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Attaching an alaskan to a Peterson

Started by Snag, July 19, 2006, 11:03:48 AM

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Snag

Captain had mentioned to me that he has seen alaskans rigged up to the carriage of a peterson and used that as a slabber.  Does anyone have any particular information they could share (pics would be great too) on how they did this.  I have a couple ideas, but I dont want to reinvent the wheel, and there are members here way more creative than me.  Any help would be appreciated.  Thanks.

Snag

Yeah, it does help thank you.  It is slightly unclear to me though.  They sell a kit and remote throttle already that will fit a wpf or just the skillmill?  Also, I dont quite follow this statement:

"Unfortunately the adapter bracket has a defined space between the two bed angles. It would probably be in your best interest to fabricate one up, using plastic screw threads and a rubber back stop to fit your alloy bed rails."

Thanks again LOGDOG.....

Wife

Hi guys

Just to clarify - We at Petersons do not use the Alaskan slabber on our commercial mills, as we offer the "Clip on Slabber" upgrade instead (using the much more hp existing sawmill powerhead).

And I'm really sorry to have to say this, but we don't recommend "putting something together yourself". Sawmilling can be dangerous at the best of times, so we put much testing into each new product before we are comfortable that it is safe for public use. We would not sleep right knowing a Peterson mill is being run with stuff we did not test in the factory.

But we HAVE made the Alaskan slabber a complementary product to our new hobby (domestic) skillmill. This has well and truely been tested, and is shown on our Skillmill website. www.skillmill.com.

Cheers guys, and let me know if you need any further information.
Kerris
Kerris, in the background....
Petersons Global Sales Ltd
15c Hyland Cres
Rotorua, New Zealand
www.petersonsawmills.com
kbrowne@petersonsawmills.com
Ph +64 7 3480863

LOGDOG

Evening Snag  and everyone,

   If I'm not mistaken I think the apparatus is available for the other mills as well. Maybe you can back me up on that Wife ( Hi by the way  ;D). The reason I say that is because I had seen it in the sales literature long before the skill mill was available.  And Snag you can understand the concerns a manufacturer may have about having an owner retrofit something to one of their mills and possible implied liabilities. Certainly a manufacturer would not accept any responsibility should something go wrong with homemade equipment being used in conjunction with their machine. I hope I didn't plant seeds that I shouldn't have. Peace.  :)

LOGDOG

LOGDOG

Snag,

   Just so you and other viewers who may have seen this thread know what happened to my previous post ... I opted to delete it myself. No one asked me to remove it. But I certainly wouldn't want to be presumptuous and encourage fabricating anything that could possibly have a negative reaction or using non OEM equipment with your mill.

   I'm sure Peterson's could whip you a bracket up in no time, test it at the factory and then give you something that will perform as intended, in a safe and productive manner ... all backed by the good folks down there at Peterson.  :)

   If you get yours before I get mine, be sure to post pictures of it in use. I'm sure more people than you and I would enjoy seeing it.

LOGDOG

Snag

Well, it breaks down like this:

- If Peterson offers one, I will buy one
- If Peterson doesnt I will make one

Thanks for the help LOGDOG.  When I do end up with something, I will share it with you.  If someone does have something they built or ideas, I would like to hear them.  Building something like this is really no different that the tons of other mods and complete mill, edger, loader etc that are built by the members here.  I already own the alaskan, the powerhead etc, so the purchase of the slabber for my wpf would not be cost effective. 

brdmkr

Snag


When I first started reading this, I thought 'Hey, that would be pretty cool'.  BUT, I then got to thinking about the cost of adding an Alaskan mill.  If you don't already have a BIG saw to pull the chain, I'll bet the clip-on slabber that runs of the exisitng engine of your Peterson will be about as cheap and have much more power. 

Of course, if you already have a sho nuf chainsaw, I suppose you are a good ways toward your goal.

Keep us posted!
Lucas 618  Mahindra 4110, FEL and pallet forks, some cant hooks, and a dose of want-to

Snag

Hey brdmkr -

You make complete sense with that line of thinking.  Prior to buying my wpf I used an alaskan with a husky 395xp walkerized.  If I didnt need the saw and alaskan anymore, I would probably sell them and buy the clip on, but I do still need them both.  I will make some headway one way or another and will indeed keep you posted.  Thanks....

woodbeard

I used to have a Peterson and an alaskan, too.
Since most of the work involved in slabbing with a chainsaw mill is setting up the first cut, I found they made a good combination.
When I wanted a wide slab, I just sawed down until I got the right width of face, then used the chainsaw mill the way I normally would.

