Electric Chainsaw Mill Build

[Stu in Tokyo]

I have a chainsaw mill, works well, but well, it's a gas saw, of course. Even though I have put a motorcycle muffler on it, and it is very quiet compared to most chainsaws, it's still not something that I wish to run in my workshop. I don't really have the space to run it outside, and as I live in Tokyo Japan, what do I do? Well, I have this old heavy duty electric chainsaw, a Shindaiwa unit, it may not move the chain that fast, but the thing has some serious torque. With some ripping chain I've ordered, I think/hope it will do the job.

This is the third chainsaw mill that I've made, so I have learned a few things along the way, I hope to incorporate them into this unit.



 


 
Right now I've got the parts done that clamp onto the bar of the saw,



 
The nose has a built in guard, to keep me from hurting myself.



  

 
The pieces of square tubing with the nut welded to them and the T-handles will be the parts that are attached to the frame that will go along the guide board and that sets the thickness of the cut.

I hope to be done soon, but I understand the ripping chain I ordered from Baileys Online will not be in stock until the end of May  Dunno what's up with that.... ???

I'll be able to cut 42.5cm or about 16 3/4" wide, not the biggest chainsaw mill, but not bad either. If the saw will pull the ripping chain through the wood easily enough, I might try to find a longer bar, I don't think that Shindaiwa makes a longer bar, and bars from other makes don't fit, I think, so I might have to modify a bar to fit (had to do with how the tension adjuster works on this saw).

I'm also going to make some kind of a fixture to hold the log in, some kind of cradle, that I can use for various lengths and diameters of logs, got to think about that some more too. I'll be able to hoist any log up to put the carriage under it, and I want it with one end higher than the other, I find that having gravity help push the mill along is a good thing.

Cheers!

[Ianab]

Are the bars from the larger gas saws compatible? Shindiawa make gas saws of 70+cc, with 28" bars, but it's possible the bar mount is different?

Anyway, looks a pretty heavy duty unit. Sharp chain etc it should gnaw it's way through pretty much anything  :D

Ian

[bandmiller2]

Stu,good workmanship on that frame.I don't doubt you mill will cut but I don't think the electric motor on the saw will live long.If you  could possibly use a regular electric motor,preferably three phase I think you'd have a better lashup.Try it but go easy and let the motor cool when it gets hot to touch.What are you doing in nipon land.?? Frank C.

[Magicman]

I admire the gusto that you have.  It seems that when you get an idea, you hop to it.   ;D

[Stu in Tokyo]

I'm well aware that this may not work, if it doesn't them maybe I'll build a baby bandsaw mill  ;D



 
The Shindaiwa bar is on the top, a Husqvarna bar is on the bottom. This Shindaiwa does not your a hole in the bar that the tension adjustment screw hooks into, but a kind of ground out area that the side of the nut fits into, I don't know, but I don't think this is common. The Husqvarna bar shown is the old bar for my 185CD, I might just take a shot at modifying that bar to work on the Shindaiwa, as I do have two ripping chains that fit that bar. I've ordered a new sprocket nose slightly longer bar for the 185CD so I can make a slightly larger mill for that machine.

Cheers!

[Stu in Tokyo]

I admire the gusto that you have.  It seems that when you get an idea, you hop to it.   ;D

Thank you, no time like the present!

I think the main reason I can do a lot of this stuff is that I don't watch TV, Japanese TV is B-A-D!!!  :

[Hilltop366]

No need to wait for a ripping chain, just get out your file and make one with the chain you have!

A file guide with stop would help get things set up nice and with a short chain it would not take long. If you find a full chain has too much load on the saw motor you could remove some teeth and make a skip chain.

[justallan1]

Great work Stu. You have the same attitude as myself, if you don't have it, build it!
Allan

[Stu in Tokyo]

No need to wait for a ripping chain, just get out your file and make one with the chain you have!

