BobL , you wouldn't happen to be a hand filer as well . Lol
Since 1964. I tried a grinder for about 6 months around 2007 but I needed too many loops of sharp chain to keep me going for a whole day so found a way to sharpen the chain on the mill so gave it away and went back to hand filing. I can touch up a chain for the 42"m bar faster than I can swap a chain AND my mill is designed so the saw does not have to removed from the mill to swap the chain. I still use a grinder very occasionally if I damage cutters to get them back to the same length. BTW I have not bothered with getting cutters to the exact same length since I started progressive raker setting. If I see a raker getting too long it gets a couple of extra swipes but that's it. As well as optimising the cutting speed progressive raker depth setting removes the need for exact same length cutters. I'm in no hurry when I milling so I touch up the cutters after every tank of fuel and swipe the rakers after every 3-4 tanks. That minimises the amount of pushing required and the load on the powerhead. It also means no worries cutting at 90º.
RE: Andy@clover:
Great looking wood. I ahem only ever milled one cedar and still remember how it was like cutting a knife with hot butter compared to the other stuff I mill.
I notice you are getting a few stripes across your cut.
This could be a due to loose/sloppy mill, too low rakers, or, when you change your stance and ease up and then increase the forward pressure during that process, or all 3. If you slope the log this will provide a constant forward pressure on the mill even when you change stance and generate a smoother cut.
Instead of referring to just raker depth (eg 0.045") it's more useful to give to raker depth relative to the length of the cutter gullet which is what I call the raker angle. A stock 0.025" on a new stock chain where the gullet has a length of 0.25" this translates to a raker angle of ~6º. This is calculated by basic trigonometry but if this is not familiar to you just use the ratio of the "gullet width to the raker depth" which in this case is 10:1
When the chain is worn and say the gullet is now 0.45" and the raker depth is 0.045 the gullet length/to raker depth ratio will now be 10:1 and cut the same size chips at the same speed at the stock chain
If a raker depth of 0.045" is used on a new chain with a gullet of 0.25" this translates to a ratio of 5.5:1 This will be fine in cedar but will not work in harder woods as the chain will grab and stall the power head on any chainsaw (unless you have a a few tens of HP motor such as on a Lucas mill) When the gullet reaches 0.45", to maintain the 5.5:1 ratio this will require a raker depth of ~0.08" which leaves very little raker behind.
BTW lower gullet/raker ratios increase vibe, increase B&S wear and tear and seriously increase the risk of kickback if used out of a mill, so WATCH OUT.
The optimum ratio depends on many things like; Available power, width of cut, drive pin number, chain type, cutter angles, type of wood etc. On Aussie hardwoods I use ratio of 8.5:1 (880, 60" bar, 7 pin sprocket, full comp chain). When milling with a 441 with a 25" bar and Lopro chain I use a ratio of 8.5:1
Back in 2009 one of your countrymen experimented extensively with determining the optimum ratio for your softwoods while chainsaw milling using a 660 the lumber for a complete barn. He found a ratio of about 6.5 worked best for softwoods up to 24", with 3/8 full comp chain. Above that he found the saw would bog down and also started to generate too rough a cut.