Thread: First time milling with home made chainsaw mill (Redgum)

Well done!

Good effort lads ...MM

Looks like a nice setup with plenty of space to work in.

Thank fellas. Jeez it was fun...really looking forward to the woodworkin phase too!

Im lucky in that my mate is an excavator driver/owner and has access to machines and trucks that make moving and setting up logs a breeze! We cut on his bush block down near cooma.

Just be careful it's addictive. Well done

Originally Posted by 19brendan81

Attached are some photos of our first go with my home made chainsaw mill. Its a redgum log sourced from an arborist in Canberra. Log was 2800 long and 350 to 450 wide and each cut would take 10 mins to complete. The milling attachment is my own design based on common principles - safety guards were quickly added after the first cut which was always the intention and probably should have been done first but alas...we walked away with all limbs intact. The mill will do up to 800mm diameter cuts but I imagine these would slow down proceedings significantly.

Yes it's very addictive - its taken me about 150 logs to start losing down my addition.

You will need an Auxiliary oiler to keep B&C wear under control , I use mine even for small cuts.

Try sloping the log downhill even a few degrees as it makes it a lot easier when milling and more manageable for 1 person to drive the mill.

Yes auxiliary oiler is on the cards. How fast should it dribble out? Also that sloping trick is a great idea. I forgot to mention the chain was an Oregon skip tooth chain and the saw was a stihl 066. Plenty of grunt.

The 066 oiler outputs @19 mL/min and most of that comes off because it has to pass the drive and nose sprocket before it gets to the business side of the bar so I would go at least that for the oiler. The 880 on my mill is 38 mL/min so my Aux oiler can dump at least that onto the nose.

The slope is a winner, it's surprising how little you need when everything else is on song,

bobsmillingstyle.jpg

Thanks for that info bob. Exactly what I needed! Is that setup really cutting by gravity!?!?!

Are bandsaw mills faster or just neater and less waste?

Originally Posted by 19brendan81

Thanks for that info bob. Exactly what I needed! Is that setup really cutting by gravity!?!?!

Yep it wasn't as fast as if I was applying a bit more pressure with my legs but I had just sharpened the chain to do the final cuts on that log and it literally just self fed all of the way through the cut.
It's all about raker and hook - it takes about a carton and and afternoon to explain it all.

Are bandsaw mills faster or just neater and less waste?

They are 2 to 3 times faster, much less waste and finish depends very much on operator skill.
I can get a better finish using my chainsaw mills that with a BS because I have much more experience using it and sharpening chains than BS bands.

Here is my standard chainsaw mill finish. Many long term CSMillers are amazed I can get this finish.
Some blokes from a down south timber milling town thought I much have done this with a BS.

Nicefinish.jpg

Wow that's a great finish.

"It takes about a carton and an afternoon to explain it all"

Sounds like a great arvo!

Originally Posted by 19brendan81

Wow that's a great finish.

"It takes about a carton and an afternoon to explain it all"
Sounds like a great arvo!

Yeah we have some good arvo down at the tree loppers yard.
Once the first few kick in it takes longer and longer to tell the stories.

Here's my story about "finish".

While I was doing this job Back to milling at last

Two other contractors from the Timber Milling town of Manjimup were installing several hundred log bollards.
They heard my chainsaw running and came over to see what I was doing and they were very impressed by the finish a so called "city slicker" like me was getting with a chainsaw mill.

"Geez mate, that's a bloody good finish you're getting, we're from Manji and we've never seen anything like that"

"S'awright mate" I said, "I'm from Pemby (Pemberton) and its in the blood" , and the guys jaw dropped obviously because he had never seen me or heard of me down that way.

For those that don't know there is a great rivalry between Penby and Manji, whether it's footy or CSM there will be bitter rivalry.
Anyway, I was born in Pemby but it was more than 60 years ago.

Maybe we should pin this pic under the heading
The hard working BobL

Originally Posted by ian

Maybe we should pin this pic under the heading
The hard working BobL

My brother was an OHS trainer for a big mining company and he used that photo amongst others to discuss "Spot the risk".
BTW The Stubby was an empty one.