Chainsaw Sharpening | Guide to the Best Chainsaw Sharpeners

by | Dec 26, 2017

Wood Slicer resaw bandsaw blade

Once you have a Chainsaw, one thing is paramount.  You need to keep the chain sharp.  There are a number of Electric Chainsaw sharpeners, several manual chainsaw sharpeners and lots of guides that will help you get the correct sharpening angle.  I have been researching the various ways that you can sharpen a Chainsaw Chain.  The pricepoints vary all over the map but the choices have some Pros and Cons.

Types of Chainsaw Chain

When it comes to Chainsaw Chain, there are lots of confusing variations.  You can get different grinds, different tooth spacing and all of these can change depending on the saw you have and the bar that is on it.

Variations in Tooth Grind

The two most frequently found cutting teeth geometries are the Square Tooth Round Grind and the Square Tooth Square Grind.  The Square tooth, Round Grind that is made by Oregon is called the X Grind.  This is basically a modification of the tooth angle (25 instead of 30 degrees) and a down angle of 10 degrees instead of a 0 degree down angle.

Variations in Grind Angle

When sharpening the chains, depending on the particular chain you are working with, there are a variety of sharpening angles.  Most Crosscut Chain is sharpened to 30 degrees.  You can estimate this with a file, or if there are witness marks on the teeth, you can match your file angle to the witness mark.  Not all chains have a witness mark.  There are typically angles marked on the various jigs that are available to keep your filing angle more precise. Stihl Saw Chain Witness Marks Rip Chain, as used for the slabbing process that I used with the homemade Alaskan Sawmill, is cut to 10 degrees from the factory. In general, a shallower angle will help to make the rip cut smoother.  Some sawyers doing slabbing will cut a 0 degree angle on the saw chain.  This will reduce the speed of the cut but the cut will be as smooth as possible with a chainsaw.

Variations in Chain Types

Often with Crosscut chains that are doing a lot of production work will want a bit more aggressive cut.  Changing the spacing of the cutting teeth makes a chain cut more aggressively.  There are 3 types of tooth layout, full complement (Standard), semi skip and skip chain layouts. Saw Cain Types Full complement means that all of the pattern is full of teeth.  Each section of the chain includes a cutting link.  The full complement (or Standard Chain) will stay sharp the longest but will take more time to sharpen. Semi-skip has every other section with a full complement then a space and a single tooth before the full complement repeats.  The pattern will be two teeth, a space, a single tooth, a space, then the pattern repeats. A Skip tooth chain has a missing cutter repeated after each cutting tooth.  This will be the most aggressive and clear the sawdust most effectively but will increase vibration in the saw and has a greater danger of kickback. A Skip tooth chain will probably require more frequent sharpening but will take less time to sharpen as there are 1/2 the cutting teeth.

Sharpening a Chainsaw Chain

The majority of chainsaw chains will be sharpened with a round file. You can purchase a set of chainsaw sharpening files for just a few dollars.  The most important thing to identify is what file size is required for the specific chain you are using.  The majority of consumer saws will use a 3/8″ pitch and a .050 gauge. Each bar length will require a matching chain.  In fact, each bar will set the gauge of the chain that needs to be used.  The chain will need to match the length of the bar, the slot in the bar (the gauge) and the sprocket that drives the chain (pitch).  The 3/8 pitch chain will use a 7/32″ chainsaw file or a grinding stone.

Crosscut Chain Sharpening

When sharpening a chain, the leading edge of the chisel tooth needs to be brought to a uniform edge.  Many manufacturers tell you to just touch the edge of each cutting point the same number of times to create a uniform sharpen on all of the teeth.  If this is a new chain or hasn’t hit a piece of metal in a tree, this should be sufficient.  You may even be able to keep a uniform angle freehand.  Most people will require help to keep a consistent sharpening angle. Stihl makes an adequate guide that will hold the file and provide a good reference angle.  This is a step above freehand sharpening but it is a bit expensive for what is provided. My recommendation for the jig to use is the Oregon G-160B.

