Help me spend $1000 on freehand milling

[toadman]

I know my body pretty good. I used to wear them everyday at work because they used impacted hammers to river box truck body’s together, that was a must for me to have them in there. I appreciate the advice. I see what my ears think next time I’m running it. Was running it today with out the screen in the filter and it was a little annoying. We’re taking a little 171 tho with a pip squeak engine

I was surprised to find out my 661 is quieter than my 250 & 193 according to an app on my iphone.
I've muffler modded the 193. 250 is stock & 661 is stock but with a 1/4" hole added in front of the factory hole.
All still have screens.
I have 70% hearing loss in my right ear (according to my Dr.) due to a shotgun exploding on me when I was 13, and it's up to you, but to me it's worth protecting your hearing.

 

[Husky Man]

Hearing Protection USE IT

After too many years in my youth around Chainsaws, outboard motors, ATV’s, JetSki’s, Snowmobiles, Loud Music etc, I hate not being able to understand a lot of the Dialogue on TV and in Movies, it thoroughly SUCKS.

I frequently have to ask people to repeat themselves. It really helps when they Look AT me when talking.

years ago, when I bought my Colt Combat Commander, I went shooting and forgot my hearing protection, I had wanted a 1911 for ever, I put one Mag through it, and that was it. It will be a Very Dire situation before I ever pull a trigger again without hearing protection.

After firing my 1911 unprotected, it took dayum near a week before I could hear half decent again, that incident sure didn’t HELP any, but wasn’t the only thing that Damaged my hearing.

My Doctor even told me that my hearing loss was a Cumulative effect, not any particular incident, but years of repeated abuse.

The occasional use won’t do it overnight, but it will add up. If running a saw without hearing protection doesn’t bother you, it should CONCERN You, that you are already started down a road with no U Turn available

Your Ears, Your Choice, if I could go back, I would sure do a lot of things differently

Woulda, Shoulda, Coulda,


Doug

 

[BlackCoffin]

All my saws are ported, and they’re even loud with ear protection. Can never have enough horsepower when milling. 90cc saw and a granberg mill would be the ideal setup.

 

[csmillingnoob]

Hearing Protection USE IT

After too many years in my youth around Chainsaws, outboard motors, ATV’s, JetSki’s, Snowmobiles, Loud Music etc, I hate not being able to understand a lot of the Dialogue on TV and in Movies, it thoroughly SUCKS.

I frequently have to ask people to repeat themselves. It really helps when they Look AT me when talking.

years ago, when I bought my Colt Combat Commander, I went shooting and forgot my hearing protection, I had wanted a 1911 for ever, I put one Mag through it, and that was it. It will be a Very Dire situation before I ever pull a trigger again without hearing protection.

After firing my 1911 unprotected, it took dayum near a week before I could hear half decent again, that incident sure didn’t HELP any, but wasn’t the only thing that Damaged my hearing.

My Doctor even told me that my hearing loss was a Cumulative effect, not any particular incident, but years of repeated abuse.

The occasional use won’t do it overnight, but it will add up. If running a saw without hearing protection doesn’t bother you, it should CONCERN You, that you are already started down a road with no U Turn available

Your Ears, Your Choice, if I could go back, I would sure do a lot of things differently

Woulda, Shoulda, Coulda,


Doug

Cumulative damage is exactly what my doctor told me. Except for the Colt, everything you are saying describes me. I hate missing 25% of the dialogue in a movie. Or 25% of the words in a sentence. I can come up with strange gap fillers.

the only sound I HATE IS AN AIR COMPRESSOR. My 390xp doesn’t sound pound to me but my neighbors hate it when I’m doing shop work. Okay the 3120xp sounds loud even to me but I love the sound.

heck I should probably wear protection when I listen to Stevie Ray

 

[motolife313]

How’s that 3120 been treating you?

 

[Husky Man]

Something else that I just thought of, that might help you out, is the Granberg 555(IIRC) now called the “Edging Mill” previously known as the “Mini Mill”.

