This weeks episode will cover installing the floor joist in our off-grid timber framed cabin using full dimension ruff cut saw mill timber.
What size lumber mill attachment do I need?
How big are your trees? How wide of a board do you want to cut? These are questions we can help you answer. Granberg's Alaskan Mark III Chainsaw Mill comes in five normally stocked sizes; 24, 30, 36, 48 and 56 inches long and all of them will clamp on any size chain saw bar(except one shorter than 5 inches and some narrow bars).
We recommend large displacement saws for more effective ripping. However smaller saws will work but are less efficient and some of the bars on the smaller saws are too narrow to mount the chainsaw mill's clamping brackets, without pinching your chainsaw bar's rails.
;How much power must my chain saw have?
The general rule is, the more power your saw engine has, the faster the cutting speed. Almost any engine that runs, will cut, it just depends on how much time you want to spend milling your lumber. - How do I make first my first cut?
With the Alaskan Mark III Chainsaw Mill Attachment, you need to have a flat surface for the mill to ride on to get a flat even cut. You can nail a 2x10 to the top of the log or you can buy our Slabbing Rail Bracket Set
How long are your Slabbing Rail Brackets?
Our Slabbing Rail Brackets are about 15 inches long and there are two of them in the set. They attach to two 2x4's that you purchase locally. Attached with the hardware provided, the two rails provide a flat surface to guide your first cut with the Alaskan Mark III Chainsaw Mill. Can I use my regular chain for ripping?
Your regular stock chain on your saw works okay when it is sharpened correctly. All top angles must be the same uniform angle(25, 30, 35 degrees) and your depth gauges must be at the same height, no more than thirty five thousandths below the cutting edge of the tooth. For better ripping results, re-sharpen your stock chain to zero (0) degree top plate angle from the 25, 30 or 35 degree angle mentioned before. The zero degree top plate angle reduces the power needed to rip and produces smoother lumber than your regular stock chain. However neither of the above works as well as Granberg Ripping Chain. - Do I need an Auxiliary Oiler Kit? -
Chain saws deliver oil to the drive links via an oil hole in the top of the bar at the power head end of the bar. Oil has to travel to the bottom of the bar where most of the cutting is done. For smaller bars and small cuts, this system works fine. For larger bars, 24" plus, we recommend our Auxiliary Oiler Kit since it delivers the oil to the cutting surface of the bar. To mount the kit, two holes are required to be drilled through the end of the bar. This allows you to mount the kit on either side so that you can turn the bar on a regular basis for even bar wear.
- How thick can the Mark III cut?
The Alaskan Mark III Chainsaw Mill Attachment can cut boards as thin as 1/2 inch and as thick as 13 inches. Set up and make your first cut, remove this first slab, then use the Mini-Mill II to edge the log. This will give you a three sided cant from which dimensional lumber can be cut. Alternatively, the Alaskan Chainsaw Mill can be used for all of the cuts in various ways; Lower the mill and make a second parallel cut, then roll the log 90 degrees and make a third cut, thus giving you a three sided cant. If your mill is not wide enough to make the second cut as described, the log can be progressively rolled and the sides removed to reduce the diameter, so that the mill can fit across the log.
What size lumber mill attachment do I need?
How big are your trees? How wide of a board do you want to cut? These are questions we can help you answer. Granberg's Alaskan Mark III Chainsaw Mill comes in five normally stocked sizes; 24, 30, 36, 48 and 56 inches long and all of them will clamp on any size chain saw bar(except one shorter than 5 inches and some narrow bars).
We recommend large displacement saws for more effective ripping. However smaller saws will work but are less efficient and some of the bars on the smaller saws are too narrow to mount the chainsaw mill's clamping brackets, without pinching your chainsaw bar's rails.
;How much power must my chain saw have?
The general rule is, the more power your saw engine has, the faster the cutting speed. Almost any engine that runs, will cut, it just depends on how much time you want to spend milling your lumber. - How do I make first my first cut?