Stump Vise

At any rate, to get organized to sharpen your Crosscut Chain on the saw you will need a way to support the saw while you work.  There are a number of Stump Vises that are available to hold your saw while you work.  If you are sharpening your saw in your garage or shop, the saw can be supported in a bench vise or even a makeshift vise made from wooden hardwood strips and tightened by a lag bolt. Once fastened, identify the shortest cutting point,  this can be done with a set of calipers or a small adjustable wrench.  This becomes the master link.  Sharpen this cutter first. Once complete mark it with a felt tip marker so that you can find it again.  All the remaining cutters need to be filed to this dimension.  File all of the cutters in one direction, then change sides and do all of the cutters in the other direction.  This will allow you to be more consistent. Now that all of the cutters are sharpened, the depth gauges need to be checked.  As the cutter points are filed, the edge will move back along the cutter reducing the height of the cutter teeth.  An adjustment of the depth gauges may be needed to compensate.  The file sharpening packages come with a depth gauge.  Place it over the depth gauges on the chain and feel the top to see if it extends beyond the top of the gauge.  If it does, file it down with a flat file.

Rip Chain Sharpening

Chainsaw Files

Chainsaw files need to be sized according to the gauge of the chain.  For 3/8 inch chain gauge, the file size is 7/32″

Chainsaw Sharpening Kits

Chainsaw Sharpening File Kit

A basic chainsaw sharpening kit is the Unidrift 8 piece chainsaw sharpener file kit.  It has all of the basic tools you need to sharpen a chainsaw freehand.  It has a guide that will show you most of the angles you might encounter and comes with files to handle most chain gauges.  There is also a depth gauge for checking and fine-tuning the rakers(depth gauges).

Chainsaw Sharpening Jigs

In my opinion, a filing jig should be able to control your filing angle after it is set up, it should be able to adjust for 0,10, 25, 30 and 35 degrees and have a top angle adjustment.  It should also be able to control a flat file for fine tuning the depth gauges on the chain. The Granberg Model G-160B chainsaw sharpener fills all of the parameters at a reasonable price and is my top recommendation.

Granberg Model #G-160B

There are lots of adjustments on this jig.  The sharpening angle can be adjusted up to 35 degrees in either direction, the tilt and depth of cut can also be adjusted.  There is a pawl that controls the registration of new teeth and an adjuster that will fine tune where the file sets. With a holder modification, you can use either the Granberg 12 VDC Grind-N-Joint or a Dremel tool with a grinder tool mounted in it.  This will allow you to grind the cutters instead of filing them.  The G-160B will allow you to make repeatable, accurate grinds.

Electric Chainsaw Sharpeners

12 Volt DC

Granberg Grind-N-Joint 12 Volt Hand Held Chain Grinder – A small 12 volt handheld grinder with a pressed plate that mounts to the grinder to provide reference angles. This unit can be paired with the Model G160B to provide accurate repeatable grind angles.

120Volt AC

Dremel 1453 – Accessory Kit For chain sharpening  This accessory for your Dremel Rotary Tool comes with a mounting plate with guide angles and is meant to be handheld to sharpen the cutters on your Chainsaw Chain. This also can be mounted on the Model G160B to upgrade the repeatability of your chainsaw sharpening. Oregon 410-120 Bench or Wall Mounted Saw Chain Grinder– If you have a shop to work in and a place to mount this grinder, this is a definite upgrade to the handheld or bar mounted sharpening tools.

To use this grinder, the chain is removed from the saw.  It fits into a holder on the benchtop and then registers the chain for grinding.  The grinder wheel is then lowered to sharpen the cutting edge of the chain.  It is fast and accurate.  A bit more expensive than the jigs but if you sharpen lots of chain, this is the way to go.

I buggered up the crosscut chain on my Alaskan Sawmill when the bolts backed off on the second cut on the Oak log.  This chain was toast until I visited a friend that had an Oregon 410-120 grinder in his shop.  20 minutes after I walked in, I walked out with a nicely sharpened chain. If you do a high volume of chains or want to set up your own chainsaw sharpening service, you may want to upgrade to the Oregon 520-120.  This Chainsaw Chain Grinder has an upgraded holding vise and a .4 HP motor.  This will sharpen a serious amount of chain in an efficient manner.

I’ve given you a few options for sharpening your chainsaw chains.  I have a friend with an Oregon 410-120 so I’m set for sharpening when he’s available.  I also have a Dremel tool that I use for trimming my Lab’s nails.

