Milling 2X4's with a csm

[Rick Alger]

I've got an Alaskan Mill, a Granberg Mini-Mill and half-a -dozen 60-70 cc saws.
I've made sleigh runners, wagon tongues and barn beams. The technology works well for me on large pieces of lumber.

My question is, has anybody developed techniques to mill small stuff ( 6"tops)efficiently?

I would like to turn a 600 bf pile of 8' spruce and fir into studs, but I don't want to spend more than a couple days on the project.

 

[amdburner]

The easiest way is to cut 8 3/8" wide cants whatever height you can make them with the logs you have. Then cut the cants down the center with your mini but do not cut the last maybe 3" inches so you then have two siamesed 4"x (height) cants. Now run your Alaskan down the siamesed cants for your 2" depth. You will have to seperate each 2x4x8 since your logs are 8'. If they are long enought you could just trim the siamesed end off. If you have a way to clamp the to 4x(height) cants together you can cut clear through rather than leaving them siamesed. Hope this is helpful.

Dave

 

[Rick Alger]

Milling 2x4's

Thanks,

That will work for me. These were cut at 8'4".

Rick

 

[TedChristiansen]

Rick,

You probably won't want to spend the money on it, but...the Logosol Woodworkers Mill is perfect for that kind of milling. It is very easy to make dimensional lumber with it. Check it out at www.logosol.com.

Otherwise the suggestions made so far are what I would do.

Ted

 

[Rick Alger]

Milling 2x4's

Thanks for the site. It looks like the mill is very well engineered, but it doesn't fit with my budget right now.

On another note, have you tried a sharper top plate angle than 10 degrees for milling small stuff? Thought I might take an old chain and file it to 15. Rough surfaces won't matter much in my application.

 

[TedChristiansen]

Rick,

I haven't tried top plate angles other than 10 degrees. One thing I would suggest if you havent tried it already is to use low profile ripping chain (Baileys, Logosol, Oregon). It really makes a difference in the speed of cut.

Ted

 

[amdburner]

Rick,
I ran a standard full comp 30 degree chain when I first got my mill just to give it a try. It definately made a rough surface but it cut just fine. Since you say that the surface isn't an issue in your application I would say that you would be OK to go for it. One thing I am not sure of though is whether it will slow you down as opposed to using a less steep angle on the cutters. The wood fibers appear to cause the cutters on the steeper angle chain to pull outward as the cutter slides and slices rather than ripping through the fiber. This, I believe, is the reason for the rougher surface. I would think that it would also slow down the cut.

Dave

 

[Rick Alger]

Ted and Dave,

Thanks for the input. I'm going to try the lo profile chain and may fool with the angle as I go.

I won't be milling until mud season. I'll report then back if I learn anything.

Rick

 

[parrisw]

Do you have a table saw, I am planning on just slabbing the logs to 2" thick slabs, then run them through the table saw at 4", thus making a 2x4, I think it will be much faster this way.

 

[Rick Alger]

Milling 2x4's

Thanks for the tip. I'll be milling at a log landing off the grid so it won't work this time around, but I'll keep it in mind.