A file guide with stop would help get things set up nice and with a short chain it would not take long. If you find a full chain has too much load on the saw motor you could remove some teeth and make a skip chain.

Yes I know I could convert this chain to a rip chain, I did that on my mill I run the 185CD on, but I only have this one chain for crosscutting, so I would like to leave it that way. I live in downtown Tokyo, there are no chainsaw shops nearby  :D The Big Box stores outside of Tokyo did not have the chain I needed last time I went, ordering online in Japanese is not easy, I usually get my wife to do that for me, but she is laid up in the hospital (she is fine, just had some surgery done) and can't do it for me, so I'll wait, not like I don't have a million other things to do  :
I'll give it a go with this chain, and then wait for the rip chain to get here, but thanks for the idea of making a skip chain, that could come in handy! ;D

[Stu in Tokyo]

Great work Stu. You have the same attitude as myself, if you don't have it, build it!
Allan

Thanks Allan!

Often here in Tokyo I don't have any other option but to make it myself.

Cheers!

[sawguy21]

You certainly are resourceful. What power is required to run that saw? Is your available service heavy enough to handle the current draw?

[Stu in Tokyo]

You certainly are resourceful. What power is required to run that saw? Is your available service heavy enough to handle the current draw?

Thanks, I have to be here in Tokyo.

Yes, the main panel for the building is in the same room that I'll run the mill. I actually have my choice of power, 100V/200V or 200V 3-phase, as we have an elevator in the building. I my workshop down in the basement, I run a number of tools from this 3-phase power.

Cheers!

[Tree Feller]

Version 003 of the Tokyo Log Hog!  I like it and always get a kick out of seeing what you fabricate in the dungeon.   8)

[Stu in Tokyo]

I've got the mill attachment done......


 
Welding the last bit up using spacer blocks to keep everything square and level.



 
Another look



 


 
All welded up and I added a push handle.



 
I think this will work OK.

Now I have to figure out some sort of track to put on the ground that will hold the log in place.....?

Cheers!

[VictorH]

looking good Stu!!!

[Nomad]

     Stu, you do pretty work 8)

[HaroldSiefke]

Nice job on the chain saw mill.I
own a chainsaw mill and when I put my clamp on the bar that close to the end it makes my tip smoke. Good luck Hal..

[Stu in Tokyo]

Well I got the first cut done today, a small chunk of VERY dry Doug Fir that I got from a house, I have about five 6' long pieces that I'm going to  slab up, this was just the short end piece (long story about how I got these). This is the small end, maybe 10" in diameter, the large end is about 20" in diameter, so I should get some nice big slabs out of it at some point.



 
I just put it on my workmate knock off, this really did not work well, as you can imagine the mill is heavy on the power head end, and the log wanted to roll to that side. The log also wanted to slide along the top of the workmate, but for one quick cut it worked. I built a guide for the first cut out of some plywood, it is like an I-beam, simple and straight forward, you can see the top part of the log still attached to the I-beam standing up against the wall to the right.

The Bad

• sawdust everywhere
  
• Log not secure, it rolled
  
• Log slide along the workmate
  
• Jig's minimum cut it too large
  
• T-handle to secure cut depth in the way
  

The Good

• Even with the crosscut chain the cutting speed was faster than I had hoped.
  
• The motor did not really warm up at all during the cut
  
• Using the manual oiler I was able to keep oil on the bar
  
• The cord did not warm up during the cut.
  

First up I need to make some sort of fixture to hold a log. I have a couple of ideas, first up is kind of a ladder or train track looking idea, this would have the log sit on it, and had one end of the ladder with a stop on it for the end of the log to go against, and then the other end would have some kind of a clamp that would grab on to that end of the lot, basically squeezing the log between the two ends of the ladder, if that make sense.

I'd sure like to see any ideas or examples any of you have!



