Even more Noob than normal

[ResDocJon]

Hello,

I came on this site looking for information on turning a tree into usable lumber...realized that the term milling didn't just apply to grain (ignorant - sorry) and learned the etymology of the last names Miller and Sawyer.

My question to all of you is whether or not a thread exists on this site that describes to someone with zero (and I mean ZERO knowlege about milling wood) that lays out the terms and process of turning trees into lumber. Please don't rehash information that's already been laid out in another thread - if somebody just knows which thread I should search for, that would be more than enough. If it seems far too basic to all of you, that's probably what I need to read.:redface:

Doesn't have to stop with this website - if there's a book out there that I should be reading that would be just as useful if anybody has any recommendations. I know the only real way to learn is by doing - I would like to pick up the terms and the basic idea of the process.

Cheers...

Jon C.

 

[smokinj]

Start with this thread lots of Awesome stuff.


http://www.arboristsite.com/milling-saw-mills/93458.htm

 

[ResDocJon]

I read through that thread and am ashamed to admit that I was hoping for something even more basic than that.

I was really was hoping for someplace I could find a picture of a milling set up with a line pointing to it saying "that's a raker, that's the inboard side of the mill" etc, etc, etc. (I assumed the inboard side was the the side of the mill with the chainsaw motor on it but wasn't sure) and then, subsequently - "here's the basic idea..."

Sorry, am really putting myself out there as fantastically ignorant. Can't help it.

 

[NuggyBuggy]

Start with this thread lots of Awesome stuff.


http://www.arboristsite.com/milling-saw-mills/93458.htm

Nice thread, I learned a lot, although I still don't know what "BIL" stands for.

I am also interested in (chainsaw) milling, that's how I first got interested in chainsaws. I am new to both.

My big question is: how safe is using a chainsaw mill for a new, but careful, operator ? It seems that by virtue of being on rails, and the fact that the tip of the bar will be clear of the wood, that it should be a fairly safe operation. The "risks" posts in the above thread seemed to mostly deal with logistical things, and not dangers from the saw itself.

I just bought a Granberg, and if the sawyer who promised to come to my cottage in the next week or so doesn't, I'm going to either have to figure out how to use it, or give up on a nice 40' log that my neighbour gave me and have it chopped up for firewood.

thanks !
terry

 

[NuggyBuggy]

I read through that thread and am ashamed to admit that I was hoping for something even more basic than that.

I was really was hoping for someplace I could find a picture of a milling set up with a line pointing to it saying "that's a raker, that's the inboard side of the mill" etc, etc, etc. (I assumed the inboard side was the the side of the mill with the chainsaw motor on it but wasn't sure) and then, subsequently - "here's the basic idea..."

Jon, I know about as little as you do. But if you go to the Granberg site (Granberg International |), there's several videos showing a chainsaw mill in action. That should help a lot.

The book "Harvesting Urban Timber" (Harvesting Urban Timber: A Guide to Making Better Use of Urban Trees: Amazon.ca: Sam Sherrill: Books) also has a section on milling including bandsaw and chainsaw mills.

 

[Hank Chinaski]

and also remember to use youtube... just look up "chainsaw mill", chainsaw milling etc

 

[smokinj]

Nice thread, I learned a lot, although I still don't know what "BIL" stands for.

I am also interested in (chainsaw) milling, that's how I first got interested in chainsaws. I am new to both.

My big question is: how safe is using a chainsaw mill for a new, but careful, operator ? It seems that by virtue of being on rails, and the fact that the tip of the bar will be clear of the wood, that it should be a fairly safe operation. The "risks" posts in the above thread seemed to mostly deal with logistical things, and not dangers from the saw itself.

I just bought a Granberg, and if the sawyer who promised to come to my cottage in the next week or so doesn't, I'm going to either have to figure out how to use it, or give up on a nice 40' log that my neighbour gave me and have it chopped up for firewood.

thanks !
terry

Going out on a limb here but to me it stands for Brother in law!

 

[mtngun]

No guarantee if this download will work for you, but give it a whirl. Chainsaw Lumbermaking by Will Malloff

 

[Hank Chinaski]

No guarantee if this download will work for you, but give it a whirl. Chainsaw Lumbermaking by Will Malloff

is that legit before I spend the $ to join?

 

[mikeb1079]

allright, here goes nothing.

you have your log lying on the ground. get one end off ground (jack or pry bar etc). support the lifted end of log securely. now, take a pair of straight 2 x 4's, or a ladder, and attach to both ends of the log such as this:

in this pic i'm using unistrut for the guide rails but like i said reasonably straight 2 x 4's would be the cheapest/easiest way to start. what the guide rails do is create a flat plane for the jig (sometimes called an alaskan sawmill) to ride along. you need to create a flat surface on the log for your subsequent cuts. once you have created this flat surface, you adjust your jig to whatever thickness of board you want to make. you can see in the pic that at first my jig is adjusted very deep in order to cut below my guide rail setup. here's another pic of a guide rail mounted to a log:

so as you can see, the chainsaw which is mounted to your jig rides on the guide rails for the first cut to make a flat surface on the log. after you do this your log will look like this:

now, you no longer have to use your guide rails (although some do) for subsequent cuts as you can now use this flat surface for your jig to ride on. you just set the jig on the log and start milling.

i'll post some more info later when i get more time. don't be discouraged, this is something you can do and once you get it you'll be hooked.

cheers
mb

 

[mtngun]

is that legit before I spend the $ to join?

