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Charles P. Wright
03-02-2016, 10:03 PM
My parents have a silver maple that is a bit oval in shape, 31" wide, 21" thick. It is about 6-7' until a crotch in the tree. The tree is healthy, but they want to take it down because it is close to the driveway and dumps copious amounts of pollen all over their cars. I'm thinking of embarking on an adventure and trying to turn this into slabs for table tops. Above the crotch, there are about 12-16' straight sections that are a bit less than 20" in diameter. I would work on those first, to at least get some practice before attacking the larger log.

My thought was that I would purchase a Granberg Alaskan MK-III. The 36" is possibly enough, but I might decide to go for the 48" just in case there are parts of the log a bit wider or there was a measurement error (my dad measured it for me) and then a powerhead to go with it. For a 36" mill, Granberg recommends a 70cc saw. If I go with a 48" mill, but am milling closer to 30-36" is there a significant draw back to using the 70cc saw instead of the 90cc they would recommend for the larger mill?

I stopped by the local lawn dealer who has Stihls and Husqvarna. His recommendation was either a MS441 which is 70ccs for $959; this in the pro line. One step down would be the rancher model MS 391 64ccs and $589. A step up would be a 661 for $1250; he says he had one customer who bought this one for milling and that he's been very happy with the power of it.

Am I asking for trouble if I go with the MS 391? The cost savings is fairly significant and I would be willing to take it a bit slow, because I'm not trying to make money on this; but I don't want to cheap out and be unable to complete the job.

Is there anything else I should be looking at or thinking about?

Thanks,
Charles

Lasse Hilbrandt
03-02-2016, 11:15 PM
I will be watching this thread as Im considering buying a chainsaw mill too. I already have the 391 Stihl saw. Is it even possible to fit a 36" sword to this saw?

Cody Colston
03-03-2016, 10:25 AM
I've never run a chainsaw mill but from everything I've read, I would recommend the 661. Once you mill your own lumber, it becomes pretty addictive and the bigger saw will give you more options as well as not having to work as hard.

David Spurr
03-03-2016, 7:39 PM
I have the granberg mill and love it. Lots of brutal hard work pushing a chainsaw all day but better than spending 4 grand or more on a woodmizer. I run the Husky 390XP that's 88 cc's and whish I had gone bigger. I'll put it like this, cutting 22" wide fresh red oak, I get a minute per foot of cut. 8' log takes about 8 minutes. That's with the ripping chain from Granberg which I highly recommend. Then you have to resharpen after four or five cuts. I will be getting two more chains for my next log. I am not a pro Sawyer, just a hobbyist with a few big trees under my belt. Good luck and get the biggest saw you can afford. The smaller saw the more difficult the cut. Just my couple o pennies.

John TenEyck
03-04-2016, 11:48 AM
I've milled at least 4000 BF with a chainsaw mill, first with an Alaskan Mill and now with a rolling mill. I use a Husky 385 XP (85 cc). I started with a 28" bar in the Alaskan mill and now have it hooked up to a 42" bar in my rolling mill. I like David, I often wish I had more power. I highly recommend against the MS391. That is a wonderful little saw, but not up to what you want to do. The MS 661 would be the minimum I would go with.

So at this point you should be asking yourself if this is something you plan to do as more than a one off. Once you buy the saw, bar, mill, ripping chains, and whatnot, you are going to be into this for almost $2K. That's some pretty expensive wood if you only mill one tree. It would be a lot cheaper, and far easier, to find a local Woodmizer owner to come out and mill those logs for you.

John

keith wootton
03-04-2016, 1:45 PM
the 391 is going to be under powered for milling, but more importantly, it will not be able to oil a long bar for milling. having a second saw for felling, bucking to length, and for cutting off knots or places just barely too wide for mill is very helpful.

you will lose about eight inches of the bar length due to clamping the mill in front of the felling dogs, and behind the sprocket nose. so a 36" bar will net you a 28" log.

dave's observation on speed of cut is similar to mine. with a husky 372, white oak about 24", about a foot a minute. now i have a couple of 100 cc saws, and it goes faster. but, the real work is getting set up, keeping it all going smooth,stacking, gassing up, filing, etc. keeping the log clean w help chain life, but milling seems to dull chains much faster than regular cutting. spend time learning to file very accurately.

finding somebody in your area who is doing some milling is an excellent way to learn, make a new friend looking for help, and score some unusual wood (maybe)

keith

Charles P. Wright
03-05-2016, 8:54 AM
Thanks for the advice guys. For now, I've decided that the startup cost is too high, and my parents impatient to get the tree down before there are leaves on it. I found a local saw mill near my parents, and will have them do it. Even without the adventure of milling it myself; it should be fun to get some tables made from a tree in the yard where I grew up.

David Mealey
03-06-2016, 1:18 PM
Hi John,

I'm curious what a "rolling mill" is? Is that the Logosol mill or a portable band saw?

Thanks,

David M.

John TenEyck
03-06-2016, 3:39 PM
Hi David,

My rolling mill is something I developed and built myself, stealing good ideas from others and adding a few ideas of my own. You can find more pictures and info. about it at this link.

John

https://sites.google.com/site/jteneyckwoodworker/current-projects/chainsaw-lumber-mill

Brice Rogers
03-06-2016, 4:46 PM
I have tried silver maple for wood turning. It had a tendency to crack and spit. It also seemed to be a bit on the soft side.

I always like wood with character for wood turning but this was on the low end of the scale. It was a very light colored wood. But for cabinetry, perhaps that is good.

John TenEyck
03-06-2016, 5:04 PM
That's interesting. The silver maple I've used has always been really hard.

John

Jesper Jepsen
03-14-2016, 1:33 AM
I'm running a MS 661 with a 36" bar on the Alaskan Mill and in beech and oak you need all the power you can get when cutting close to the 28" that is max with. I do have a small( to small) saw to run the vertical mill to square thick beams so I don't have to change the sawmill at the saw. I also run the Granberg ripping chain and when near the 28" wide cut in oak it really makes a difference in keeping up the chain speed.
I would not go below the 661 if you plan to mill on a regular basis.

Jesper