Guide system for CSM

[curdy]

OK, seen several posts all over the place for home made guides and rails for milling with a CSM. I thought I'd start a thread dedicated to those that have made their own guides. I know some use ladders, others use rails, and some just use wood.

Post pictures and descriptions of what you use, and don't be shy with details! Maybe describe what you've learned and what you plan to improve on. Maybe there are sites you already used for a reference when building yours?

I think this will be a great resource for someone looking to build their own or improve on what they have, based on others' experiences.

Its all yours...opcorn:

 

[Railomatic]

Use a good aluminium ladder and a couple of ratchet straps.

 

[oldsaw]

Casey Forrest has a really cool guide made from Uni-Strut. I don't have time to search for it, but maybe he will come on and post the picture again.

Mark

 

[CaseyForrest]

Heres some...

Adjustable lengthwise up to 10' and I can adjust the width within 1' for varying discrepencies in logs. I also made up some "feet" if one end of the rail does not sit on the log....

 

[curdy]

Yeah, I had seen Casey's guide on another thread and I was going to PM him to ask if he'd add to the thread...beat me to it! Thanks Casey!

Can you explain how you attach the guide to the log? Is there anything you would do differently if you had to start from scratch again? How much attention do you give to leveling the guide?

Railomatic: You said you use ratchet straps. Where are you using those? I thought about that, but I'm picturing them being in line with the cut. Can you post a picture of how you use the straps?

 

[Railomatic]

I place a strap either side of the log about five feet in from the ends, when I reach the strap I keep going and cut right through the strap, "Only Kidding there", once I reach the strap I stop, and move it behind the saw and continue along.
Do the same for the other strap, it only takes a minute or so to do things, then you are left with a nice flat surface to run on there after.

I pack out any gaps with wooden wedges and a small tack to hold them in place.

I also leave a good amount of ladder over the edge so it supports the mill on the in and out cuts, my mill also has four rolliers to support things if the ladder is too short.

 

[curdy]

Looks good. What have you found works well if the log is uneven?

 

[Railomatic]

Looks good. What have you found works well if the log is uneven?

Please cold you explain in more detail ?

Davy.

 

[curdy]

You mentioned wedging in wood pieces in any gaps. Do you level it or just eye it?

 

[Railomatic]

wedges

I tend to eye things in, have done it many times its second nature, you could use a level and get the ladder the same amount on the bubble at each end,

When your cutting along you can sometimes see the board moving as you progress along the log, the locked in pressures being released, when its stickered up everything levels itself out.

Metal guides are good but if you touch a chain onto them you can get into bother, and knock teeth about, I stick with good old waste wooden bits of trunk for wedges.

 

[CaseyForrest]

I drilled holes in the cross pieces that go over the butt ends of the log. I use a level on both sides, get them the same and then nail each side with duplex nails.

Its pretty easy, but you are limited to length. A ladder would make for a better system than mine as you can go a bit longer. Hautions has my Will Malof lumbermaking book right now, but in it he sets lag bolts along the side he wants to start on...spaced every couple of feet and gets them all the same level, then uses a 2x8 6' long and just keeps sliding it along the log as he makes his first cut. Doing it this way you can make as long a cut as you need, all the while only using a 6' long board.

 

[curdy]

So with the lag bolts, the board isn't attached to the log, just rested on the bolts? Wouldn't the board slide around?

 

[CaseyForrest]

I suppose it could. If youve got a welder, just put a couple tacks on the heads of the bolts and try to bring them to a point.

 

[2506]

Unistrut Guide Rails

I use the angles to make an adjustable mount.

 

[dustytools]

Here are a few pics of my rails. Theyre made of aluminum, from storefront window frames. Allthread rod for spacing and the pieces used to attach it to the log are the ones from granberg.View attachment 45159

View attachment 45160

View attachment 45161Sorry for the poor quality pics. It was rather bright out today with the snow and sun.

 

[Railomatic]

rail systems

I'm going to try using some aluminium tubes and join the togeher with a scafold tube joiner, that fits inside each end and tightens with an allen key.

If you use short lengths of tube, you can stow things away more easily.

For the spacers, get a piece of wood or ply four inches wide and whatever length you need, drill a line of holes in the centre of the board the same size as the tubes, cut it in half and you will be left with two halfs with sem-circles for the tubes to sit into.

To fasten the boards to the log, drill two holes in each end of the plywood and screw things down to the log through the holes.

I wil let you know how it works once I have done it.

 

[dustytools]

The neat thing with using allthread for spacing between the rails is that it allows you to pull the rails in or out to keep both ends of the rail the same distance from the center of the log, at the same time allowing most or all of the rail to rest on the log. The bottom of my rails are also slotted to allow you to adjust for different lenghts of logs (up to 9ft.-6in.).

 

[olyman]

no pics--but one person mentioned using curb and gutter forms--they are aluminum---apparently 2x6x 14 foot long--just happen to have a co close to me that makes these------