Wood milled w/ GB 36" mill!!

[cbfarmall]

My dad and I just milled this stuff up with a 36" GB mill , ripping chain, and 36" GB bar, all provided by Jeff Sikkema. You have to work for your lumber, but it sure comes out nice. The knobs clamping the height adjustment weren't tight enough (operator error) so we goofed up two boards, but they're not FUBAR'ed.

I posted on here a couple weeks back asking which saw I should use, and I decided to go with the 075. I knew it was in great shape and parts are cheap and easy to get. Only change I made was to remove the muffler cover and next I will remove the bar cover and replace it with a piece of aluminum big enough to clamp the bar in. Gets a little packed in with sawdust.

Here's a pic. of the area we were milling. At one point, the muffler got into the dust and blew up into my face. Coudn't see anything--my dad had to guide it through the rest of the cut.

 

[cbfarmall]

Here's some boards leaned up against another white oak.

 

[cbfarmall]

Here's the last pic of yours truly and the stickered boards.

Later, Chris B.

 

[BlackSmith]

nice looking wood Chris...l've got the 56" GB mill on this 090, can't wait to see how it does. l notice on your's there isn't a pipe running between the two cast aluminum pieces that hold the square rails, is it necessary that l use it on mine..? One of my cast pieces are broke which l intend to weld but wonder if it worth the trouble.

 

[Newfie]

Cool,nice wide boards.

Make sure to get a lot of weight on your stack or those boards will curl for sure. seal the ends w/ anchorseal and that will cut down on your loss to checking. Keep the sides open for ventilation and cover the top to keep the wet stuff off.

Chainsaw milling is hot and sweaty.

 

[cbfarmall]

Blacksmith,

As Jeff and I discovered at his house, the 36" mill only comes with one pipe. I guess the larger mills have 2. I should have lowered the one pipe closer to the rails but it was set for the larger first cut and I didn't move it afterwards. I'm learning.

What part broke. Jeff thinks the two vertical pipes closer to the powerhead are not welded very well to the brackets welded to the bar stud mounting plate.

Newfie,

We put plenty of weight on it. The two leftover chunks from the top and bottom are currently sitting on the stack. Also, we loosely put a tarp over it. Temporary location. I've got to pick up some blocks and 4x4's to stack it properly. You can't see it because the pic shows up dark, but we have it stacked on an extension ladder.

Yes, milling is hot, tough work. I'm thinking about getting some full chisel chain to try and speed it up. The 075 is only running a 3/8 7 tooth sprocket and semi-chisel. I know it'll pull alot bigger than that.

Oh, we found a ????ed nail in a board. My cutters just kissed it but I couldn't find any damage. Stupid hillbillies put up crap all over the place.

Chris B.

 

[user 2993]

Yep, why use one nail when half a dozen will do the job just as well? I just hit some old fence and its related fasteners with my Peterson sawmill. Busted 5 teeth First time I've hit tramp in logs I've gotten from this particular source. I think I'm gonna just start using the metal detector on all butt logs from now on.

 

[Doug01]

Chris,

Good job on the milling! I got all of my milling supplies from Jeff too. Great guy to deal with. Did you go with the ripping chain that is full comp filed at 10 degrees or the other chain he sells? It is really cool how well the wood turns out.

Doug

 

[oldsaw]

I just went through the same thing

You had a nice log to work on. Looked nearly perfect. Got one of those and a butternut like that too. Tipped the butternut last spring, and we've had so much rain that it is now surrounded by water and I can't get to it. We just got another 4 inches last week.

I'm running an 066 with 36". Looked at an 075 but it was too heavy for the hike I needed to take, and he wanted nearly $200 more than what I paid for the 066.

Good work...

 

[cbfarmall]

Wow!! $200 more for an 075 than an 066??? I like the 075, but it certainly isn't worth $200 more than an 066. More like 200 less.

Thanks for the comments. That nice log would have been 3 feet longer if I hadn't been cutting cookies off of it for the last year. Guess it shouldn't have been so close to where I work on my saws.

Doug,

I bought the GB 3/8 .063 semi-chisel from Jeff. It's full comp @ 10 degrees. I just got my hands on some full chisel stuff, 75LG, to make a 114 DL loop out of. I'll regrind that and see how it works. I've got 13 more logs to mill, some are pretty darned long. Need to speed up the process somehow.

I think the other ripping chain you're referring to is the Granberg stuff, w/ some top plates removed. Never tried that.

You're right, Jeff is awesome to deal with. Plus, he doesn't live too far away from me, so I've met him a couple times.

Woodbeard,

I have a row of trees that had wire fence nailed to them and have since grown around the fence. Can't touch unless it's at ground level or 6 feet up. Even then, who knows if I'll cut into a nail used for a sign?

