Sitka Spruce Planks (Hmmm, this MKIII actually works)

[duffontap]

Well, I know I don't have to tell you guys but this stuff actually works. I got my new MKIII and aux. oiler last week and I've finally had a chance to mill for a few hours. I still have a lot to learn before I would call my lumber 'perfect' but I just need some rough lumber for a small shed so this is perfect.

From pulling up to the raw log, to leaving, my buddy and I spent about 2 3/4 hours. I could make a pass on a 10" wide plank 8' long in about 3 minutes. Considering my chain was free-hand filed, I feel good about that. We cut 5 2x10's and 6 1 1/2x 9's.

I was using a 281xp with a 32" bar and 36" mill. Carlton chain.

J. D.

 

[irishcountry]

Sweet nice looking wood glad it worked out for you lots you could do with that stuff.

 

[wdchuck]

That's what I'll be doing once the snow is gone this winter, milling up framing lumber for a wood/stuff shed.
Very nice.
Are you going to let it dry for a while or use it wet?

 

[woodshop]

Very nice... you are getting it dialed in. Nice looking set of boards you got stacked there. 3 minutes a slab isn't bad, but I found that round ground chisel skip chain, (Oregon 75 series stuff for .063) although it does leave a little rougher surface, really runs down the log the fastest of everything I've tried so far. I was so impressed I bought a 100ft reel of the stuff. If you're only milling 12 inch or so wide, I guess the 3/8LP stuff is even faster.

 

[duffontap]

That's what I'll be doing once the snow is gone this winter, milling up framing lumber for a wood/stuff shed.
Very nice.
Are you going to let it dry for a while or use it wet?

I'm going to try to get to working with it well before it's dry. I've never done any framing with spruce, but I would imagine that the same qualities that make green doug fir more desirable than seasoned for framing would be the same for spruce.

Exciting stuff.

 

[dustytools]

Nice looking stack of wood you have there!

 

[duffontap]

Very nice... you are getting it dialed in. Nice looking set of boards you got stacked there. 3 minutes a slab isn't bad, but I found that round ground chisel skip chain, (Oregon 75 series stuff for .063) although it does leave a little rougher surface, really runs down the log the fastest of everything I've tried so far. I was so impressed I bought a 100ft reel of the stuff. If you're only milling 12 inch or so wide, I guess the 3/8LP stuff is even faster.

Thanks. I've got a sharp 75 series chain I'll try. I'm just using a Carlton loop I got locally but I'm very impressed with how smooth the cut is. It also seems to hold a sharpening pretty well.

J. D.

 

[capeferrelo]

Hey J.D.,

Just read this thread, and I just finished up the first of several 100 foot Sitkas with basically the same setup, a 281 on a Mark III with Carlton (well, Baileys ripping chain, but I believe it's still the same Carlton A1 chain I have a spool of), and it worked like a champ. I quartered the bucked sections and quarter sawed them, but that 281 got through the center of each section in just a few minutes, and took boards off in no time. Helps that it has a new piston, but it still isn't 100ccs. Have you done any more spruce since your post, and did you stay with the Carlton or try a different make?

 

[duffontap]

Wow, this thread started years ago! I've cut tons of spruce since those pictures were taken. That was actually the first time I'd ever used that saw. I had just purchased it from a friend for $50 (just the head) and was more or less happy with how it cut. Ran about 20 tanks of gas through it and just didn't feel like it was pulling like a 281 should. The identifying marks were all missing except the serial numbers which showed it was a 268xp! Tough little saw and nowhere near 100cc.

I usually use my 272xp now (my biggest saw currently). I've cut stacks of fir, hemlock and spruce with those smaller saws. JD

 

[SDB777]

Well, since it's a topic from ages ago....did you ever get that wood to look like a shed?




Scott

 

[duffontap]

Yes, I did. The planks were ripped down the center and served as trusses. Everything but the shingles were milled with a chain saw.

JD

 

[mtngun]

I could make a pass on a 10" wide plank 8' long in about 3 minutes.

= 0.53 inch/sec

 

[capeferrelo]

With the 281 I'm averaging about an inch a second on ten to twelve inch wide cants. I'll try to remember to post some photos of some of the wood cut so far. It's going to be flooring, eventually. Beautiful stuff, sitka, not as durable as a hardwood, but once it's installed I can stand on the deck and look right at where my material came from. And I grew up with spruce and fir floors, and love 'em.

Good looking shed by the way. That's a project I'm planning for what wood doesn't good in the house.

 

[duffontap]

Forgot to mention, I did stick with the Carlton chain. I'm not sure why, but they always seem to cut WAY faster after their first filing. I cut a lot of VG fir for my floor--never seemed to accumulate enough to do the project. JD

 

[capeferrelo]

Yeah, I really like the Carlton chain, too. I touch the cutters up regularly more out of habit than need. Helps that I got a steal on a 100' reel, but I'd buy it in single loops anyway. I'm pretty sure Baileys sources their house chain from Carlton (I say that based only on the fact that both chains have A1 stamped on the drivers), and I really like their chain.

 

[Timberframed]

Carlton is what I run and am pleased with the results.