In loving memory of Kenis D. Keathley 6/4/81 - 3/27/22 Loving father, husband, brother, friend and firewood hoarder Rest in peace, Dexterday

Have an Alaskan Mill on the way, Questions before I start

Discussion in 'The Sawyer Room' started by Uncle Augie, Oct 30, 2014.

  1. Uncle Augie

    Uncle Augie Banned

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    Terry,

    I fell into an Alaskan Mill, for next to nothing, from a friend of my fathers that used it, and didnt like it. Will have it in my hands Sunday. I was planning on running it with a Husqvarna 359 and a 24 inch bar to start. This a good combination? Have access to a bunch of cherry that I want to mill up.

    • Let me know if I have this right, Full Chisel chains, cut at a 0-10 degree angle. a couple of chains ready to go.
    • Do I need a aux oiler?
    • Should I up the oil mix in my fuel?

    Any other suggestions before I jump into this?
     
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  2. My IS heats my home

    My IS heats my home

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    Uncle Augie , theres also an Irish fella on here from across the pond. I don't remember his screen name but he does what your about to start. He has some great info and a tone of pictures.
    Maybe someone will see this and run his name by
     
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  3. Uncle Augie

    Uncle Augie Banned

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    Please tell me you are being somewhat sarcastic. I quoted him in the OP, Terry Goggin is his name... :picard:

    Yes Im hoping I got his attention ;)
     
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  4. My IS heats my home

    My IS heats my home

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    My aplologies, I glanced too quickly and didn't see his last name. I know theres more than one Terry on the forum and thought you meant someone else. My bad...no sarcasm intended
     
  5. Uncle Augie

    Uncle Augie Banned

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    LOL no worries, just teasing
     
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  6. thistle

    thistle

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    Full chisel at 10 degrees,though most doing this regularly will recommend skip chain/10 degrees on bars over 24" Both Granberg & Woodland Pro have ripping chain available.Woodland Pro is quite good, actually made by Carlton,Bailey's sells it.Years ago I remember seeing that Oregon sold ripping chain also,but only saw it in a catalogue.

    The Aux oiler is recommended,especially on wider cuts over 30".Smaller cuts/softer woods its not as critical,depending on what the max output of your saw's auto oiler happens to be.That's one reason I like the Husky 2100 & Mac 125,they both have manual oiler button for the heavy cuts along with the automatic oiler.You wont find manual oiler on newer saws anymore however.

    When I started with the Granberg mill in late 1992,the saw I used was a then-new McCulloch Pro Mac 610 - 60cc strong saw w/ 24" bar & ripping chain ground to Granberg specs at a local shop.Worked great on smaller-medium sized logs from 15 to 18" diameter,but struggled on those up to 24".

    Next saw was a Poulan Pro 475 bought new in April 1994 (rebadged Jonsered 2077/Partner 7700) a 77cc beast with incredible power & 12500 RPMs.Pulled that 24" bar buried no problem,also had a 36" bar that worked great on the big ones.Gave me 32" cutting capacity.

    Over the years as I got older it was harder to pull the rope of that 475 because no decomp valve & a monster compression rating.Would practically dislocate my right shoulder every time that rope snapped back.Did sprain my fingers temporarily one day,that hurt like heck.

    Replaced the 475 (sold it on ebay to buyer in Germany in Nov 2011) with a Husqvarna 288XPW in June 2011,added a Husqvarna 2100CD & Mac SP125C in Apr 2013(its unstoppable in anything I've put it up against)

    Main thing I learned over the years - start out small,depending on what you want to do/what equipment & how large the wood you've got access too. Have fun,take care of YOUR BACK,dont try to do too much in a day's time,take frequent breaks.It can be slow & its very labor intensive,but the rewards are great with patience.

    Even today I'm like a kid at Christmas time,you get anxious wondering what the next cut will bring,opening up some forgotten & overlooked treasure.
     
    Last edited: Oct 30, 2014
  7. Terry Goggin

    Terry Goggin

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    Very very sorry With the very very late reply my PC is down and all I have is my iPhone it's all Orogen ripping chains I use some people do not like them as they are softish compared to sthil chains but the Orogen is easier on the bar and easier to edge all my chains are 10 degree for all size bars from my 20 inch to my 48 inch bar . I have found if I am planking say a 28 inch wide by 8 ft long slab the chain has to be edged or changed after 2 planks as the chain is gone dull after that . I have plenty of spare chains at all times 100 in total and I edge them 10 at a time on wet days with my diamond grinding wheel a master for edging and well worth the investment and don't forget the guide tooth has to be ground down every now and then as well very important there is loads of videos of this on YouTube .. As for the chain oil there is only 2 types over here one is marked 100 and the other 150 the 150 is to thick for milling I think I does not pump quick enough out of the saw in my opinion and you will get excessive bar wear so I always go for the 100 chain oil. Make sure the oil flow screw on your saw is turned to five a full flow of oil as more oil is LESS wear on the moving parts as the chain moves at 88 ft a second. Now as for the aux oiler I have one ins it never worked the chain oil will not flow through it the next best thing that I found was a white type of oil that keeps metal cool when drilling ?? Or water but I only use this with the 48 inch bar, after every cut I get out the oil can and give the grove in the bar a squirt
     
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  8. mdavlee

    mdavlee

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    You can make a cheap aux oiler from a short price of pvc, small valve, and short hose to dribble on the nose. 24" with a 359 will probably need it.
     
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  9. bearverine

    bearverine

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    Dammit. Now I HAVE to try it.
     
  10. Terry Goggin

    Terry Goggin

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    How very true thistle and very well wrote.. I got the chainsaw bug at about 15 years of age i am now 53 ?? and the chainsaw bug is still in me and as one gets older it gets harder and after a few hard days at a large tree it begins to hurt and go home and go on the net looking at other people doing it and the bud grows inside you again and you can not get back out there cutting again.. There is nothing like milling your own log as you saw every log is like opening a present you do not know what is inside there . I do not have to knock many trees now days as every year there is plenty extra large trees blowing down here every winter and that is what i specialise in extra large logs.. My motto now is i do not kill trees i bring dead ones back to life. I have a thing called a timber winch that i got from Logosol it is only a hand winch but it will lift a ton it will roll a large log and with that and a few hydraulic bottle Truck jacks i can shift and move any log section. A large log seems very daunting to most people but with a decent size chainsaw i am a sthil fan but thats me and even a simple chainsawmill any one would soon brake down the large log and have beams and slabs in the trailer and on the way home happy days. At this stage i have every type of chainsawmill and chainsawmill bracket that was ever made ( dont tell the wife ) I can cut a 2 8ft x 3ft diameter logs into 2 inch slabs in a day handy for little more than a gallon of petrol .. Regards Terry Goggin www.irishchainsawmills.com
     
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