Rob D

We have some pretty big ideas - and now we have a good engineering firm to work with - so watch this space

I know the police can be useless - but it's got to be something for them. Instead of calling them why not take printouts and walk into your local station. Did you register all your saws on Steve's Arbsafe site? https://arbsafe.co.uk/ That way you have more proof they are yours.

I've mucked about a fair bit using green and semi dried timber. With the original question - the reason few answers is that it is not really something you can answer! It's the same as asking - how long does it take to go for a walk? How long does it take for a tree to grow? Dare I say how long is a piece of string Sooooooo so many variables are involved... But in summary - you can't have your cake and eat it - the wetter the wood the more chance of cupping and splitting. So make it sooner and you will likely get more defects - but does that really matter? Even kiln dried through sawn timber will cup after drying once the weight is off it. For myself I would make it asap - put it together (ideally somewhere warm like a polytunnel but if not somewhere under cover where the wind can blow though). After a few weeks disamantle and sand. Put inside (but put batons where the bed meets the carpet to avoid mold and use dry timber only for the mattress slats to avoid mold on the matress). After a year quick sand and treat in situ. Any cupping or splitting is part of the character.

No prob - that bar and chain combo give a lovely clean fast cut

Nice work there Kyle - that design works well with planks

Ah ok thanks - we will look into this.

Bit weird - works for me - what browser were you using on both the PC and the phone? I shall investigate!

What he said!

You have a lot of peening on the tie straps on both chains but particualrly the chain on the right which looks to be new ish. This may or may not be related to what is going on with the chain riding up but it is not normal. Obvious cause is worn drive sprocket.... but may not be this but worth getting to the bottom of why that is happening.

Some cracking milling pics there

Yep thanks will get this changed to: ..... but run 3/8 .058 as standard on bars up to 36” and 3/8 .063 on 36” and longer bars.

Weird Jon - that never comes across in your posts at all But - you never used the winch kit I think? I almost stopped chainsaw milling until this little beauty arrived and it takes 80% of the work out of it and (other than the fumes) makes chainsaw milling almost a pleasure! And we are making in roads into making chainsaw milling even easier for the future - yes sir!

It's better - but really this is dicey territory - it's better but error margins become much smaller as generally speaking .404 is 120cc territory and you're not supposed to use that small a chain on that big a saw. 3/8 lo pro chain is fine to sub in for 3/8 standard but to change it on a big saw running .404 - not sure.

Haha! But honestly the proof is there in the vid - we did x20 planks. We re set using the first cut rails on the 3rd plank. The planks all came out pancake flat and even. Cutting was smooth and easy. Both powerheads are working to push that chain round the bar - as soon as any saw cuts wood it is never working at max rpm - same in this scenario. Ok - yes you could easily knacker the powerheads by over revving etc. but as long as you know what's what the system works really well. That tree would have been a slog with a single powerhead style set up but it felt pretty easy cutting with the double set up.

We are thinking we may enlarge the range of Maya chain to add some chisel chain in as well....

We've sold a few Maya chains now. I've tried using them and found them to be pretty good - quite hard to distinguish between them or Stihl and Oregon but would be interested to hear others feedback. Had this from one customer Sam Barnes who liked it. Maya 3/8 .063 chain Stihl MS361 with 18” Sugi-Hara bar I thought I’d give this chain a go as there wasn’t much to lose for the price at nearly half what most other chains are costing. The first Maya chain I got I used on some heavy coppicing so it took quite a beating, hitting stones and soil through out the day so I didn’t hold out much hope that the cheap chain would have any use left after that. However I was amazed that just a few strokes with a file the chain was as good as new! The teeth had stood up well to the stones and kept a good edge through the dirt and soil trapped between the hazel stools. This chain lasted me another 3 weeks of felling and cross cutting and yet more hazel coppicing and still continued to file back to a razor sharp edge. I have been using them ever since for forestry and it rips though any wood just as any other chain would, holds its edge for just as long and doesn’t stretch any quicker. Overall I think its great value for money and haven’t got a bad word to say about the Maya chain.

It's a good point to make - in the case of our budget mills we have visited the factory ourselves and also have a quality control agent in China who has visited the factory. Conditions seem ok as far as China is concerned - we didn't see anything that we would say is unacceptable (similar to that you have described above). But even visiting the factory doesn't tell you much and what goes on behind closed doors is another matter... But I suppose better than nothing.

We'll have some budget mills in soon - they won't be as cheap as the other firm. There will only be a 36" Alaskan style option at £120-00+vat And a 36" 'kit option' at £160-00+vat which will include a basic winch kit and oiler kit. These will be in around the 27th May onwards.

May go and give this a test this afternoon if I get a chance!

Yep well a bit of copper slip anti seize grease will sort that on the U bolt threads. Here is a better video on the new quick release system.

The Stihl PMX is very fast and clean cutting indeed. Ref .404 vs .325 I would say the .404 is 'a bit' quicker but not hugely faster. It should hold it's edge better. But then I expect the planks surface would end up being a bit rougher - so a bit of 6 of one and half a dozen of the other!

Jon I don't want to disagree with everything you just said... but I disagree with most of it! Double ended milling is fine with x2 different powerheads - I've used it multiple times successfully. You can manage the flex in the bar and still get large flat planks. Have you actually tried milling with x2 different powerheads? Yes there is more strain on components and lesser margin for errors than a single set up - but in the right hands - it works! And works well.

If we can source the bits and vibration doesn't cause the clamping handles to fall to pieces over time this should not be too expensive.

They don't quite work I'm afraid - however we think we may have a work around on the new end brackets which is pretty quick and easy. I've been using on a small log mill and seems to work pretty well but still need to test on an Alaskan. Only added the vid to facebook - but effectively to loosen you flip the black clamping handle, then use the finger nut to loosen the other side. Downside? Well the Granberg ones are empirial and we need metric so we are sourcing some metric U bolts.

Well I managed to watch around 3 mins of it (combined flicking through).... I think there are worse things in the world than having to wear a branded T shirt.