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Cheers, well worth putting up pics of the walnut - the best bet would be to take a picture after it's down, showing how much heartwood (dark) to sapwood band (light) there is, together with a diameter and max. length. If there is a decent amount of heartwood it should be more than firewood price at least. Alec

Any plum in that lot, and what's the walnut like? Cheers Alec

I normally mill my own stuff on my own, although I completely agree with Jonathan regarding the advantages of working alongside someone else where the opportunity presents itself. The maximum width I can do is 36" and I have done this (including having to trim the odd bit off as I go along to squeeze the mill through ). This is without the winch - with winch fitted I reckon I could do 48" easily, and probably as wide as I can practically go. When I've paid off my current debt to Rob I will be setting up to go to the full 72", as I have some timber to mill at full width, probably working singlehanded so I'll let you know how it goes! Rob - what width was that cut, as there is no sign of sag at all and that mill looks like a modded Alaskan so no bar tensioning. Alec

That reminds me - I owe you a photo! Alec

Well done, you would have had a bidding war if it had been up my way Alec

I would buy a 48" mill, and start out with a 36" or 46" Sugihara bar, then uprate to Stihl 59" bar when funds allow/justify it. This will cover pretty much anything that isn't speciality milling. Alec

Not necessarily. If built right there will be a small number of jobs which it can do that nothing else will. This would mean that there was no competition for the work, hence it could attract premium pricing to recoup the costs and then remain highly profitable per outing thereafter. I find this with my chainsaw mounted bandsaw - although I'm sure there must be more of them that have been imported into the UK I'm not aware of them and it secures certain jobs that nobody else can do. It is, in fact, pretty much the reason I started doing any contract milling, not because I wanted to specifically but because it started being offered based on the kit. There is of course the other reason for doing it - to see if it can be done Alec

They do, and it's also available as an online selection tool, but it only goes back so far (unless the book version goes back further?) Otherwise there are several ways I can think of to do this. The easiest would be to contact the people in Somerset referred to earlier. It's possible they know the answer! It would be worth dropping Magnus a PM as he may well know the answer, and if not it is likely that he will know a man who can. Gordon at Carlton Trading may well have original parts and if not he may well know the modern equivalent. As a last resort, measure everything up - for the bar you will need to measure the following: Diameter of studs Spacing of studs (centre to centre) Distance from back stud to clutch drum Diameter of tensioning pin Vertical distance down from centreline between studs to the centre of the tensioning pin Horizontal range of travel of the tensioning pin, although this can probably be guessed at from the photos For the sprocket you will need to take it off and measure: OD of clutch drum ID of clutch drum Depth of clutch drum Diameter of crankshaft where it passes through the bearing Diameter of bore through the sprocket Depth of sprocket There will be some flexibility around the above, and some degree of bodgery may be possible, but starting from that it should be possible to measure up a few existing ones and see what's available. Alec

Excellent, that's the sort of deal you want Alec

I think the challenge is going to be identifying which, if any, of the currently available sprockets will fit. Alec

I think I'd go hydraulic. Every now and again an old ex-MOD hydraulic Danarm turns up and apparently they used to have some monster bars fitted so I'm pretty sure that would make a good starting point. It would want a big bar to justify it - I reckon 72"+ and it would need a hydraulic power pack of some considerable size - probably on a hand trolley, but the whole thing would be portable-ish Alec

There are various different bar mounts currently available and there is a reasonable chance of getting a bar that fits, although you may have to drill a new oil hole. I would look to change the drive sprocket over too, to .404". If you can identify a currently available bar/sprocket combination then it will be possible to replace these indefinitely. The biggest difficulty I can foresee is that, although the parts may fit, they won't be specified for that saw, so it's knowing what to use. The best bet I think is to get the saw, measure up and put up dimensions and pictures. The collective wisdom of Arbtalk will then probably do the rest! Alec

Try Gordon at Carlton Trading (advertises on ebay) as he has an Aladdin's cave of such things. You'll need to measure the gauge as well though. Does the bar have a hard nose? If so, the other option is to change the drive sprocket over to something currently available - .404" is very close so would be the obvious choice. You would need to have a look at the design of the drive sprocket and see if something might fit. Alec

There was someone looking for SC for shingles fairly recently and I think they were reasonably close. May be worth a search. Alec

The two mills I am personally familiar with are the Alaskan Mk III and the Stihl. The down sides to the Stihl mill are that it is not adjustable in length, it is made of steel which makes it pretty heavy and vertical adjustment is on a screw which means it takes forever. The Alaskan addresses all of these points, however adjustment in particular is a compromise. The Stihl mill is designed to be used by two people, with a double-ended bar and a powerhead at each end. This means the weight of the mill is less of an issue. Operating singlehanded, the weight of the mill matters when you have to lug it back along the log plank after plank after plank Milling is pretty physical. It also matters because when you start the cut referencing off the cut face, the balance point of the mill is not on the log so you have to hold it there, keeping it level, pretty much just using one hand as the other is on the throttle, until the mill is far enough into the log to keep it level. I use a 36" mill but have set it up with a 47" bar on the 090 once (working with Burrell) and I started the cut alone, although we both pushed it through. I wouldn't have wanted any extra weight when doing this. The Alaskan is largely made of aluminium and bolts together, although there is a bit of welding in the construction. There are a few steel bits and I reckon with careful material selection you could now replace many of these if you wanted to drop the weight a little further. I wouldn't put rollers on the mill base. Although it looks like a good idea to reduce friction, and some mills have been made this way, a square section works much better as it scrapes the sawdust out of the way rather than running over it, which keeps the mill running level more effectively so the boards stay flat. Adding a winch is, however, a good way of reducing the effort (I just haven't fitted mine yet ) Not having fitted the winch, I am pushing the mill through the log. On the Alaskan, I have the handle fitted but to be honest I very rarely use it - I tend to push on the round crossbar and keep it level by varying the lean on the back rail. The only things I would consider as improvements over the current Alaskan design are: A better system of height adjustment. The current system is fairly quick, but is a bit of a pain to get the two ends level as they tend to jam when going up and down. The clamp piece is not captive in the U-bolt which means it's easily lost if you take the top plate off the posts completely. It is also a pain to have to keep finding the spanner to adjust, and constant torqueing is not great as if you under-do it the mill height drifts but overdo it and it shears off eventually. I wonder if a rack and pinion system with a locking knob would be an improvement (would cost more but this may not matter if you are building your own). Standardise the bolt sizes - most of them are the same but the ones for adjusting the length are different which is a pain. A better skid plate could be designed - when starting and finishing the cut you have the end rail and the centre support only, which can mean tricky positioning to keep the mill square as it enters and leaves the log, sometimes adjusting the centre support to ensure it runs on the log. I have another mill (bandsaw type) which uses a flat steel skid plate faced with PTFE sheet and this is much better. Anyway, this has turned into a very long ramble but some thoughts at least! Alec