 
I need to do two small mods on the mill, one is move the T-handle on the side nearest the power head  up on the tube, it will get in the way of the big black knob when I do the second mod, which is to make the min cut thickness less. I think I'll cut an 1 1/2" off those tubes to give me a thinner min cut. The log holder will also be off the ground a bit, not need to be on my knees on a concrete floor. I'll also make the starting end higher by say a foot to let Mr. Gravity help out.

Lastly I'm going to hook up some kind of a hose to the saw, to where the majority of the sawdust comes out, I figure I could direct it into a garbage can or something, save on the clean up some.

Wish me luck!

Cheers!

[Stu in Tokyo]

     Stu, you do pretty work 8)

Thanks, at least something about me is pretty  ;D

[Stu in Tokyo]

Nice job on the chain saw mill.I
own a chainsaw mill and when I put my clamp on the bar that close to the end it makes my tip smoke. Good luck Hal..

No smoke yet, but then again the chain is not moving so fast on this saw, and I've only started to do this, so I'll keep an eye open for smoke 

[customsawyer]

Nice looking work on the build. I find that the cross cutting chain cuts faster when ripping then ripping chain does. The ripping chain will be a bit smoother.

[John Bartley]

I hope to be done soon, but I understand the ripping chain I ordered from Baileys Online will not be in stock until the end of May  Dunno what's up with that.... ???

I'll be able to cut 42.5cm or about 16 3/4" wide, not the biggest chainsaw mill, but not bad either. If the saw will pull the ripping chain through the wood easily enough, I might try to find a longer bar, I don't think that Shindaiwa makes a longer bar, and bars from other makes don't fit, I think, so I might have to modify a bar to fit (had to do with how the tension adjuster works on this saw).

Hey Stu,

Good to see you still slaving away in your dungeon!  Not having a rip chain in stock is a bit odd for a saw dealer, but it does happen. If you know the pitch, guage and number of drive links, almost any chainsaw shop should be able to make one for you. I keep a reel of 3/8"LP rip chain here in my shop all the time and make chains regularly for the locals - if you get frustrated finding a chain give me a shout and maybe I can help.

As far as bars go, there's no mystery there either. Just pick the length you want, as long as it is the correct pitch on the nose sprocket and the correct gauge in the groove, then drill the adjuster pin and oil feed holes where you want them.   If you can't find the correct nose sprocket pitch on the length of bar you want, then order the closest bar in the correct groove gauge and also order a replacement nose sprocket and rivet it in yourself, but I think you already know this don't you

cheers

John

[mad murdock]

Good job on the electrified version of the mill. You could hook a shop vac to the tube on your "exhaust" and really pull the chips off!

[Magicman]

I am glad to hear that your trial run was successful.  Doing your own R&D can be challenging, but you seem up to the task.   

[isawlogs]

 Nice!!!
I like seeing a project go well, to clamp your logs on your ­rail you might be able to use a pipe clamp put along the side of the log to act as a log stop and a log holder. Pipe clamp would need be clamped to your rail system and the log would butt to the pipe, stopping the roll keeping it from moving away from the saw.
A pipe clamp would also let you have different length of logs and of different diameter.

[Hilltop366]

Nice to see it is cutting ok!

For a track idea, perhaps some 2X? material and metal joist hangers, for log holders some L brackets fastened to the cross pieces to screw the log to if you do not need to turn the log in between cuts which I think is normal for this type of CSM.

So this has got me to thinking if the long sides of a 2X? log track were taller than the cross bunks by using the next size up of 2X? you would have a track to run you CSM on with a little more fab work the CSM could be made to fasten to a carriage to ride on the rails. A remote switch and a way to run the oiler and your milling standing up but do not have to lift the log up far.

Perhaps CSM #4

[Stu in Tokyo]

Nice to see it is cutting ok!

For a track idea, perhaps some 2X? material and metal joist hangers, for log holders some L brackets fastened to the cross pieces to screw the log to if you do not need to turn the log in between cuts which I think is normal for this type of CSM.

