First use of BIL mill with 60" bar

**BobL** · 8th December 2008, 11:04 AM

I took the 60" bar (purchased from Laurie aka Sawchain) version of the BIL mill out for a run today on the 42" diameter Lemon Scented gum.

The first slabs I cut with the 42" bar and the original short (54") mill rails.

On the third slab using the 42" bar I ran across a problem using the I have not seen before and that is on big logs the bottom part of the mill hits the log preventing milling. Never mind, it just means switching to the 60" bar earlier.

Here is what it looks like on the log rails. Being able to start such a big (33 kgs fully fueled and oiled) mill on the rails makes it a lot easier and safer than starting it off the rails and lifting it up while running

Close up - here you can see the magnetic bar leveling gizmo on the RHS which BTW worked really well - I can now fully recommend this method. I was using regular full comp chain ( I buy rolls of regular full comp chain and file the top plate angle back to 10º over several successive sharpenings) which vibrates the mill a lot more than usual, especially when starting when the bar bounces up-n-down like a yoyo while it established the kerf. I need to switch to Lauries 5 skip chain! Despite the vibration the magnetic bar leveling held on and didn't even look like coming off.

A tank and a half of mix later, slab is cut and here it is idling and cooling off on the log rails.

The 076 didn't seem to have any problem making this cut in this very hard wood. The Aux oiler seems to put out more than enough oil to cover the deficiencies of the 076 oiler. Perhaps not unexpectedly, using such a long chain, chain tension and stretch seems a lot more critical that when using the shorter bar, with the chain coming of the roller nose towards the end of the first cut. No damage to the chain, just a few scratches on the ally nose clamp. In the future I will be stopping a lot more and retensioning the chain during the first use of a new chain.

The vibrations from the comp chain meant I lost a couple of bolts in the sawdust but I now carry lots of spares so it didn't stop me milling. One problem is while the bar started cutting straight, over the length of the slab the bar sag seems to have kicked back in and that the outboard end of the slab was 20% thicker than the start. Apart from wasting wood it's not a problem if the mill is being used to break up a big log bit it is definitely a problem for slabs. Hopefully this will be less of a problem when I file the chain top plates to a full 10º.

42" wide slab.

Close up.

After taking off 5 slabs the loader/forklift was finally able to lift one end of the log up so I could generate a slope.

Mill wouldn't go down by itself - wood too hard and too wide a cut - but effort needed to get mill to bite was minimal.

I have a lot more pics but that's enough for now.

**Burnsy** · 8th December 2008, 11:58 AM

Beautiful looking timber Bob, hopefully you can get it to stabilise so those cracks don't open up anymore. The figure would look fantastic on a long coffee table. How long had the log been sitting?

Cheers,
Mike

**bobsreturn2003** · 8th December 2008, 12:29 PM

needs a little fine tuning but good result , and lovely timber . well done ,cheers bob

**BobL** · 8th December 2008, 02:43 PM

Originally Posted by Burnsy

Beautiful looking timber Bob, hopefully you can get it to stabilise so those cracks don't open up anymore. The figure would look fantastic on a long coffee table. How long had the log been sitting?

Cheers,
Mike

Cheers Mike,

Logs have been sitting for just over 5 months so they are definitely not as wet as when they first came in. The consensus is that when the bark turns red and start to fall off this is the best time to mill lemon scented gums. This means they are not too hard but have improved stability because they have been allowed to dry out a bit.

As for a long coffee table, I agree but the slabs as they are would need some thinning. At ~2.5 x 1 x 0.05 m they weight about 125 kg!!!

**Burnsy** · 8th December 2008, 02:52 PM

Originally Posted by BobL

As for a long coffee table, I agree but the slabs as they are would need some thinning. At ~2.5 x 1 x 0.05 m they weight about 125 kg!!!

Nothing wrong with that - until SWMBO decides it is furniture arranging time

.

**natural edge** · 8th December 2008, 04:29 PM

20% thicker at finish try not pushing to hard and also going forward 1 to 1.5 foot then pull back to clear saw dust. This is the method i use when slabbing large slabs with the lucas

**BobL** · 8th December 2008, 05:03 PM

Originally Posted by natural edge

20% thicker at finish try not pushing to hard and also going forward 1 to 1.5 foot then pull back to clear saw dust. This is the method i use when slabbing large slabs with the lucas

Thanks for the feedback but I already sort of clear the saw dust because I normally cut hard wood in a wobble fashion as shown by this picture. I mightn't need to do this if I was using skip chain

This clears a lot of the sawdust out of the cut but I will try this and do this even more - like you say 1.5 ft.

