Thread: My Alaskan chainsaw mill.......

Originally Posted by Dean

Aha so I'm losing some with the spikes (kinda expected that).
Yeah I got the chainsaw for $112.50.. well add the $50 shipping to that so $162.50 delivered. They seem to be going for a little bit more than that lately however.

Thanks for the drawings. I've pretty much constructed it the same as your drawings. My welding sucked on the uprights though and I kinda got some weld in the sheeve upright where I attached the extra steel for the securing nut which is jamming up the depth adjustment Dunno how I'm going to get that out Might have to make a new upright).

Cool, Ive got them set on auto-search and with auto snipe set, so if someone stuffs up i might get one for under $80.

Can you get a file in there to clean it up?

You also probably lost some capacity from using 30mm where I used 20mm. 10mm + 10mm + 20mm for the spikes, theres an extra 40mm.

Originally Posted by martrix

Cool, Ive got them set on auto-search and with auto snipe set, so if someone stuffs up i might get one for under $80.
.

Ouch - watch out there guy's! I got done badly with an ebay chainsaw Got it for $85, took another $45 to get the seller to ship it to me, spent about $80 on bar and chain and filters etc. It ran just long enough to cut one (seriously - just one) burl and never ran again. Going super cheap to anyone that wants it!!!!!!
Ended up buying one of a co-worker for $100 that was so good, I felt guilty and gave him another $50 and a platter made from the burl I cut with the dodgie saw!!!!

Originally Posted by TTIT

Ouch - watch out there guy's! I got done badly with an ebay chainsaw Got it for $85, took another $45 to get the seller to ship it to me, spent about $80 on bar and chain and filters etc. It ran just long enough to cut one (seriously - just one) burl and never ran again. Going super cheap to anyone that wants it!!!!!!
Ended up buying one of a co-worker for $100 that was so good, I felt guilty and gave him another $50 and a platter made from the burl I cut with the dodgie saw!!!!

...Was it a brand new one? Which seller?

Originally Posted by martrix

...Was it a brand new one? Which seller?

Nup! 2nd hand wreck from a guy at Newcastle. An old McCulloch - learnt my lesson

If you've got the saw mounted in a mill there's no need for the spikes, so if you can, just remove them. Only a few minutes work to replace them if you need to use the saw out of the mill.

Mick

Well, thanks to you guys I've done it, and covered from head-to-toe in sawdust !! Knocked together a mill very much along these lines and had a go ripping 420 x 55mm slabs out of that cypress log... managed to get two and half cut before the fuel ran out. Doesn't matter, proved it works and pointed out a few mod's to make. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me, so next week...

Just a couple of observations: I got greedy trying to match the log, and clamped the far mount right on the nose of the bar. Not a good idea with a sprocket nose, as it squeezed the thing and stopped the chain from turning!! As I'd already welded the frame to suit (and wasn't going to change it!) I just backed off the nuts on that mount, relying mainly on the mount closest to the motor. Thankfully it held on.
I was going to take Mick's advice and remove the dogs/spikes, but they are held on with a special star Allen head bolt (which I have at home, not at work), so I cut a slot along the top part of the clamp with a grinder, and the dogs fit into it, a simple fix.
One mod I will do is weld skids on the leading edge of the closest mount, as the saw is pulled into the log, naturally, causing the mount to bog down on the bark. I expended more energy pulling the machine away from the log to prevent that, than moving it forward!
Still unsure of where to place the handle for maximum advantage, the centre isn't right for me.

Cheers for now, thanks for the inspiration!


BTW, the cypress, that Mediterranean type of stuff, actually has quite nice colour to it, mostly pale yellow but as you get into the heartwood starts some nice brown and faint purple streaks, and some grey/blue staining. All in all, much like hoop pine, but a more resiney smell.

Originally Posted by Andy Mac

..........I was going to take Mick's advice and remove the dogs/spikes, but they are held on with a special star Allen head bolt................

Torx bit I think it's called.

Mick

Originally Posted by Andy Mac

...Just a couple of observations: I got greedy trying to match the log, and clamped the far mount right on the nose of the bar. Not a good idea with a sprocket nose, as it squeezed the thing and stopped the chain from turning!! As I'd already welded the frame to suit (and wasn't going to change it!) I just backed off the nuts on that mount, relying mainly on the mount closest to the motor. Thankfully it held on.
I was going to take Mick's advice and remove the dogs/spikes, but they are held on with a special star Allen head bolt (which I have at home, not at work), so I cut a slot along the top part of the clamp with a grinder, and the dogs fit into it, a simple fix.
One mod I will do is weld skids on the leading edge of the closest mount, as the saw is pulled into the log, naturally, causing the mount to bog down on the bark. I expended more energy pulling the machine away from the log to prevent that, than moving it forward!
Still unsure of where to place the handle for maximum advantage, the centre isn't right for me.

Feel guilty for not warning you of the very same pitfalls we found when we made our 1st one! I'm putting the finishing touches on a new one tonight that I've made to suit a 36" bar. Going to use on a little stick of Sally wattle on the weekend. Will post some pics next week if the old Stihl '08 can drive it - 29" cut and the log looks about 30" in places - will be interesting!

Did a bit more on mine tonight before the shoulder gave out again. I basically started again as I have gone a bit silly and decided to make it adjustable so it can accommodate bar lengths from 16" to 24". All the adjustments for length and slab cutting width are made with "all thread" rod and small cranks. It's gonna be a bit heavier than it would otherwise be but it should be a solid beastie. Have to go away again for a while so won't be able to work on it for a week or so.

Will post some pics when I have a biot more than a pile of RHS tubing to show.

Cheers

Everything except the oiler worked fine. I used an aquarium air-valve to regulate the oil flow (pic 1) but even fully opened, it was still too restrictive. The idea of just letting it drip onto the 'well' ground into the bar wasn't much chop either - more oil was getting soaked up by sawdust than was getting to the chain. Ended up fitting a larger piece of tube into the hole in the guard and allowing the oil to run as fast as it wanted to from the small line - just enough oil and it was all getting on the chain - she'll do! Added the 'cone' to keep the sawdust out of the drip system (pic 2).
The skids I added to this one worked a treat (pic 3) - no more bogging in the bark!
The removable handle on the bum end was a blessing cos' the blighter get's a little heavy by the end of the day and the mate can help out safely. The operators handle is better with the curve on top so you're not twisting your wrist but it needs some padding (badly) for the vibration. The T-bars for locking the height adjustment saved trying to find tools buried in the sawdust - well worth the effort too! The only thing missing now is a stubby holder - will get to that before the next log!
The old 08' only just managed the full 29" cut - 100mm per 35 to 45 seconds depending on sharpness - but it did it! The log was so full of bark inclusions from all the twists and branches we only ended up with 3 x 80mm slabs and 2 x 50mm slabs but scored a mountain of huge, very figured turning blanks.

As it happened....

A1+ !!!

Is that 08 only 50cc?

Originally Posted by Dean

Is that 08 only 50cc?

I think it's about 75cc - I did look it up once but my memory...... . . .


what was the question again???????