So this has got me to thinking if the long sides of a 2X? log track were taller than the cross bunks by using the next size up of 2X? you would have a track to run you CSM on with a little more fab work the CSM could be made to fasten to a carriage to ride on the rails. A remote switch and a way to run the oiler and your milling standing up but do not have to lift the log up far.

Perhaps CSM #4

Yes, maybe Ver 4.0  ;D

For now something much simpler will do.

I have some steel sitting around that is just about the right length, and some screw things that are used as leveling legs on scaffolding, add a couple of pieces of angle iron I have and some hole, and welding and I might have a rig that will work......



  

  

 

The wingnuts will go on the outside of the side rails, then I'll be able to make the rail the size I need it to grip the log. A piece of angle iron will go along each end on the bottom, one side welded to a side rail the other side will have a slot cut in it and a bolt, so when the rails are positioned it can be tightened and will keep things squared up. I'll put some sort of dogs along the top edge of the side rails to bite into the log. I'll put some bolt on legs on the bottom of the angle iron along each end to get it off the floor, and I'll even put foot levelers on it to make it rock solid.
I don't do or get huge logs, so I don't need a huge set up, heck the mill won't even do 17" as it sits. This long vice like rail set up would also keep the majority of the log above the rail, and would make it easy to mill, just grip the log once and then slab it up, no dogs to get in the way.

Might work?

[Magicman]

Might.  You have a nicely equipped workshop.   

[Stu in Tokyo]

Might.  You have a nicely equipped workshop.   

Thanks, that's my Dungeon  ;D

[Stu in Tokyo]

I've gotten further along with my log holder for the new mill, I think this is going to work, out, but it is a work in process, so I'm sure I'll not get it right the first try, and it will need some tweaking.

I drilled the holes for the big threaded pieces to go through, and just tried it out...



  

 

This way I can make the log holder wider, or narrower depending on the size of the log.



 
Next I put some angle iron on three of the four side of the box, if you understand, both ends of the bottom got angle iron, and one end of the top side. The angle iron is bolted to the side of the log holder that does not move, and has one bolt in a slot on the side that does move, this should allow me to adjust the size but keep things squared up.

I'll also use the angle iron as a mounting point for the legs.



 

Not the best shot to show this, but the far end is much close together than the near end, this should allow me to adjust for the taper in the log.



 
I was just going to cut some plate steel and add some teeth, like the cardboard mockup here, but I decided that it would be better to have teeth that I could screw into the log.....



 
So I welded on some nuts and then put some bolts into them, I'll sharpen the tips of the bolts so they dig into the log better.



 
I want the log holder to sit at an angle, let Mr. Gravity help push things along, so I need to build some legs, a short pair and a long pair.



 
The short pair welded up and then ground smooth.



 
The long pair. I splayed the short pair at 15° and the long pair at 10° to make the whole thing more stable.



  

 
That is about how it will stand. It's not done yet, I have to add a couple of gussets to the angle iron and legs as well as a bar between the leg and the body of the log holder to make it stronger. I can only do this one one side as the log holder has one moving side, but I think it should be enough. I guess I'll find out.



 
Just for fun I tossed the short piece on the log holder, it is a bit too wide I need to adjust it in a bit, but it works.

Cheers!

[Magicman]

   What do you do in your spare time  ???   

[thecfarm]

Take pictures and tell us about his Chain sawmill. :D Good ideas you have.

[Stu in Tokyo]

  What do you do in your spare time  ???   

I work running our liquor shop about 12+ hours a day  ;D

Biggest thing is I stay off the computer until later at night, when I'm sitting in the liquor shop running the place, most nights from about 8PM to midnight I'm here by myself just waiting for customers to come by, so that is mainly when I'm on the net. The other thing is I don't do Facebook anymore, and I almost never watch TV, maybe an hour a week, there is a great TV show on here called "Before/After" where they take an old wreak of a house and redo it, amazing stuff, only on Sunday night for an hour, otherwise no TV. Japanese TV generally sucks anyways, and I'm not paying a bunch of money for the cable channels when I'd rather be down in my Dungeon building something  ;D

Thanks!

