Alaskan Mill

[fishki]

I bought a Granberg mill off amazon so I could cut some boards out of a pecan I had laying around,
also picked up a 28" bar for my saw and an oregon ripping chain.

Question for anyone using a ripping chain, do they just throw fine sawdust? The mill itself seems to work great, but I'm questioning the chain, it also seems to chatter quite a bit but the cuts it leaves look really good.

Wondering if maybe I should just use a regular crosscut chain?

 

[WoodyIsGoody]

Have you tried touching up the cutters with a hand file?

A ripping chain is designed to reduce chatter and will typically make longer chips or "noodles" when ripping. Maybe the factory grind on that Oregon chain had bad QC. Or, maybe your Pecan is just really hard. Is it already dried?

 

[BenTN]

Ripping is not the same as noodling. Dont expect noodle size shavings while milling. ripping chains are designed to give you that smoother finish. Crosscut chains will result in a rougher finish and require more planing to get finished lumber. Chatter is usually caused by improper raker depth.

There are some great guys who do alot of chainsaw milling over on the forestryforum.

 

[fishki]

There are some great guys who do alot of chainsaw milling over on the forestryforum.

Yep, just finished up reading there, Thanks!

So it seems I picked the hardest tree to mill as my learning tree,
I guess my chain is fine, sawdust is fine, I just had to choose a pecan to learn with

Soooo.... everything else should just get easier