Alaskan Mill - Guide Rails?

[lxskllr]

Sitting here contemplating building guide rails for my new mill, and considering options. My initial thought was 2x4s, but most of those are straight as a slack rope. If I did manage to find good ones, they probably wouldn't stay straight without special storage. Steel rails are heavy, and can bend. Aluminum rails are light, but bend even easier.

The manual that came with it suggested nails for curved wood/very long runs, with a plank on top. I have lots of 60d nails cause I use them at work, and my primary reason for getting this mill is to make 20' boards, so I'll probably want to use nails anyway. How about short runs? Is a plank on top of nails a reasonable way of milling? The compactness of the setup is appealing, and though it would take longer to do the setup, I'll only have to do it twice per log, and I don't anticipate milling that often.

Thoughts?

[goose63]

I use a ladder clamp it to the log it will stay stright 

[terrifictimbersllc]

Two lag screws one on each side, into log, mid-span, easily adjustable to take out sag of whatever you're using.

When I was doing CSM I had a "ladder" made of 12' 2x4 (on edge) with steel angle iron screwed to bottom of each 2x4, the two sides held together by 4x4's with threaded rod through both sides.  Heavy but I was young then. 

Could slide this on the midspan lags and end boards if log was longer.   

[lxskllr]

The ladder's a good idea. I think I'll try that for the first cut, and nails and a plank for the second. The portability of nails+wood is appealing, though the setup/operation may not be. I probably won't be doing real work til fall, so I'll have time to practice and refine my technique.

[Weekend_Sawyer]

I use 2x4s and put a support in the middle.
I also made a set of 10' long slabbing rails and reinforced them with the punched steel you see spanning the 2x4s.


 

[Weekend_Sawyer]

A little more info.
I start at the small end. Using a level mount the punched steel as high as you can and still get a good bite with the screws.

Measure down to the pith.

Mount and level the 2nd punched steel angle the same distance from the pith.

Now mount the slabbing rails to the punched steel. If any of the log sticks up between the rails trim it off.


That's how I  do it.
Kon

[lxskllr]

Are your 2x4s especially straight, or does it not matter that much on these mills? Maybe I'm overthinking it, and aiming for precision that won't be achieved.

[offrink]

Before I got a bandsaw mill I milled for 4 years with a csm. 59"-72" bars on an ms 880. It's a two man job anyway and we used 1x3" precision milled aluminum stock. It stays rigid even after it got pressed into the ground with a skidsteer. (Opps! It wasn't me driving!) The rail is 28-30" wide (I can't remember exactly) and 12 1/2' long. 

[Don P]

My favorite so far is aluminum scaffold plank 16-24' long x 16" wide. The sides are 6" tall aluminum I beam type material, flipped upside down I can use metal roofing screws thru the holes in the scaffold deck or plumbers metal strapping thru the ladder rungs and screwed to the log on each side. That works well and is quite rigid, if you have a real use for the scaffold plank, they are a good bit more than a ladder which I've used plenty. The plumbers strapping and some shims works well there as well.



 

[Brad_bb]

I use an old wooden extension ladder (one half of it) that we had on the farm since i was a kid.  It's straight grain - I'm assuming doug fir?  I use metal plumbing strapping over a rung on each end to secure it to the log and wooden wedges under those end rungs to level the ladder to where I want it. This walnut log is almost 11 feet long.  I like the ladder to overhang each end to hold the alaskan mill before and after the cut.  In this photo I just finished the first cut.

[olcowhand]

I use a ladder clamp it to the log it will stay stright

When I met Goose at the Pig Roast last year, I told him I wanted to set up a CSM- and asked him how he clamps his ladder to the log. He explained how he used Conduit clamps, so that's what I did. It works great. Thank, Goose....

 

 

[Weekend_Sawyer]

Are your 2x4s especially straight, or does it not matter that much on these mills? Maybe I'm overthinking it, and aiming for precision that won't be achieved.

It matters. The ones I made with punched steel are arrow straight.

[goose63]

olcowhand has the idea right thats the way i do it for the first cut after that i don't use the ladder

[olcowhand]

After the first cut, you have this.....

 

[schwanee]

Really like this idea. Seems like. Stable option.