I’ve been busy milling up this wind felled Oak, and thought I’d put together another tips vid for you!

Click the photo above to watch the five milling tips. They can basically be categorized into ‘setup tips’ and ‘post-milling tips’. Tip one is a manifesto on the importance of setting the straight edge and getting the initial cut right. Whether it’s a ladder or something else, secure it more firmly than you think you need to. It’s possible to correct a twisted first cut, but it’s a right pain.

When you do set up a log for cutting, make very sure the log cant roll. A recent video of Frank Howarth really brought this home, as he had one roll on him mid cut! Luckily everything was ok, but just watching it made me cringe – the potential for disaster is reasonably high when logs are rollin’! Kudos to Frank for sharing that so we can all learn from it. Anyway, that’s an aside, the second point is to set up the log on a slope so gravity helps you mill. No winches to drag the mill into the cut needed!

The third milling tip is something of an opportunistic one, I admit, but none the less very relevant when you live and work in Wales!

The fourth trick is actually a mashup of a few points. 1. I see way too many people on youtube CS milling without proper (or any) fume and dust protection. I recommend using 3M Organic vapour filters, combined with a dust pre-filter.

2. Pack a rag to wipe your visor off. 3. When filling up fuel and oil, don’t fill right to the top! Instead, leave a little air gap at the top, this can take up the slack as the cap is compressed on. I’ve seen too many busted seals because of overfilling.

The final pint is to pressure wash or otherwise clean the boards before leaving them to dry. This is especially important if you are leaving the bark on for whatever reason.  Ok, that’s it for now friends, happy milling and stay safe!

For the complete chainsaw mill plans check out the book “How to make a chainsaw mill and how to use it” we wrote here: https://ko-fi.com/s/dd5b46e8a8

Posted: 06|15|18 at 3:19 pm. Categorically squeezed into: How To.

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