I’ve ordered a Granberg G-160B and will spend a bit of time building a holder for the Dremel tool when it comes.  I’ll post a plan for the holder and see what I can do about creating a YouTube video to show how it works once I give it a test run. In the meantime, I have files that will fit into the Granberg jig when it comes.  That should give me an opportunity to test how it works and do a review on it when it arrives. Feel free to leave a comment about your solutions to chainsaw sharpening.  I’d love to hear from you about your own sharpening experiences.

Black Cherry Sawmill Project

Black Cherry Sawmill Project

by | Dec 13, 2017

Thanksgiving day I was wandering in the woods and came across a Black Cherry tree that had fallen down.  My girlfriend’s brother had cleared some of it from the trail and cut a few rounds off it for firewood.  I couldn’t stand to see all of this beautiful wood going to waste so I went to work.

Moving the Black Cherry Tree

I cut the tree from it’s rootball and connected my new winch to the tree. I acquired a 5000 lb ATV winch on Black Friday and mounted it to a trailer hitch mounting bracket.  The cables were long enough, with the addition of jumper cables, to reach the battery on my truck.  I dragged the log out of the brush and then pulled it down the trail to a level place where I could work on the tree. I used a wedge that I cut from the end of the log to get the tree up on roller logs. This made moving the trunk much easier on the winch and sped the move up immensely.

Cherry Log after Moving

It was so much easier to use the powered winch vs. the come-along that I used to move the Oak log in South Carolina.  I’m wondering if I should get the truck to SC somehow for the trip that I move the remaining logs.  The vehicle we typically use doesn’t have a tow-hitch so there is no way to connect the winch mount to that vehicle.

Creating a Reference Surface

On the Live Oak log that I’m working on in South Carolina I attached a ladder to the tree to provide a reference surface for the first cut.  For this log, I found 2 straight and unwarped 2 x 4 boards and attached them to two pieces of angle iron.  The angle irons were first attached to the ends of the log and leveled to each other.  Then the 2 x 4 s were attached to the angle iron.  This process works better as I have the screws going into the tree horizontally and the vertical screws go up into the guide boards.  There are no screws driven into the top of the log and no screws extending into the tree to avoid.

The only drawback to this arrangement is that I had 14 foot 2x4s and they flexed a bit as I was cutting the center of the tree where they were unsupported.  A short piece screwed into the 2x4s to connect the center of the boards and provide a bit of support would have been a good idea.

Cherry Log with Reference Boards Installed

Fine Tuning the Alaskan Sawmill

Having learned a few things with the Live Oak log in South Carolina, I reworked the clamping system.  I added fender washers to the clamps so that the nuts had more bearing surface on the softwood of the pine.  The idea is to give the clamps more surface so that the wood fibers aren’t crushed and the clamps hold better.  I also purchased slightly longer bolts and added an additional jam nut on the ends so that the nuts wouldn’t vibrate loose.

I had the crosscut chain sharpened and purchased a rip chain to see if it made a difference in the cut and to have a spare chain in the event that the crosscut chain still wasn’t up to the task ahead.

The First Cut

I had a bit of a false start on this one.  I had the 2x4s all levelled and ready to go and started my cut.  18 inches in from the end of the tree, there was a partial cut through the trunk.  As I neared this cut I realized that when I hit that point the end of the reference 2x4s would no longer be attached to the tree.  This just wouldn’t work very well.  I needed to refasten the reference board to the tree to get a good surface to cut.  I finished cutting off the first section then refastened the reference boards to the main section of the log.  When I finished the first cut, I completed cutting off the short section of the log. My Cherry log was now just over 13 feet long.

Cherry Log with Reference Boards Refastened

With the crosscut chain installed I completed the first cut.  By the end of the cut, I was working hard pushing the chain.  The sawdust coming from the cut was fine and indicated that I was cutting with a dull chain. I was able to complete the cut but decided that it was time to try the ripping chain.

Completing the Cuts

I took a bit of time out of my milling, dismantled the Alaskan Sawmill and installed the rip chain onto the 32-inch bar.

A rip chain changes the cutting angle on the cutting points to a shallower angle.

A Crosscut chain has the chisel teeth filed to 35 degrees a rip chain has the chisel teeth filed to between 10 and 15 degrees.  A shallower angle will provide a smoother cut. It is also designed to cut the long fibers of the parallel cut that happens when milling lumber with the grain of the tree.  Either chain will work but for the best quality cut a rip chain is superior.

