I have been looking into buying an Alaskan Sawmill for a while now.
I have that part pretty much done with, Granberg has alot to choose from. I think the 30″ model would be what I would want.
The part where I still haven’t made up my mind is on the EZ rails for it. They aren’t probably necessary but do they make the job easier or a better product?
Then I see an attachment that rides on a 2×6 to cut the edges off a log, is that a necessary tool to use before I hook the sawmill up? Or does the mill do a good enough job riding on the bark for the first cut?
Matt- Woods favorite carpenter.
Replies
I highly reccomend Will Maloof's book from Taunton: "Chainsaw Lumbermaking".
You'll probably decide to make your own mill as I did.
I saw that book online and wondered if it's any good. THanks for the suggestion.
I have seen alot of trees dropped lately just to watch them be cut into firewood. It's a shame for some of that to be pitched into the fire. Especially the black walnuts and hickory trees.
I would also like to start resawing for some interior mill work at my house. T&G ceilings and hard wood flooring.
Matt- Woods favorite carpenter.
IMHO, that book is the bible for anyone interested in chainsaw milling. If you're serious, order it asap.
Must warn you however, it's about as labor intensive as you can get. I'd compare it in bang-for-the-buck terms, with pouring your own concrete countertops.
Stuff like that though, we don't do to save/make money, right?Live in the solution, not the problem.
I'll second the book recommendation and also agree that it's best done for the joy of it or in cases where there is no other option to obtain lumber.
I am not doing it for the money thats for sure.
I just hate seeing good wood being burnt. I could make some decent stuff out of it.
It would be more for a good exercise, and using something thats going to be trashed otherwise.
Matt- Woods favorite carpenter.
Yea, there's a lot of pros, with time being the only real con as far as I can see. I did most of my experimenting while rehabbing from an eye injury, so I had time to kill.
This system could also be used for lumber reclamation--iffn you have a penchant for chain sharpening. LOLLive in the solution, not the problem.
I would reccomend getting the first book. The second book is just cool.
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=54195&cat=1,46096,46127&ap=1
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=44594&cat=1,46096,46127&ap=1
What do you plan to use this mill for (besides the obvious)? Chainsaw mill are great in there place but they are labor intensive. If you want to make money get a real mill.
Then I see an attachment that rides on a 2x6 to cut the edges off a log, is that a necessary tool to use before I hook the sawmill up? Or does the mill do a good enough job riding on the bark for the first cut?
You'll need a flat/straight surface for your first cut. I run mine on an aluminum ladder. I had a tree down at my cabin that had a 7" bow over 20'. Shimmed up the ladder and was able to get straight lumber. At least straight enough for a picnic table.
Edited 11/25/2007 10:44 pm ET by alesnloggers
I figured I needed a flat surface for the first cut, thats what I needed advice on.
THe aluminm ladder idea is a good one, that would save me from buying the EZ rails for the portable mill.
I am not out to make money off this, just something to do on weekends to relax and enjoy being outside. If I make some money at it then thats great, that'll help pay for the $800 Husky I have that I will clamp to the mill.
All I am looking to do is make some lumber for my place, trying not to spend money is the main goal.
Great picture by the way.
Matt- Woods favorite carpenter.
Why isn't that dog barking with a broom stuck his poop shoot?
Only time that hound isn't barking. Sound good when it's a couple of miles away chasing something but instant headache when your sitting around the fire. I might have to start bringing the broom everytime my buddy brings her over!
nice spot - nice table -
I gotta see if I can find a picture of the one a friend made out of marble (he's near a quary) - yours is bigger, his is heavier, both are neat with great views -
"there's enough for everyone"
Stilletto,
Look at woodmiser, there are a lot of decent ones out there right now, some with only moderate use. I'm not a fan of chainsaw mills.. too much waste, expense, and effort required. Plus there is virtaully no market for used ones..
One other thing I've noted with chainsaw mills is how poorly the wood is cut. I've seldom been able to make a clean pass thru my planner with the resulting wood.. The tolerance used is more than any planner can handle..
I'll take a look into a wood miser, probably won't be able to afford one though.