Dan_Shade

if you are going to build up something that will run on a swinger's rails, i'd build it to where it will hold a larger small engine to drive the chain.  a chainsaw works, but having the extra HP would be very nice.
Woodmizer LT40HDG25 / Stihl 066 alaskan
lots of dull bands and chains

There's a fine line between turning firewood into beautiful things and beautiful things into firewood.

LOGDOG

Well, again ....if a person wants to use a motor other that a chainsaw for a drive source you've got your main engine with 24 or 27 h.p. or what have you. In that case just get the clip on slabber from Peterson and have it over with.

The place for using the chainsaw slabber in conjunction with the mill frame as I see it is when slabbing is not your primary business. For most of us, cutting boards with the circle saw is 9/10 of our work. But for those times when it would be nice to take a slab without spending all the time taking the circle saw off, putting the slabbing bar on, then off with the bar, and on with the saw again - the chainsaw slabber would be nice to have. Just drop it on your rails and go. It also eliminates the need to have extended 2x4's or something similar running lengthwise over the top of the log and past the ends for your alaskan or granberg to sit on. Essentially it's suspended by your cutting head which should already be parallel to the cut face.

The other advantage of course is that if you don't slab a lot - you don't have $1,800.00 or more tied up in a clip on slabber that sits around. At least with the chainsaw it's multi-purpose and can be used to fell trees, cut firewood etc. Chainsaw Slabber would still be my first choice.

LOGDOG

Snag

woodbeard- That is exactly what I have done, but a couple years ago I put my back out and after any significant amount of time pushing the alaskan it starts to act up. :(  I can do it, but I sure pay for it later.  I sure does make it nice to not have to set rails up to take the top of the log off though.  Like you said too, you can saw boards off until you get down to the width you need.

LOGDOG-
You just described my exact situation better than I was able to.  Thanks again.

LOGDOG

Right on Snag.  ;D Glad to help.

LOGDOG

LOGDOG

Here is the type of outfit we're talking about guys .... although here it's in use on the new SkillMill.



NZJake

If there is enough interest in these brackets for our larger machines, I'll see if I can get this topic tabled for an R & D meeting - no promises.

Cheers, Jake.
Wife says I woke up one morning half asleep uttering thin kerf and high production, I think I need a hobby other than milling?

Snag

Thanks Jake.  Any help would be appreciated.  All I am envisioning are two brackets, one at the tip end of the alaskan and one at the powerhead end that would be perpendicular to the the chainsaw bar.  The alaskan setup already has t-slots that run parallel to the chainsaw and the two brackets could attach via those t-slots.  The rig would then just need to be secured in front of the wpf carriage, underneath it, whatever.  I guess it would be much easier on an ATS as the track go up and down and you could rig some rollers pretty easy and just utilize the track, but as you know, the wpf would quite work that way.  Anywhoooo, thanks....

Jerome 

LOGDOG

Jake,

   I think this is what we're looking for. This is what I was describing to you and Denise the other day. This picture is from your catalog that I received in 2003. I guess it says it was published October 2003. I know I'd be interested in one still. I looked on your price list and couldn't find a listing for this particular accessory. Maybe you can check it out for us.  :)

Thanks,

LOGDOG



NZJake

Yep, thats a product we used to make a while ago, we called it the 'drop in slabber'. Wasn't much of a seller for us as operators ussually opt for the clip-on slabber. It was removed from our catalogue a few years ago.


Wife says I woke up one morning half asleep uttering thin kerf and high production, I think I need a hobby other than milling?

Snag

Jake, could you let us know when Peterson decides if it will be pursuing this or if they opt not to?  Thanks.


Jeff Meyer

The slabber attachment Jake is talking about, I have one on the west coast.  It works pretty well.  You have to have a 088 or 090 to run the 5' or 5.5' bar.  I don't use it much but when you need it your only looking at 1 or 2 minutes to put on.  Peterson should be able to e-mail you the plans for one.  It would be real easy to make one.  Any questions please give me a call.

Thanks,

Jeff

LOGDOG

Thanks Jeff. Have any pictures of it in use or sitting down in the frame of the mill? I'm sure we'd all like to see them.  :)

LOGDOG

Jeff Meyer

You know I will have to look.  I have used it a half dozen times but not sure on pics. 

Snag

Thanks Jeff.  I will take you up on that offer.  I am going to work on it as soon as I get my outdoor wood furnace installed and a couple other priorities caught up.  Would love to see some pics if you have em'. :)

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