First Milled Log

[Greg Crawford]

It's "oflitchal". I finally put my Alaska mill to work yesterday. After hearing so many of you telling me how hard the work was, I was expecting torture. It's not bad at all compared to harvesting or removing trees. It was very hard on the chain though, just as I was warned. The chain did one log (about 5’ long, 12 diameter mesquite), but it really got hammered. My saw is just a 50 cc Husky, so I let it rest after each cut, and didn’t force it much during the cuts. I can now see where an 80 cc saw (or bigger) would make a huge difference. I’m definitely glad I went with the longest bar I could get for that saw. It meant more chain and more teeth to share the load, and probably kept the bar and chain from getting even hotter.

I have a sneaking suspicion that the people at Granberg that make the mill are actually aliens. In the instructions, it says to get a couple of straight 2x4s or a straight 2x12 to guide the first cut. I know they can’t be from this planet, because I don’t think there’s been a straight 2x4 in decades, and a 2x12? So, I made my own guides by cutting borg birch into strips and making boxes. I have 2 – 8 foot sections and 2 -4 foot extensions that plug right in to the ends of the 8 footers.

Now, I have a nice mesquite flitch stacked and stickered. It’s on the cypress logs that come next. Hopefully the chain will fare better in the softer wood.

Thanks for all the advice and warnings. Expecting the worst and not getting it is always nice.

[NICK BARBOZA]

looks good. Im keeping my eye out for a nice big saw to run on my Alaskan Mill too. So far I have only milled a few apple logs from a friends orchard, but it wasnt too bad... Slow, but not terrible. I have a maple stump (36" at the base up to a crotch that is about 52" across 7' tall) that I am planing to slab once I get my hands on a big enough saw. Im sure i will need a 120cc and a nice big bar.

good work with themill!
Nick

[Julian Nicks]

I would look for a used bandmill before I'd spend all that cash on a 120cc saw.

That said, I just load logs onto a trailer and drive over to a retired farmer who has a bandmill. He only charges 25 cents per foot and $6 per blade when he hits metal.

[Greg Crawford]

Julian,

Where does that farmer live? Around here, it's about $30 for the blade, no matter what, plus the fee based on the length or time spent. I also have to drive at least 30 miles to the nearest mill.

As for a band mill, I don't have the space, and I won't be doing this very much. I just happened to get the cypress and I need some. I get mesquite once or twice a year, sell some to turners and use some. I've had my chainsaw for about 15 years, and it's still going strong, so I don't mind investing in another good saw (Stihl). I'll stick to the 70-80 cc range, which will save a few bucks over something in the 120 range. I just don't need that much power for what I do.

[Charlie Jones]

I use a Sthil 066 with a 24" bar. I use Oregon rip chain. my rig flys through pine and does a decent job on hardwoods.

[John Schreiber]

I wanna do that some day. I imagine great satisfaction in being able to go from tree to furniture all by myself.

Your boxes look like they worked great, but I've found that straight 2x12s are available if you pick through the stack. The better wood is actually used for the wider widths. Also, if it's not too late, put some kind of sealant on the ends right away to minimize end cracks.

[Greg Crawford]

John,

All we get here is yellow pine (except for a few "whitewood" 2x4s), which isn't properly dried in the first place. I've picked and picked, found straight (more or less) lumber, and by the next day it was a totally different shape. I've come to hate yellow pine!

We don't have to put up with ice and snow, but there are a lot of benefits of living in the Northern states. I'm glad to hear there are still some straight boards available somewhere.

[Anthony Whitesell]

For some chainsaw sizes, they make a ripping chain for using a chainsaw to rip saw lumber. I would look into on of those before looking into bandmill (which I would do prior to a 120cc saw which is going to be HEAVY)

[Chris Padilla]

I think I'd get all that bark off the wood...insects love to burrow in it or between it and the wood...unless you want a bark edge on some project, of course.

Did you seal the ends? I've heard sealing the trunk before slicing makes it easier and that sealing ASAP is also good. :)

Nice job...I have a small cherry tree in my yard that died recently (yahoo!...hated the tree...planted in a bad, bad spot) and I may run it through my bandsaw to slab up and see if I get anything useful out of it....

[Greg Cole]

I think I'd get all that bark off the wood...insects love to burrow in it or between it and the wood...unless you want a bark edge on some project, of course.
Did you seal the ends? I've heard sealing the trunk before slicing makes it easier and that sealing ASAP is also good. :)

Agreed on the bark removal and the end of log in the pic looks to be split a ways... sealing the ends will help prevent that too.
+1 to getting a good rip chain & mesquite isn't exactly the softest wood in the world either.
I've never made lumber but could definately see the satisfaction of the start to finish concept.

[Greg Crawford]

The logs were all sealed, but have been there a while, and the checks in the mesquite are actually cracks that develop in the tree while it's still standing. The mesquite can be wonderful with a natural bark edge, but the cypress, well, I was just too tired to take the bark off. I had also read where the bark will help slow the overall drying process. Heck, I've seen mills around here with logs stacked for months before they ever started processing them. I just figured they knew what they were doing.

[Ken Massingale]

For some chainsaw sizes, they make a ripping chain for using a chainsaw to rip saw lumber. I would look into on of those before looking into bandmill (which I would do prior to a 120cc saw which is going to be HEAVY)
Actually any chain can be a ripping chain. Rippers have a 10 degree angle instead of the typical 25-30 used for crosscut sawing. The angle change makes using the Alaska mill much easier.

[Scott T Smith]

Greg, congratulations on milling your first log! Mesquite is pretty hard wood too.

I started with a Granberg and a Nyle Kiln, and eventually ended up with a Peterson WPF with 60' of track. There's something about milling that gets into your blood.

You probably already know this, but for the highest quality result the rule is to: Log on day 1, Mill on day 2, and get it into the Kiln on day 3.

Best of success to you.

Scott

[David Keller NC]

"I had also read where the bark will help slow the overall drying process."

Greg - I rather doubt you're going to have insect trouble with cypress. To my knowledge, almost nothing will attack it, though perhaps the sapwood will eventually rot off if left in the weather.

I think you'll also find that cypress (and yellow pine, and especially white pine) is a whole lot easier and faster to mill than the mesquite. One thought about my warning that this is really hard work - mostly I use my mill on rather massive logs - 3-4' diameter oaks and walnuts. The little ones aren't usually worth messing with.

[Greg Crawford]

Well, David, I guess I also cheated. I know I'm pushing my saw to the limits, so I took about a 15 minute break in between cuts to let everything cool down. That, plus the fact it wasn't a real big log, is probably why it didn't seem so hard. Doing it all day would be a different story.

I also did get the ripping chain, in the largest size I could get for this saw, .375 x 050.