When I dismantled the jig, I loosened the clamps from the 3/8 inch bolts and opened them up sufficiently to slide the jig off the blade of the saw.  This saved time as I didn’t need to remove the nuts on the long threaded rod (takes forever to unscrew these nuts).  I changed the chain over, checked the tension, briefly started the saw to make sure that everything was running correctly and shut down the saw.  I rechecked the tension and found it to be fine, checked the blade clamping bolts and then reassembled the Alaskan Sawmill onto the blade. Finally, I filled the gas and the chain oil reservoir.

I have found that this saw is a bit difficult to start if you let the gas tank run dry while making a cut.  It is much easier to check and refill the gas before you start a cut than to pull the saw out of the cut, fill the tank (and the oil) then restart the saw after you get enough fuel moving through the system for it to catch.  On the Stihl 661 it takes a bit of effort to start this saw and I’d prefer to do this as few times as necessary.

With everything Organized, I started the second cut.  The jig performed fabulously.  The sawdust coming off the blade was coarse and plentiful as expected.  Feed rate was excellent and the pressure required to move the saw through the wood was minimal compared to the last cut.

Cherry Log Milling in Progress

Ya gotta love it when a plan comes together.

The Final Outcome

The second, third and subsequent cuts went well.  I was able to cut 60 board feet of 8/4 lumber.  There are 5 live edge Black Cherry boards with a hint of sapwood.  This should make some absolutely beautiful products.

Cherry Log Resulting Grain

In addition to the dimensional lumber there are two half round pieces from the top and bottom.  The top piece is uniform across the whole length the bottom piece is relatively uniform for 5 feet then tapers to almost nothing.  Hmmm, how to use these pieces?

Now I needed to move these milled boards to their resting place where they will air dry until I have a better environment built to dry them.  I lifted each board onto a lawn cart, balanced them over the axle and rolled them to the carport.  They were stacked and stickered on leveled cement blocks.  This gets them off the concrete where condensation will occur, makes sure they are supported on a level surface and gives them a protected area out of the sun and rain.  While not ideal, this is the best that I can do at this time.

Cherry Log Stacked and Stickered

Live Oak Sawmill Project

by | Dec 10, 2017

Hurrican Matthew provided 4 pieces of Live Oak for me to turn into a memorial of some sort.  (I have a few ideas for this wood) First, I need to turn the trunks into boards.

On the Alaskan Sawmill Project page I discussed putting together an Alaskan Sawmill jig that will allow me to keep the slabs that I take from these trunks level and untwisted.

Moving a Live Oak Log

Before I could start to mill these boards I had a few adjustments to make to the jig and I needed to move the first piece of oak from the pile where they have rested all year to a place where I can work on the tree.

Live Oak Logs

My options were limited.  The first piece is about 18 inches in diameter at the wide end and 9 feet long.  Live Oak weighs about 75 lbs per square foot when the water content is at 75%. So I’m trying to move a log that weighs a bit more than 1200 lbs.  Not something that can be lifted and moved easily.  I do have a 42 inch peavy that allows for rolling the log but no amount of pulling without assistance will move this log.

I happened to have a come-along that is rated at 5000 lbs.  I figured that this would be sufficient overkill to move this log.  My problem was that the chain I typically use for securing the end of the log to the come-along hook was not with me.  It was tucked safely away about 450 miles to the North-West.  I was able to purchase some generic nylon rope but it isn’t rated anywhere near what I needed.  I was hoping that a doubled length of the line secured to the trunk with a timber hitch would be sufficient for my needs.

This did appear to be a good solution.  I connected the come-along to the trunk and started to crank.  I was able to inch the trunk out of the pile and drag it.  I took a minute to find a few small straight round branches about 3 feet long and positioned them in front of the log so that as I moved it the log would climb up onto the branch and they would act as rollers to make moving the tree easier.  I only ended up pushing the roller logs.

Next, I tried to make an inclined plane, I cut a wedge off the end of a smaller tree, jammed the thin edge under the log that I was trying to move.  When I pulled the log forward it climbed the wedge and got up on top of the roller logs.  This made moving the log much easier.  By changing the orientation of the logs as I pulled, I was able to direct the big Oak log.

