Alaskan milling

[gobbypunk]

Sorry for the photos being upside down don’t know how that happened, I took the winch off as I felt that I wasn’t getting the right feel for how the saw was cutting if you know what I mean,with a winch it’s just full throttle all the way ! I don’t know that’s just what I think others may differ

[trigger_andy]

8 hours ago, gobbypunk said:

Sorry for the photos being upside down don’t know how that happened, I took the winch off as I felt that I wasn’t getting the right feel for how the saw was cutting if you know what I mean,with a winch it’s just full throttle all the way ! I don’t know that’s just what I think others may differ

Why would you run the Saw with anything other then full throttle? The only time Im not full chat is at the start and end of the cut. Both instances dont need the Winch anyway. 

 

I find you need to apply just a gentle pressure on the winch, just enough to keep the mill engaged in the cut. As the Chain starts to blunten then you need to add more force but obviously keeping the applied force low enough so as not to start tilting the Mill. 

 

Your back will thank you in the long run if you manage to get the hang of correctly utilising a Winch. 

[Rough Hewn]

Why would you run the Saw with anything other then full throttle? The only time Im not full chat is at the start and end of the cut. Both instances dont need the Winch anyway. 
 
I find you need to apply just a gentle pressure on the winch, just enough to keep the mill engaged in the cut. As the Chain starts to blunten then you need to add more force but obviously keeping the applied force low enough so as not to start tilting the Mill. 
 
Your back will thank you in the long run if you manage to get the hang of correctly utilising a Winch. 

Winches are only suitable for logs which are nice and straight.
(Or milling beams)
Which is why I never get to use one.
Also I prefer the feedback of manually controlling the mill.
[emoji106]

[trigger_andy]

1 hour ago, Rough Hewn said:

Winches are only suitable for logs which are nice and straight.

I guess thats a matter of opinion. I have no issue using a winch with gnarly logs, just takes some forethought. 

 

As I said, light pressure on the winch takes the majority of the workload off of your back and arms. You still have full feedback and control, you're working smart, not hard. But each to their own.  

[Jamespepperpot]

1 hour ago, Rough Hewn said:

Winches are only suitable for logs which are nice and straight.
(Or milling beams)
Which is why I never get to use one.
Also I prefer the feedback of manually controlling the mill.

Yeah I get that on bent knotty pieces it tends to cause the saw to bog out but I just fiddle it through those bits using the winch as a pivot point. Personally I dont mill any logs without it unless they're really short or very narrow. Everyone finds what works best for them I guess.

[trigger_andy]

No bother milling this lumpy Elm with a Winch. Super smooth cuts too. Thought it would be full of burr but unfortunately not.

[gobbypunk]

I will have another go with the winch soon ! I have some monkey puzzle that’s too big for the woodlands ,one pain though is when my workshop got burgled they took my 880with a nice Sugi 4 ft milling bar and now the only 4ft bar I have is the hard nosed bar that came with my first 880 and for some reason solid nosed bars are crap for milling the chain tension is all over the place you can almost watch the chain getting slacker as you go through the cut ,and as I don’t do that much Alaskan milling do I get a better one ,no shows ,or demos this year at all by the looks of it so struggling a bit .

[trigger_andy]

8 minutes ago, gobbypunk said:

for some reason solid nosed bars are crap for milling the chain tension is all over the place you can almost watch the chain getting slacker as you go through the cut ,and as I don’t do that much Alaskan milling do I get a better one ,no shows ,or demos this year at all by the looks of it so struggling a bit .

Ive only ever used a Solid nosed 48" Duramatic Bar, tension has never been an issue. Couple of passes and a wee adjustment, nothing more. Obviously a new chain will stretch regardless. I use/used a 3/8" Low Pro bar with my 36" Mill, no better or worse for tension than the Solid Nosed Duromatic. 

[Josh Purton]

Can’t help but think you all make it extremely hard for yourselves either without a winch or with the winch but in gnarly logs.

For everything I chainsaw mill I now setup a Very basic frame on the top of log even after the first cut. Ensure this hangs over the side of the log just enough on the cutting saw (I’m generally double power head setup) side. Full throttle all the way, no gnarly bumps and a nice gentle wind through every-time on the winch. The only boring part about chainsaw milling should be moving the beastly slabs you’ve just milled and resharpening regaularly

 

[Rough Hewn]

I will have another go with the winch soon ! I have some monkey puzzle that’s too big for the woodlands ,one pain though is when my workshop got burgled they took my 880with a nice Sugi 4 ft milling bar and now the only 4ft bar I have is the hard nosed bar that came with my first 880 and for some reason solid nosed bars are crap for milling the chain tension is all over the place you can almost watch the chain getting slacker as you go through the cut ,and as I don’t do that much Alaskan milling do I get a better one ,no shows ,or demos this year at all by the looks of it so struggling a bit .

I used a 48" duromatic for years.
Never had a problem until I bent it.[emoji849]
Yes it does sap a bit of power and warms up in long wide cuts.
I run my Saw for 1-2 minutes from start, readjust chain then mill.
After milling detension chain.
Sometimes with big dry logs I will have to retension a few times.
[emoji106]