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Stihl 090 Cannon 84" Bar Slab Build

Started by jemmy, September 30, 2018, 04:14:33 AM

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jemmy

Been building and developing my lumber business. This has been a long build that has stretched a few months and soon to go on a year of the first purchase of my 090 and bar. I have been fabricating a frame for the mill itself. Used 2" Square tube for my frame. And 1" square tube for auxiliary framing. A lot of little customized additions as well. Stay tuned for constant updates, and questions!




 

Plan for the worst, hope for the best, and take what comes with a grin. - Grandpa Chuck

kenfrommaine

Very cool, that is going to be a beast! Do you have a way to dry your slabs or you sell them green?
Looking forward to a video of this when you get it together.

jimparamedic

Looks like a nice set up. Does that bar use 2 saw heads? 

jemmy

No unfortunately its only 1 power head, 090 seemed like enough for now, I hope... I could probably do a dual system, just need another power head and bar. But that's a lot of cost, I should be able to get 1ft/min. I have plenty of room to store and dry out the slabs, 28 acres, and a kiln is in the making, a solar powered shipping container. Currently, I have 1 customer that wants maple slabs 2" thick as wide as possible, and doesn't mind taking them rough sawn and green. I'm also going to start putting adds up on FB and slowly move into tables and such. This saw is for slabbing, or cutting big logs in manageable cads. A lot of theories and speculations are going into this slabbing build. Thankfully everything has worked out pretty good. Gotta build the brackets for the tanks of the auxiliary oilier, fuel, power head oilier, and the systems for between, I already have most of the fittings and hoses. 
Plan for the worst, hope for the best, and take what comes with a grin. - Grandpa Chuck

jemmy

Is there any problem with drilling holes in my bar then securing the bar with flat stock and all thread? I like 5/8 for the all thread. Thoughts, concerns, advice?
Plan for the worst, hope for the best, and take what comes with a grin. - Grandpa Chuck

chep

Make sure you can take the bar off easily. It will need to be dressed and flipped every so often so that it wears evenly

Cool build!

mike_belben






I drilled through a pretty tired 36" bar for 1/2-13 threaded rod on this home made alaskan.  It works fine but bars are pretty hard, youll need a good hardened drill, carbide if possible and in a pretty slow drillpress.  A bridgeport would be better, youll wanna be down around 200-300 rpm and with a good cutting fluid.  


I drilled through a 24" bar for a track and cantilever carriage sawmill i built also. Used a pair of 3/8s bolts next to the powerhead to fasten it to the steel mount on the carriage and hold everything up.  The bar floats freely so its not supported at the sprocket end.  It works fine, neither bar has had anything bad happen yet but with an 84 youll need a sprocket end support.  Just dont try clamping the bar tip.  Itll wreck the bearing.  Make sure you drill far enough away from the sprocket to miss the tang.
Praise The Lord

jemmy

Where or what is the chainsaw bar tang?? Is it like a insert into the bar from the tip that is hidden?
Plan for the worst, hope for the best, and take what comes with a grin. - Grandpa Chuck

mike_belben

Yeah the bar tip insert extends into the bar between the cheek plates a bit deeper than the rivet.  Just look at a pic of a new sprocket insert and youll get it. 
Praise The Lord

mike_belben

If i was gonna do it again i would probably buy 2 good forged american made C clamps from the welding shop, and weld them to the posts.  Loosen claps, pop the saw right out.  Just need to be sure the throats are deep enough to clamp centered on the bar and still clear the cutter.  And jig it up real square for the first tack and triple check before finishing.  You cant clamp the sprocket tip anywhere near the bearing, itll pinch and cook immediately.  Its gotta be behind the rivet.  
Praise The Lord

jemmy

Plan for the worst, hope for the best, and take what comes with a grin. - Grandpa Chuck

jemmy

The mill as a unit is complete to my satisfaction for now. The next big project down the line will be the rail system for the mill. I have been watching youtube videos for years on chainsaws mills and the only method that I have seen demonstrated is the top mounted rail system. My thoughts and what I discovered is the use of actual rails supported on each end. When I went to a friend who is a machinist who could cut the proper holes in the bar I saw what I believe to be my answer to my problems, that being large quickly and finely adjustable stands. Something along these lines for my rail sets in conjunction with some form of beam to act as rails. I like the rails sets because I can pull the boards and walk the mill down the line, and be ready to cut dramatically faster than any other method I see possible. The down side that I see to this method is having to have multiple sets of rails. My idea currently is to extend the mills width and build a rail set to match with possibly metal wheels similar to an actual mill. I will need to figure out a way of securing the beams to the stands so that there is a solid lock with stands, and the mill is incapable of shifting around due to shaky legs. The other thought is the classic flat plane aka latter design. I would just build it out of square tube and deal with issues as they come. I like both designs, but the rails seem to be ideal. I think it may be wise to build the latter design just to have it for certain situations. Because with the new pockets I built I can pick my mill up lengthwise allowing me to slide in and out of the latter design. So it is a toss up either way. I may start with the latter just due to ease of design, but if I could get the rails dialed in I believe I could make a world of a difference. I'm into uncharted territory for myself so before I set sail through these waters I would like to see if others have sailed through and how it went.
Plan for the worst, hope for the best, and take what comes with a grin. - Grandpa Chuck