Now that the Oak trunk was on rollers, I was able to move it into position.  As I reached the limit of the cable on the come-along, I refastened the anchor to nearby trees and resumed cranking away at the handle of the come-along until the tree was in position.

 

Preparing the Log for Milling

 

The log has been positioned on a flat surface and is now supported on smaller logs.  I cut a couple of more support logs with notches in them to prevent the large Oak log from rolling while I cut it.  The large log needed to be rolled onto these supports and the heart crack in the log needed to be oriented parallel to the planned cuts.

Using the Peavy, I rolled the log into position adjusting the location of the notched supports until the log dropped into the notches in the correct orientation.

Next, I needed a reference surface to guide the jig.  In the video by David Groth that I embedded in the Alaskan Sawmill Page, he used a pair of 2 x 4s attached together by a plywood spacer.  I have seen many videos that used a section of aluminum ladder for this task.  I had a section of ladder but needed to devise a way to attach the ladder securely to the top of the log.

I picked up a few aluminum hose clamps and cut off the screw end with a hacksaw leaving a 6 inch strap with notches  I then screwed these down to the top of the log.  I used 2 straps for each ladder rung at the ends of the log making sure to level the ladder on the log.

Live Oak Log with the ladder attached

To check the level and make sure that the ladder wasn’t twisted I set two straight 2 x4s crosswise at each end of the ladder and used them like winding sticks to check the straightness of the fasteners.  It took a bit of adjustment to get the ladder straight and true and securely fastened to the log.  I was concerned that the 3 inch screws used to hold the clamps to the log would interfere with the first cut.  I added an additional inch of spacers to my jig to compensate.  A chainsaw chain doesn’t stand up well to cutting metal.  It will dull almost instantly when it hits even a small piece of metal.

Leveling the Live Oak Log

The First Cut

I have the log in place, I have a reference surface attached, now its time to set up the jig.

I measured from the top of the ladder down to where I expected to find the end of the 3 inch screws holding the ladder in place.  I then added an additional inch.  This gave me a 7 inch measurement.  I have spacers cut that fit onto the 1/2 inch threaded rod.  The jig needs to have an additional 5 inches of spacers added as the minimum cut with the clamps installed is 2 inches.  I added 3 inch and a half spacers and one 1/2 inch spacer to bring the depth to the full 7 inches.  I checked the clamping pressure and tightened down the nuts holding the clamps together.

Then it was time to warm up the saw.  First, I checked the fuel supply and refilled the bar oil. The saw started on the first pull so that was nice.  It was after all a new saw.  There was no time on it.  I rechecked the chain tension, it seemed to be fine.  Just as a precaution I loosened up the tension and checked it.  Something was wrong with the adjuster but since the tension appeared to be correct and I hadn’t any experience with this saw I assumed it was something I was doing wrong.

I went ahead and started the first cut.  Less than a foot into the log the chain popped off the bar.  The drive links were damaged and the chain was toast.  As I was taking the chain off, I examined the chain tensioner and found that the screw controlling the tensioner was bent.  I can only surmise that this was the problem that I experienced when trying to adjust the tensioner for the first time.

I had purchased the saw in Knoxville but was in South Carolina at the time.  So, I found the nearest Stihl dealer and identified the parts that were needed.  The Stihl 661C was still under warrantee but the employee at the counter wasn’t the regular Stihl mechanic. The employee was able to locate the parts I needed but I needed to purchase them instead of getting them under the warrantee.  I also paid for a new chain.  It made me sad that I lost the time messing with all of these problems and had an additional outlay of cash after all the money I spent on this Stihl professional chainsaw.

I was able to complete the repair and get the chain tensioner working correctly that evening.  I lost about 3 hours out of my day but had a functioning saw and a new crosscut chain so I should be good to go.

The next morning I fired up the saw and finished the cut.  Perfect performance and the new sharp chain treated the Live Oak like butter.  I had high hopes that this would be an easy job.  I removed the ladder and all of the clamps and screws holding them.  None of the screws had penetrated to the depth of the first cut.

Live Oak Log First Cut Completed

I started the second cut and almost immediately saw sparks.  Now the clamp had come loose and the chain impacted the 3/8 bolts holding the clamp.  My new chain was now dull and damaged.

