chainsaw mill safety

[Greg]

Hey all,

New member, first post!

Just wondering what extra precautions if any, folks make when using chainsaw powered mills. For mills like Alaskan, and also for some of the other chainsaw milling gizmos like Granberg's mini mill and debarkers.

Obviously the chain is under more stress cutting through long lengths of fiber, even rip chains. I can see breaking a chain would be more common.

Hoping basic chainsaw safety measures and common sense will work to my advantage. Personally after 10 years of cutting and felling firewood, I've never even come close to a severe kickback or other accident. (Knock on wood).Of course, using mostly ANSI safety chain as alot to do with that.

Trying to extend that trend and avoid becoming a statistic. Besides if I maim myself milling, the wife will finish me off ;-)

Greg

[DanG]

Hi Greg, and welcome! I'm glad to see that you are concerned about safety.

I don't know that chain breakage is a problem when milling, but it never hurts to follow all the safe sawing rules.

Do you have a mill, or just thinking about it?

[Kevin]

I`ve never had a chain break partly because I use 3/8 pitch.
Be careful using the mini mill down in front of your leg because if the chain breaks you`ll be chain whipped if your bar isn`t buried in the log.
Wear eye protection along with the face shield.
Make sure the logs are secure before milling them.
Wear a mask over your mouth and nose to eliminate breathing fumes.

[Greg]

Do you have a mill, or just thinking about it?

Hey DanG,

Will put in my order with Bailey's sometime this week...

Looking at upgrading to a real saw first, got my eye on a mid size Husky 365. Bigger than my little trimming saw - a McCulluch, but not a monster/pain to carry around.

Start out with the mini mill to square my cants, re-dim a few beams, and a try a few different chain styles to see what works best. I'd like to be able to use it for normal usage and occasional ripping/milling, but I realize that may not be practical.

We'll see. Great place here!
Greg

[DanG]

Greg, I'm no expert, by any means, on chainsaw milling. But, there is a wealth of info on the subject, right here on the ForestryForum. Page back through this category, as well as the others, and you will find a lot of discussion on the subject. Pay attention to the threads where saw brands are discussed, and you will find that your dealer is just as important as the manufacturer. It just may be a well spent few bucks to buy locally, at a little higher price, instead of going mail-order. I'm real pleased with my Echo saw, and I can call on my dealer for parts or service, and not even tell him what kind of saw I have. I doubt if I would get that level of service if I bought through a catalog.
Stick around and enjoy the fun, and keep us posted on your progress.

[Jeff]

The Forestry Forums parent site, the Timber Buyers Network has an on-line chainsaw safety section.

http://www.timberbuyer.net/chainsaws/start.htm

[Kevin]

The mini mill is ok for edging but not squaring a cant.
The system isn`t perfectly square so the results are the same.
Check my pictures for a better reference on using the mini mill.
I use the mini mill in conjunction with the alaskan and use two different saws, one on each mill and it speeds things up considerably.
You`ll be somewhat restricted to the size of lumber you can mill with that size of saw but I used a 262 for a few years and it worked well for milling cedar from 12-15" wide..

[LumberJack]

Hey Greg,

Welcome to the site!  I too mill with a chainsaw rig (Hadon).  I started off with my Husky 55 but soon found out that it just didn't have enough power.  Upgraded to a older Husky 394XP. Now those 24" dia. oaks pose no problems!  I've never had a chain snap or come off ( run a 32" PowerMatch 3/8 X .063) I only had the saw kick once, I move the blade back through the saw kerf while the chain was under about half power.  Lesson learned: move back with chain stopped and don't saw when your fatigued!  It was amazing to see that bar come out of that log sooo fast!  One good thing about the Hadon or the Granberg rig is that you will be operating the saw from the opposite side so most of your body is out of the way until the log is trimmed down  most of the way. Wear hearing protection and eye protection as theres a bunch of noise and sawdust.

As far as ripping chain is concerned, I've used it and haven't found a noticable difference between a ripping grind and a standard grind going through oak so I've stuck with the standard grind.

[IndyIan]

Hi Greg,
For a saw I'd recommend a husky 372 or I believe the stihl 044 is it's equivalent.  They are the most powerful mid sized saws so you still use them for regular cutting without your arms falling off and also be able to mill at some speed.  If you think you are going to mill alot then a bigger saw is a good idea as they can handle big hardwoods much better than a 372.  
An absolute gold mine of info is at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/milling/

If I was going to buy my setup again I'd order 3/8 pitch .050 gauge mini chain, with the proper sprocket from logosol(3/8 mini doesn't work with a regular 3/8 sprocket)  Oregon makes a 32" 3/8 .050 gauge bar and a 30" alaskan.  The mini chain has a much smaller kerf so I think even a 372 would cut pretty quick with it and the bigger saws fly.
Good luck and have fun!

[KiwiCharlie]

G'day Greg,

If I say only one thing, its More Power!  I held off purchasing a saw, to save a bit more and bought the Stihl 090.  Theres nothing worse than trying to rip with a too small saw.  People have done a days milling with a small saw, and given the game away as it was just too hard!
As for safety, it sounds like youve got good experience with saws, so I think youll be OK.
Heres my baby when brand new!



Cheers
Charlie.