New to the forum - Advice please

[ppj690]

Hi Guys....Just joined and need some advice.

I own a small patch of woodland here in the uk - mainly Oak, Ash and willow and want to start milling some of the timber rather than splitting it all for the fire.
I have a stihl 017 a 020super and an 034.
i have just bought a 25" bar and ripper chain for the 034...Maybe a bit hasty, but would this be suitable for say 18" cuts?
I have not bought a mill yet, but am looking at the alaskan range.
Any recommendations?

Cheers guys

James

 

[excess650]

Welcome! I find it mentally rewarding to mill lumber rather than just cut firewood, so you'll find kindred spirits here.

It'll work if you go slow, and don't push the saw too hard.

The 24" Alaskan needs a 28" bar for maiximum cut width just shy of 22". The "Small Mill" doesn't hold the end of the bar captive, is less expensive, but certainly less rigid. I would opt for the 24" or 30" over the small mill.

 

[slabmaster]

A 034 is on the small side for milling 18" hardwood.You might want to get a used 066 for that size log.If you do use that saw , it will go slower and really tax the saw so don't expect it to live long doing 18" hardwood.I use a 395 husky for that kind of stuff and still take precautions when doing so as milling is hard on saws.

 

[ppj690]

Thanks for the advice guys...
24" or 30" it is then. Are there any tips for making it a little kinder on the saw? (except for keeping it sharp, oiled, breathing properly etc)

 

[slabmaster]

Don't put any ethonal laced gas in the saw unless you put sea foam or sta-bil in the mix or you chance burning it up.And run 40 to 1 or more oil mix in the gas.And stop often to keep the saw temp down.And let it idle at the end of cutting for a minute before shutting down the saw to alow it to cool the cylinder with the flywheel.

 

[ppj690]

40:1... OK, will do. what are the benefits of this?

Thanks.

James

 

[slabmaster]

Cuts down on friction and so heat.By giving more lubrication to the saw while milling.Run the carb a little richer also.

 

[ppj690]

Great advice...Thanks Slabmaster
James

 

[slabmaster]

Your welcome James. And good luck milling. Mark

 

[Brmorgan]

Don't put any ethonal laced gas in the saw unless you put sea foam or sta-bil in the mix or you chance burning it up. And run 40 to 1 or more oil mix in the gas.And stop often to keep the saw temp down.And let it idle at the end of cutting for a minute before shutting down the saw to alow it to cool the cylinder with the flywheel.

No offense but personally I think the anti-ethanol argument is largely a load of BS. I know there are some downsides - it'll eat your fuel lines faster and ethanol's proclivity for water can cause corrosion faster too, but I've run ethanol gas for two summers in all my saws (it's hard to find anything else up here anymore) with no incident. I do however think it might be easier to burn up a saw with ethanol gas if it's leaned out too much, but if it's run a little rich and with a slightly heavy oil mix, I don't know how it would burn up faster. I know there are myriad threads on both sides of this issue so I won't belabor it any more though. Just my 2¢.

Full agreement with the rest of your advice though! Especially re: trying to find a bigger saw for 18" hardwood. For an 034 I'd probably want to consider running skip chain to take a bit of the load off the engine, and get the narrowest-kerf chain possible for it can as well. Either way, it won't be that quick.

 

[A. Stanton]

Welcome to the site, PP. A lot of knowledge here. Sit back and enjoy the ride.

 

[ppj690]

Really helpful...thanks.

Would my setup in question be more suited to Apple? I have x2 large apple trees in my parents garden that have to come down due to them building their extension... Is it good for milling or using?

In regards to the skip/kerf chain...Do stihl produce these?

 

[BobL]

Really helpful...thanks.

Would my setup in question be more suited to Apple? I have x2 large apple trees in my parents garden that have to come down due to them building their extension... Is it good for milling or using?

yes it would - what diameter are the logs?
BUT WAIT!!!
Rush out immediately and seal all cut surfaces on those apple trees. If the ends are cracked, trim off the cracks as best you can and seal immediately with latex house paint.

Apple is an exquisite wood especially for woodworking tools or kitchen implement handles. If you manage to obtain crack free pieces the handtool woodwork tool making community will buy these in small amounts but pay you more that most other wood per cube for it.

In regards to the skip/kerf chain...Do stihl produce these?

yes, but look around, you can buy cheaper and IMHO just as good.

What size chain have you got? For milling anything smaller than 20" in diam I use low profile 3/8" chain - otherwise you end up turning most of you wood into sawdust. With the apple I would only use a CS mil to break up the log, eg into quarters, and then quarter saw it on a band saw.

 

[BobL]

And stop often to keep the saw temp down.

Crikey If I stopped often to let the saw cool down I would never get any cutting done. Some of my slabs take 20+ minutes and two+ tank loads of fuel to cut.