I've read that a thin kerf chain as well as how the teeth are pitched make alot of difference.
Matt- Woods favorite carpenter.
There are a few websites for making your own bandsaw mill.
One of the 'projects' on my list if I ever retire.
Couple old truck tires that you can inflate to 80 psi, old car engine and tranny and cruise control, some old I-beams or angle iron, front wheel spindles, surplus hydraulics and car power steering gear, ready to start building. Should be able to build one for under $100, and 1/2 of that is the blade? (assuming one wants to part out some of the cars on blocks out back?)
Should be a fun project, if you do it, post pix!.
I won't be making anything that elaborate.
I'll look for more website info, for a DIY mill. For the most part I just wanted something small to play around with.
Matt- Woods favorite carpenter.
wow....$100 ? ok ok the blade....
i swear... i have the table that powers you into what i think must be an MIR tunnel... it's about 16ft long... i'd thought turn'n it upright and make'n a dumb waiter out of it... (but figured i'd build a real elevator after my inspections out of a tripple forklift mast i have instead...)
man i wished we'd found each other when you were in TN i think you'd love my "parts department" i have an old parkinglot sweeper (small) that has all kinds of hyd pumps/motors valves ect... it even works think it has a 16hp kohler motor... but i see a log spliter/ the drive for a parking lot sealer mixer tank... ect...
fun for me
p
Matt,
Woodmizer is just down the road from me here in Indy. There are alot of them around here. It probably won't be hard to find a used one at a fair price. They will be more than a chainsaw mill but give you alot better quality of board with much less waste.
http://www.woodmizer.com
John
J.R. Lazaro Builders, Inc.
Indianapolis, In.
I've read that a thin kerf chain as well as how the teeth are pitched make alot of difference
You'll want to file your chain straight accross (0 degrees) for it to work best. I've found that the waste not worth mentioning if your only doing a few logs for personal use or logs that are not accessable by othe means.
I have one of these :http://www.dltimbertech.com/sawmills.asp for logs that I can skid out. If you have a dull bandsaw blade you'll end up planing more off because of blade wander then you'll ever lose to a wide kerf saw. My D&L cuts dead straight and the kerf is about 3/16". The edger is nice as well. I can cut up to 16"X4" without rotating the log.
I know I saw a magazine article in popular mechanics many years ago, someone made a sawmill with a vw engine
Matt,
Thin kerf sounds good except the thinest I've seen takes 4 to 6 times the amount of wood that a band saw does but it still doesn't change the thickness variation which is the real weakness of chainsaw mills.. The reason running wood thru a planner is such a pain.
Now I've seen reports of well tuned up mills that do a tolerable job of remaining consistant, however that's totally dependant on so many variations that are really beyond the sawyers control.. For example, hitting a dirt pocket, embedded stone, embeded foriegn object of any type with one will change the cutting angle of the saw enough to cause problems with regard to thickness control.. In addition saw dust build up on the ways and shifting of the tracks is a continuous battle.
As for Price. I've seen some very inexpensive Woodmisers however they are used and location dependant. (another words you can't just sit down and order one)
I'll grant you that it may be a whole lot easier to order up a new chainsaw mill but I know the cost of operating one is dramatically higher than a woodmiser or something similar.
I guess it really depends on you.. If you plan on making rough wood from a few trees then a chain saw mill will be an affordable way to do so.. However if you think tthat maybe you can make a house and do enough to make a few dollars selling wood then you simply cannot afford a chainsaw mill.
It really comes down to the bargin point.. there is a point where something is no longer a bargin because it's too cheap. Remember the most expensive thing is something that is free..
David, IIRC you have some experience in this area.
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David, IIRC you have some experience in this area.
