Sorting out the Milling

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Ancient One

ArboristSite Operative
Joined
Jan 25, 2006
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Location
Port Angeles, WA
Started my first milling a few weeks ago. Made all the mistakes. The 80 cc Pro Mac 800 was useless. Changed to my 076 Stihl, lots of improvement over the little Mac. On the 076, I used Carlton .404 milling chain, 36 inch bar. Maybe 15 minutes for a 10 foot log (Old Growth Fir), cut was 22 inches wide. Then the darn starter recoil spring broke!

I had a nice 895 Mac Gear Drive saw on the shelf that I bought from Sawfun on this site. Hmm. Why not?

Put on a 36 inch sprocket tip bar with new Archer .404 milling chain. Also put on the NOS handle bar I bought on ebay last year.

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Set up in the 36 Alaskan. I also have the 56 Alaskan.

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Winch close up.

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Guide ladder set up.

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Pulley end. Note the E Strut extensions. Lets me use the guide ladder on a 10 foot log and still have overhang on each end to support the saw at the start and finish of the cut. This is very important!

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Starting end. Note the guide ladder overhang.

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Rope anchor.

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Ready to rumble! First cut for the slab on the ground was about 15 inches wide. Ha! 4 minutes! The winch makes it real easy to operate the mill. Fingertips on the winch handle, easy turning. Left hand on the throttle.

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Don't have a photo of the second cut, about 20 inches wide. 6 minutes!

The gear reduction 103 cc mac 895 performed flawlessly. Easy to start with the compression release, large fuel and oil tank capacities, no bogging, wow, nice performance for a 55 year old saw.

And the Archer milling chain works great. Two cuts and still sharp. It is full comp .404x.063 with Archers milling (Or Ripping) grind. I bough a 100 foot reel of it last year.

I will do some more milling tomorrow. When the 090AV Stihl gets back from the saw shop (Carb problems) I will mount it in one of the Alaskan Mills and give it a try.
 
The little 600 pound winch came from Amazon for $24. Tried to buy the Alaskan Winch but no one had them in stock, called Alaskan but no answer.

It works great, I like the ratchet anti reverse.

Rope is 1/4 inch braided nylon.

I am running the fuel mix at 20:1 using premium chainsaw oil. The old girls like a heavy mix.
 
My 075 runs out of gas being on its side because the pickup can reach the fuel for some reason. Need to look into it again. Do you have that problem at all? I wanna build a big mill for it but need to fix that problem first
 
My 075 runs out of gas being on its side because the pickup can reach the fuel for some reason. Need to look into it again. Do you have that problem at all? I wanna build a big mill for it but need to fix that problem first

The pickup in the Mac 895 is a weight with a filter around it, on the end of a small hose. When the saw is turned the weight goes to the lowest point of the tank. No problems milling with the gas supply

I will look at my 076 in the morning, I think it is similar. Did not have any gas problems two weeks ago when I was milling a 10 foot log, 30 inches in diameter, with the 076.

Your pickup hose may be twisted or hanging up on something, or too short. Snag it with a wire and pull it out of the tank and take a look.
 
More photos. Added a 20 pound counterweight to balance the saw. (I was having problems with the mill tipping to the saw side, resulting in a thicker slab on the saw side. That old 895 is heavy!!!)

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Todays slab cutting. I will get two more out of the log in the morning.

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Took the saw out of the mill, time to touch up the chain. I also will move the rope tail hold and put a roller near the winch to solve a fraying problem. The Super Jolly is a time saver!!

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Fuel pickup on the 076.

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You could have a bad internal hose, or a bad external hose or the external hose is loose. It just slips over a plastic fitting on the top of the fuel tank, inside the fan shroud. Pull off the starter housing/shroud and take a look. Replacements available on Ebay.
 

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