Widow Makes a Mill

[WidowMaker1]

Pipe should work great at removing exhaust ,and youll be amazed bout how it blows sawdust away from your feet .Whats the wood ,looks like oak?

Its Eucalyptus maculata (Spotted Gum.) just a few test cuts & stretching the chain on that one, good workable wood for internals. ill make up a Kitchen bench and TV entertainment unit in the lounge room out of that tree.. .

yeah i needed a good pipe for that, will be doing a heap of milling in the future with it, so needed to get rid of exhaust fumes to keep me productive, and not smacked out high on fumes after a long day.

 

[Old Blue]

Thats brilliant work WM. I really like the new pipe and the aux oiler, in fact I think I may have to paint mine red. Thats a nice no nonsense chain adjuster, it doesn't look like it will ever let you down.

That a nice slice out of that gum. Congrats on gettin her into the wood! Are you going to work with that slice or cut some more out of it?

Way to go with all the pics, thanks for sharing.

Old Blue
Where the governors groveling and begging for more taxes is shameless and knows no limits, in......
Kali-bone-ya

 

[WidowMaker1]

Thats brilliant work WM. I really like the new pipe and the aux oiler, in fact I think I may have to paint mine red. Thats a nice no nonsense chain adjuster, it doesn't look like it will ever let you down.
That a nice slice out of that gum. Congrats on gettin her into the wood! Are you going to work with that slice or cut some more out of it?

Thanks Blue, yeah its a solid unit, strong as! I used to use an alaskan but never liked the flex/vibes of the lighter mill.

pipe works a treat mate, it fires the fumes way out into the breeze ...sounds wicked too!!!

yeah gonna use that slice as is, for a kitchen bench, leave the natural edge's on it ...just hand plane it down, and belt sand it.
cheers

 

[Dad2FourWI]

yeah gonna use that slice as is, for a kitchen bench, leave the natural edge's on it ...just hand plane it down, and belt sand it.

Make sure to post some pics when you do!!! Sounds like a nice project!!

I hope you are wearing hearing protection when you have that baby flat out! <grin!>

-Dad2FourWI

 

[BobL]

Looking good WM.

Its Eucalyptus maculata (Spotted Gum.) . . . .

If it's Spotted Gum, it's technically not a Eucalypt but from a closely related family of Aussie Blood Woods (Corymbya). The name change is relatively recent and still disputed.
Details here. Forest Products Commission - developing the sustainable use of the States plantation and native forest resources in Western Australia

 

[WidowMaker1]

Looking good WM.



If it's Spotted Gum, it's technically not a Eucalypt but from a closely related family of Aussie Blood Woods (Corymbya). The name change is relatively recent and still disputed.
Details here. Forest Products Commission - developing the sustainable use of the States plantation and native forest resources in Western Australia

yeah right didn't realise they came up with some new name, lol. its been called Eucalyptus Maculata botanically for as long as i care to remember (we just call them spotted gum) ...I just got a Book for my info, its a old one but: 'Native trees and shrubs of south- eastern Australia By Leon Costermans.'

got a heap of big Red Blood woods up the western paddock, very smelly when cut, lots of sap pockets! great firewood tho....

 

[WidowMaker1]

Make sure to post some pics when you do!!! Sounds like a nice project!!

I hope you are wearing hearing protection when you have that baby flat out! <grin!>

-Dad2FourWI

yeah she crackles up the valley with authority, even more so after removing the internal baffle.. use muffs when milling, tho i like hearing it when cross-cutting so no hearing protection then. ..and people say i have selective hearing. maybe i just don't listen? lol

 

[BobL]

yeah right didn't realise they came up with some new name, lol. its been called Eucalyptus Maculata botanically for as long as i care to remember (we just call them spotted gum) ...I just got a Book for my info, its a old one but: 'Native trees and shrubs of south- eastern Australia By Leon Costermans.'

got a heap of big Red Blood woods up the western paddock, very smelly when cut, lots of sap pockets! great firewood tho....

I have milled quite a few spotties (eg http://www.arboristsite.com/milling-saw-mills/82960.htm#post1260825) including one that was about 45" in diam.
Did you know it's best to mill them just after the bark turns red and starts to flake off (that takes 3-4 months)? If they are milled immediately after felling they tend to split a lot more than if they are left for a while. They can of course be also milled when they are dry but then they are pretty hard and the milling turns into a "sharpethon".

RE: The Name
I have a few books on Aussie trees, including the 2011 CSIRO bible on Forest trees of Australia and it has Spottie listed under both names. I guess the tree taxonomists have to have something to argue about.

