Built another CSM

[YarraValleyDude]

Hey folks, took advantage of some wet weather this week to build another CSM.
The origional worked ok but was a real pain to adjust quickly and accurately for different thickness's. Was a bit short too.

This is the old one and my basic introduction into milling.

The new one is scrounge built from some 304 stainless and mild steel tube i had lying around and a few other bits and pieces.
Heres a few pics.

Straight out of the shed and will be getting a coat of paint once I'm happy with the outcome.

Put your shades on..lol
I just love welding stainless

Chain drive handle for fine adjustments.

High speed adjustment via cordless drill atachment.
This really speeds up the adjustment and works better than i thought it would.
The two sprockets and chain are all that it owes me, a grand total of $15.00.

Simple no tools locking and all thread screw drive.

Getting ready for the trial run, timber is a local Messmate very recently felled from my driveway and about 12" in dia'.
To be con't

 

[YarraValleyDude]

Guide board on and ready to eat sawdust.

Yay, first cut done in fast fading light, saw is Makita 9010 with 30" bar.
Initial impressions are pretty pleasing although its way heavier than the old one.
The cut is very smooth and i couldn't be happier with that. Chain I'm using is 3/8 Carlton ripping chain.:msp_thumbup:
With the log set on this angle and a nice sharp chain the mill seemed to pull its own way through the log, all i did was steer.
Well thats it for today I'm out of light and its starting to rain again

I knew i forgot something. Remote oiler valve is from a 4cyl' LPG system and seems to do the job.The rest of it is just a plastic oil bottle wirth a plastic barb screwed into the bottom.

Starting from where i left off yesterday i wanted to cut some 4"sq posts for an up and coming building project.
After having the saw in the cut for a few feet i need a wedge in the end and noticed the beam was really pulling up, thats odd i thought and kept going almost to the end. After pulling the saw out of the cut, turning 90Deg i started again with the same result.:bang:

Can someone shed some light on this for me as to why this happened?

This is my first time milling this spieces and not to sure what to expect. The Blackwood and Wattle were fine with no warpage at all.

 

[mtngun]

Great job building the mill.

I have no experience with that species of tree, but as a general rule, beams need to be either free of heart (FOHC) or else heart-centered.

That small log could have made a good 6" or 8" heart centered beam, but 4" is a bit small to be heart centered. The log is too small to make FOHC, so basically, those 4" beams were not meant to be.

 

[sachsmo]

That is a thing of beauty,

Your welding/fabrication skill are impressive.

Only question is;

Can you drop start it with the mill attached?

 

[diesel&coffee]

What kind of spocket is that?? ie: used for ??

 

[bluesportster02]

great job rep sent

 

[Stef]

Starting from where i left off yesterday i wanted to cut some 4"sq posts for an up and coming building project.
After having the saw in the cut for a few feet i need a wedge in the end and noticed the beam was really pulling up, thats odd i thought and kept going almost to the end. After pulling the saw out of the cut, turning 90Deg i started again with the same result.:bang:

Can someone shed some light on this for me as to why this happened?

This is my first time milling this spieces and not to sure what to expect. The Blackwood and Wattle were fine with no warpage at all.

Its because of the tension in the log, generally you find that the bigger logs will have less tension also if the log has been cut and laying around for months this can make a difference also.

Cheers Stef

 

[YarraValleyDude]

Thanks mtngun,
Ok i see, no heart wood in future unless its right in the center.
Does that apply to boards as well?

I'll have another go later today and let you know how it went.


sachsmo
Thanks, lol no i can't drop start it, i can bearly lift it with saw attached, well that might be going a bit to far but its fairly heavy.
I have learnt to start it left handed though.


diesel&coffee
The sprockets are 3/8 12 tooth pilot bore,basicaly there used for anything small and light, they come with a 1/4" bore and 1" hub and can be drilled to suit your application.Commonly used on conveyer belt drives.


bluesportster02
Cheers for that:msp_thumbup:

 

[YarraValleyDude]

Its because of the tension in the log, generally you find that the bigger logs will have less tension also if the log has been cut and laying around for months this can make a difference also.

Cheers Stef

Morning Stef,
Thanks for that, i do have a few bigger ones laying around that i can mill, unfortunatly i can't move them to my milling site but dosn't matter there still doable.
So, if i cut a 4x12 (+kerfs) off the top of a large log i should end up with 3 straight 4x4's yes?

 

[mtngun]

Ok i see, no heart wood in future unless its right in the center. Does that apply to boards as well?

Just depends on what you plan to do with the board. The pith is always going to be prone to split and warp. If the board is used for a non-critical application like rough siding, splitting and warping may not matter. It may not matter even for some framing applications.

Some trees have residual stress and will warp when cut no matter how you slice it. Some species are more prone to warp, too.

 

[Stef]

Morning Stef,
Thanks for that, i do have a few bigger ones laying around that i can mill, unfortunatly i can't move them to my milling site but dosn't matter there still doable.
So, if i cut a 4x12 (+kerfs) off the top of a large log i should end up with 3 straight 4x4's yes?

Its not always that easy every log has different amounts of tension. But i recon that would be good to try.
Check out the post by Stihlman441 in this milling section, he ended up with some nice posts using his CS Mill.

Cheers Stef

 

[YarraValleyDude]

Just depends on what you plan to do with the board. The pith is always going to be prone to split and warp. If the board is used for a non-critical application like rough siding, splitting and warping may not matter. It may not matter even for some framing applications.

Some trees have residual stress and will warp when cut no matter how you slice it. Some species are more prone to warp, too.

Thanks mtngun, i guess i need to get a few more logs under my belt to find whats works best with the timber i have around me.
Your input is much appreciated.

Its not always that easy every log has different amounts of tension. But i recon that would be good to try.
Check out the post by Stihlman441 in this milling section, he ended up with some nice posts using his CS Mill.

Cheers Stef

Ok I'll give it a go to what happens.
Just had a look at that thread and thats basically what I'm trying to achieve, looks like the same spieces too and looks like he cut into the heart too but his posts look straight, am i missing something here?
I can see myself building a mini mill too very shortly...lol