Alaskan Mill Problem - And Solution.

[Haironyourchest]

Just in case anyone out there decides to build their own Alaskan, there's a detail you need to get right. We had our one welded up 20 years ago by a local guy, I think it was the first one he did, and dad and grandad used it a fair bit at the beginning. I think they must have always been milling with blunt chains because recently I dug it out of the shed to plank up some Brazilian walnut baulks, and, as before on the few occasions I have used it, I ran into the same old problem. The bolts that clamp the mill to the bar are too close to the teeth. When the saws at full revs, the centrifugal forces cause the top side of the chain to lift out of the top of the bar groove a bit - enough to contact the bolt and spark. Its been the bane of my life, I keep promising myself I will modify the thing to work properly, but haven't got round to it. I can mill without knackering the teeth, but only on half throttle, its a real pain...

 

Unless the chain is really tight, this always happens. I like to run my chains at the proper tension, not too tight - especially on a three foot bar. Out local veteran chainsaw miller slacks his so much (when milling) it hangs off the bar.

 

So here's a visual diagram of the problem. I know the solution - just weld extensions onto the clamps. Just putting this out there, for all the lurkers and guys who might be buying or building Alaskans. If our pro-welder got it wrong, there's a good chance you might as well.....

 

[antarty86]

I made the same mistake when I first made mine, and fixed it in the same way. then I just bought an Alaskan lol