Have we had a 'First go at Milling' thread recently?

[Rough Hewn]

Cheers Rough, the Pop is why I need a longer bar - I'll probably have to trim the sides towards the base anyway.  Not sure what I'll use the Pop for but going on your previous advice, I'll probably mill to 2.5" or 3".  I have a covered woodshed where my firewood seasons so I think I'm going to have to clear some space at the end, so I don't have to keep moving the boards as I empty and fill with logs for seasoning.  I have a few in there already, 2 of the American Oak boards are still on the remainder of the trunk and I just throw a groundsheet weighted with bricks over them if it's going to rain.

Don’t use a plastic tarp!
They hold moisture in and will rot sensitive boards [emoji106]

[TuscanPhil]

Another quick (or not so...) play today.  This time with my 18" bar as I've taken the 30" bar off in preparation for my new incoming 36" bar.  Time to have a go at the old Doug Fir that's been on the ground for far too many years.  It's not an issue if the wood turns out to be rotten or no good, I'm still learning and happy to play on potentially duff logs before I start on the better logs that I currently have available to me.

I set up my ladder and support rails, started milling, then half way through the first cut, realised that the far support had collapsed (screws were not holding into sufficiently 'firm' wood) and the cut has ended up a couple of cm lower at the far end than the start end - damn!!  I also put the spirit level across the log and I've also managed to cut on a twist - double damn!!

The intent was to try and cut a 5" or 6" beam (or post) out of the middle and so far I'm only one cut into it.  Any advice on how to recover my mess, get the log trued up and do the second cut?  Log is 2.2m long.

[TuscanPhil]

In other news, my new 36" Oregon bar arrived today - yippee!! and so did my new chains for the bar - yippee.  But, I didn't check closely enough when ordering the chains and I've got 3/8 and need 404 so back they go for a swap out - triple damn!!  Not too much of an issue as I still need to wait for the new 404 sprocket to arrive, so couldn't use the new bar yet anyway.

[rarefish383]

Not trying to hijack your thread. Just dropped in for a visit from Frederick Maryland, USA. When I saw the old Homelite doing it's job I had to throw in my 2 cents. I started milling about 10 years ago, and I use a Homelite Super 1050, 100CC's, that my Dad bought brand new in 1973. It put in 20 years of commercial tree removal, then 20 years of me cutting firewood with it. Still runs like a top. A few years ago I bought a Stihl 660 to give the ole 1050 a break. I recently put a 45" bar on it. It runs 1/2 inch pitch chain. I had another Super 1050 with a 36" bar and 404 chain. I like the 404 better than 3/8's for milling. I have found that my 660 with 3/8's will wipe out every tooth on the chain if I hit a nail or piece of fence wire in a log. The 404 will just clip it off and maybe dull only one or two teeth on each side. I used to use a ladder system for a rail. Somewhere along the line I changed to a 2X8 or 2X10 framing board that is at least 18"s longer than the log. That way I have an "In feed" ramp to get started in the cut, and an "Out feed" ramp to end on. I had a pic of me milling with the Super 1050 but I must have lost it on photobucket. Here's a pic of a fold up table I made from a White Pine that went down in a storm on my property in the mountains of West Virginia. It folds up against the wall. My friend folds it up to put his cot under it, so the room doubles as a bunk room and dining room.

[rarefish383]

Oh, here's the old 1050.

[Macpherson]

On 21/03/2021 at 12:16, Rob D said:

 

Haha I didn't know that - I'm not at all up on the rare mounts but if you want diagrams they are here and you can always fettle stuff to suit yourself.

 

https://www.chainsawbars.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Oregon-Bar-Mounts-Catalogue.pdf

Jeez, I knew there were differences but I never realised there were so many👍

[rarefish383]

On 21/03/2021 at 05:17, TuscanPhil said:

From what I've read on Homelite forums, I need to modify a D009 mount, that's same as on a Husky 576XP from my reading, so I'm looking for bars/chains to fit that saw when using 'product selector' guides on various websites (such as Rob D's).  I don't think the Stihl mount can be modified to fit (or at least I've not read anyone doing it.).

Big bars for Homelites are hard to find over here too, and can get quite pricey, more so with condition. The 45" .063 bar I got when I converted one of my 1050's to 1/2" is an old Oregon bar, that I thought was made for a Homelite. I was looking at the numbers stamped in it, and it's stamped McCulloch and has a Mac part number. If you run across any old, big bars, don't pass them up till you check them out, they may swap. This is a Mac bar on the 1050.

[TuscanPhil]

I attacked the second part of my Doug Fir, having decided to leave the first part in case I get any words of wisdom as to how to rectify my mistakes.  2nd section is approx 32 / 30cm dia so I'm aiming to mill it into a 6" beam/post/lump etc etc.  2 cuts so far, not quite sure how I'll support the remaining lump to mill the next 2 sides - I don't have a vertical mill (yet) so I'll likely just support it against some blocks and square up my ladder against a carpenter's square.

Photos show:

Pic 1 - left is the scrap top piece, right is the good centre piece

Pic 2 - shot along the good lump

Pic 3 - left is the good piece, right is the scrap bottom piece.

 

[topchippyles]

4 minutes ago, TuscanPhil said:

I attacked the second part of my Doug Fir, having decided to leave the first part in case I get any words of wisdom as to how to rectify my mistakes.  2nd section is approx 32 / 30cm dia so I'm aiming to mill it into a 6" beam/post/lump etc etc.  2 cuts so far, not quite sure how I'll support the remaining lump to mill the next 2 sides - I don't have a vertical mill (yet) so I'll likely just support it against some blocks and square up my ladder against a carpenter's square.

Photos show:

Pic 1 - left is the scrap top piece, right is the good centre piece

Pic 2 - shot along the good lump

Pic 3 - left is the good piece, right is the scrap bottom piece.

 

I like that phil (attacked it) 🤙 As for you first piece just reset the ladder and secure it this time and do a new cut 

[TuscanPhil]

Having been busy with house DIY, I've not had much opportunity to get out and go milling recently, but with a break from fitting skirting and architrave, I re-attacked an old American Oak that was 'half milled' Jan last year.  2 boards off at the moment, a brief stop for lunch and probably only 1 good board left to go.  Managed to find a bit of metal in 2 places - must be at least 10 foot up the trunk, one seems to be solid (nail?) and one is definitely braid - never mind, these tings happen!!  It's a 24" steel rule for scale, possibly down to 11" for the narrow bit.  I've had a winch fitted for a while but never used it.  I put some rope in it after the 1st board and WOW, what a difference it makes to how easy it is!  Wish I'd not waited and done it sooner, I didn't realise how much of a difference it would be.