9 FT Rail Mill Guide System 3 Crossbar Kits Work with Chainsaw Mill…

The product was complete and works as described. There were actually a few extra bolts which is ideal. There was not exactly instructions, but there was a photo. I originally bolted it together, used it, and took it back apart and changed the direction of the u-bolts. The nuts where up against the chainsaw motor and were not adjustable. It took several attempts to get it the way it works for me. The extruded aluminum rails were very durable and light. Nice overall design. One of the bumper slides came off the first time I used it. Could have been tack welded better.

Great tool. Works great with my 20" bar 52cc saw. The pictures on the Amazon ad page are most helpful for assembly, as the instruction sheet didn't exactly match the latest design. Tried it out on a piece of 12" round sassafras I cut up last weekend. Setup was pretty easy. I had some leftover along rails that made the first cut easy. Also setup my log on the deck of my equipment trailer so that working height was more comfortable. Even with a chain that had 6 tanks of fuel of prior use on oak, Birch, sassafras and cherry. Cut 4 sassafras planks about 4' long. None of the fasteners came loose. Everything was still tight. Ran one plank a few passes through my Delta planer and looks great. Had to plane about 3/16" off each side to get rid of chain scars (standard saw chain). Great tool for occasional projects, but not the most efficient method for lumber if you plan on becoming a lumber source. Band saw would be much faster and would not eat as much wood for waste. Great tool. Works well. Easy to assemble. Great addition to my woodshop for the price. =)

The chainsaw mill works well and is lightweight, but plan on getting some using blue loctite on the thumbscrews since they will surely vibrate out when running a chainsaw regardless of how tight you hand tighten. It would be a nice improvement if the bar clamping bolts were installed from the bottom instead of the top, since the access to the top is limited due the the chainsaw bar and the mill itself. I ended up making a rig to hold the chainsaw and mill so that I could sharpen the chain without removing the chainsaw from in the mill. And it is quite the chore to balance the chainsaw in mid air and assemble the bar in the mill in the right location without a few curse words without using my home made rig. Also, I now ALWAYS use a rail or screwed down straight flat board that is longer than the log on every cut (not just the first cut) since it is just too difficult and dangerous to start a cut just teetering on the edge of a log.

The instructions are in pictures, not words. The pictures are laser printed and are quite clear. Sort your hardware and pieces and you should have it figured in no time. Step 1, mount the angle pieces to the center of the cross over so they come together at the center. Once tightened, the dog goes between them. If it's tight, start the dog at an angle and with light pressure it will go in. The cross overs mount to the rail via the square screws. Wing nuts are used on the connector pieces. It will all make perfect sense once you start using your mill. The 3' lengths are all 3', the gaps people see or the bends people see is because the cross overs are not square to the rail. A measuring tape and/or square fixes the problem. You can start with a perfectly assembled rail, when you start adding, subtracting sections, moving the dogs and levelers around to the length of your log, it will, after awhile resemble a snake. A small gap or curve in the rail is not an issue, you are leveling the rail from to back and side to side, if the rail makes a slight curve or you have an 1/8 gap, it will not bother your mill a bit. I do keep a cheap joist square and measuring tape when it gets out of hand. If all you are doing is 8.6 logs on a 9' rail, use a lock washer or light thread lock or have the joints welded. Lengths are assembled the way there are because of people like me that add and subtract 3' sections at a time and do multiple logs a day. It is designed that way for quick adjustment. The nature of the beast, vibrations will start to back out wing nuts and we've caught a couple of leveling screws that backed out. Bees wax is the best answer for what we are doing as the rail is indeed being adjusted that often. This is not a design, engineering or manufacturing flaw. All rail systems are about the same. Per one review about the dogs being cheap...the only way to bend one going in is with a big hit at a bad angle. They are stabalizers, there is no reason to drive them in hard. A little tap with the back of a hatchet and they are home. You do have to be careful prying them out sometimes, don't use your rail as a lever especially near a connector. Common sense and don't drive the dog into the log as if it's a railroad spike. Female (me), back of a hatchet, light tap, it's in. 1" wide, 18" long, under the rail, quick tap, they are out.

The item arrived very well protected by the packaging. Upon opening the package and inventorying the hardware , it did not match the hardware list. The instruction were piss poor at best. I assembled the sawmill looking at the pictures provided. A bit of a challenge to say the least. The day after I assembled the sawmill I received an email with updated assembly instructions, a day later than needed. So, anyone buying this will have some mechanical abilities and be able to figure it out. That being said I will update as soon as I have a chance to put it to use.

Disclaimer: I have not used this tool yet, but I just assembled it. It is made with good materials, but in my opinion it's too flimsy. There is a LOT of deflection until you drive down the adjusting screws, and I mean a LOT!!! If/when I set it up for the first time to actually mill a log, I'll probably bring along a string to make sure the first cut is straight. Others use segments of extension ladders for the first cut, and now that I see this rail system, I wish I had gone that route too. I'm not gonna knock it all the way yet, because I have not used it yet, and it might still amaze me.... but I doubt it. It is also very narrow and I have concerns about keeping my 36" bar levelled on it, whereas on a ladder, this would not be a concern. If you plan on cutting 12" diameter timbers, it might be an excellent tool, but for larger diameter logs I'm just very doubtful. I got it now, and will try it when I get the chance, but my recommendation to all who want to cut larger logs would be to get a 20' extension ladder, drill & tap holes for some adjustment bolts and drill some holes for regular deck-screws to hold it in place. The ladder will be a much better guide than this flimsy tool. For the engineers of this product I would recommend to attach 1/4"X2" flatstock to the sides in order to take the flex out of the rails.

I have a video that I will post soon to explain in more detail. But there are linkages (small pieces of metal) that are used to link together multiple sections of rail. First day out I noticed one of the linkage bars was bent and so the whole system made a crooked first cut. Then I found the issue and took the crooked piece into my workshop and straightened it. Second issue was that the wingnuts do not stay tight for some reason. I tightened them all by hand and a few came loose while I was milling. Fortunately the pegs were hammered in solidly and nothing moved, but this is something that you should be aware of. I think I may add some split-lock washers to hold them steady.

Seems to be sturdy and fairly well made. Worked well cutting large slabs of cherry. The only problem I encountered was the leveling screws tended to back out from saw vibration. The female threads for the leveling screws are tapped into the hollow extruded aluminum rails with no nut or insert welded to the rail for reinforcement. I expect those threads to strip out fairly quickly.

Básico en las tareas de aserrado, liviano, cumplieron sin contratiempos

Es muy difícil de armar y usar. el intructivo no explica bien, regrese el producto mejor.

Buen producto.