My Quick And Dirty CSM

[Cedar Eater]

This is my first mill. I'm using it to mill lumber for a hay wagon and I'll probably mill the rafters for a firewood drying shed with it. The steel rails are from an old bed frame. The 4 X 4 on the side is a counterweight for the power head. Rail to rail is 12-1/2", but I might make it wider if I can get a hole drilled through the nose sprocket. The saw is an MS 250 with an 18" bar and Granberg ripping chain.



This is a red maple log I milled into 2" slabs today.

 

[amberg]

Very nice, how does the ms 250 do on the maple?

 

[BobL]

Good work CE.
The nose sprocket can be drilled with a carbide tipped bit.
A new or freshly sharpened masonry bit will work. Slow speeds high pressure using a drill press and lots of lube. Drill until it starts to break through and then flip the bar and come in from the other side,
You may destroy the bit but they are cheap enough so have a spare one handy.

 

[Cedar Eater]

Very nice, how does the ms 250 do on the maple?

Thanks. It did about 4" per minute through the heart, which was 12" wide. That made a cut through the 10' log take 30 minutes. That was significantly better than the black oak I milled for the wagon frame. It was closer to an hour. I am seriously thinking about switching to a picco chain. I can use a picco drive sprocket and bar on the MS 250 and I think the smaller chain might go a little faster.

Good work CE.
The nose sprocket can be drilled with a carbide tipped bit.
A new or freshly sharpened masonry bit will work. Slow speeds high pressure using a drill press and lots of lube. Drill until it starts to break through and then flip the bar and come in from the other side,
You may destroy the bit but they are cheap enough so have a spare one handy.

Thanks. I assume I have to go straight through the center of the four rivets I'll only gain about an inch of mill width, but when I'm cutting the aspen for the deck boards, it will make a big difference in how many I have to shave first.

 

[Cedar Eater]

Another thing about the red maple that was different from the oak. I sharpened the chain after taking the first slab off. Since its last sharpening, it had made one previous cut through 11' of red oak (12" wide) and was making dust. It did not seem to dull at all on the next four cuts. That was forty feet of cutting and two of the small tanks of fuel and it still seems sharp. I will touch it up after taking the first slab off the next log.

 

[BobL]

Thanks. It did about about 4" per minute through the heart, which was 12" wide.
That made a cut through the 10' log take 30 minutes.

Sounds painfully slow but good on you for persisting.
I have never cut any maple but I cut stuff that wide that is harder that Maple with my 441 and pico chain on my small Alaskan and it takes about 8-10 minutes for that length

That was significantly better than the black oak I milled for the wagon frame. It was closer to an hour. I am seriously thinking about switching to a picco chain. I can use a picco drive sprocket and bar on the MS 250 and I think the smaller chain might go a little faster. .

I would definitely use the pico chain.
Have you tried dropping the rakers a bit?

 

[CR888]

Good job!

 

[Cedar Eater]

Sounds painfully slow but good on you for persisting.
I have never cut any maple but I cut stuff that wide that is harder that Maple with my 441 and pico chain on my small Alaskan and it takes about 8-10 minutes for that length


I would definitely use the pico chain.
Have you tried dropping the rakers a bit?

It is definitely painfully slow, but I am learning and working out how to improve my speed with this engine. Once this project is over, I'll be better able to decide what I'm capable of with my types of wood. I will normally be making boards less than 10" wide, so that should make the speed more satisfactory.

I have dropped the rakers to the point where I get some chattering, especially when going through knots. I'm thinking of clamping a hacksaw blade to the bar at a 6* angle (relative to the bar) to better eyeball the raker angle, but first I'll try the picco b&c. After one more maple log, I will be switching to aspen. It's softer, but furrier, so I don't know whether to expect a speed increase.

 

[BobL]

I have dropped the rakers to the point where I get some chattering, especially when going through knots.

That's a good point to stop.

 

[Cedar Eater]

I got the hole through the bar nose with a carbide bit. I'm thinking cobalt might have been a better choice, but the hole is in and the mill is now an inch wider. I also added a shield over the end of the bar. It's not an area where I would have placed my fingers, but better safe than sorry.



I also started in on the first popple (poplar, aspen) log. This one's a big one.

 

[robertjinnes]

I would put a full skip tooth on that little saw. Should improve your cutting speed and decrease the force needed just to make it cut.

 

[nk14zp]

Great idea using the countrweight. Think I'll borow that idea.

 

[Cedar Eater]

Great idea using the countrweight. Think I'll borow that idea.

Be my guest. It did seem to help.

 

[SeMoTony]

Thanks. It did about 4" per minute through the heart, which was 12" wide. That made a cut through the 10' log take 30 minutes. That was significantly better than the black oak I milled for the wagon frame. It was closer to an hour. I am seriously thinking about switching to a picco chain. I can use a picco drive sprocket and bar on the MS 250 and I think the smaller chain might go a little faster.

You prolly already know that the chain needs sharper than cross cutting. Take a good look @ BobL with sharpening chain in the search. The closer the cutters are to those pic's the better the chain can cut if the depth gauges are at the right height for your power head. Mean no insult if I talking to the choir as the saying goes, but I return to look & compare what I doing to make sure memory dint betray me again.

Thanks. I assume I have to go straight through the center of the four rivets I'll only gain about an inch of mill width, but when I'm cutting the aspen for the deck boards, it will make a big difference in how many I have to shave first.

continue safely (-;