I have one, and I really rate it (should also mention that I do a lot of Rob's online tech support, but I bought the grinder before then!). The grinder clamps on to the bar as shown in the video below: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aT5shPjj-i8]chainsawbars.co.uk - Granberg 12volt precision ginder - G1012XT - YouTube[/ame] It's pretty straightforward - there is a referencing point for the back of the tooth and the base of the tooth and you then set up the length, depth (hook angle) and angle against the shortest tooth and grind away until all of them are done on one side, then do the same on the other (you need to use some verniers to get the first one set up for length). It's very quick and everything comes out identical which makes milling very smooth and as fast as possible. Alec

The huge bog oak they milled in the fens last year seemed to go OK: http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/milling-forum/48467-huge-tree-milled-fens.html I would really like to get my hands on a small piece of bog oak, say 4ft long x 1ft dia or so, to play with milling. I reckon that would be small enough to manage the really difficult drying conditions needed and salvage a few bits at the end. I have this design of box in my head and sketched out on paper which I reckon would look fantastic made in bog oak with brown oak interior trays. Alec

The one I'd really like to see is the ladder balanced on top of the stack of milk crates, then climbed by the giant groundie with you hoisted over his back to lob you into the top of the tree Alec

No, the TS350 is an 08 with a disk Alec

If it helps set your mind at rest - I have an old 1950s Allen Scythe with a Villiers 2-stroke. I have used it for the past couple of years for mowing a paddock twice a year and it is worked -really- hard to do it. On the cap it says 16:1 mix. I use Aspen (50:1) and it is happier than it has ever been. Alec

No, but they are a bit odd (they sort of have a top handle rather than a back handle) and heavy. They are, however, extremely rugged and reliable which is why hire shops used to have a lot of them. Parts availability is also surprisingly good as they share a lot of parts with models with a very long build history. Alec

I have the technology to make it

Doesn't matter, so long as everything is about the same width. When stacking, try to either 'rebuild' the tree, or stack the widest boards at the bottom and work upwards with narrowing boards if you are stacking multiple trees above one another. That way you keep pressure across the whole board width which reduces cupping. Opinions vary. I don't find I have problems spacing every 2' and leaving the last foot of each board unsupported, others use more stickers. Thickness depends on species, time of year and width of board, based on theory and some experience, rather than very solid evidence, but it doesn't do any harm. If the stickers get too thin then air doesn't circulate well, if they are too thick at the wrong time of year it causes too much circulation and you get cracking or case hardening. Thicker stickers also means the stack gets taller more quickly so you need more space. Oak is particularly prone to surface checking if dried too quickly which means warmer weather, so milled in November-February when it's cold and damp I would use around 3/4" for 2-3' wide boards, but might go as thin as 3/8" if stacking 18" wide boards in June. This makes it sound rather complicated - in practice it isn't as I just rip up some pallets and run them through the thicknesser if necessary to create a suitable pile. I reckon it's about an hour's work to make enough for a big tree (it took me that long to sort the stickers for the oak milled in Putney a few months back - 2off 10' lengths, lower length 4' dia, upper length 3' dia). Bone dry and same thickness are about the only requirements (although see comment on thickness above). Some use poplar, some use pine, I make mine by breaking down old pallets. Anything cheap, dry and available. Yep, exactly as you state, so long as the floor is solid and the stack won't sink in. If you are stacking single trees, ie boards around 2' wide, the stacks start to get unstable above about 4', so I tend to run long stickers between adjacent stacks every couple of feet up. That way they stabilise each other and I can go as high as I can stack. So long as it has good ventilation and you stack them with an air gap to separate the stack from the walls if they're solid then this is ideal conditions and means you won't need to cover the stack. Hope this helps. Alec

Well funnily enough I paid the deposit on ours not ten minutes ago - have to see whether a fortnight in North Devon next August is sufficient to cause my horns to drop off... Alec

It is currently the norm, at least around here, for decent quality sawlogs. I agree it's a little on the high side for the smaller size of this, and taking the risk of buying standing (I would expect more like £3/Hoppus) but I would factor in the fact that this is a 'one off' selected log with no economy of scale on the felling and extraction. If you want to try charging what you think you can get away with then that's your prerogative, but if he ever works out what the going rate is he's not likely to use you in future, and may not be talking about you in very positive terms on whichever forums he happens to be a member of:001_smile: As an aside, I find the range of values people place on trees fascinating - everything from laughing at people who put their tree up for sale on ebay through to pricing something equivalent at hundreds of pounds. I think I'll give this thought its own thread. Alec