Depth gauge on PantherMill

[pastryguyhawaii]

Since I had never seen a Alaskan Mill I didn't realize I was missing the depth markers on it. I thought drilling holes was a good idea but not with the equipment I have. I saw two wood squares sitting there and thought they would work good. I cut off the small end and thinned them down a bit so they would fit and epoxied them in. I've also added wheels after reading one of BobL's posts. I'm not knocking the mill, I really like this PantherMill. It's heavier than other mills but that's a good thing for me. I bought it because I thought it was a good value and it adjusts to any size bar I want to use.

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[Pfin]

Thanks for the post! I have a 42" on the way and was wondering about fixes like this. Did you just use longer clamp bolts for the wheels?

 

[pastryguyhawaii]

Thanks for the post! I have a 42" on the way and was wondering about fixes like this. Did you just use longer clamp bolts for the wheels?

You're welcome. I know this thread only appeals to the few on here that have PantherMills. I just picked up some longer bolts. Mines a 42", too. So far I've used the full width and it works quite well on smaller diameter logs.

 

[Twindad]

Two great ideas. Thanks for posting. I've got a 36" panther and have been thinking about how to address the issue of depth settings as well as the way the square tubing catches on bark while sawing. You've solved both. Great work.

 

[pastryguyhawaii]

Two great ideas. Thanks for posting. I've got a 36" panther and have been thinking about how to address the issue of depth settings as well as the way the square tubing catches on bark while sawing. You've solved both. Great work.

Thanks but the ideas are from reading on here. I also saw where BobL said he uses the rails with each cut. I tried that and lined up the wheels to hit the rail. Huge improvement. My 2094 likes to hug the log as I'm sure everyones milling saw does.

 

[BobL]

Thanks but the ideas are from reading on here. I also saw where BobL said he uses the rails with each cut. I tried that and lined up the wheels to hit the rail. Huge improvement. My 2094 likes to hug the log as I'm sure everyones milling saw does.

I used to do that but found too much saw vibe was transferred to the rails. Normally this is not a problem but if I am making adjustments to twist, The end of the rails may not sitting on the log and the vibe sometimes moved the rails. More significantly locating the wheels so they roll on the log rails may cause the mill to rack - this causes upward forces on the B&C and causes uneven B&C wear. This is less likely with a panther mill as it is a strong mill.

To minimize racking one would think that the wheels should be coplanar with the B&C however this may not work very well as the curve of the log may cause the wheels and mill to ride up or down the curve. After a number of trials I found the best place to be below the bar when milling the top half of the log and VV. I have sort of implemented this on the BIL Mill which uses 4 wheels - 2 above and 2 below an either side of the bar, and on my small alaskan I use a pair of wheels that can be flipped above and below the bar as required.

Full details here. http://www.arboristsite.com/milling-saw-mills/119956.htm
These wheels work extremely well and they are relatively easy to add to most conventional alaskan mills.

On the B3M mill I have implemented a trailing riving knife to help stop the wheels riding up and down the log curve - but I have never cut wood with this so I have no idea how effective it is.

 

[DiscoInferno]

Since I had never seen a Alaskan Mill I didn't realize I was missing the depth markers on it. I thought drilling holes was a good idea but not with the equipment I have. I saw two wood squares sitting there and thought they would work good. I cut off the small end and thinned them down a bit so they would fit and epoxied them in.

I like the concept, but on my PantherMill the vertical struts are not square to the clamps, and I need the slop in that collar to allow the struts to be at an angle to each other. Forcing the struts to be parallel bows the saw bar. As it is it takes me a long time to get the bar flat and parallel for each new depth setting. I really like the strength, balance, and cost of the mill, but not so much the precision. (Or perhaps I just got a bad one.)

What I've been doing for depth is just use a pair shims of matching thickness, one at each end. Tighten it up and pull them out.

 

[kpantherpro]

hey guys interesting discussion on some fixes for the mills, you can also try a small bearing at the bar clamp mounted between the bar clamp on the bolt you tighten to keep the bar in place, if your having problems with the clamp catching on your logs, the only trouble I've had with that has been on cedar where the bark is stringy, normally i'll just cock the mill forward just a bit if i start to get hung up on something and it works well for me. yes I relize there's not any markers on my mills but haven't found anything that will last for scaling, besides stamping, and my concern for that is the differant bars and chains that everyones using may not match, if anyone knows of the metallic type tape with scaling i'd like to hear where I could get it I've done searches but couldn't come up with any suppliers where it would be cost effective. that way you could just match it up to your bar and chain and stick it on yourself. as per the instructions you may just want to scribe your various measurements to your bar on the uprights, you can even use a sharpie, although like the stickers I first tried using, the sharpie probably won't last very long.
drilling holes for your marks may be a problem in the future if you ever want to mill something close to that size it may want to slip back into that hole. although I guess you could just flip the uprights so the holes are on the other side.
accuracy and stoutness is my primary goal when building these mills, and is what they are becoming known for, how are you setting this up? Remember I do recommend setting it up on a flat surface preferably with a couple 2x's so everything gets set-up on plain. If you are having problems or something seems welded out of square I'd like to know about it, as I take alot of pride in my mills. also sometimes it can be fixed by reversing the uprights so both the welds are either on the outside or the inside, you'll see the welds I'm talking about just above your bar at the bar clamp, if this doesn't resolve the issue give me a call. my goal is to make sure that you have an awesome affordable tool that will help you get the most from your experience. thanks all for your support.

 

[DiscoInferno]

accuracy and stoutness is my primary goal when building these mills, and is what they are becoming known for, how are you setting this up? Remember I do recommend setting it up on a flat surface preferably with a couple 2x's so everything gets set-up on plain. If you are having problems or something seems welded out of square I'd like to know about it, as I take alot of pride in my mills. also sometimes it can be fixed by reversing the uprights so both the welds are either on the outside or the inside, you'll see the welds I'm talking about just above your bar at the bar clamp, if this doesn't resolve the issue give me a call. my goal is to make sure that you have an awesome affordable tool that will help you get the most from your experience. thanks all for your support.

I suspect a picture would be worth at least 200 words here, but my mill is in Michigan right now, and I'm not. So in words: if I just pull out the two upright/clamp assemblies and clamp them to the saw bar with the bar completely flat, the uprights are not 90 degrees to the bar, more like say 85 degrees. For the usual symmetric configurations, they either tilt away from each other or towards each other. If I reverse one upright like you suggest (something I thought about but didn't have a chance to try last year) then they would at least be a lot closer to parallel, which might alleviate some/most of the problems. I'll let you know in a couple of months.