First Sweaty Dusty Dag Nasty Run with the Mini Mill

[Sourwould]

Got out yesterday and got my new mini mill set up and did a few runs squaring up some blocks I had previously free handed. The difference in surface finish is pretty amazing. I want to pick up a ripping chain and see how smooth it can get.

I'm a little disappointed in the mini mill design. I disabled my chain brake to get the depth I wanted from the bar. The whole set up is a little wibbly wobbly. I was originally looking at getting a swing table to fit the saw, but the only ones I could find where $300. The built quality of the granberg is pretty good. I will probably still look into the swing table as I would like to have more options than 90 degree cuts.

Need to find a shady place to do this. 95 degrees yesterday and had some problems restarting the saw. I'm running a little rich to try and save the engine on these rip cuts. Snapped the pull cord and decided to call it a day. No sarcasm, I had a lot of fun.

 

[Cease232]

I love my mini mill.

25” bar in white oak. 9’ long.


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[Sourwould]

Nice!

Do you have any issue running the bar perpendicular to the mill? The handle on the mini mill was interfering with my chain brake handle because I was running the bar at an angle per the instructions.

 

[Cease232]

Nope. I’ve never noticed a difference either way.


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[Sourwould]

That's good to hear. I wanted to be able to use this to cut notches in beams, but I would need the bar square to the mill.

 

[rarefish383]

That's good to hear. I wanted to be able to use this to cut notches in beams, but I would need the bar square to the mill.

Have you seen "LogDovetailJigs"? I think he still charges $50 for the plans to make the jigs, and then if you let him use pics of your project, he gives you the $50 back.

 

[Sourwould]

Got in some more mini mill time this morning. These will be staying in block/cant form for tables and stools. I've been sealing the end grain with latex primer.

A few questions:

Should I seal just the end grain or the whole thing?

How long am I looking at to dry a 16x16x20 ish block like this? How long until the surface is dry enough to at least sand?

What is a good way to sticker these to discourage checking and bugs? I know I will get some checking, as the heart is staying intact, but I want as little as possible.

And some pictures:

 

[Jon_G_Houston]

Sourwould, my experience is prepping blocks like you have for woodturning on a lathe. The 'rule of thumb' for air drying is 1"/year + Year. That all depends on the timber, the local humidity, etc. I treat the end grain, where moisture loss is the highest, with a wax emulsion called Anchorseal. Most of the blocks that have branches, multiple trunks and bark inclusions like the one pictured, typically crack pretty badly. All depends on what you plan to do with the dried wood later. Cracking and checking may not matter. Best of luck.


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[Sourwould]

These larger blocks are going to be dried (kinda), planed, and sanded to be used as stools/small tables. Some will be table bases, but that won't change how I finish them out. I don't want to wait years and years to dry, so I'll need to figure out a finish that will allow them to keep drying. Maybe just an oil rub down.

I've been sealing my end grain with latex primer, which seems to be working well so far. Only one of these has a big crack starting, but it's one where the heart of one side of the crotch runs into a corner.

As it turns out, this 630 is really unhappy trying to idle nose down. It's idle drops and drops and dies. Fuel starvation? It doesn't seem like it's leaning out.