First try at milling

[Doug01]

I got a 24" Alaskan from Jeff Sikkema late last week. (Great guy to deal with by the way......call him and buy stuff). Anyway couldn't try it out till today due to rain and WORK! It worked pretty good. The log I used was cedar, about 7' long and maybe 8" on the small end. It had a big taper to it and a lot of knots. Also, I didn't limb it out close enough because I figure it was going in the ditch after I cut it because it would have been to small to take to the saw guy that cut my other lumber. I'll post some pics.

If you haven't looked at the pics yet, scroll down and look at the ones glens resized.

Doug

 

[Doug01]

Here is another. Sorry if these take a long time to open. I don't really know what I'm doing.

 

[MasterBlaster]

I like tha dawgs ballsack in my face. Not to mention his arsehole. A unique touch!

 

[Doug01]

last one

 

[Doug01]

Yeah he walked right into the picture. Didn't notice that until tonight.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Dam! That woods giving me wood!!!

 

[a_lopa]

not bad for first try!let us know how the jig works out

 

[Oregon_Rob]

Very Cool

Doug,
Good to see that your making Sawdust! What was the chain setup?
Wish I had more cedar. I really need to get myself a trailer setup so I can start looking for the free logs.


Here is my latest photo of wood I milled.
MB- Sorry I missed the A-hole in the photo, i will see if I can't do better next time.

 

[glens]

Originally posted by Doug01
Here is another. Sorry if these take a long time to open. I don't really know what I'm doing.

It's not that they take a long time to open; they take forever to fetch over a standard phone-line connection (which many of us are still limited to).

As it happens, I'm sitting on a fat digital pipe this week and am feeling helpful.

Here are snapshot-quality versions of your print-quality images.

 

[glens]

 

 

[glens]

   

 

[Oregon_Rob]

What type of cedar is that? The bark looks a lot like western red, but the wood looks a different.

 

[Shade]

i found an easier way to do the first cut with 2 2x4's like you did.

I got a peice of that square tubing at lowe's with a hole punched through it every inch or so, and I attach it to the top of the log with two lags, using a level and the roundness of the tree and tighten/loosen the lags to level it. I then measure from the level to the center of the log and go to the smaller end, and put a stick under the tubing with a lag on either side so that it's the same distance from the center and level it again. I then go back to the other end and recheck for level and make any last minute adjustments, and then cut the log right down the center, then roll them off and cut my slabs from there.

I can get some pictures next time I get into it, if I think about it.

 

[Doug01]

Glens - thanks for resizeing the pics! I should have used a different setting on the camera. I didn't think about it.

Rob - The chain is ripping filed at 10 degrees. I figured it would be easier to sharpen than the chain that scores the log first then cuts (I can't remember what type that is or the angles) Any suggestions? I'd like to find a file guide that is marked for 10 degrees at the end. I haven't looked for one yet. I can't remember if it is Easter or Western red Cedar. I live 50 west of St. Louis. For some reason I thought it was eastern??? That log had been sitting for several months so that could be why the bark looked funny. The stalls look good by the way.

Doug

 

[Oregon_Rob]

Doug,
What brand of Ripping chain?
I have gone to using the Woodbug filing guide and my chains have improved a lot. The Woodbug is just an oregon file guide, that they made a few minor changes to.
I am guessing you have eastern red cedar, but i have never seen it so i dont know for sure.

Rob

 

[Doug01]

I'm not sure what brand it is actually. I got it from Jef Sikkema. What brand are you using? Where did you get the Guide you are using to sharpen?

Doug

 

[SilverBlue]

Post some pics if you can Shade,
Here is an old pic of my 36"GB mill ( Jeff Sikkema) that is more sturdy than the Alaskan, great for backyard jobs where you can't bring in a big mill or wheel out the log. Keep up the good work Doug.

 

[Oregon_Rob]

Originally posted by Doug01
I'm not sure what brand it is actually. I got it from Jef Sikkema. What brand are you using? Where did you get the Guide you are using to sharpen?

Doug

I got the guide from Woodbug.com, they make and sell their own stationary chainsaw mill. If you haven’t been to the site it is worth a visit. If you ask, they will send you a free promotional video that shows their mill, the guide and how they file.

I have used several different types of chain. Most recently I have been using a standard Oregon LG chain (round chisel, full comp) filed at 10°.
Woodbug recommends a semi-chisel, skip chain filed at 25°(like you would typically chain), and a 15° down angle. They also recommend, “back filing” as according to them, it will keep the chain sharp longer. The jury is still out on the last part as far as I’m concerned. Since I didn’t have a semi-chisel chain, I filed a LG chain as they recommended and it did cut better and left a decent finish. The main advantage to their angle set up was that it was much easier to feed into the cut. Unless I find something better, I plan to keep filing this way.
I have a semi-chisel, skip chain on the way and hope to get it to wood this coming weekend.
I would bet your chain is a Carlton chain, factory ground to 10°, because that is what Jeff had in stock when I talked to him.

Keep the dust flying,

Rob

 

[Van]

It's Eastern Red Cedar, no naturally growing western in middle Mo.
Van

 

[Shade]

you have a closer picture of that GB unit?

i modified my setup ala the will malloff method of drilling the bar and tapping the bottom of the posts that clamp to the bar. that way I can change a chain without completely removing the setup from the bar. I also got an extra chain gaurd and cut it away from where it goes over the sprocket, but I haven't used it since I did that. it looks a bit "scary", I think that I'll probably make another guard that comes on and off of that pretty easily to cover the chain, yet allow easy access to chain swapping.