Recent Posts

1

Chainsaws / Re: Official MS261CM vs 550XP test

« Last post by HolmenTree on Today at 02:58:01 PM »

I had a nice pleasant surprise today running my MS261CM after doing a muffler mod.
The MTronic must have adjusted itself when I free wheeled it at wide open throttle for those few seconds right after I did the muffler mod. Because when I first put it to work in this 60 foot spruce pictured below it seemed like a whole new saw. 

A different sounding exhaust note, not annoying or much louder then it was. Just sounded more responsive and more eager in the wood.
Definitely has increased in power and pulled the 23RSC chain better then it ever did.

Free wheeling for a few seconds at WOT after finishing the tree it had a strong higher rpm break tone with a slight 4 cycle note. So I can say the MTronic is doing its job just fine, only difference from days of old it can now adjust in just a few seconds not minutes.


 

 

2

General Board / Re: Concrete Countertops

« Last post by Crusarius on Today at 02:49:43 PM »

Looks nice. you just going to polish it and leave it grey?

3

Sawmills and Milling / Re: Hydraulic Sawmill

« Last post by charles mann on Today at 02:47:09 PM »

What about using chain to drive the band wheels? 

4

Firewood and Wood Heating / Re: Stand Alone Wood Stove Experience

« Last post by alan gage on Today at 02:44:15 PM »

No not buy a Englander.
JUNK

Englander is all I've used for the last 10 years. Have had 3 different Englander stoves in 3 different houses. Currently running the 30 and it's my favorite so far. Mostly just because I was using the 17VL in my previous house and I can't get over how the 30 can swallow up such huge chunks of wood.

The 13 and 17 seemed like they  had to be babied when starting a fire from scratch by leaving the door open a crack until the fire was fairly established, otherwise it would snuff itself out. With the 30 I can light the kindling, shut the door, and it keeps right on going.
The 17 was my least favorite of the three. Seemed the most poorly designed of the three and despite having it connected to outside air it still drew a large amount of inside air. Didn't feel like it gave as much control when shutting the air intake door either.

But overall no real complaints from me about Englander stoves but I have nothing to compare them with either.
Alan

5

Sawmills and Milling / Re: Husqvarna ChainSaws

« Last post by bwstout on Today at 02:43:19 PM »

I burned up a brand new xp550 a year ago on a chain saw mill on 2 small walnut logs bigger is a must

6

Timber Framing/Log construction / Re: Cutting curves in braces

« Last post by curved-wood on Today at 02:39:24 PM »

I cut my curves with a chain saw. The top plate are 8''x16'', 12 and 16 feet lenth. So I could not use a band saw. The steps are : chain saw , spoke shave, belt sander and router. The long one took about 6 hours each. The rafter are done the same way and took about 4 hours each.  Each time I use a Template for tracing.
 

 

7

General Board / Re: Concrete Countertops

« Last post by catalina on Today at 02:36:53 PM »

Looking good!

8

General Board / Re: Point Of Sale (POS) Systems

« Last post by mike_belben on Today at 02:34:29 PM »

I was gonna say, the problem is clearly those cheap pens. 

9

General Board / Concrete Countertops

« Last post by DWyatt on Today at 02:33:20 PM »

Well the time has finally come in the house building process to get some countertops for the kitchen! A lot of what helped to make my decision was that I wanted an under-mount sink. This basically ruled out formica and price ruled out everything else. So i decided that I was going to do concrete. I have made a couple smaller pieces out of concrete but nothing like a full kitchen, although it is a small kitchen.

I made all my measurements in the kitchen somewhere close to 50 times and made a little sketch so I would confidently know my layout. The first few pictures are when we were pouring/the forming. I used melamine for all my forms and and 2" foam board for my sink molds. Previously we had connected the form edges using small blocks which was a pain. I decided to use pocket holes for everything which worked beautifully, a little more time consuming but a lot more exact!



 
Backsplash molds




 

Final product after a long day of pouring


 

It was a long day Friday, started with running to town to get the materials for the forms at 7 am and I got home a little after 11 that night but we got it all poured. My dad and one of his friends even stayed to supervise the whole time and a friend of mine who got me thinking about the idea for the counters

I took off the forms and flipped the counters Sunday as the side facing the melamine is actually your finished surface. Some help would have been great but everyone seems to disappear when the 250 lb chunk of concrete needs flipped



 



 

All in all everything turned out great so far, I decided not to do any integral color and instead am using a polishing dye.  You can see how the edges have cured out a very light uniform grey and the rest is still a blochy grey as it cures.  Polishing will hopefully commence this Friday and I will update with more pictures!  

