Oh dear

[Stigmorgan]

So today our tree surgeon was on site to deal with a couple of storm damaged trees, one willow and one hornbeam, the hornbeam has beautiful pattern on the cross sections and I can't wait to see how it dries out. I've always got on great with Andy and today we got talking about woodturning, something he has always considered getting into but doesn't have much time, I showed him a load of pictures of my previous work and he then said something that he may come to regret, he said anytime I need wood I am welcome to help myself to anything in his yard, then he showed me a few pictures of his yard which I can only describe as wood ****, his yard is bigger than my schools field and he has almost every tree imaginable, I think it will be easier for me to take my maker space to his yard, he is such a nice guy and he doesn't believe in charging fortunes for his services because he makes money from all the stuff he takes away.

 

[Lons]

Manna from heaven, you're gonna need more space.

 

[Stigmorgan]

To steal and rephrase that famous line, I'm gonna need a bigger shed

 

[Tris]

Guess now's the time to look into chainsaw mills

 

[Garno]

To steal and rephrase that famous line, I'm gonna need a bigger shed

Or more friends you can share it all with

 

[Stigmorgan]

Guess now's the time to look into chainsaw mills

He can do that for me too gonna have to make a couple of nice bowls for him before I visit

 

[Adam W.]

Chainsaw mills are amazing things.......

Small.

Big.

 

[Stigmorgan]

Chainsaw mills are amazing things.......

Small.

View attachment 132469

Big.

View attachment 132470

Nice, wish I had room, doubt the school would be happy for me to do it out on the field

 

[Jameshow]

Do chainsaw mills use a standard chain or are there special chains for ripping?

 

[Pedronicus]

Do chainsaw mills use a standard chain or are there special chains for ripping?

More to the point how do they hold the two cut sections apart to prevent the chain bar being pinched?

 

[Sandyn]

More to the point how do they hold the two cut sections apart to prevent the chain bar being pinched?

Normally you are just slicing off the top, but you would drive wedges in if it became a problem

 

[Adam W.]

Do chainsaw mills use a standard chain or are there special chains for ripping?

I use a normal chain filed for ripping, it's filed straight across instead of at an angle.

More to the point how do they hold the two cut sections apart to prevent the chain bar being pinched?

I use a slice of timber the width of the kerf or drive plastic wedges on either side of the log to keep the pieces apart. Normally I leave a small piece uncut at the end and extract the saw, then push the pieces apart to split the final section.

Most of the milling I do is for framing, so it's a matter of milling down the pith and then cutting the top and bottom slabs off. Then I can flip half of it on its edge and mill the rest off. When you try and square a large stem, it becomes difficult to flip it on its side because of the weight. If they're really big then I slab them up by bolting the mill onto the stem. If I want long beams, I can rotate the mill and use it vertically and using it that way I can mill up to 6' in diameter.

 

[okeydokey]

There are quite a few videos on YouTube regarding these - some are well worth watching

 

[Mick p]

So today our tree surgeon was on site to deal with a couple of storm damaged trees, one willow and one hornbeam, the hornbeam has beautiful pattern on the cross sections and I can't wait to see how it dries out. I've always got on great with Andy and today we got talking about woodturning, something he has always considered getting into but doesn't have much time, I showed him a load of pictures of my previous work and he then said something that he may come to regret, he said anytime I need wood I am welcome to help myself to anything in his yard, then he showed me a few pictures of his yard which I can only describe as wood ****, his yard is bigger than my schools field and he has almost every tree imaginable, I think it will be easier for me to take my maker space to his yard, he is such a nice guy and he doesn't believe in charging fortunes for his services because he makes money from all the stuff he takes away.

Hi Stig I think hornbeam is classified as hardwood it was used for the gearing in the first windmills I’ve turned some brilliant results.hope your keeping well.

 

[mikej460]

I use a normal chain filed for ripping, it's filed straight across instead of at an angle.


I use a slice of timber the width of the kerf or drive plastic wedges on either side of the log to keep the pieces apart. Normally I leave a small piece uncut at the end and extract the saw, then push the pieces apart to split the final section.

Most of the milling I do is for framing, so it's a matter of milling down the pith and then cutting the top and bottom slabs off. Then I can flip half of it on its edge and mill the rest off. When you try and square a large stem, it becomes difficult to flip it on its side because of the weight. If they're really big then I slab them up by bolting the mill onto the stem. If I want long beams, I can rotate the mill and use it vertically and using it that way I can mill up to 6' in diameter.

Adam which mill do you have and where did you buy it?

 

[Stigmorgan]

Hi Stig I think hornbeam is classified as hardwood it was used for the gearing in the first windmills I’ve turned some brilliant results.hope your keeping well.

Hey Mick, I'm good, hope you and the wife are good too, we'll have to catch up again sometime.
I'm sure I read somewhere that the name Hornbeam literally means hard wood, I've gathered the bigger pieces in and sealed the ends with some thick hammerite metal paint and then wrapped the ends in bin liner (more to stop the paint getting everywhere than to help slow down the drying), still got loads to gather in and seal but most of it is from 4 to 6 inch diameter and in longer lengths so not too worried about some of it cracking. Haven't had chance to look at the willow logs yet but not expecting much as the bottom 4 foot of the trunk where it broke is very rotten already. Next big project is to sort somewhere to store all my drying wood, so far I have silver birch branches cut last August, cherry that was cut last September and now the hornbeam and willow, also have loads of 3 year old sycamore, birch, hawthorn and oak that has been seasoning outside since it was cut that I need to bring in to dry.

 

[isaac3d]

The chainsaw mill looks great and probably fairly cheap to make. On the other hand how much does the kit cost for moving and transporting huge logs like that?

 

[alex robinson]

Chainsaw mills don't have to be huge, or need loads of kit. I a granberg small log mill, with a 65cc saw, and it is great for cuts up to 18". With removing the sides, you can tackle a log up to about 2' pretty easily

 

[Lazurus]

I have a cheap copy Alaskan mill combined with a Chinese saw 65cc paid for itself first time out. Used it many many times to make big logs portable and useable I did try a ripping chain but TBH I couldn't really see a difference in the cut. A great bit of kit if you have access to the logs.

 

[Adam W.]

Adam which mill do you have and where did you buy it?

It's a Logosol M something or other, it's raining so I'm not going out to look.

I use a Stihl 880 with a 36" bar on it and with the bed extension I can mill 11m long. The timber gets stacked onto the larch bed with the timber trucks crane, and I can then move it onto the mill by hand.

I also have the attachment to bolt the track onto the log, which is handy for very large stems up to 6' in diameter. The Alsakan mill attachment is very good for boards and cuts very accurately if the first cut is flat.