I haven't used that site, didn't join, and sure wouldn't pay money.

 

[ResDocJon]

Nice. Thanks MikeB - that actually makes alot of sense. So if I understand it relatively fully, you need guide rails for the first cut and those are provided by the ladder, 2x4s or whatever. After the first cut, you don't need the guide rails because the flat surface is provided by your first cut.

How does the chain saw generally attach to the jig?

 

[ResDocJon]

And I'm guessing you also wouldn't start with your best log...practice on a few big limbs or something?

 

[mikeb1079]

How does the chain saw generally attach to the jig?

two ways:

clamps onto the bar at two points, one by the powerhead and one by the sprocket.

bolted onto the bar at two points, one by the powerhead and one by the sprocket. this requires drilling the hardened chainsaw bar and is often the preferred method of attachment as it makes it easier to swap out chains but one has to be patient when drilling a chainsaw bar. there are a few threads about this topic if you want to do it this way.

with either method you lose a bit of cutting width on your bar because of the mounting points. so for example a 36" alaskan mill typically maxes out around 30" of cut. or thinking about it another way, if you have a 32" bar on your saw you'd lose maybe 4-6" inches with your jig mounted on so that you'd only really be able to cut around 26-28" wide (which is plenty believe me).

And I'm guessing you also wouldn't start with your best log...practice on a few big limbs or something?

excellent idea. :smile2:

once you get things together and setup, it will start to make sense as to how it works. one other note: i greatly prefer milling chain (ripping chain) to regular crosscut chain. the top plate angle is greatly reduced on milling chain from 35 degrees on normal chain to 10 degrees. this makes your cuts waay smoother. most of us get our milling chain from baileys (woodland pro).

 

[j.williams]

Do you already have the saw & mill? If you are anywhere close to me i would help you get set up.

 

[ResDocJon]

@jwilliams - thanks for the offer...I don't think Im nearly close enough to you unfortunately.

@jwilliams and mikeb - I am somewhat embarrassed to say that my dad has a friend with a woodmizer that we're going to use first. I'm sure that's sort of sacriligious to a chainsaw miller...

I should also give you a little background - Dad had a Walnut inexplicably die out on his property and I cut it down (ax baby!) with the intention of turning it into lumber via some local sawyer or something. Dad said don't do that, lets call up his buddy with the woodmizer.

I came on here just to learn more about it and came across chainsaw milling. It seemed like a fun thing to do after reading a bunch.

I never knew it but I guess my dad used to mill wood as a kid all the time. His old set up, he was telling me, was a 52inch rotary blade powered by a motor they took out of a Minneapolis-Moline 1000 tractor. Grandpa, apparently, had zero saftey measures installed. Different time I guess. Dad said they used to mill cottonwood because nobody wanted it, and build hayracks. He said they'd build them green and nailed them good enough so the cottonwood wouldn't warp when it cured. Dad claims there's still some of those old hayracks in service up in O'Brien county in Iowa.

Anyways, Dad never said anything about chainsaw milling. I thought it'd be cool to mill a tree you chopped down by hand and then build a bar out of it.

 

[BobL]

I was really was hoping for someplace I could find a picture of a milling set up with a line pointing to it saying "that's a raker, that's the inboard side of the mill" etc, etc, etc. (I assumed the inboard side was the the side of the mill with the chainsaw motor on it but wasn't sure) and then, subsequently - "here's the basic idea..."

The best way to start is to get someone to show you ways of doing it.

- I am somewhat embarrassed to say that my dad has a friend with a woodmizer that we're going to use first. I'm sure that's sort of sacriligious to a chainsaw miller....

Don't be too worried about it. Sacrilegious to any miller is leaving or burning the log more than what it is cut with.

I came on here just to learn more about it and came across chainsaw milling. It seemed like a fun thing to do after reading a bunch.
.
.
I thought it'd be cool to mill a tree you chopped down by hand and then build a bar out of it.

Tis indeed.

Nice thread, I learned a lot, although I still don't know what "BIL" stands for.

I assume you might have stumbled across my BIL mill. This was named after my brother-in-law who helped me with the ally welding of mil

My big question is: how safe is using a chainsaw mill for a new, but careful, operator ? It seems that by virtue of being on rails, and the fact that the tip of the bar will be clear of the wood, that it should be a fairly safe operation. The "risks" posts in the above thread seemed to mostly deal with logistical things, and not dangers from the saw itself.

My risks posts (#48) in that thread does include risks from using the saw. Risks numbers 6, 7 and 9 are saw related. Risk from chain breaking is not even in my first 13 risks. The reason that saws don't feature much in the list is because the process of milling from the point of view of using the saw is a relatively safe one. Remember that risk assessment was for my setup and ways of working, other operators may have different lists. I normally work by myself, as soon as other people are introduced into the process any risk assessment will change. I have scant regard for many corporate OSH processes but a few minute put into a simple risk analysis for any milling set up forces the operator to think about what and how they are doing it and what improvements they could make.