If you don’t want a “Live Edge” on both sides of the boards, the G555 is a Great Tool to have. If you are Milling for dimensional lumber, mill your initial top slab, for a flat surface, then you can mill one side vertically, this will give you a smooth side to cut your slabs to width on a Table Saw, and reduce the width of your cut milling, which would allow in your case, a 30” mill to do it all, and reduce the stress on your powerhead.
You can also mill both vertical edges of the log, and have dimensional lumber slicing boards off the log with the mill, while reducing the load on your milling powerhead, and the size of the mill you need even more. IIRC, my G555 was a bit over $150, and well worth it

Doug

 

[Husky Man]

How’s that 3120 been treating you?

Hi Neighbor, if you’re asking Me, I haven’t had much time to use it in awhile, I have been working 65-70 hour weeks since late April, not counting my travel time, with only 3 or 4 weeks that I have even been home more than 48 hours. I’m Killin it pay wise, already 25% over what I made all last year, but I need some Home Time, fortunately I did get this week off because of Doctor and Dental appointments.

I have been Very Happy with the 3120XP so far, once I figured out what it Likes when starting. Since adding the 390XP and 395XP’s, the 3120XP is used almost exclusively for milling, and I have a Bunch of that to catch up on, the neighbors across the street had a Large Maple taken down and gave it to me, they have asked for some Benches for their fire pit from it, but they don’t even burn much in it.

I still have a pile of Maple Logs in front of the house that I am trying to make time to mill, I want to mill a solid Maple Workbench Top from it, I will mill some lumber for future projects yet to be determined, and what isn’t suitable for lumber/projects will become BTU’s


Doug

 

[motolife313]

Thanks for the feedback.

Ran my saws yesterday no problem without ear plugs. My little boys screaming I my ear because he doesn’t wanna go to sleep is far worse lol.

 

[csmillingnoob]

Thanks for the feedback.

Ran my saws yesterday no problem without ear plugs. My little boys screaming I my ear because he doesn’t wanna go to sleep is far worse lol.

It’s not about it bothering you now. I love the sound of a chainsaw. I loved AC/DC cranked up too. Quail/duck/deer hunted without ear protection. No problem - then.

It’s about the cumulative damage to your ears when you reach my age.

 

[Husky Man]

For about $50, a basic Husqvarna Helmet with Face Shield and Ear Muffs is Money WELL SPENT.

We can’t make you use any PPE, but in my opinion, it is FOOLISH not to. The effect is Cumulative and Irreversible, and SUCKS to Live with

My hearing loss could be worse, but now I do what I can to avoid it getting any worse, but sure wish that I had done a Lot more, a Lot Sooner

Your Ears, Your Choices,
I learned the Hard Way, learn from my mistakes, not your own, hearing protection is a CHEAP and EASY way to preserve a Priceless sense

Doug

 

[motolife313]

ok thanks guys I’ll try some ear muffs next time. Brought them over for my little boy when I’m running the saw. Haven’t tried them on him yet

 

[Husky Man]

ok thanks guys I’ll try some ear muffs next time. Brought them over for my little boy when I’m running the saw. Haven’t tried them on him yet

You won’t regret it
Unfortunately, you won’t know what the consequences would have been from not using them, but that is much better than Suffering those consequences

Trust me, I Truly Wish that I had been more careful about my hearing in the past, it would have made Life more enjoyable then, now and in the future

I wish that I could hear my Wife, the FIRST Time, a lot of times, sometimes, it loses something the second time around, if you know what I mean

Doug

 

[jamieS]

Something else that I just thought of, that might help you out, is the Granberg 555(IIRC) now called the “Edging Mill” previously known as the “Mini Mill”.



Doug

Excellent recommendation. And great looking maple pics! Man, the northwest can really grow trees and moss... and moss on trees!

Happy that this thread has swerved into safety gear, that was part of my hopes. One of the worst things about hearing is it doesn't just get bad, so you miss out on conversations, but many times people will also get tinnitus --- a constant and annoying ringing in the ears that never goes away, even as you try to sleep. I have a family member that has tinnitus and the definitely wish they wore hearing protection.

 

[Woodanhor]

Excellent recommendation. And great looking maple pics! Man, the northwest can really grow trees and moss... and moss on trees!

