Thread: The BIL mill (WIP)

mmmm thinking thinking... how do I get Bill to appreciate that I REALLY need him to make me one?... mmmm wonder where I get the big bar an chain from?... mmmm wonder if a big one like that will go onto the FarmBoss in the shed?... mmmm wonder if Bill will let me drop my CS plus new soon to be gotten bigga bar and chain off at his place for a month? (I'll just kidnap one of the FSILs from his shed for awhile )

Looking real good Bob... reckon there could be a nice little sideline earner in this for you eh?

sooo how much were you chargin?

Originally Posted by Wild Dingo

Looking real good Bob... reckon there could be a nice little sideline earner in this for you eh?

sooo how much were you chargin?

Oh I think we can come a mutual arrangement - I'll PM you.

RE: using a FarmBoss in a mill, Heres what Lakeside53 says on Arborist about doing this

In keeping with the "over the top" theme on this one, here is the Aux Oiler tank.



The tank is made from 3mm thick 100 mm diameter ally pipe capped with 4mm thick ally plate. It looks small but it holds a litre of fluid. The top refill cap and pipe are standard brass plumbing fittings from my plumbing scraps box. The clear PVC tubing is to see the oil level in the tank.





The T-piece and stopcock tap are standard air handling fittings from Bunnings. The needle valve I found in the odds'n'sods box at work.


Minimum zero resistance flow rate (tank almost empty) to the blade is 44 mL/min with a 7 cm head. Of course that will be reduced using the needle valve.

Cheers

Bob,
Thats quite an outfit you've got there keep up the WIP and the photo's are very clear. Might do a bit of idea pilfering.

Cheers Arch.

Gees Bob, that's a top of the line rolls royce tank, looks great

Originally Posted by Munga

Bob,
Thats quite an outfit you've got there keep up the WIP and the photo's are very clear. Might do a bit of idea pilfering.

Cheers Arch.

Go for it Arch!

looking great bob.

do you realy need an auxillary oiler on that sthill?

and how much has it cost you?

Originally Posted by weisyboy

looking great bob.

do you realy need an auxillary oiler on that sthill?

and how much has it cost you?

For a 42" bar it has been recommended I use an Aux Oiler.

Cost?
The mill itself cost about $250 (mainly the cost of the ally and cartons for BIL!), but I used a lot of bits and pieces (nuts, bolts, brass, steel, plastic) that I already had. The 42" bar and 3/8 skip chain has cost me about $270, so all up about $520.

The closest commercial available comparable package are the bigger Granberg mills which cost about a grand. Although I reckon mine is significantly superior to these mills in many ways.

If I just used steel and a simple clamping mechanism for height adjustment I reckon I could have made it for under $100 + bar plus chain.

I've probably spent about 40 hours working on it so if one wanted to be hardnosed about it I've been working for about $12 an hour. However I don't worry too much about my costs in these situations because I really like designing and making tools, so the voyage is as much fun for me as the arrival - and when I arrive I will have a highly functional tool.

When I started building this mill my main concern was I wouldn't have access to any logs to mill but right now I have access to way more logs than I ever hoped I would. Just today an arborist offered me a big camphor laurel and part of a sheoak!

Since the mill mounts directly onto extended bar bolts, my plan here was to buy a new cover and butcher the old one to fit the mill. However, the butchering required was so significant I thought I would just make one from scratch out of ally. BIL said he would help but that it would be better to make a cardboard mock up first. Instead of using cardboard I used some 1 mm thick galv plate and some 1 mm polycarbonate sheeting and here's what resulted. I think it's going to be pretty serviceable as it is.



Here's a closeup.



The 2 large headed, 6 mm brassplated allen bolts are all that is needed to attach/remove the cover - they thread into existing threaded holes on the CS. These bolts also pass through some 1/2" ally tube to brace the cover internally onto the CS housing The large hole through the polycarbonate is so the bar nuts can be loosened to adjust the chain. I may add one more bolt in the lower RH corner threaded direct onto the mill base to stop that bit flapping around.

It was really easy to make. If it works out OK and does a good job of shedding the sawdust , WIGRTI, I will remove the rivets, unfold it all and lay it out on some 3mm ally plate, mark around it, cut out the bits, weld joints, drill holes, and I'll an even more robust cover. I'm keeping the transparent cover though.