 

[WidowMaker1]

I have milled quite a few spotties (eg http://www.arboristsite.com/milling-saw-mills/82960.htm#post1260825) including one that was about 45" in diam.
Did you know it's best to mill them just after the bark turns red and starts to flake off (that takes 3-4 months)? If they are milled immediately after felling they tend to split a lot more than if they are left for a while. They can of course be also milled when they are dry but then they are pretty hard and the milling turns into a "sharpethon".

RE: The Name
I have a few books on Aussie trees, including the 2011 CSIRO bible on Forest trees of Australia and it has Spottie listed under both names. I guess the tree taxonomists have to have something to argue about.

nice looking slabs mate. I also find when there felled and green they can be very corrosive to metal, and alloy, if there not cleaned up reasonably soon after cutting a fresh green spotty. seen a lot of badly corroded clutch covers, from the spotties if there not maintained, and rusty gooed up chain.

yeah they love to confuse the average jo .lucky we have easy tree names too, like spotty & stringy, redgum, Blackbutt ...big tree in the bottom paddock. lol

 

[WidowMaker1]

 

[rodeobob]

Awesome stuff. Thanks for sharing it.

With the aux oil tank something that might be helpful. If you put in a ball valve or a second tap after the tap you have now could leave that tap set to the right flow and not have to touch it.
Probably not that relavant as the viscosity changes with ambient temp but just something that popped in my mind when I saw it.

Actually the fist thing was 'oh honda tank, GX340 by the look, what damn thread is the bung hole on the bottom, I should ask'. Then I saw the underside and its not off a GX. Ive got 5 or 6 tanks here, no barbs in the bung holes. $5 ea from the scrap yard, needed a cap, tank came free, so I got a few for spares.




I have a question or two.
The saw end is leading and the other trailing in the frame. Im sure theres a reasoning behind that.
Is the reason if the bar is parallel in the frame that it has a tendancy to rock or not cut flat???
Might save me a rookie mistake.


The sleeved spreader bar in the centre, is it nessacary. I would assume you have it because you might want to up the bar size later. If you were set on a 42" bar could you just have the rectangular frame rigid?


Is a hard nose bar OK to use.

Looking to do something like that myself. So yeah I really really appreciate what youve shared.


Cheers

 

[WidowMaker1]

I have a question or two.
The saw end is leading and the other trailing in the frame. Im sure theres a reasoning behind that.
Is the reason if the bar is parallel in the frame that it has a tendancy to rock or not cut flat???
Might save me a rookie mistake.

seems to be the optimum angle for starting/ Jurring & finishing a cut i find personally , less Vibration & kinda widens the width of the bar in a trailing aspect? ....in my own mind it could even slightly help in pulling slightly bigger chips (curls) rather than sawdust ....my theory behind that is from free hand ripping, Noodling angle vs cutting straight into the grain ...tho the angle is not substantial enough to change anything much, but its optimum for starting and finishing cuts mainly.

setting the bar square with the mill frame works just fine as well, as you can always swivel the frame/bar to achieve the angle that works best for you ....myself i like it angled slightly off square

The sleeved spreader bar in the centre, is it nessacary. I would assume you have it because you might want to up the bar size later. If you were set on a 42" bar could you just have the rectangular frame rigid?

the more adjustment you can have the better for fine tuning, different bars ....If your attaching the bar with bolts, its easy to tweak and line everything up perfect. ..say if your welded it all up and find your bar bolt hole doesnt line up perfect with the frame you cant adjust to optimive everything ...if somethings slightly off, you'll find it can slightly throw the bar out of straightness, but with adjustment and a tweak here and there you'll be perfectly square and straight.

Is a hard nose bar OK to use.

shore, lots of milling been done with hardnose ....tho i prefer sprocket, for it reduce's friction & you can keep a better chain tension with a sprocket nose, ....

 

[WidowMaker1]

bottom hose feeds oil into the inside of the bar groove, with the hollow bolt threw bar set up. And the top hose feeds oil onto the chain right at where the chain and rails meet.

....i've got it set-up so the bulk of the oil feeds into the inside of the bar, the top pipe just runs a smaller amount of oil continuously as well (which i can alter volume with the ball valve tap) ......If one of the feeds gets blocked the other feed will increase its flow... with the main flow going into bottom pipe and into the bar regardless.

With the main cock valve at the tank that adjusts the overall flow

 

[MCW]

so needed to get rid of exhaust fumes to keep me productive, and not smacked out high on fumes after a long day.