**dai sensei** · 8th December 2008, 08:09 PM

Beautiful looking timber Bob.

Rather than waiting for the skip chain, why not just cut the teeth off that chain so you have a skip chain? I haven't used my 60" yet, but I bought 2 standard skip chains for it, then ground the teeth off (every second set using the Dremmel) on one to create what I call my super-skip chain

**BobL** · 8th December 2008, 10:37 PM

Originally Posted by dai sensei

Beautiful looking timber Bob.

Rather than waiting for the skip chain, why not just cut the teeth off that chain so you have a skip chain? I haven't used my 60" yet, but I bought 2 standard skip chains for it, then ground the teeth off (every second set using the Dremmel) on one to create what I call my super-skip chain

Yeah - I have thought of doing that, might happen sooner rather than later.

**rgum** · 9th December 2008, 09:41 PM

Do all LSC Gums look like Blkwood ( inside )?

It's just beautiful Bob. Love it? Do I treasure any LSC Gums that come down here in Vic near me?

Tony

**BobL** · 9th December 2008, 10:21 PM

Originally Posted by rgum

Do all LSC Gums look like Blkwood ( inside )?
It's just beautiful Bob. Love it? Do I treasure any LSC Gums that come down here in Vic near me?

Cheers Tony. Do you mean Tassie Blackwood? If so then these are nowhere near as red brown as the Tassie BW. I normally think of LSG as looking like this.

I think it's just the size of the log gives a face cut through the black stripes that does it.

**Waldo** · 10th December 2008, 10:35 AM

Always enjoy your slabbing threads BobL, only thing is having to wait while the stuff dries out

, but still

**rgum** · 10th December 2008, 02:10 PM

I

dunno!

The pics you've posted here look as the col of Tas Blkwood. Grain is wider I know.
A little.

Do I need to get my eyes tested?

I don't imagine I'm gonna get that col txtr from a LSGum.

I am familiar with Tas Blkwood.
Just your pics look a little like it. Maybe it's my screen

Can you put up a pic of a strip of bark? From that recent slabbing?
The LSgum I have near me has a white trunk. If I've got my species right.

Anyway. I love what you have produced.

Ibanez · 10th December 2008, 09:24 PM

Originally Posted by rgum

I

dunno!

The pics you've posted here look as the col of Tas Blkwood. Grain is wider I know.
A little.

Do I need to get my eyes tested?

I don't imagine I'm gonna get that col txtr from a LSGum.

I am familiar with Tas Blkwood.
Just your pics look a little like it. Maybe it's my screen

Can you put up a pic of a strip of bark? From that recent slabbing?
The LSgum I have near me has a white trunk. If I've got my species right.

Anyway. I love what you have produced.

MMMM, some of my black wattle looks similar also an acacia m,

Shayne

**BobL** · 10th December 2008, 09:33 PM

Originally Posted by rgum

I

dunno!
The pics you've posted here look as the col of Tas Blkwood. Grain is wider I know. A little.
Do I need to get my eyes tested?

I don't imagine I'm gonna get that col txtr from a LSGum. I am familiar with Tas Blkwood. Just your pics look a little like it. Maybe it's my screen

Can you put up a pic of a strip of bark? From that recent slabbing?
The LSgum I have near me has a white trunk. If I've got my species right.
Anyway. I love what you have produced.

This is what I call Tassie Blackwood.

This was the original colour of the bark of the LSG.

After a couple of months in the sun the bark turns a reddy brown and cracks and flakes off.

Thread: First use of BIL mill with 60" bar

Thread Tools

Search Thread

First use of BIL mill with 60" bar

Beautiful.

White trunk or red trunk? Bark

Similar Threads

"I see stupid people!" or "spot the blithering idiot"

Difference "Galvanised" and "Primed" Steel

Comparison Between C.S Mill & Bandsaw Mill

Turned "red Ash", and "Hairy Walnut?"

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

	ANZAC DAY The spirit lives on. They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, We will remember them. Lest we forget.
This day our nation unites to commemorate the sacrifice of fallen servicemen and women during times of war. And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda \| Mothers Daughters Wives \| I Was Only Nineteen \| Diggers Lament