To help the mill skid over the logs I added 6mm thick UHMWPE skids to the underneath of the rails.

If they get mangled I can replace them instead of the relatively more expensive ally unistrut.

It's nearly there - just have to finish locktiting all the unadjustable nuts, fiddle the faddle, and tuneup the fandangler. Nah . . . . I bet I'll find at least one more doohickey to add yet!

Cheers

This thing is starting to look like something from a custom bike show!!! A 'pimped' CS mill awesome.

One question though Bob - breather for the oiler tank? Cos' I have to stand mine on edge to start it, I also had to arrange it so the oil didn't run out the breather when tipped up - can you start yours on it's side? OK so thats 2 questions - but on the same topic!

Originally Posted by BobL

For a 42" bar it has been recommended I use an Aux Oiler.

Cost?
The mill itself cost about $250 (mainly the cost of the ally and cartons for BIL!), but I used a lot of bits and pieces (nuts, bolts, brass, steel, plastic) that I already had. The 42" bar and 3/8 skip chain has cost me about $270, so all up about $520.

The closest commercial available comparable package are the bigger Granberg mills which cost about a grand. Although I reckon mine is significantly superior to these mills in many ways.

If I just used steel and a simple clamping mechanism for height adjustment I reckon I could have made it for under $100 + bar plus chain.

I've probably spent about 40 hours working on it so if one wanted to be hardnosed about it I've been working for about $12 an hour. However I don't worry too much about my costs in these situations because I really like designing and making tools, so the voyage is as much fun for me as the arrival - and when I arrive I will have a highly functional tool.

When I started building this mill my main concern was I wouldn't have access to any logs to mill but right now I have access to way more logs than I ever hoped I would. Just today an arborist offered me a big camphor laurel and part of a sheoak!

Sounds good for parts costs... new bar etal shouldnt set me back too much ... but if I make a "BIL mill" and it ends up a dedicated mill Im up for a new chainsaw Im thinking can it be made as an attachment Bob?

As for the wood... so you still coming down to have a burl at the logs now up the back yard or dont you need to anymore?.. if so Bloody beauty! just tell me when and I'll sort a barbie if no I'll just mutter buggarbumbastard an meander away

Originally Posted by TTIT

This thing is starting to look like something from a custom bike show!!! A 'pimped' CS mill awesome.

One question though Bob - breather for the oiler tank? Cos' I have to stand mine on edge to start it, I also had to arrange it so the oil didn't run out the breather when tipped up - can you start yours on it's side? OK so thats 2 questions - but on the same topic!

Don't worry a couple of uses and it will start looking like an old tart!

RE: Start up on side.
I dunno if my CS will start on its side. It would be a real pain if one had to pull it out 3/4 of the way through a cut to restart it. I will try it later today. I will have to tip the mill on its side anyway to fuel/oil up and swap chains etc so some sort of switch-offable oil tank breather will be needed. I thought I was done but as usual there is something else to add!

Originally Posted by Wild Dingo

Sounds good for parts costs... new bar etal shouldnt set me back too much ... but if I make a "BIL mill" and it ends up a dedicated mill Im up for a new chainsaw Im thinking can it be made as an attachment Bob?

As for the wood... so you still coming down to have a burl at the logs now up the back yard or dont you need to anymore?.. if so Bloody beauty! just tell me when and I'll sort a barbie if no I'll just mutter buggarbumbastard an meander away

If you're making your own mill for the first time I'd suggest starting with a simple design such as the basic mills shown in this thread. The double clamp mills (ie one clamp at power head - one clamp at the bar nose will work on virtually any CS. The BIL MIL is designed specifically for my CS. While the fittings to the bar are standard for most saws, some bits of the powerhead on other saws may physically get in the way of the BILL mill. If/when I get another saw some adaption will be required.

In terms of design the most difficult bit to make on the BIL Mill was the dual column vertical adjustment at the powerhead end. This requires some pretty close tolerance welding and a lot of farting around with shims - I reckon this bit took 5/6 hours alone to smooth enough for my liking. The vertical adjustment would also be a lot simpler with bolt clamps instead of cam clamps.

RE: do I want to mill your wood. Sure do - at least some of it anyway - I'll be down sometime.

Bob, just wondering if you have fired up the new mill yet? I for one am keen to see some pics of it in action .

Cheers,
Burnsy