Actually, I've never seen a chainsaw mill in action - but I've chainsawed enough that the thought of ripping boards with one of those slow, stinky, loud machines doesn't interest me - stilletto is 28, according to his profile - he may still have youthful energy -
I think careful study of alesnloggers picture is worth at least a thousand words about chainsaw lumbermaking -
"there's enough for everyone"
I've got an Alaskan chainsaw mill. It's the 54" bar version and has the auxiliary oiler at the far end of the bar. My friend and I power it with his Husky 95cc saw. My goodness ... that thing weighs a few pounds. It's not tricky to do except for filing the chain. It's sometimes very satisfying. It's sometimes not. (We have invested a lot of time and labor milling a couple of huge maple yard trees thinking we'd get great and interesting lumber but got some pretty dull looking wood and a lot of rotten stuff we couldn't use). It is always stinky, loud and labor intensive. Pshew. That big chainsaw is not a friend to the environment.BobPS: For starting rails we use a couple of 10' 2x4s selected for straightness and reinforced with some 8' long sections of lightweight steel angle I salvaged. They work well and are not too difficult to carry around.
I've chainsawed enough that the thought of ripping boards with one of those slow, stinky, loud machines doesn't interest me
A friend here bought an Alaskan mill and the largest Stihl power head. We've done substantial sawing with it. Tried several rip chains before I convinced him to try refiling.
Finally got some production. I've hired several band mills and chain is generally (should be, but not always) slower. The two advantages for chain mills are substantially lower initial cost and that you can cut indefinite lengths easily. For instance, my 40' beams are only limited by the size of the tree. More than a little difficult with a band mill.
My first experience with a chainsaw mill was watching Malloff slab a 42" d. walnut log. Incredibly fast with two power heads. His getting them to run the same speed was interesting. Bought his book immediately.
I rip 8/4 green oak easily with my not-large 039 Stihl, running a cross-cut chain with a jig. Long rips no problem.
Certainly no spring chickens here. My buddy's almost a decade older than I am. Doesn't take youth, just a strong shoulder to start the large saw. Then the chain's pretty much everything.
PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!
We used a Stihl 048 that my husband logged with to slab some walnut trees with an Alaskan mill; we used the 2x6 for a straight-edge. The trees were a couple feet across and sawing went pretty slowly, but the wood was spectacular since air-dried walnut bears little relationship to its washed-out kiln-dried version. If you can get grafted boles from orchard trees, also called 'claro' walnut, the grain and color is amazing. Book-matching grain doesn't work out too well since so much is lost to kerf, however.
I sold a few of the slabs for mantles and coffee tables for several hundred dollars and kept all the grafted sections to turn into bowls. We also slabbed a pin oak that fell down in the yard and i made it into a desk for the husband. Pretty satisfying work, i felt.
Once we took the mill to the northern California coast to slab some redwood driftwood; sand is REALLY hard on chain. <G> We made several hundred dollars for four hours of cutting slabs and traded some pieces on the spot for abalone to divers who came walking out of the surf. Fun times...everyone wants to watch you, too.
I assume you planed some of these slabs down, was there an issue with doing it?
I don't think book matching would be that hard, rough out a slab at 2-1/2" thick, resaw it into bunch of veneers or a pair of 1x's. But i agree the kerf will eat alot of it.
The way I am looking at it is I can get a good chainsaw setup for well under $500. I already have a saw for it. If I buy a full size mill it would be alot bigger buy in for something that I plan to do as a hobby, not an occupation.
Matt- Woods favorite carpenter.
Stilletto, nobody has mentioned the obvious consideration of renting a bandsaw machine/operator - check around locally and check online with woodmizer and check here - http://www.woodweb.com/cgi-bin/forums/sawdry.pl to locate a machine in your area -
accumulate a few logs and have the machine/operator out for a day - you ought to be looking at ~.35 per foot to have the logs sawn to your specifications -
spend your time making stuff out of the material, rather than cutting it -
"there's enough for everyone"
I've spent some very pleasant afternoons on the beach milling salvaged yellow cedar logs, grain so fine you can't even see the rings let alone count them. Also some good times in old farm pastures slabbing figured maple from broken limbs off the big old single shade trees. It make a fine break from the shop and very satisfying to look at furniture I've made from logs I've found.
ya - I believe that - same with alesnlogger picnic table -
but flooring? and T&G ceilings? - it's a lot of work and waste for this kind of material -
let me be clear - chainsaw mills are tools, so I love them - they have capabilities that bandsaw mills don't - same with those mills in alesnlogger's links - I'll take one of each -
but to turn walnut trees into floor boards, it'd be hard to beat a woodmizer (or similar) - and think rent, not buy -
"there's enough for everyone"
I agree, right tool for the right job is always a good idea.T&G flooring and ceilings is something I buy from locals who have logs, mills, kilns and a flooring line rather than try to manufacture myself. I'm happy to pay their profit to avoid the logistics and costs of arranging all that myself.
