Slabbing 38" Walnut - Chainsaw Mill

[fencerowphil (Phil L.)]

Hey Sneed,

I broke the original fitting for my oiler, so I drilled my own version out of a pretty hard bolt.
(Three marks on the bolt head - grade six or five?) 
Drilled a single hole down through the bolt to core it out,
then drilled one carefully-spaced hole horizontally to meet this oil passage.

My replacement only has one oil hole, but that single hole is larger.   
I spaced the hole, so that I could use a lock ring above and below the bar. 
On top of the bolt I filed an indicator notch, so that I could always check the alignment. 
(The original has multiple holes so this alignment issue is less critical. With my 'homie,'
however, alignment IS critical.)

This clogs less easily, but I do have to fight my tendency to be cheep,
cheep, cheap and run too little oil:
It is better to run too much oil, waste a tad, but keep that hole clear. 
Running the oil a little heavy seems to prevent that oil port/hole from clogging.   
It never fails that, if I run too little, or if I forget to open the valve back before
the beginning of the next cut, that it will clog up. 

In other words, a good out-flow of oil seems to be the best prevention of clogs.

Phil L.

[Kevin]

Thinning the oil may help as well.

[fencerowphil (Phil L.)]

Good point Kevin,

Malloff used #10 hydraulic oil for his milling.
Now that is THIN!  I have never done it.

Phil L.

[Sneed]

I like the idea of a larger oil hole on the "bolt".  Thinning is a great idea as well... especially in colder weather where the aux tank is sittin' way up there on top of the mill. It can get pretty cold up here in the northeastern USA.
On a slightly different note, I would like to redrill another oiler hole on the other side of my bar so that I can flip it over. What goes on with the original hole? Leave it be? Plug it up? Common sense tells me to plug it up somehow.

[oldschoolmiller]

The longer the bar, the longer it will take to cut through the log. You are in for a work out with a bar that size, it will work, just be a little slower then usual, good luck 

[oldsaw]

I've gone "full slab", just shy of 36" with both oak and walnut.  It's not fast, but, when you see the amount of sawdust coming out, you know it isn't going to get much faster either...without more revs.

Cutting wide slabs will get you mountains of sawdust, which is a good thing when you finish up on your knees.

[fencerowphil (Phil L.)]

Sneed,
I have never worried about the open hole left on the other side of the bar when the bar is flipped.
As a matter of fact I have one bar with three holes, thanks to the fact that I drilled one hole wrong.
 
When you thiMk about it,  the aux. oiler hole which is in use is sending its supply of oil directly down the "working edge" of the bar.  The unused hole is way round the bar groove.  Whatever tiny bit of oil you might lose won't really matter.

(Of course Adrian Monk would plug it, but also Adrian Monk would not be using a chain saw!)

Phil L.         P.S. to OldSaw:    It's so hot in Georgia today, that I need some sawdust to kneel in to
                                                   Pray - Pray for cooler weather.    The only sawing I can do when it's
                                                   over 100 Deg. like this is to watch video down-loads of the Granberg
                                                   mill demos.  Yuk, yuk!       Air-conditioned comfort!