jemmy

Any ideas or threads for these rails? I need to make moves this up coming week. 
Plan for the worst, hope for the best, and take what comes with a grin. - Grandpa Chuck

jemmy

Plan for the worst, hope for the best, and take what comes with a grin. - Grandpa Chuck

jemmy

Ive basically broken it down into two camps/lines of thought, Rails vs Traditional top ladder system. My first inclination is to do the rail system due to its lack of welds and its ability slide the mill down the system back allowing for quicker repetitive less risky set up between cuts. Only major down side the rail system will be stability, and a minor being that it might take more time to set up than the ladder. That mill likes to bite and if it slams into the railing system I could see the whole thing tumbling down. My solution to that problem is some form bracing, whether rebar driven in at an angle then secured to the post of the railing, these posts will be the quick adjust heavy duty stands that I saw a machinist use. This where I am at with the inner debate. Im leaning towards the railing system, but I also see the utility of the ladder system, especially since I have those other pockets installed now allowing me to side load the mill, eliminating the need to set the mill down and flip it to proceed to the next cut. The advantage of the ladder system is that I believe it will be a quicker initial set up, maybe, and an inherently more secure structure. At the end of the day I might end up doing both systems, the rails make more sense to me because I can set them up and cruise, and if I need more stability I know how jurry rig or weigh things down enough so nothing is moving. Once again if anybody has any insight that would be great. These stands I know are about to be pricey but they will have great utility whether or not they work for this build.  
Plan for the worst, hope for the best, and take what comes with a grin. - Grandpa Chuck

jemmy

Had a lot of time to think about it, I think I'm going to do some form of metal beams with a wheel system. I have a pretty strong frame. I feel like it would be easy to mount some heavy duty wheels to. Then for the railing system I could use some form a beam whether that be wood or iron, now I know I will need to have 4-8 pts that sturdy and semi mobile. These points that the beam will be secured to seem tricky. I would like to have hydraulic capabilities to level but I would also like the capability to adjust multiple feet at a time for the massive logs that this thing is intended to cut. Any design ideas, past threads or ideas for me. Im gonna start guessing soon and seeing whats happens. Im gonna get band saw soon, and this thing will be nice just to get some of the logs i have into reasonable shape, and this might also act as a little bit as my first "mill" haha, I HAVE to get lumber for my chickens before the winter comes. And for those who know it is on the door step. A band saw would be nice, Im gonna put a little bit more effort into my circle mill. But I would rather grunt it out and get to "meet" my chain sawmill, and save up for a band saw. and slowly build that circle mill up. But it would also be very nice to have my circle mill running, just dont know which way to invest my time quite yet. My thoughts are to work on circle mill on the nice days, and when its raining, which has been a little to often this year unfortunately, work on chainsaw mill or other projects indoors. I can always try and get out there and grind out running the chainsaw mill. 

Stability Idea:

4-8 jacks with wide bases and capability to adjust in ft increments, the top "rail" would be a square, this would secured by taking a strap securing it to concrete blocks or two "immovable" points at each end that would sit outside of and loop over the rail. This tension should keep the rail sturdy and somewhat movable. 

There could be two of these jack stands in each corner that work together allowing for the travel between two to be handled exclusively by hydraulics. 

I have a lot of room and the topography here is very flat. And I have a bobcat that I like using the forks with. I like stability and I feel like this is the best trade offs for what I have at this point. 