Timbers, framing lumber and siding is great from the band mills, especially in storm season when the booms tend to break up and logs are readily had for anyone with beach access.
I like Alaska mills or even beam machines for smaller scale needs. I've got about 2k BFM of Alaska cut, air dried 2 and 3inch Garry Oak and Persian Walnut stacked up behind the shop for those requirements.
Edited 11/26/2007 1:05 am by observer
I like Alaska mills or even beam machines for smaller scale needs. I've got about 2k BFM of Alaska cut, air dried 2 and 3inch Garry Oak and Persian Walnut stacked up behind the shop for those requirements.
Boy, I'm a bit lost by that. Lots more info needed
Thats a thought, rent a mill. Hadn't thought of that.
My step brother works at a saw mill, they just recently switched to a huge bandsaw to resaw logs. I didn't like the finish I got from their logs with the huge circular blades.
I'll check with him and see what I can get lumber for, it's been a while since the last load I got. Hopefully the family discount is still in effect.
I have milled some cherry that was cut on a chainsaw mill by a friends dad, the rough surface wasn't that bad to get smooth. From what some of you guys are saying it's not worth the hassle for what I am trying to accomplish.
I have some options to think about now.
Matt- Woods favorite carpenter.
From what some of you guys are saying it's not worth the hassle for what I am trying to accomplish.
I'm not sure that is quite right -
just be aware that the money you are considering spending on the alaska mill and accoutrements would buy you a big stack of sawn lumber from a woodmizer sawyer - and yield would be probably at least 2X - and speed would be several times faster -
if you want large slabs, long beams, or >24" wide material, a chainsaw mill would be a good choice -
I have seen alot of trees dropped lately just to watch them be cut into firewood. It's a shame for some of that to be pitched into the fire. Especially the black walnuts and hickory trees.
I hate to see you give up on salvaging nice logs - and the chainsaw machine will do it - just not as quick and effeciently -
good luck -
"there's enough for everyone"
David,
You could have mentioned that Black walnut is pretty decay resistant so if he simply saves the logs untill it warrents calling in a woodmiser guy the resulting wood won't be damaged.. OH bugs might attack the early wood but probably not. They will leave the darkened mature wood alone..
I had a 24" planer to use on the walnut, the widest slabs, so no, i didn't have any issues with it. <G> The walnut came from orchard trees in CA that had been felled a week or so before we got to them, but i don't recall much end-splitting and they were quite stable. The cants were air-dried for two seasons before i finally planed them. The pin oak was cut in 1"+ slabs, then surfaced about 9 months later.I think it's awfully satisfying to make your own wood if it's unusual. (Sumac is another gorgeous 'weed' tree, too, though you won't need to take your mill to it!) I wouldn't go to the effort for red oak, i don't suppose, but the pieces out of that walnut orchard and the redwood were certainly profitable as well as beautiful. Too bad we only got four boles slabbed out of hundreds that were just windrowed and burned. (circa 1981, little did we know...)
a guy i know had one at that time he used a stihl90 , went and got trees from peoples yards Always hit nails from tree forts, I had some nice logs some old growth spruce i wanted planks from , The guys with the portable mills would never show up, I wished i would have cut some planks, One job would have paid for the whole thing but not sure even then i could handle a stilh 90, I had a 56 and 51 maybe our 64 would have been perfect
I bought a Husky 570 last year and thats the saw I'll be hooking up to the mill. It has a 5HP motor on it so I think it'll be fine for the time being.
If I get into doing it more I'll look into a bigger saw. I just plan on messing around for awhile. Make a few boards here and there.
Matt- Woods favorite carpenter.