums too but they usually only grow in the gullies while these ones are on a ridge.

All the other trees around are stringy barks, bloodwoods and brush box none of which would have the pink/red timber colour.

I think the next few logs are probably the same timber, I've attached a piture of the next ones I have set up ready to go. You can se they've been lying for a long time and there's no sign of bark or sapwood left.

Yeah you can't turn your back for 2 secs with kids around, he thinks the slabs make good bridges and ramps for playing on. I certainly don't have him around while I'm milling.

Grey gum - well that certainly is a pretty tough customer to cut your milling teeth on.

 

[DanB]

So grey gum is pretty hard compared to other aussie hardwoods? I wasn't sure if this was normal or not. When cutting the 12ft boards I found sharpening the chain after every cut was worth it, when I would go for two cuts it would be very blunt and slow by the end of the second cut.

Lucky I decided to get a decent sized saw!!:greenchainsaw: