milling

shaggs

TM, some really good points there.

The Lucas Mill is really a good bit of gear. Have seen it in action at alot of shows and they seem to sell well.
Not too many second hand though and hard to come by....MUST be good!

We dont see too many bandsaws here in Australia, mainly chainsaw type slabbers.

shaggs

Forgot to ask,
Do bandsaw mills "wander" very much in the cut resulting in unequal thickness of slabs or jamming?

TreeDimensional

I am still on a vertical learning curve but I did discover something on the first ash log I milled. I noticed that the first slab off wasn't as true as the previous slab of poplar. I checked the band and it was REAl warm even though the coolant was running. I changed out the band to a new sharp on, lowered the head about 1/2"and trued up the previous cut. Lowered the head again and it cut staight and true. Moral of the story, like your chainsaw teeth have to be sharpened uniformally or wondering will occur. And like everything else in life SPEED KILLS. (Heating of band= BAD)

Hope this helps, I got a lot to learn about milling, but if you never try you never know, right?

Tree Machine

Treedimensional beat me to it. Dull blade, too fast a feed rate, possibly not slowing down in knotty areas.

If the band is loose, or if you max out the width of the throat, this may also contribute to wandering.

Blade sharpness, though, that's the big one.

arthur

shaggs

you will find with a bandsaw that most USA imports are dsigned for softer woods than we have here in Australia.

The most important thing to know to keep the bandsaws running true is to keep the band cool (normally with lots of water). You also need to keep it sharp. No good thinking that you can finish this log. If the band is blunt take the time to change it or end up with boards with waves on them.

Our saw doctor has developed with us a new range of bands designed for aussie hardwoods which you should be able to buy from any good stockist. The kerf is larger but thats because we use tipped bands and have single or double skip like you do with large chainsaws. Typical kerf is 2.6mm about twice the normal bands.

arthur

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arthur

forgot to mention the difference between horizontal and vertical bandsaws.

You can get heating of the band on horizontal bandsaws due to the board closing on the band. We normally advise a small wedge or two to keep the gap open. Makes for a better and faster cut as well.

Very few horizontal bandsaws have riving knives to keep the gap open. If you look at the few vertical bandsaws that have been made most of them have riving knives or some means to push the board away from the log as it is being peeled off.

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LeifR

Interesting thread. Lucas and Alaskan are not well known here. Woodmizer and several smaller band saw types has been sold for many years.
Here is a picture of my Logosol chainsaw mill. It cuts nicely when the fine tuning is ok.



Leif.

Attached Thumbnails

 

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My place - Bjørndalen.
http://www.youtube.com/user/MultiVoff

arthur

Logosol are also sold here in Oz but normally with a standard chainsaw not an electic powered version. Must be very quiet compared to a chainsaw.

I find that this style of milling is good for small diameter logs but almost impossible for larger logs.

Our chainsaw mills and Bandsaw slabbing mill are suspended on rails above the log which enables you to mills very large logs with maximum size only being limited to the bar length.

Alaskan mills are similar in size depending how you make the mill frame but have the disadvantage of requiring to be attached to the log.

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LeifR

The logs in the picture are oak. Largest diameter is about 90 cm, 36". It was of course a bit of a job, but it was not really a problem.
I have described the project in the Logosol forum, if anyone might be interested. (Oak project)
http://www.logosolforum.com/us/viewt...086e99a4db9fae

Leif.

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My place - Bjørndalen.
http://www.youtube.com/user/MultiVoff

Bruce Hopf

I think if I was going to do a lot of Milling, I'd consider one of these. CityMedia.ca: , from Cutter's Choice, or whom ever has these . Bruce.

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McCulloch chain saws
1- Pro Mac 60, 1- Pro Mac 700, 2- Mac 10-10 Automatic's, 2- Mini Mac 30's, 2- Mac 110's,
2- Mini Mac 35's, 1- Mac 140 with Automatic Chain Sharpener,
1- Pro Mac 10-10, 1- Mac Cat, 2- Eager Beaver
2.0's, 1- Mac 1-10
Stihl chain saws
2- 044's, 2- 034's, 2- 024's, 1- 064, 1- 084,
Strunk chain saws
1- Busy Beaver, 1- SpeeDemon Special
Stand Back, I Have A Very Extreme Case of CAD (Chain Saw Addiction Disorder).

arthur

Bruce

Its horses for courses.

Idealy you need 3 or 4 mills to be complete.

We bought the EcoSaw company 5 years ago and at that time only had one version of the swingmill. We now have a complete range from AUD$10,000 to AUD$250,000. This is just using circular saws.

We also produce some cheap chainsaw mills based on the same concept and I vowed NEVER to make bandsaws as I considered them two slow and useless for our larger aussie hardwoods. Typically a 20hp bandsaw will produce 250 to 400 bf per hour whereas a 20hp swinger will produce 400 to 800bf per hour depending on timber species, hardwood or soft and both have a recovery rate withiin a few % of each other.