[Stu in Tokyo]

I got the log holder done.....



 
The gussets around the top of the leg where the angle iron bolts to the frame, and you can see where the strut will go, just clamped in place in this picture.



 
A close up of the gusset



 
I sharpened the tips of all the bolts that will grip the log.



 
The short legs done, the gussets and the strut as well.



 
That is done, not the best picture, kind of confined space, but it is done, now I just have to wait for the ripping chain to be in stock and be shipped to me.

One thing that this build really pointed out to me is that in my new welding room space, the next project will be a good welding table/bench with a vice, it was just silly using that piece of 1/4 plate on a workmate knock off, I need a proper bench and vice attached to it, next project I guess  :D

Cheers!

[Stu in Tokyo]

My ripping chain will not come until the end of May,  :'( and I need my space back, so I'll be stowing the log holder until then, but I wanted to give the whole set up a test run before I do put it away, so.....



 
..... I threw one of the dry Doug Fir logs on the log holder.



 
I'm worried that the bolts would not dig into the log, so I strapped the log down first.....


 

and then tightened the bolts down....



 
.... they dug in just fine  ;D



 
I made a deflector out of cardboard and duct taped it to the saw, it worked well.



 
I sliced the top off the log.
This cut took less than six minutes, not fast, but not as slow as I'd feared. The saw body was only warm to the touch, and the cord was not warm at all. The deflector worked well and a box kicked along got a lot of the sawdust, maybe 60%.



 
I went ahead and did a second cut, this went even better, took maybe 8 minutes and with a modified box I got more of the sawdust, maybe 80% not bad at all.



  

 
I think that is a fairly nice slab of wood.

The bottom remaining part I'll cut into two square pieces something near 4x4s on my resaw bandsaw.



 
The saw seemed to work just fine, like I said, it's no speed demon, but it did not over heat, and I could keep oil on the chain as you can see.....


 

The tip did not overheat either....


 

.... I'm about 90% satisfied, and I'm sure that will get towards 100% with the ripping chain. I hope to also make a better box/dust collector of some kind, but all it all it worked great. The log was very securely held in place and the mill worked just fine, I'm calling this a win!

Cheers!

[Magicman]

This has been an interesting build from "idea to sawdust".   ;D

[Stu in Tokyo]

This has been an interesting build from "idea to sawdust".   ;D

Thanks you sir!

I just wanted to post this as basically finished, I took the other half of the log down to the Dungeon and ran it through my resaw-bandsaw.



  

 

I moved the saw to the middle of the shop, using my bench and tablesaw as infeed and outfeed.



 
Ready to go!

The results.....



  

 

The big slab on the left is the main piece I got, as well as two other not so bad chunks, this was the smallest end of the log, and it had some significant cracks in it, and I made a bad cut or two, as my resaw was not quite tuned up, yes operator error...

Once I get the ripping chain on my mill, I'll cut up the other four logs, until then I'll be stowing the mill and the log holder.
I'll make the slab and into a nice bench for a buddy's yard, it will fit in perfect.

Cheers!

[justallan1]

Great work, Stu.
Thanks for the update.
Allan

[leroy in kansas]

Stu, Looks like you've almost got the fixings for a BSM in what you've made. Have ya tryed to saw any of that large log you scored? 

[Stu in Tokyo]

Stu, Looks like you've almost got the fixings for a BSM in what you've made. Have ya tryed to saw any of that large log you scored?

Not yet, I'm waiting for my ripping chain to arrive  ;D

[Jay C. White Cloud]

Hi Stu, great work you are doing.  If you sharpen your own chains, you can grind a new one to ripping profile. 

Regards,

jay