Portable chainsaw mill question

[Richard Golde]

Does anyone have or know about chainsaw mills? I get tired of wrestling large half logs and was thinking sawing some into more managable pieces for platters and shallow bowls might be an idea. Any ideas on brands and sizes of mills?

[Richard Coers]

How old of "fellar" are you? These things are a young man's machine. No way for us to tell you what size to buy, we can't see your logs from here. I like the looks of the Logosol units, lot to choose from even there.

[Bill Bulloch]

I have the Granberg Chain Saw Mill #G777 and use it with my Husqvana 455 Rancher 20" bar Chairsaw equipped with a Ripping Chain. The 56cc engine is a little under powered for it. It'll get the job done , but is slow and laboring.

[Mark Levitski]

Richard, my wife and I have a 6 foot Granberg mill. We use it to slab some things for table tops and such that will not fit into a Woodmizer type mill. It really is a lot of work, and our best marital disputes have come during these sessions :). It utilizes two chainsaws (Husky 372XP's), one at each end. I always seem to get the short end :) :).

I suggest cutting the logs into shorter lengths and just slabbing them, or rather cutting them crossgrain, with the chainsaw w/o a mill. Less set-up time and a heck of a lot easier.

Otherwise, just hire a Woodmizer guy/gal on your area to slab up some stuff for you.

[John Bailey]

How old of "fellar" are you? These things are a young man's machine. No way for us to tell you what size to buy, we can't see your logs from here. I like the looks of the Logosol units, lot to choose from even there.

As I type this I'm on my way to Arkansas to mill up a bunch of walnut logs and sycamore logs. My neighbor in Michigan has property in in Arkansas and asked me to bring my Alaska Chainsaw Mill down last year about this time. I came back with 40 boards ranging from 8'x2'x2 1/2" to 6'x8"x1 1/4".

My mill is a Granberg 30". I use a Stihl Farm Boss 290 (I think its around 56 cc's) and a Husqvarna 576 XP that's 73.5 cc's. Both saws work very well. When we're milling they are worked very hard.

The most important thing to keep in mind is keeping the chains sharp. Typically, we'll have to sharpen a blade after each log, sometimes after as few as 3 boards. Because of this, we keep at least two blades for each saw. By the time we've used up all for blades, it's time for a break. This year I bought a chainsaw grinder to take down and that will help a lot.

Its a lot of hard work for what you get, but it's a great work out and we end up with very inexpensive wood. While I did spend about $400 last year on the trip, it was a great trip and I came back with close to 600 bd. ft. of walnut. Multiply that by what you would pay for rough sawn walnut and the trip pays for itself.



http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k301/JohnBailey_01/e9b279f849b2be05c066d1b633c4dccc.jpg



As far as age, I'm 63, and the picture above is my 72 yr. old friend doing the milling with his 95 yr. old mother making sure he doesn't mess up.

[charlie knighton]

i see the ear muffs, where's faceshield and dust mask?

[John Bailey]

i see the ear muffs, where's faceshield and dust mask?

Friend's mother gave us permission not to use them -- I always respect my elders. ;) (There just seems to be be fewer of them around the older I get.)

[Michelle Rich]

I use the old fashioned method, because I am old..cut to length and then split with an axe.Or maul..cheap & easier than a mill for me.

[Bob Bergstrom]

As I type this I'm on my way to Arkansas to mill up a bunch of walnut logs and sycamore logs. My neighbor in Michigan has property in in Arkansas and asked me to bring my Alaska Chainsaw Mill down last year about this time. I came back with 40 boards ranging from 8'x2'x2 1/2" to 6'x8"x1 1/4".

My mill is a Granberg 30". I use a Stihl Farm Boss 290 (I think its around 56 cc's) and a Husqvarna 576 XP that's 73.5 cc's. Both saws work very well. When we're milling they are worked very hard.

The most important thing to keep in mind is keeping the chains sharp. Typically, we'll have to sharpen a blade after each log, sometimes after as few as 3 boards. Because of this, we keep at least two blades for each saw. By the time we've used up all for blades, it's time for a break. This year I bought a chainsaw grinder to take down and that will help a lot.

Its a lot of hard work for what you get, but it's a great work out and we end up with very inexpensive wood. While I did spend about $400 last year on the trip, it was a great trip and I came back with close to 600 bd. ft. of walnut. Multiply that by what you would pay for rough sawn walnut and the trip pays for itself.



http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k301/JohnBailey_01/e9b279f849b2be05c066d1b633c4dccc.jpg



As far as age, I'm 63, and the picture above is my 72 yr. old friend doing the milling with his 95 yr. old mother making sure he doesn't mess up.



When our club mills wood we tie a 20' long rope to the handle on the mill and one member wraps it around their waist. They slowly lean back and help pull the mill through the cut. This takes a lot of the grunt work off the operator trying to push the mill. The operator of the mill is just guiding the cut and running the machine.

[Scott Hackler]

Question... How long does it take to make each slice off that log? I am curious as to the time involved vs. the cost between a band saw mill and the chain saw mill.

[Reed Gray]

Those will work fine for boards, and most likely are more 'work' than the bandsaw mill. I would like to see a 'chop saw' for chain saws so I can cut a piece to length, then slice off slabs with parallel sides. I can do okay free hand with the chainsaw, but not nearly as good as I can with my big bandsaw, but then I get pieces that are too big to put on the bandsaw.....

robo hippy

[Hayes Rutherford]

Richard, the wood us turners like to use is rarely symmetrical so milling isn't always the best way to optimize a gnarly log. That being said, a mill, ether bandsaw or chainsaw can be a lot of fun and who doesn't like blanks that are nice and flat? Once you commit to making a cut on either type mill based on where the pith is on each end, the grain and symmetry can definitely change in between. Keeping the logs short minimizes this but if you have short chunks, you might as well just cut lengthwise with a chainsaw.