Oh and a sneak peak of the cabinets, yes I still need drawer/door fronts, but drop dead move in deadline is this Saturday and we can live without those till winter



 

10

General Board / Re: Mules

« Last post by No_Dude on Today at 02:31:26 PM »

Man I really didn't know how folks went about making it happen outside of either tall donkey's and short horses or ?

11

General Board / Re: Hey Dodge Guys

« Last post by mike_belben on Today at 02:29:18 PM »

That too.  My rockers are gone, right past the pinchweld and into the floor. 

I think that truck will get recycled into an older crew cab fummins eventually.

12

Sawmills and Milling / Re: Husqvarna ChainSaws

« Last post by mike_belben on Today at 02:27:18 PM »

Are you gonna plane this lumber after or use it rough?  Will it be exposed or hidden?  

13

Health and Safety / Re: Eye problem

« Last post by thecfarm on Today at 02:17:41 PM »

That's too bad. Never a good time for that to happen.

14

Ask The Forester / Re: Timing of harvest

« Last post by Southside logger on Today at 01:53:49 PM »

Around these parts winter harvested pine will keep a lot longer before it stains and spring harvested poplar will loose it's bark like a banana, so there are some potential considerations. 

15

General Board / Re: Hey Dodge Guys

« Last post by Corley5 on Today at 01:33:07 PM »

285,000 miles on mine when we gave up on the body.

16

Sawmills and Milling / Re: Husqvarna ChainSaws

« Last post by Upstatewoodchuc on Today at 01:28:56 PM »

When chainsaw milling, horsepower is everything, I started milling with a husky 394xp (94 CC's), and it handled a 24" and 36" bar decently, but I quickly had need for even more, so I bought a husky 3120xp (120 CC's), the extra power will not only make your saw last longer and the cuts quicker, but you will have a better finish on the wood because it can keep a consistent chain speed without bogging! I was milling silver maple at a customer's house and had to use my husky 365 (72 CC's) to mill a piece that was a bit over 20" because my 394xp had a coil die and my 3120xp was setup with a 72" bar on it, I must say I probably took years of life off my poor 365 doing it. Sure the saw cut it, but it literally took 5x as long as my big saws would and it was so hot I thought the plastics would melt. When milling mix your oil and gas richer, and always allow your saw to warm up fully before starting, and even more importantly to idle for at least a minute if not two after completing a cut so that the saw can get down to a normal temp. -Pat

17

Ask The Forester / Re: Timing of harvest

« Last post by Ianab on Today at 01:24:44 PM »

There are a couple of reasons you might harvest in winter. First is ground conditions and access. Some areas it's just more practical to get in and harvest when the ground is frozen, rather than fighting through mud and bogs. The other is to do with log storage and drying conditions. Logs degrade slower and lumber air dries better if it's cold.

But if you can work around these problems there is no reason you can't harvest all year round. More harvesting would be done locally in summer because winter is more mud and rain. Then logs are sprayed with a stain reducer, milled promptly and kiln dried to reduce degrade.

The actual wood properties don't change, but the weather / season can certainly affect harvesting.

18

Wanted / Re: resaw needed to replace for small pallet mill A.S.A.P. !!!!!!!!!!

« Last post by alan gage on Today at 01:11:46 PM »

Here's one for sale in Omaha - Woodmizer HR 120 Resaw - farm & garden - by owner - sale

Alan

19

Sawmills and Milling / Re: Husqvarna ChainSaws

« Last post by bklynjames on Today at 01:03:45 PM »

Rip sawing hardwood with a chain saw is not for everyone. I had an acquaintance who did it quite well. He was an expert filer and used the largest chain saw made. Sometimes they put 2 chainsaws on 1 bar.

I did woodworking for a bunch of years and im hoping I have what it takes.. But I need to get this all squared away and come up with a serious plan 

20

Chainsaws / Re: Gift 038

« Last post by HolmenTree on Today at 12:53:45 PM »

hedgerow, I was just saying my experiences with the 038 in logging.
At that time if a 2 man crew of a faller and skidder operator couldn't average 20 cords of treelength softwood piled in the landing in a 8 hour day we were down the road out of a job.
For a homeowner or 10 cord a year firewood cutter you can't beat the 038AV for reliability and ease of working on. 
A very well made saw.