With the Alaskan Mark III Chainsaw Mill Attachment, you need to have a flat surface for the mill to ride on to get a flat even cut. You can nail a 2x10 to the top of the log or you can buy our Slabbing Rail Bracket Set
How long are your Slabbing Rail Brackets?
Our Slabbing Rail Brackets are about 15 inches long and there are two of them in the set. They attach to two 2x4's that you purchase locally. Attached with the hardware provided, the two rails provide a flat surface to guide your first cut with the Alaskan Mark III Chainsaw Mill. Can I use my regular chain for ripping?
Your regular stock chain on your saw works okay when it is sharpened correctly. All top angles must be the same uniform angle(25, 30, 35 degrees) and your depth gauges must be at the same height, no more than thirty five thousandths below the cutting edge of the tooth. For better ripping results, re-sharpen your stock chain to zero (0) degree top plate angle from the 25, 30 or 35 degree angle mentioned before. The zero degree top plate angle reduces the power needed to rip and produces smoother lumber than your regular stock chain. However neither of the above works as well as Granberg Ripping Chain. - Do I need an Auxiliary Oiler Kit? -
Chain saws deliver oil to the drive links via an oil hole in the top of the bar at the power head end of the bar. Oil has to travel to the bottom of the bar where most of the cutting is done. For smaller bars and small cuts, this system works fine. For larger bars, 24" plus, we recommend our Auxiliary Oiler Kit since it delivers the oil to the cutting surface of the bar. To mount the kit, two holes are required to be drilled through the end of the bar. This allows you to mount the kit on either side so that you can turn the bar on a regular basis for even bar wear.
- How thick can the Mark III cut?
The Alaskan Mark III Chainsaw Mill Attachment can cut boards as thin as 1/2 inch and as thick as 13 inches. Set up and make your first cut, remove this first slab, then use the Mini-Mill II to edge the log. This will give you a three sided cant from which dimensional lumber can be cut. Alternatively, the Alaskan Chainsaw Mill can be used for all of the cuts in various ways; Lower the mill and make a second parallel cut, then roll the log 90 degrees and make a third cut, thus giving you a three sided cant. If your mill is not wide enough to make the second cut as described, the log can be progressively rolled and the sides removed to reduce the diameter, so that the mill can fit across the log.
Hello Cody.
ReplyDeleteI wanted to say a big "Thank you" about sharing your way of possibility to live a non-main stream life.
You wrote: "We realized that a consumer based existence was stealing our lives away from us. Our goal is to build a simple life. A life that gets back to the basics, A meaningful walk with God and a life free for debt."
This is the same idea that makes me to go downwards or backwards to the basics of the life, to the taste of the REAL life.
Today's life formula: "Work, buy, consume, die" doesn't seem to be the right way to live for me.
I have also planned to build for my family a house based on the timber framed structure. I have prepared myself all the timber i will need in my own forest and this spring i will start to work on site. Like you at first i have built/renovated a small log cabin where to live while the bigger house goes up.
Here you can see a short movie of last summers work: http://vimeo.com/17360574
I am also overtaken and impressed with the hand tools and the use of them. This Spring I have been in Sweden to the log building course, organised by the factory of the Gransfors Burks axes. That was an amazing course. Our teacher was very skilled and friendly. He said that the real craftsman needs only two kinds of an axe to build a house. I like working with wood since i was a child. But now i am going to deeper my skills.
In Sweden also I have met the craftsman/log builder which one you can see in this video (in the 2nd part of the movie):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbCpDsxUHVc
He is very skilled carpenter. He and his father has a company that builds and renovates log houses.
If i would live closer to your area - i would definitely go and help you with your project. But unfortunately i live in the Europe (Baltic States) and the distance between you and me is pretty huge,
Best wishes from Latvia and God bless you and your aim.
Jacob