A rough start to my first round of chainsaw milling.

To top it all off, I had now run out of time and needed to return to Knoxville.  The Live Oak will have to wait for another day.

On a lighter note, I have a friend with a chainsaw sharpener in Knoxville so I was able to get the chain resharpened. I also ordered a rip chain to see if the different chain angle has an effect on how well the saw cuts.  I was able to test this new chain on my next log.  The Black Cherry Sawmill Project details the fine-tuning of the jig and the first successful slabbing of a log with my new Alaskan Sawmill.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alaskan Sawmill Project

by | Dec 9, 2017

I found some trees. Its true, I have kept my eyes opened and found a few trees that have some value. The problem though is that in order to make these into usable wood they need to be milled into boards.

Hurricane Mathew provided me with 4 substantial White Oak (Live Oak) trunks, a windfall in Tennessee has provided a 14-foot Cherry and another 24 inch (Diameter) yellow pine with 24 feet of straight clear trunk before the first branch.

I needed a way to turn these into usable wood. An Alaskan Sawmill seemed to be the answer. It is a reasonably priced alternative to the other solutions.

The problem is that it is still a substantial outlay of funds to purchase a chainsaw with enough horsepower to get the job done. I was, however, able to acquire a Stihl 661. I know that everyone doesn’t have this option but in my case, I scrimped and saved until I was able to afford the $1300 price tag for this monster saw.

I have been very impressed with the performance of this saw. When purchased, I bought it with a 32-inch blade and a crosscut chain (this was all that was available at the dealership). I also had previously purchased a 30-inch blade with its own length of crosscut chain.

To turn this saw into a sawmill, I needed to put together a jig that can guide the saw. I could go to Amazon and purchase a Granberg Sawmill (http://amzn.to/2B3LTnO) but after shelling out the price of the saw, I wanted to find a more affordable way to do this.

I saw this video from David Groth that was done in 2015 where he milled a redwood tree using a homemade version of the Granberg mill.

I liked most of what he did with the jig that he created although I didn’t want to drill holes in my 32-inch saw blade. To get around this I used the clamping system that Granberg uses.

I started with creating the plank that follows a flat surface. Home Depot has some 2 x 12s and, after sorting through the stack to find one with no cupping or twist, I selected an 8-foot piece. I also purchased 4 3/8 x 4 1/2 inch bolts, 8 nuts, and fender washers to spread the load. 2 2 foot 1/2 inch threaded rod with nuts and washers completed the supplies.

Alaskan Sawmill Guide Board

Since my chainsaw bar is 32 inches long and I wanted to have some protection in case someone comes too close to the moving chain, I cut the board to 40 inches long. I left a full 8 inches past the end of the blade to provide a bit of protection. It isn’t a shield but is a deterrent of sorts.

I then turned my attention to the clamping system. I needed a way to connect the threaded rods to the bar with a clamp that would hold tightly while vibrating but also to leave room for the chain to move past the clamp. I chose to use some parts from the 2 x 12 but in hindsight, I think I will remake the clamps from hardwood. The first solution needs to have some bulk due to the soft nature of the pine and the bolts tend to crush the wood fibers allowing the clamps to loosen up over time.

Alaskan Sawmill Clamp

For the clamps, I cut 4 pieces of 1 1/2 stock 6 inches longer than the width of the blade with the chain installed.  I left the center part of each piece full width and relieved the ends of each side so that the clamp, when tightened, would still clear the chain without rubbing (about a 1/4 inch).  In the center of the top clamps, I drilled a hole for the 1/2 inch threaded rod and created a recess on the inside of the piece to hold a bolt which I epoxied into the recess. (two pieces only). The ends of the pieces received holes for a 3/8 inch bolts. When tightened, I added a second jam nut to the bottom of the 3/8 inch bolts to keep the clamps from coming loose.  I also glued a piece of rubber on the inside of the clamps to provide a bit more friction and keep the clamps from slipping.  I haven’t recessed these bolts but this could be done from the top of the clamp.

To install the clamps I positioned one near the base of the saw blade, and the other was positioned near the end of the blade.  There is a mechanism at the end of the blade that spins and guides the chain around the end of the blade so I positioned this end back enough so that this mechanism was able to function unimpeded. I snugged up the 3/8 inch bolts and adjusted them so that the centers of the clamps were on a full inch increment then installed the 1/2 inch threaded rod into the nuts making sure that the rod did not extend down to the blade itself.