[Jim Burr]

Friend's mother gave us permission not to use them -- I always respect my elders. ;) (There just seems to be be fewer of them around the older I get.)

That is the dumbest excuse for poor behavior I've seen in the last few months. This thread should be removed because it sets a horrible example...or the best example of how to do everything wrong...unless of course SMC supports this kind of behavior.

[J.D.Redwine]

That is the dumbest excuse for poor behavior I've seen in the last few months. This thread should be removed because it sets a horrible example...or the best example of how to do everything wrong...unless of course SMC supports this kind of behavior.

Grumpy old fart.

[Jeremy Hamaker]

That is the dumbest excuse for poor behavior I've seen in the last few months. This thread should be removed because it sets a horrible example...or the best example of how to do everything wrong...unless of course SMC supports this kind of behavior.


Hm. And here I was going to immediately go out, buy a chain saw and make sure to use it without any protection. Because I automatically emulate everything everybody does that I see on the internet... ESPECIALLY when it it heightens the danger to me!!

If I were a higher order being, capable of independent reasoning, and with perhaps a sense of humor, I might think that John Bailey's reply was tongue in cheek. But since I'm not, LEMME AT THAT SAW!!!

[Jim Burr]

Grumpy old fart.


Hm. And here I was going to immediately go out, buy a chain saw and make sure to use it without any protection. Because I automatically emulate everything everybody does that I see on the internet... ESPECIALLY when it it heightens the danger to me!!

If I were a higher order being, capable of independent reasoning, and with perhaps a sense of humor, I might think that John Bailey's reply was tongue in cheek. But since I'm not, LEMME AT THAT SAW!!!

I won't take that to personally since I have to fix people like you...but given your ignorance in safety, not sure your excitement to get stupid can be fixed.

[Scott Hackler]

While I understand Jim's point about protecting your lungs and I fully agree while in the shop and surrounded by dust you dang well better wear lung protection.... I do not and will not use a breathing mask while running a chainsaw...outside. Of course that is under the auspice that most of the wood I cut up (for turning and firewood) is GREEN and the dust is 1) minimal and 2)wet ...so it's heavy and 3) it's OUTSIDE and in Kansas we have a constant 30mph wind!

This country boy also doesn't strap on chaps and a face shiled to cut fire wood, but I realize that can be a slightly risky activity. Expecially if you didn't grow up cutting massive amounts of firewood each year. Now don't get me wrong, I am extremely safe...but in the operation of the saw and the falling physics of the trees. I take that risk, as my father and his father and his father....... (oh and every professional arborist around here, except for the face shield for the ground trimming...I have seen that once).

If you haven't much time with a saw or are inherantly accident prone... by all means use safety gear or sell the chainsaw.

[Reed Gray]

For the sawmills, I think most people run them at an angle rather than square to the log. They cut faster that way. Also, the teeth are sharpened different and/or they use a different chain because they are cutting more through end grain.

When I am cutting, I am not out in the woods, I am in my driveway. If asked to fall a tree, I say, 'just go to You Tube and type in tree falling accidents'. I am wearing shorts, and I do remember seeing Bill Grumbine cutting in shorts as well. I do use ear protection and glasses. No dust mask for green wood. Anything dry is cut on my band saws. No face shield. I learned to use a chainsaw when doing concrete foundations before every one had generators, because that was the only fast way to cut because most sites did not have electricity up yet. It is safe for me, but I would not recommend it for others. Yea, I know, 'don't do as I do, do as I say'.

robo hippy

[scott schmidt grasshopper]

I work part time on a woodmizer mill and also have an alaskan mill. and do slabbing with a chainsaw. my opinion on this is , if you need small blocks for woodturning then splitting down the length with a chainsaw is mostly the way to go. my 24 inch bar can take about 26 inches from one end, or running from both ends i can come close to even ( say lose 2 inches or less) over the course of 36 to 40 inches length of log.
next up the alaskan, I would use that for planking. here is why, first you have to set up the initial cut with guide rails or ladder or etc. then cuts for me with a 032 or 042 saw are about 15 minutes each 10 ft cut thru 16 inch wood, this is slow and hard for my knees. read that as you will. the reason i would do this mostly is 1 I want longer than 36 inch length and 2 I cant figure out how to get the log to a bandsaw mill.
bandsaw mill, yep faster cutter but you have a hard time getting the figure you want out of the operator since they want to load it once then slab it quick. I work hard with my operator to get the cuts I want . and pay for it since it's by the hour. for the mills bennies, I would say if you have over 250 bd ft of logs and need to cut it fast , see if you can get it to a bandsaw mill. if you are chunking a log and its big , hard to move, or you can use short chunks, stick with the slabbing with just a chainsaw unless you are deperate for exact thicknesses. I can turn a bowl blank (slabbed) to parralell thickness alot fast than I can alaskan mill it so seldom do I use the mill. as for safety . we all make choices, I hope we make informed ones. I vote for ear muffs, safety glasses and sawing into the wind. chaps when crawling around with the alaskan mill. be safe ya'all

[scott schmidt grasshopper]

with my 042 stihl, I get about 15 minutes for a full cut on 10ft x 16 inch douglas fir ( thats fuel ,set, cut ,, etc ) 4 slabs per hour