In case ppj690 is not aware, "stop sawing" (and leave engine idling) is different to "stopping a saw engine to cool it off". A complete engine stop is not the best way to cool a hot saw and can cause damage.

Where possible CS engine should not be stopped direct from an extended period on WOT. When milling large slab I keep cutting until I can sense the engine beginning to fun out of fuel. I then stop milling and leave the engine idling for at least 30 seconds (or more) to provide plenty of air flow around the engine. I then stop and fuel up. I don't let it cool down completely - I just carry on milling.
At the end of a long slab again I let the saw idle for a minute to let it cool off a bit
A well made maintained and tuned saw is designed to cope with this workload.

The other way to reduce cooling is to place a mill and idling hot saw on the ground on its rails to cool off.
Like I did here (Doh!)

Because a milling saw is generally laying on its side the intake is restricted by the ground. So either tip the mill over so the saw is upright or place the mill on a surface where the saw is overhanging the surface.
This is also why I have feet on my mill so the saw is not laying in contact with the ground and I made this portable work bench so the idling saw can sit safely on the bench and not vibrate off.

 

[ppj690]

WOW....great advice. Thanks Bob

The Apple logs are at most 18" in dia.
The tree is still up, so no rush really. They want it down in a couple of weeks.
Have heard of a product called anchorseal...is this good for the job?

Will be sure to leave it idling to cool...I suppose its a bit like giving a turbo car a good thrashing and immediatly turning it off and leaving it red hot!

What is apple most suited for...?

James

 

[BobL]

WOW....great advice. Thanks Bob[

Well we're full of advice - how great it is is perhaps questionable!

The Apple logs are at most 18" in dia.

That's a decent size for apple.

The tree is still up, so no rush really. They want it down in a couple of weeks.
Have heard of a product called anchorseal...is this good for the job?

yep - but no need to go buy it if you have old latex house paint.

Will be sure to leave it idling to cool...I suppose its a bit like giving a turbo car a good thrashing and immediatly turning it off and leaving it red hot!

yep - thats it!

What is apple most suited for...?

It is good for anything you have to handle because it has a great tactile feel - it feels like hard velvet - so handles of any kind. Old high quality saw handles are often carved from Apple, also woodwind instruments made from Apple feel great and have an unusual tone

But it can be used for other things as well such as small boxes and small cabinet work although the grain is usually plain and is its quite difficult to plane large areas without some tearout. If you search on Google you should find the other uses.

When drying it warps, sometimes a lot, so quartering it and then letting it dry for a few years before resawing with a bandsaw is really the best way to do it justice. Unless you know someone with a kiln that knows what they are doing will dry it faster. Wood working requires a lot of patience

 

[Brmorgan]

You most often see apple used for turning bowls on the lathe or for knife/tool handles etc. since it's rare to find a log of decent size and/or straightness to get actual lumber out of. But I have seen furniture made out of it on occasion too.

 

[slabmaster]

Crikey If I stopped often to let the saw cool down I would never get any cutting done. Some of my slabs take 20+ minutes and two+ tank loads of fuel to cut.

In case ppj690 is not aware, "stop sawing" (and leave engine idling) is different to "stopping a saw engine to cool it off". A complete engine stop is not the best way to cool a hot saw and can cause damage.

Where possible CS engine should not be stopped direct from an extended period on WOT. When milling large slab I keep cutting until I can sense the engine beginning to fun out of fuel. I then stop milling and leave the engine idling for at least 30 seconds (or more) to provide plenty of air flow around the engine. I then stop and fuel up. I don't let it cool down completely - I just carry on milling.
At the end of a long slab again I let the saw idle for a minute to let it cool off a bit
A well made maintained and tuned saw is designed to cope with this workload.

The other way to reduce cooling is to place a mill and idling hot saw on the ground on its rails to cool off.
Like I did here (Doh!)

Because a milling saw is generally laying on its side the intake is restricted by the ground. So either tip the mill over so the saw is upright or place the mill on a surface where the saw is overhanging the surface.
This is also why I have feet on my mill so the saw is not laying in contact with the ground and I made this portable work bench so the idling saw can sit safely on the bench and not vibrate off.

BoB,I didn't mean to shut the engine off, i simply ment to stop cutting every now and then to give the saw a rest from open throttle. Mark

 

[BobL]

BoB,I didn't mean to shut the engine off, i simply ment to stop cutting every now and then to give the saw a rest from open throttle. Mark

Sure I picked that up, but just in case newbies didn't I thought I'd expand on it a bit.

Cheers

 

[Brmorgan]

It is good for anything you have to handle because it has a great tactile feel - it feels like hard velvet - so handles of any kind. Old high quality saw handles are often carved from Apple, also woodwind instruments made from Apple feel great and have an unusual tone

Good to know, cuz iPods made BY Apple sound like absolute CRAP!

:hmm3grin2orange: :spam: