Milling Question for New Guy

[drivadesl]

OK, I'm getting ready to mill some Oak I came upon for free. I ordered a 36" MKIII this AM and have most of the gear to get started. (MS-660, oiler, oil, wedges, PPE, timberjack, jacks for lifting, etc) I've studied many posts here and believe the only major items left to buy are a ripping chain, and a couple of slabbing brackets. Anything major missing?

My other question is must I cut the log square (cant?) first prior to slabbing? It seems a lot of wood is wasted by squaring off the entire log vs cutting the slabs and then trimming each individaul slab after the fact. I suppose its faster to square the log all at once. Anyway, do most of you guys square the log first, and if so, what are the advantages of this vs the latter. Thanks for any comments.

 

[TedChristiansen]

Sounds like you are set. The only thing I would recommend is a low profile ripping chain (Logosol, Woodsman) as they are much faster.

With respect to leaving the bark on when cutting boards...you could do that, but there are couple of issues:

1. Edging them after the fact is more work than cutting the bark off once, and having edged boards from the cant. This has been discussed before, and in my recollection the consensus was generally to make a cant first.
2. Bugs like to like in the bark, which can lead to damage to your boards or bringing of bugs into your shop if you dont edge beforehand.

Happy Milling!

Ted

 

[dustytools]

Another thing to consider is the size of the log that you are milling. On smaller logs, I usually just edge them after they are slabbed to get the most yield. Happy milling!

 

[sawsong]

how well does green stuff cut on a table saw? i wondered if you could slab the wood out and then edge it on a circular. perhaps not so easy to pick the perfect line, but I too am conscious of yield.

jim

 

[Adkpk]

perhaps not so easy to pick the perfect line,

jim

Caulk line works well in this application.

 

[BobL]

how well does green stuff cut on a table saw? i wondered if you could slab the wood out and then edge it on a circular. perhaps not so easy to pick the perfect line, but I too am conscious of yield.

jim

I use a length of square Al tube as a fence clamped to the slab at both ends as a fence and run the circular saw along that.

 

[carvinmark]

Caulk line works well in this application.

Chalk line is what I use when I don't want the natural edge.

 

[dustytools]

how well does green stuff cut on a table saw? i wondered if you could slab the wood out and then edge it on a circular. perhaps not so easy to pick the perfect line, but I too am conscious of yield.

jim

I always try to edge it as soon as possible to remove the bark where bugs tend to infest and it seems to cut better when its still green. I have used both the chalk-line and straight edge methods both of which seem to work well. A pass or two on the jointer will usually true the edge up if needed.

 

[drivadesl]

Thanks guys, great advice. Glad to see I wasn't to off base with this. The logs I'm milling run between 18"-22" in diameter so these aren't huge, though I have six 8+ footers on the ground. Figure I'll try trimming with the circular saw to see about increasing yeild. How would one square the cant anyway, do you need a special jig for this? Looking forward to doing getting started, just got to wait for my mill, and get the chain on order. Thanks again.

 

[dustytools]

Thanks guys, great advice. Glad to see I wasn't to off base with this. The logs I'm milling run between 18"-22" in diameter so these aren't huge, though I have six 8+ footers on the ground. Figure I'll try trimming with the circular saw to see about increasing yeild. How would one square the cant anyway, do you need a special jig for this? Looking forward to doing getting started, just got to wait for my mill, and get the chain on order. Thanks again.

There is no need for a special jig, just roll your log 90 degrees after the first pass, reset your rails and make another pass, and so on until you have three flat sides. However the Granberg mini-mill would save you the trouble of all of this log rolling and re-setting of your guides.

 

[woodshop]

Looks like everything has been covered, not much to add. I agree that time-wise, making log into cant first as opposed to edging boards later saves a LOT of time and mess. You do lose a little wood, but on larger logs, I usually flip the slabs over and slice off at least one and sometimes two good boards from them. Those do have to be edged of course, but on large saw logs, the good wood is often near the edge of the log far away from the center pith area (knots, defects), so this is worth it. For smaller logs (12 inches or less) I just mill it through and through and edge to get the most yield.

Edging a rough board on a table saw would be dangerous, since there is not a strait edge to run against the fence the board could easily wedge and jam and be kicked back at you. Like most here, I use a circular saw usually freehand ripping down a chalkline. I modified the end of my chalkline with a small nail I tack lightly into the end of the board to hold it as I snap my line.

 

[zopi]

or hunt up a big honkin' bandsaw...gotta 18"er....edges and resaws quite well...i'd hate to do much more than 8 feet or so...

 

[BobL]

Edging a rough board on a table saw would be dangerous, since there is not a strait edge to run against the fence the board could easily wedge and jam and be kicked back at you.

I've used a TS to edge boards by screwing a straight edge to the top of the board to be cut. The straight edge runs up against the fence while the opposite natural edge is removed It's Ok for one or two boards but after that it's a PITA.

I've also seen a jig in the shape of long 3 sided MDF box in which boards that need to be cut are clamped in place with the edge to be cut hanging just outside the box and the whole box is run through the TS. This only works for small or thinnish boards

 

[oldsaw]

Thanks guys, great advice. Glad to see I wasn't to off base with this. The logs I'm milling run between 18"-22" in diameter so these aren't huge, though I have six 8+ footers on the ground. Figure I'll try trimming with the circular saw to see about increasing yeild. How would one square the cant anyway, do you need a special jig for this? Looking forward to doing getting started, just got to wait for my mill, and get the chain on order. Thanks again.

My issue is usually time. Although a 22" log is getting borderline to cant out, an 18" would be through sawn on my watch. By the time you canted it out, there wouldn't be much left to work with. So I tend to do a lot of edging with a circular saw to maximize my take in the field. I have a guide that I clamp onto the top of the board, but if the board is too thin, I'll use a chalk line.

As far as squaring a cant, I use a carpenter's square and logger's chalk. Take off the top, use the square to chalk your next cut, roll the log, and set up your guide as close as possible to the line. I don't put a ton of effort into it, just get it in the ballpark. the edges will have to be jointed anyway eventually.

Chainsaw milling is a ton of work, but I find it very rewarding. I've had a really bad year as far as time to cut this year and have the itch really bad to get out some more before the weather gets too bad. Don't figure it will happen though. There is always next year.

BTW, start cutting stickers now, and level out a place to stack the lumber. I didn't have nearly enough stickers for my first batch, so I went to the lumber yard and bought some 1x6x6' and made a batch of 3' wide stickers (all the width I had to work with in my situation). I just set the blade width on the table saw to the width of the 1x and ripped away. I'm still using them 5 years later. Made a bunch out of some construction trash 2x too, setting the rip fence with a 1x and resawing. Took a lot of time, but the wood was free. Didn't want to use up oak and walnut for stickers. Seemed like a waste.

mark

 

[woodshop]

I've used a TS to edge boards by screwing a straight edge to the top of the board to be cut. The straight edge runs up against the fence while the opposite natural edge is removed It's Ok for one or two boards but after that it's a PITA.

I've also seen a jig in the shape of long 3 sided MDF box in which boards that need to be cut are clamped in place with the edge to be cut hanging just outside the box and the whole box is run through the TS. This only works for small or thinnish boards

Before I got my resaw bandsaw, I built a jig similar to what you describe here in which I would clamp a rough board, then run the edge of the jig along the table saw fence to rip a strait edge on the board. You're right.. lot of work. I now use either a chalk line or long strait edge to make a line on the board, then run it through the bandsaw to get a rough strait edge, then couple passes on the jointer to finish. A lot faster if you have a bandsaw and jointer. You need a rather hefty bandsaw though, preferably one with a table a bit lower than most 14" bandsaws so it's easier to manhandle the board through it. Another thing that helps is I built a little outfeed table on that bandsaw, so I can rip a 7ft board and still have support. Anything more than 7ft I walk around and pull the board through the rest of the way.

This is one of those things where there are lots of ways to skin the cat.

 

[woodshop]

My issue is usually time...

You and me both Mark... if I could get rid of this pesky day job I could play in the woods every day and the woodshop every evening. The family still here has gotten so dang used to food on the table though...

 

[drivadesl]

Got a bit of work to do, but already figured where I'm gonna store the slabs. Will be grading an area in the back of my lot, under the trees, (out of the sun) with some gravel to get it level. Get it flat, level, and tamped down, then lay down some blocks for a strong base, and stack on top of those. Will be cutting stickers this weekend also.

Talk about time, I've got one axel hanging off the front end of my commuter car, needing to replace the CV boot, brakes, calipers, and struts. Got my truck to commute in, but $100 in diesel won't fill it so need to get this finished. Any way, I'm planning to mill next weekend will try to post photos. Thanks for all the input here, you guys are very knowledgeable, and helpful.

 

[BobL]

. . . . . . A lot faster if you have a bandsaw and jointer. You need a rather hefty bandsaw though, preferably one with a table a bit lower than most 14" bandsaws so it's easier to manhandle the board through it. Another thing that helps is I built a little outfeed table on that bandsaw, so I can rip a 7ft board and still have support. Anything more than 7ft I walk around and pull the board through the rest of the way.

This is one of those things where there are lots of ways to skin the cat.

A bandsaw is the one bit of gear that would really improve my set up. I have access to one at work but it's a bit small and the thought of lugging all my timber out there means I keep using the circular saw. I hadn't thought of seeing if there were any available with a lower table than usual - must keep my eye's open for that.

An idea I just had was to create a recess in the floor of my shed and put a bandsaw down inside that on some sort of jack arrangement so the whole thing could be lowered down so the table was at about 2ft above the floor.

Cheers

 

[zopi]

A bandsaw is the one bit of gear that would really improve my set up. I have access to one at work but it's a bit small and the thought of lugging all my timber out there means I keep using the circular saw. I hadn't thought of seeing if there were any available with a lower table than usual - must keep my eye's open for that.

An idea I just had was to create a recess in the floor of my shed and put a bandsaw down inside that on some sort of jack arrangement so the whole thing could be lowered down so the table was at about 2ft above the floor.

Cheers

hmmm..not a bad Idea...drop the saw and then come up with a good dust collection scheme...

 

[woodshop]

A bandsaw is the one bit of gear that would really improve my set up. I have access to one at work but it's a bit small and the thought of lugging all my timber out there means I keep using the circular saw. I hadn't thought of seeing if there were any available with a lower table than usual - must keep my eye's open for that.

An idea I just had was to create a recess in the floor of my shed and put a bandsaw down inside that on some sort of jack arrangement so the whole thing could be lowered down so the table was at about 2ft above the floor.

Cheers

Actually wasn't thinking that far down. My resaw is standard hieght, 35 inches off floor, like the table saw, jointer and planer, but my standard 14 inch bandsaw, like many of that type, is 43 inches off the floor, more chest height. Nice for fine work guiding a small blade around a pattern, but pain in the butt trying to feed a long board through it. The smaller bandsaws also don't have enough table area for that. They do usually have enough power for edging boards though, and you CAN put an outfeed table on them.