morten

What exactly do you mean by "being a little naughty"? What are the symptoms?

Slice when wet, and dry slowly is best for preventing cracking. You don't want the surface or edges to be much dryer than the core, as the wood shrinks when drying. In general, shrinkage is: Very little longitudinal (<0.1% along the grain) Greater radially (3 - 7% at right angles to the growth rings) Greatest tangentially (7 - 12% along the growth rings) This will mean that, depending on how you cut the wood, it is likely to bow. Allow for this by cutting thicker slabs. To prevent cracking near the end-grain, due to moisture escaping faster through the end-grain, you can paint it (before or after you cut it) with wax or PVA glue. You can read more about shrinkage, including guidelines of species using these links: Wood Movement Measuring seasonal wood shrinkage WoodCentral's BP Archives: Wood Shrinkage Values Good stable wood for carving is Alder. Finally, the trees should be felled between october and march for two reasons. Firstly, the moisture content is lower during that period, secondly, the sapwood does not contain high levels of suger, which will attract fungus that may discolour the wood (worst in pine/spruce)

It's the website that you use that somehow identifies Chrome as an old IE. It may help to contact the webmaster of that website. Try Firefox. Its really good, too.

You don't say, but I assume you are on Windows. The latest version of Firefox (12) and Chrome are both fast browsers. If it ain't so on your system, blame Windows. Windows (at least XP, Vista, and to a lesser extend 7) is known to get slower and slower as time goes by and you install and uninstall software. You may improve things by running some software tools, but the only way to fix it is to start all over with a clean installation. Your speed problem could also be due to running out of memory (RAM). Easily fixed - install more (if the hardware allows), or even due to a virus or any one of hundreds of other issues. But to conclude: Firefox and Chrome are both fast browsers.

Talking about working with the mini mill downwind... I am working on making a deflector to mount on the saw to deflect the sawdust to the side (or down). having a sawdust shower isn't much fun, is it?

+1

I am milling quite a bit, using an MS 660. I have an Alaskan Mill, and a Mini Mill that I use for edging/squaring, and also to produce the first flat surface for the Alaskan Mill. I've found that to work very well. In any case you'll probably need to a rail for the first cut (required if you don't use the Mini Mill). An aluminium ladder is well suited for that purpose. You can either drill holes through the steps for screws, or make an attachment that holds on to the ladder and is fixed to the end-grain of the log with screws (I find that easier - I may be able to dig out some pictures). For the best (and fastest) milling results, you need special "ripping" chains, typically filed at an angle of 0-10 degrees, as opposed to 20-30 degrees for cross grain cutting. Read through the milling forum (and the Alaskan sub forum) for more info.

But the Stihl 044 has not been produced for more than 10 years. You are comparing apples with oranges! These days, the "Magnum" term is simply a marketing term used by Stihl USA.

The MS 044 has not been part of the Sthl range since 1999 (afaik) I doubt you can: Show me a comparison of Magnum vs non-Magnum specifications of a current pro saw model (e.g. MS 441) Show me an example (on stihlusa.com) of a non-Magnum version of a large pro saw The "Magnum" term used to mean "increased performance", but that is history. Glad to be proven vrong, though

Stihl USA uses the "Magnum" name for ALL the large forestry models, i.e. MS 441, MS 460, MS 660, MS 880. No additional power, purely a marketing trick. See MS 441 STIHL Magnum® Chain Saw - Fuel Efficient Professional Chain Saw | STIHL

From the 020T service manual: That, I guess, is as close to "gospel" as you get

If you "lean out" the bottom end (L), the acceleration will get slower (worse). Where did you get your info from? To quote the official Stihl Carburetors Manual, troubleshooting chart:

To improve acceleration, richen up the low mixture ("L" screw, counterclockwise about 1/4 turn). You'd have to compensate by increasing the the idle speed at the same time (LA screw, clockwise). I believe the mixture is factory-preset very lean to reduce emission levels.

I believe this is the thread being referred to: http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/milling-forum/43277-quarter-sawing-oak.html

When using Google Adwords, make certain to limit the geographic area to be within a reasonable distance from your location. You can even allow a higher click-cost for locations close to you than those further away. And make sure to choose the key (search) words to match those who are likely to have an intent on buying (possibly using the word "price" or "quote", and the name of the cities/areas you are servicing). And if you are already on top-5 on Google (organic) searches on certain search words, there is no point in paying to show Adwords on those words, too.

However did I manage to turn sweat into wheat? Might be time fior a shower, before other stuff start growing in my eyebrows!

Glasses are useless in our line of work, because: They risk falling off (twigs catching) Useless when it rains In cold/moist weather, they fog up so you can't see anything In warm weather, wheat may drip from your eyebrows to the inside of the glasses, and fine dust (with oil residue) will stick to it. Impossible to clean without soap and water I use one-day disposable soft lenses. They actually protect the cornea of your eyes against scratches, and if they come out (has happened to me a couple of times) you just pop another one in. Laser treatment is good (if your eye condition s treatable with laser, don't count on it), but very expensive. With regards to price of disposables: If you get these http://www.contactlensesexpress.co.uk/ProductDetails.php?id=12 and wear them 5 days/week for 48 weeks/year it works out at £20/month average (if you buy 360 pairs)

Nearly true. Sun Microsystems were acquired by Oracle a few years back, and subsequently, Oracle announced that they would stop the commercial development, see OpenOffice.org - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia I would also argue, that LibreOffice is no more buggy than OpenOffice, but that's besides the point. An alternative that doesn't require installing ANY software is to use Google Documents. Upload the Excel (xls or xlsx) file to Google Documents, and you can read it in your favourite browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Safari, ...). All you need is a (free) Google account.

I had the tip from a Danish Timber Frame specialist, who often works with freshly cut timber - http://www.timbersolutions.dk

Sure crayons work, but you loose accuracy in your markings

Everyone that has tried to mark freshly felled timber for milling with a normal graphite pencil, will know that the makings are very difficult to read However, Stabilo produces a special-purpose pencil, that will mark wet surfaces (and plastic, metal etc). The most commonly available color is black, but it is produced in multiple colors, and I frequently use the red color. It is called Stabilo All 8008, see STABILO All ? PRODUCTS ? STABILO.COM It costs about £1/pencil, and is sold in cartons containing 12 pencils. A Google search reveals this UK supplier: http://www.tigerpens.co.uk/acatalog/Stabilo_All_Pencils.html

Not only that, but I doubt that the drive link gauge matches the standard Stihl bar 1.6 mm. At least I have never seen a 3/8" LP chain with that drive link gauge. The widest 3/8" LP gauge is, I believe 1.3mm which would be VERY noticable, when placed in a 1.6mm groove - it would wiggle about a LOT. I think you should have a serious look at the drive sprocket (pitch), chain (pitch/style and drive link gauge), bar (gauge and nose sprocket pitch). Only then will you be able to tell what fits with what, and avoid doing (further) damage to your equipment.

Have a close look at the very end (8:05) and see a Stihl saw sent flying

They will fit, as long as... The chain pitch (typically 3/8", 3/8" Low Profile, .325") must match the chainsaw sprocket as well as the nose-wheel of the bar The drive link gauge of the chain must match the gauge of the bar (typically 1.3mm = .050", 1.5mm = .058" or 1.6mm = .063") The bar must match the chainsaw mounts and oiler holes must line up