But there is a lot that needs to happen between now and accomplishing an efficient system for different sawing styles. Im busier than I know what to do with. Im in school, trying to roof my parents house, work hours for my boss, run an egg layer business. My job is ending soon and I have a little break to finally get something done on my mills, and like I said this is now moving into fire mode. I will NEED lumber. Decisions decisions decisions. Oh I could also scrap some metal and potentially be pretty close to a band mill. But it is going to be a cheap beater to start, I wish I could afford something a bit nicer if i could be patient and save for a couple more months, i could always turn and burn later, but that seems unlikely. But I will need to pick a strategy and stick to it. I think I am going to try and get the current mills I have running with a given reasonable budget and build to a decent entry band mill. 4-5k trailered 16ft capabilities with a decent name brand is what I am looking for. Well I know this is probably chalked full of errors and misconceptions and a lot of missed details, I still need to figure out drying, and kiln and what not...... But this is for the mills. If you guys could tell me of what you think of what my train of thoughts to this point that would be grand and glorious. (Im gonna go back through this and edit for hopefully minor yet two often grammar errors and nonsensical sentences. I am very tired and working a lot like I said so please excuse me) haha well thank you for the help.
Plan for the worst, hope for the best, and take what comes with a grin. - Grandpa Chuck

YellowHammer

I'm not sure I follow, you have a non functioning circle mill?

You are building a large CSM for wide slabs.

You need wood pretty quickly.

You are very busy.

My advice is get the circle mill running, if it's possible within very little time and effort, or buy a manual band saw within your budget.  Both will produce lots of lumber fast.  The slabber will produce very wide lumber slowly.  Bandmills keep their value so resell later would not be a problem if you want to upgrade.
YellowHammerisms:

Take steps to save steps.

If it won't roll, its not a log; it's still a tree.  Sawmills cut logs, not trees.

Kiln drying wood: When the cookies are burned, they're burned, and you can't fix them.

Sawing is fun for the first couple million boards.

Be smarter than the sawdust

esteadle

You could get some V-Roller bearings and some angle iron. This is the basis for most 4 post band-sawmill designs. You could weld these into the saw head rig at the ends to ride on rails. Build 2 triangular "rail sets". 2 of these would let you set up one at a time on either side of a log. The long side of the triangle has a beefy box beam that you weld the angle iron to, to make a fixed length track - your preferred slab length. Use your 2" and your mechanical skills to reinforce this but make it light enough to move. The rest of the triangle is for leveling and stability on uneven ground. You're flat there, so it should be simple. The trick is not to let the steel flex along the track length. Steel is strong but deflects over the distance of boards. At each point of the triangle, strategically weld in a the pipe bracket of a swivel jack like this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004QEKHBI/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Use  these to level out your tracks and make yourself a set of field - placeable tracks for your saw rig to ride on. 
Weld some stops at each end to avoid losses. You have 1 customer right now, which is great. One day, you will have a second customer. If he wants the same thickness, great. If not, then you need a couple of adjustment screws on either side of the sawhead rig to set height. Keep going. It's a sickness...you're infected. 

GearDrive


offrink

I have an 880 with a 60" and 72" bar. Our first mill was custom made out of 1" steel stock and it worked well and was very heavy duty. And very heavy. It was only used on the 60" bar. The newer one was a granberg mill and while lighter it isn't as rigid. The key to accurate cuts, especially the first, is the guide. We run it on a traditional ladder style guide. Ours is made out of 1"x4" aluminum square stock precision milled. The cross members have a series of holes in it where bolts can be lock nutted and the guide won't rock. The setup we run is portable enough to move by hand if needed. Rigidity is as key to csm cutting as a sharp milling chain. 

jemmy

YellowHammer, I have/am taking your advice and pushing my chips in on my circle mill. I am almost finished securing the track extensions, and I think in a week I will be to the point where either the mill or I will win. I was speaking about using this slabbing unit to produce rough sawn lumber for my egg layer house. I know it will be very very very slowww but I need to have it built and finished before the consistent cold/harsh weather comes. 

Thank you all for the responses, I have been leaning towards the individual railing set up so far. Seems like an easier to set up, faster production, and easier to design/execute. That barn door railing is pretty gosh darn genius, but I do not know how it would fare against my current mill, it is a lumbering beast. I did find your vertical adjustment and horizontal support to be helpful!

Thank you all again for the help
 
Plan for the worst, hope for the best, and take what comes with a grin. - Grandpa Chuck

jemmy

Im going to do some form of a track system outside the frame of the motor and bar so that the railing system can be supported infinitely from the side. And I am thinking some form of DIY jack stands/heavy duty/quick adjust/tripod/bottle jack/, or machine shop style with some plate wielding and ratchet straps through the beams to lock it all into place.... I am thinking some 20 ft 2" thick square tubing and welding some simple railing systems atop. Just need to figure out jack tripod. It is rare for a cut longer than 20ft and I have plenty of projects that can keep me busy with this thing for now. I like that it can process 60" plus of wood. Even to quarter things up its a nice tool to have at this stage for me. Any links on how to locate the best tracks, and wheels? or should I just pan through some builds and what not? Thoughts on this approach? 
Plan for the worst, hope for the best, and take what comes with a grin. - Grandpa Chuck

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