Don't ever use Castrol TTS then. A good oil for sure but the fumes are nasty, epecially with something like a 3120 that loves to pump out heaps of fumes
Are you looking at ever running a longer bar mate? I've found my 3120 with the oil boost on throws ample oil out for a 42" bar, even on my mill. I did start running the auxillary oiler on the 60" setup though.
I don't think your mill will ever bend either Great, solid setup. Full farmer spec and some pretty handy welds there too.
I've had to make a whole heap of modifications to my GB double ender mill to keep the bastard locked down. The standard setup is crap and even when doing the nuts up with a rattle gun I found it would shift mid slab. I've now welded 4 extra nuts onto the cross bars and am running allen bolts against the vertical adjustment framework to keep it locked up tight. In hindsight I wish I built my own mill like yours as I've put about $750 into mine to get it where it is now and I've wrecked a fair few slabs as it's shifted mid cut without me realising.

 

[WidowMaker1]

Don't ever use Castrol TTS then. A good oil for sure but the fumes are nasty, epecially with something like a 3120 that loves to pump out heaps of fumes
Are you looking at ever running a longer bar mate? I've found my 3120 with the oil boost on throws ample oil out for a 42" bar, even on my mill. I did start running the auxillary oiler on the 60" setup though.
I don't think your mill will ever bend either Great, solid setup. Full farmer spec and some pretty handy welds there too.
I've had to make a whole heap of modifications to my GB double ender mill to keep the bastard locked down. The standard setup is crap and even when doing the nuts up with a rattle gun I found it would shift mid slab. I've now welded 4 extra nuts onto the cross bars and am running allen bolts against the vertical adjustment framework to keep it locked up tight. In hindsight I wish I built my own mill like yours as I've put about $750 into mine to get it where it is now and I've wrecked a fair few slabs as it's shifted mid cut without me realising.

yeah i'll fab it up for a longer bar once i get hold of a decent bar im happy with, its been made adjustable for that... just need the bar and i'll just extend the rails, and move the oiler up. Got a heap of logs to slab that the 42" will handle, but yep in the future a longer bar will happen! :msp_biggrin:
yep the 3120 shore do throw good oil, but being oldschool farm breed i love more oil.

yeah we farmers like to build ****, love welding **** up, always welding/fixing slashers, implements, tractor, re-building stuff, its a great lifestyle mate ... ruff and tumble but strong as a true aussies back us farmin rednecks. lol

. .....yeah make em strong and add some steel mate, if your running 60" you'll want a good solid backbone in the frame

cheers

 

[BobL]

bottom hose feeds oil into the inside of the bar groove, with the hollow bolt threw bar set up. And the top hose feeds oil onto the chain right at where the chain and rails meet. ....i've got it set-up so the bulk of the oil feeds into the inside of the bar, the top pipe just runs a smaller amount of oil continuously as well (which i can alter volume with the ball valve tap) ......If one of the feeds gets blocked the other feed will increase its flow... with the main flow going into bottom pipe and into the bar regardless.

I found a through the bar gravity feed oil line always blocked up and I got sick of unblocking it. I stopped using mine after about persisting with it for about 30 logs. It also looks like the top feed hose is just poked though a hole in the guard. If so the saw vibe will eventually wear the hose where it makes contact with the guard and it will be come loose and either fall onto the chain or fall off as you move it around. It's better to make something more solid. I use a brass bolt with a hole through it that can be moved to within 1/8" of the chain so that it wicks out onto the chain rather than drops onto the chain.

 

[WidowMaker1]

I found a through the bar gravity feed oil line always blocked up and I got sick of unblocking it. I stopped using mine after about persisting with it for about 30 logs. It also looks like the top feed hose is just poked though a hole in the guard. If so the saw vibe will eventually wear the hose where it makes contact with the guard and it will be come loose and either fall onto the chain or fall off as you move it around. It's better to make something more solid. I use a brass bolt with a hole through it that can be moved to within 1/8" of the chain so that it wicks out onto the chain rather than drops onto the chain.

i thought it might block at times, its a fairly big delivery in the bar but, much bigger hole than the normal bar oiler hole at the powerhead ....thats a reason i went with the dual delivery in case one or ..the other blocks, if it does the other will keep flowing .....the guard can move up and down so i can place the hose right on top of the area as needed till i work on a better solution, I used Loctite 480 on the hose ...that stuff is super strong gear ($30 25ml ), it won't come loose easily

its just a work in progress mate, think i'll always be improving things ....pinching some of your ideas along the way .lol

cheers Kain

 

[Stihlman441]

Good stuff WM,the slabbing can become a bit addictive.
Great thread thinks for sharing.

 

[WidowMaker1]

Good stuff WM,the slabbing can become a bit addictive.
Great thread thinks for sharing.

Thanks mate! cheers

 

[rodeobob]

Thanks for the extra info