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Demonical

ArboristSite Member
Joined
Apr 27, 2016
Messages
85
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107
Location
Alberta, Canada
I made up a chainsaw mill for my Husky 372XP.

I bought a 28" bar and got 2 ripping chains for it... the 28" bar was the longest bar buddy had in stock.

Anyway, it worked well.

I have about 8, 8' birch logs to rip.
 
I just made my own too. Posted about it over on the other forum....with pictures. ;)

It turned out really well. During the construction I could tell there would be a ton of ways to go about it and I am interested in which way you chose. If I build another I am going to make it fixed at only one bar size.
 
Sorry, I'm not too good at posting pics, yet the pics tell the story better than I can.

My nephew Matt welded up the mill. He did a pretty decent job (helluva lot better than I could do). But one of the sockets, the vertical brackets fit through, ended up out of kilter by a degree.

That caused the bar to bow down at the end, when the clamps were tightened. I actually ripped 2, 6' logs before I clued in that there was an issue, then shut down the cutting until I could get the socket re-welded.

Still, the 372XP ripped through the logs like nothing, with the bar tip slightly deflected. Produced some nice lumber.

The main thing I see right away, is that the sockets should have been raised up about a half inch, above the surface of the mill. That clearance would allow me to raise the whole mill closer to the base, so I could cut a thinner slab.

The way this is built, about the thinnest slab I can cut is 1-1/2". The easy way to fix that now, would be to attach an extra thickness of flat bar along the bottom of the base, to basically shim it up.

After getting that socket cut off and re-welded, to day I spray painted the chainsaw bar tip guard, and then applied caution stickers to it.
 
Looks good always feels better knowing you made that. Then used it to make lumber then used the lumber to build a project ect. good job time well spent. Looks good even made a guard..
 
Good job on the mill, looks a bit heavy for portability but if only being used in the yard then it sure is sturdy enough. I built mine from lighter stock so it can be backpacked back into the woods but the Solo 690 I run makes up for weight saved.

Burning%2520Man%25202012%2520%2520BRC%2520010.jpg
 
Something I didn't mention: I made a pair of wooden brackets, for my rails to sit in. The rails are 2"x2"x1/8" wall aluminum tubing, cut 10'.

I am going to drill a series of holes along the bottom, on one end of each rail, then put pins into the bracket, where they will sit. That will hold the rails in position. The first cut I made, the rails were not secured, so they wanted to move around, from the vibration.

Also, it is definitely not light, but the weight of it makes it very stable, once it is set onto the rails/log. Very solid.
The handle we just kinda placed where it felt comfortable, and it worked nicely.
 
That looks great. I had the same problem with the socket out of kilter. I ended up just free grinding the bar pads to straighten it out.
 
If I build another I am going to make it fixed at only one bar size.
The day after you do that you'll run across a cheaper longer bar.:eek:

See if you can build it the mill so you don't have to remove the saw from the mill to change the chain. Ie bolt the mill direct to the bar.
To get max cutting width drill the outboard bolt holder thru the middle of the nose - all my bars are like that.
Look here for a half dozen different ways of attaching the mill to the bar.
https://www.arboristsite.com/commun...nts-tips-and-tricks.93458/page-2#post-1507640

Also look at a list of suggested improvements for Alaskan type mills here
https://www.arboristsite.com/community/threads/cs-milling-101-hints-tips-and-tricks.93458/page-3

Also Have a look in the links in my sig for lots of mods.
 
What about slab thickness?

I used 1" square tubing, to build my mill. With 3/16" pads on the bar clamps, about the thinnest slab I can mill is 1-1/2".
I am thinking about adding shims(pads) to the base, to allow me to mill a thinner slab.
 
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