However, I have been educated in the need for bandsaws. Forestry is going further and further towards plantation and tree farming with smaller trees being harvested. In Europe and the North American countries there is a hugh market in the smaller softwoods.

As a result we now have 3 traditional bandsaws and one designed as a wide slabbing mill (this upgrades one of our chainsaw mill). We can mount our milling head in either direction depending on the customers requirement.

In our research and development of our mills we have found that the difference between horizontal and vertical milling is the way you dog your log and extract the boards. With vertical milling you need to get the log a fair distance off the ground to clear the lower wheel. You also have the problem of clearing the sawdust away from the lower wheel as if you get dust stuck to the insided of the band (ie sticky stap) you can force the band off the wheel, reduce the life of the band and cause uneven milling. The other problem with vertical milling is supporting the board from sliding off until fully cut. Gravity will just want to take the board as soon as possible. Having pointed this out my personal preference is for vertical milling but in the real world comprimises have to be made.

The mill you have shown would be great for small logs but the additional equipment needed for logs even slightly larger than the one shown would cost some to make and operate safely.

We have found that with chainsaw milling the best way and most acurate milling technic is to dog the log verticaly as if it is still a standing tree and let the chainsaw drop through the tree just using gravity. Problem is when you have a 9m long by 1.5m wide hardwood which is over 5000kg the equipment needed is daunting hence the use of horizontal mills. Same realy with bandsaws.

You wil find that you can make your horizontal bandsaw perform better just by using small wedges to support the board as is done with chainsaw slabbing. This also reduces friction on the band thereby reducing temperature. If you also add compressed air to blow the fine dust out will also help but makes the mill less portable.

So its all down to the milling requirement you have but to do it all you need a swinger, chainsaw mill and a bandsaw of some type. Size and power will just determine the amount of timber you can mill each day and the maximum size of log. Hardwood or softwood is just the saw band/blade which you are using and the refinement is milling technique.

end of rant

arthur

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Bruce Hopf

Thanks for what you called a Rant , but for me, it was Very Informatable . Now if a person would mill a few Logs a year for his Own Use, would a Chain Saw Mill, be the better Choice? Thanks. Bruce.

__________________
McCulloch chain saws
1- Pro Mac 60, 1- Pro Mac 700, 2- Mac 10-10 Automatic's, 2- Mini Mac 30's, 2- Mac 110's,
2- Mini Mac 35's, 1- Mac 140 with Automatic Chain Sharpener,
1- Pro Mac 10-10, 1- Mac Cat, 2- Eager Beaver
2.0's, 1- Mac 1-10
Stihl chain saws
2- 044's, 2- 034's, 2- 024's, 1- 064, 1- 084,
Strunk chain saws
1- Busy Beaver, 1- SpeeDemon Special
Stand Back, I Have A Very Extreme Case of CAD (Chain Saw Addiction Disorder).

arthur

I have see very acurate beams and building material done by hand with chainsaws so I guess it down to how good your skills are.

There are also some big differences in the different chainsaw mills, and costs!!!

However. if your milling needs are small, you have the time and dont mind the low recovery then as you most likely already have a chainsaw then its a good option.

As a manufacture I would try to convince you of the benefits of going to the next step or at least buying our entry level chainsaw mill so you can upgrade as needed.

You can though make yourself a guide to attach to your chainsaw which when attached to both it and the log will do the job for you for under $100.

If your a woody though you should never regret buying that mill. Just try to priz one of our mills out off the hands of an owner. Secondhand EcoSaws are rare as rocking horse s&*t.

arthur

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Tree Machine

Yes, thank you very much for your informitable rant.

I have been through the Alaskan Small Log Mill, the Alaskan Mini Mill, the Alaskan MKIII with dual ended bar and two Husky 394's at each end of a 5-foot bar running in stereo. I own a ripsaw. I have done 8 or 10 sessions over the years with a Woodmizer LD-40 super hydraulic bandmill, and had one very memorable and fascinating session where we had a swingblade circular mill milling out a couple large, red oak logs.


The swingblade circular was by far the coolest, the benefits of portability, set up & level over top of the log, the ability to precisely take out the vertical-grain boards, just the whole being able to cut out dimensioned boards, any size, one at a time off the log,.....and fast.

Arthur, on behalf of the readership, we'd like to invite you to share with us your company, your mills and what you've got going on Here at this thread.

As far as THIS thread, could you offer something specific for the thread starter, Joe Weekend, a few times a year?
Please start with the swingmill. The stage is yours, Arthur.

arthur

one of our chainsaw mills producing boards.

You will notice it works very much like a bandsaw. Square up 3 sides and then just take the boards off.


Salvage log from the 2004 fires in Canberra, ACT. This is a 300 year old Forest Oak. The truck is angles slightly to help keep the round together.

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