 

[Al Smith]

Nice job,lot's a work

Good looking oak,Cris.I experimented with chainsaw milling,and found it wasn't for me,but I certanly am not discouraging you.What my help you,is to sharped a chain,as per the guy at Procut.Rather than sharped at a 10 dgree angle,this is sharpened at a zero degree,or straight accross.It cuts slower but is smoother and doesn't pull those long stringy chips into the chain gaurd,because it is cutting saw dust,rather than chips.I made my ripping chain,from a half wore out full comp chisel,in the fore metioned way,and cut the rakers at 35 thou below.May help.may not,best of luck.

 

[glens]

Originally posted by cbfarmall
You're right, Jeff is awesome to deal with. Plus, he doesn't live too far away from me, so I've met him a couple times.

So that means you've swilled beer with him too?  He's also accomplished at that.

Anybody that has anything nice to say about him; I'll second it.

Glen

 

[cbfarmall]

Al,

The chain I used created dust. I thought it was at 10 degrees, but I'll take a closer at some brand new stuff I have. It may very well be straight across. Also, I'm going to replace the bar cover to keep the area more open and let that dust out.

I hear you that milling isn't your thing. I'd rather be running around the woods cutting firewood, but milling is productive and in the end I get nice planks to work with.

glens,

He's a good fellow to get to know. Next opportunity I have to make a trip down there, I'll take it.

Chris B.

 

[oldsaw]

The guy with the 075 was a trip

It had been used by a local tree service. It was the "Big Feller" so it only came out when the trees got scary. But, it had been kicked around some. But they took care of it. Kind of too bad, since the shop he owns is only a block from my office. He just is a son of a buck to deal with...well you don't deal with him. Left a saw with him once, only to pick it up 2 months later when he still hadn't looked at it.

The extra power of the 075 would sure be nice sometimes though. If I would have had a few more bucks this spring, I saw a pretty good deal on an 088. Then thought better of it. For all I do, my 066 is plenty fine, and will last a long time with the amount I really get to use it.

 

[Newfie]

Originally posted by cbfarmall
Al,

The chain I used created dust. I thought it was at 10 degrees, but I'll take a closer at some brand new stuff I have. It may very well be straight across.

Chris,

0 degrees or 10 degrees, both are gonna give you dust when milling. The long curlies only happen when you are cutting the log lengthwise from the bark in as opposed from the end of the log in. I hope I explained that clearly. I'm sure your chain is just fine.

 

[BlackSmith]

Originally posted by cbfarmall
Blacksmith,

As Jeff and I discovered at his house, the 36" mill only comes with one pipe. I guess the larger mills have 2. I should have lowered the one pipe closer to the rails but it was set for the larger first cut and I didn't move it afterwards. I'm learning.

What part broke?

Chris B.

I'll have to take a picture of the part Chris. It's the part closer to the bar, cast aluminum painted black. In your picture yours doesn't have the pipe in them(there's two of'em, one at each end)

Bob

 

[sedanman]

Think of wood fibre as a bundle of straws, if you cut across the bundle you get chips, cut with the grain and you get long strips, cut from the top down and you get little slices of straw that fall apart (bug dust).

 

[max2cam]

You guys are making me antsy to get out and do some more milling. I got a great stack of wide red pine boards last winter. That is the best time to mill IMO. Nice and cool and no bugs around. There is a good-sized white pine fallen in the swamp and a dying red pine I plan to tackle in the weeks ahead. Sure is nice to have nice clean boards ready to grab when the need arises....

www.atthecreation.com

 

[weimedog]

Nice pile of lumber...

How long do you need to let it sit before you can use it...I just got a mill as well and have a bunch of red oak, hickory, and hard wood maple. I want to cut planks to use for horse stalls. (mostly red oak as the horses won't crib on that as much). So after slicing and dicing do you stack it with boards between each plank and pressure on top? How long does it stay in that pile before it can be hammered into a stall? I can store it in a barn for as long as I need. Anything else required to make it work?

 

[Al Smith]

Air Drying

You have to "sticker"your pile of lumber,about every 18" to 2 ft.Place all your sticker boards,in line.You want all of your levels of boards to made of the same thickness.It takes about 1 yr,per inch of cut,depending on the type of wood.The oak,will take the longest.There are many web sites on this topic.If you haven'y,already,treat the ends of your logs with anchor seal,which is a waxed base sealer.The reason for this is wood looses moisture faster through the end grain,than cross grain,and thus causes cracks in the planks due to uneven drying.It won't stop it altogether,but will help a lot.If you are going to cut maple,mill it as quickely as you can.Maple has a tendency to sap stain,if not sawed in a timely manner after being cut.