I have a load of old video footage that I thought I might as well share with you
guys of using the chainsaw mill. So here it is. We're milling up this big Sycamore log. This is the first cut.
it's gonna be a quick video. If you're interested in the chainsaw mill
itself, there's loads of details of how I made that on a link in the description below. OOOff, we're rocketting! That's the first cut done, but let's start at the
beginning. This is the workshop roof it's pretty much permanently covered in
debris from a big sycamore tree that overhangs it. Believe it or not this
whole panel is actually a big skylight that should let lots of light through
and make a nice cheery space but instead it's always blocked by the tree detritus
and I get a bit nervous when it's really windy and branches are falling down onto
the roof anyway long story (or not long story) short it needs to come down
trouble is it's so close to the workshop it's going to be trite tricky to avoid...
I didn't crush the workshop, or I probably wouldn't be putting this video out.
It's fair to say it was incredibly time-consuming ridiculously dangerous but I did manage
to avoid crushing the woodshed or the workshop. When you take into account all
the factors the size of the tree, the prevailing wind conditions, the lean, how
close it was, it's basically a miracle anything survived! I can't overstate how
important it is to put safety first in these situations it's always worth
factoring in that someone's gonna want a monkey around a fair bit on the day and
usually that someone is me... Although it took way longer than expected it did
come down without destroying the world possibly 'surgical' is what I would call it.
Anyway back to the video. okay so we're onto the second cut. Placed
the ladder the big MS880 is ripping away at it
this is obviously greatly sped up. It took me about all day to do that log that I am
cutting now and the big crotch log that's resting on. Let's have a change of
view then why not. It's pretty convenient having the workshop right there beside
the log I can pop in and get all kinds of tools that I need. Now you might be
wondering why bother putting the ladder on when you've already established a
straight face that you can use as a reference for the next cut and the
answer is the beginning. It makes it so much safer to be able to rest the whole
of the Alaskan mill on on the ladder and it just makes it loads easier as well
there's no chance of the cut going wonky at the beginning. For all those
reasons... Although having said that I must admit that I don't always religiously do
it
You can see the sawdust going into the blue tarp I set up there. As it's right
by the workshop it's kind of luxury and I'm trying to collect all the sawdust so
I don't just create a big pile of rotting sawdust right outside the
workshop and if it's collected up it can be used for either making briquettes for
the stove or rot it down, it can used as mulch weed suppressing. So as I said this was a
big sycamore tree leaves some pretty nice boards the moisture content is
reasonably high even at this time of year well when I cut it which was
very early spring to the end of winter so as dry as it was gonna be. It's quite
soft for a hardwood it cuts really easily it works really well
so it's certainly worth getting boards like this. The only downside to Sycamore
is that it's not at all durable so if you leave it outside they'll rot quite
quickly. Now I didn't film the bottom log -cutting
of it - so we come to the end of the fridge now here's a photo and check this
out it's some kind of old fencing nail we obviously sawed through with some
kind of plastic shroud around (?) it really black
so there's another part of it I'm guessing that's the insulator might have
been a bit of an electric fence so I'm pretty happy with how the board's
turned out they pretty character-full and then a stack and I've been drying
for about seven months so soon to make something with. Anyway any questions just
ask and as always thanks for watching