Alaskan Sawmill Jig Installed on Chainsaw

With the threaded rod installed I was able to measure and drill holes into the flat guide board. I fastened this with another 1/2 inch bolt and washer.  When complete, the measurement between the blade and the bottom of the guide board was 2 inches.  This will work for me at this point as I’m focussing on creating tabletops with live edges once the boards have dried sufficiently to be worked. By adding spacers between the guide board and the clamps I can adjust this distance as necessary.

Alaskan Sawmill First Cut on Oak Log

This jig works well as long as I don’t need to cut a slab that is less than 2 inches thick.  I will be remaking the clamps using hardwood so that I can get a thinner cut.  If I do this with a hardwood like Oak or Maple I should be able to reduce the thickness of the minimum cut to an inch and still have sufficient strength to create sufficient clamping force to hold the jig in place.

At this point, I have used this jig for a single pass on an Oak log in Hilton Head and have completed a Cherry log in Knoxville.  The Cherry is stacked and stickered in a carport for the time being. I discuss the process of preparing the Oak Log on the Live Oak Sawmill Project page and the Cherry log on the Black Cherry Sawmill Project page.  Feel free to click on the links and view the projects.

For a future project, I’m considering putting together a solar kiln so that I can reduce the time and control the drying of these board a bit more completely and in less time than air drying. This will be another project that I will cover at some point.

 

 

Hurricane Matthew

by | Nov 28, 2017

October 8th, 2016 Hurricane Mathew roared onto Hilton Head Island as a Category II hurricane.  Winds were clocked at 88 MPH with gusts to 105.  Sadly there was not 1.21 Gigawatts available and no DeLorean ready and waiting to go, we couldn’t go back in time.  Just a lot of trees standing sentinel over the island.  Many of which did not survive the onslaught of the wind and 12-foot storm surge.

Hurricane Matthew Satellite Image

There were 2.5 Million Cubic Yards of debris removed from Hilton Head Island in the 6 months after the storm.  I was asked to help a special friend dealing with not only the storm but the passing of her parents.  The devastation of the hurricane was massive.  The loss of her parents and the damage to their vacation house was heartbreaking. The trees on this property contributed 15-80 foot trees to the pile.

 

Hurricane Matthew Tree Damage

We were able to locate a tree crew that had come to the area from Atlanta.  The house next door had a massive Loblolly pine that needed to be removed and this crew was running the crane used to remove it.  We were able to hire their backup crew to deal with our mess. The tree crews were quite efficient at removing the damaged trees.  I was very impressed with the work that they did to clear and move the fallen trees and safely drop the dangerous leaners. In one day, they removed all 15 of the trees and piled them next to the road for the FEMA crews to dispose of.

Hurricane Matthew Tree Removal

 

I was able to save 4 relatively straight pieces of Live Oak about 8 feet long with diameters from 18 to 42 inches. These will become a Hurricane Matthew memorial of some kind.

 

As I am new to South Carolina, I was unfamiliar with the tree species in the Southern United States.  After chatting with one of the neighbors, I was told that there were two types of Oak on Hilton Head Island.  There are Water Oaks (Quercus Nigra)and Live Oaks (Quercus Virginiana). Water Oaks are short-lived (60-80 years) and as described by the neighbor, are like huge straws.  The heartwood degrades first and then the trees fall from the slightest provocation.  The Live Oaks are an entirely different story.  These are long-lived and difficult to work as this White Oak is some of the hardest and hardiest of the species.  In colonial times Live Oak was often used in shipbuilding as the wood is strong and protects the hulls of wooden ships well from the onslaught of cannon fire.  Old Ironsides (USS Constitution) was built of Live Oak.

One of the surviving Live Oak trees on this property is certified to be over 400 years old.  If even one branch of this tree were to fall, the house would be destroyed.  It has been cabled to prevent the limbs from falling and a lightning rod has been installed to protect it from damage from above.

On the page dedicated to the Live Oak Sawmill Project I will discuss milling the salvaged trunks into boards for future projects .  As we see what these trees produce, we will try to find suitable means to preserve the legacy of the 100-year storm.

 

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