aswales

Hi Mike, Where are you based ? It would be worth your while having a hands on go with both systems before commiting your cash. When I was looking at this stuff paid for a day to learn with someone, and had chance to use the logosol timber jig, rail system, big mill LSG which is 2 timber jigs joined to form a similar mill to the Alaskan and a woodmizer LT40 hydraulic with an independent pro who makes his living from milling. Not saying that it would necesserily cost you cash if there is somone in your area willing to give you a hands on demo ? Have you a CS30 ? There are pros and cons to the different arrangements, in the end I bought a timber jig and rail to start and then bought the M7 woodworkers mill. There is a bit of an art to using just the timber jig and rail to get parallel boards and that is down to having a sharp chain, decent bar and how you mount the brackets on a log, but once you get used to its fine and surface finish is good.

I had a look in the flowfit catalogue and a new 1.5 kw motor power pack without the electronic controlled spool valves can be bought for less than 1000 pounds depending on the exact spec. Might give you some idea on price.....

Hi Rob, An old log that has been felled for 20 years and dry stored for 10 is likely to have dried out to a stable moisture level and become seasoned with less further seasoning necessary when it is split into planks. Timber in large section doesn't need to be cut up to season, it just takes longer for the moisture to come out in big sections than for thin planked timber. As the timber dries out it does harden and would dull the cutting edges on your chain more quickly than green timber. Also get lots of chain and guide bar wear due to dirt if grit is present. Would normally sharpen with a hand file, but if its bad wear then chain grinder. Moisture meters are readily available, one with two little pins that press into timber work well. Try looking at logosol for chain sharpening and moisture meter stuff. There is some good info on their site. AS

Just a quick note to add, be carefull when clamping over the sprocket nose that the clamp is centered on the sprocket (nose wheel) rivets, otherwise you will squeeze the sprocket with the outer leaves of the guide bar. Its also worth noting that solid guide bars rather than laminated are better for this scenario, they are stiffer and are available from a number of chainsaw milling suppliers. With a new bar and chain it is worth manually adding some chain oil to the bar groove when fitting the chain, milling is very demanding on lubrication and can produce a lot of heat. As you get through the log, its worth tapping in a few wedges at appropriate points to stop the cut plank pinching the chain , throwing things offline etc

Use an oil finish such as tung oil, linseed oil, danish oil or finishing oil (usually a blend of some of the former...) is probably best to bring out the grain, there are versions of oils for outdoor furniture available however it will need retreating every year... Axminster power tools a good source plenty of choice

Have you any pics, size of log and info on beams required ?

Where ?

Can I have a few more details please, might be interested. Tried sending PM but not working for me.

How big ? Is it a job for a chainsawmill or for a portable bandmill ?

Have you found someone to mill this for you ?

Hi, Whereabouts in the country are you located ? May be able to help, it would be with a logosol big mill and M7. Regards Adrian