Happy that this thread has swerved into safety gear, that was part of my hopes. One of the worst things about hearing is it doesn't just get bad, so you miss out on conversations, but many times people will also get tinnitus --- a constant and annoying ringing in the ears that never goes away, even as you try to sleep. I have a family member that has tinnitus and the definitely wish they wore hearing protection.

I have a friend who has it and also sensitive to loud noises some can cause him physical pain

His is from rock bands and artillery with no ear protection

Back to your original question there is a utube video of guys freehand cutting lumber from logs

It might be too much for your level
Always think safety first and dont do anything your not 100% comfortable with

Heres one video

 

[jamieS]

Thanks, that's one of the videos that got me thinking along the lines of freehanding.

Here's two others that are also pretty interesting:

 

[Whiskers]

The log moving moped in the first video will probably be over your budget!

 

[Husky Man]

Excellent recommendation. And great looking maple pics! Man, the northwest can really grow trees and moss... and moss on trees!

Happy that this thread has swerved into safety gear, that was part of my hopes. One of the worst things about hearing is it doesn't just get bad, so you miss out on conversations, but many times people will also get tinnitus --- a constant and annoying ringing in the ears that never goes away, even as you try to sleep. I have a family member that has tinnitus and the definitely wish they wore hearing protection.

The G555 is definitely worth considering, to me, it was money well spent

We do get some truly BIG Trees out West, with the Douglas Firs being second only to the Coastal Redwoods. I don’t notice D Firs until they are 48”+DBH.

I recently was working the Southern Oregon/Northern California Coast, running 199/197/101, through Grants Pass and Brookings, OR down to Arcata,CA just North of Eureka, Right through the Heart of Redwood Country, a familiar area for me, and those HUGE Coastals simply never cease to AMAZE Me, I need to get some pics. 8’DBH Coastals are everywhere, and you quit noticing them pretty quickly when you see the 12-15’ Coastals, without a person, car or TRUCK near them for scale comparison, pictures often just don’t do them justice. To add to the Majesty of the Coastals, Hwy 199 runs along the Smith River, which is where the movie “Bird Box” was filmed. I didn’t care much for the movie, and it sure didn’t do the Natural Beauty of the area Justice, especially in the Fall, it Compares Very Favorably with anywhere in New England for Colors. Being a Truck Driver has it’s drawbacks, but has it’s Rewards as well ( I have even picked up SEVERAL of my chainsaws in the truck)

Yeah, Tinnitus is another EXCELLENT Reason to use hearing protection. Fortunately, for me it is an occasional annoyance, not very frequent or very severe, just a minor case for me, I sometimes go months between episodes, and it usually is just slight ringing, that I can mostly ignore, and still converse in-spite of, and usually doesn’t last for very long, 5-10 minutes typically

I am Fortunate to Live where I do, for the job that I have, and most importantly, for the Family and Friends in my Life

I Truly have Very Much to be Thankful For

Doug

 

[jamieS]

Okay, and now you are making me want to travel to the NW during the fall!

 

[jamieS]

My recommendation on spending $1000.00 to mill:

1. Order a Holzfforma 660 from thechainsawguy. Order through this board, not ebay. It will have been cranked and tested by him for less than $500.00. If you spend @ $525.00 with him you can get the big bore (98cc) that he has worked through thoroughly. You can save money by ordering through Holzfforma directly but I advise against it unless you have small engine mechanic ability because they frequently have small bugs in oil lines, fuel lines, carbs etc.

2. Get a 36' knockoff Granburg Alaskan mill from ebay about $100.00

3. 36" bar $100.00

4. two 36' skip tooth chains $100.00

csmillingnoob, I'm talking with thechainsawguy now... but any suggestions on where to purchase bar and chains?

-j

 

[abbott295]

I will add my voice to those who say use hearing protection. I think I have pretty much always used hearing protection running chainsaw; been aware that they are too noisy for quite a while, but a life time growing up on a farm and working in landscape and construction not realizing how much noise some of the tools and equipment make and how long I'm running them, I am on my second set of hearing aids at about $3600 per pair in eight years. They don't come cheap and they don't restore hearing 100%. As Husky Man says,
"I wish that I could hear my Wife, the FIRST Time, a lot of times, sometimes, it loses something the second time around, if you know what I mean "

She wishes I could hear her the first time, and so do my kids also.