buying first sawmill

[sunriseseamless]

I cut wood for firewood and occasionally (once or twice a year) come across a fine large log that I hate to see be turned into firewood.   I currently have a 38" white oak (1- 8' section, 1 6' section) next to my barn.  I have agreed to cut down a shagbark hickory that is probably 30"- 32" at a friends house. (12-14' of base trunk).  I intend to quarter the logs then quarter saw them for use in woodworking.
I've thought about just hiring the cutting done, but transporting them is a challenge, and I doubt I could have someone come to the logs economically.
I've researched sawmills in general and it seems a chain saw mill would do what I want, but how much planing would that require.  Bandsawmills are very appealing, but more than I would want to spend.  Is there a bandsaw that one guy could carry and set up in the woods for these kind of small projects?

[Left Coast Chris]

Sunrise,

You are on that slipery slope that most of us around here were on before we bought our sawmills.  With those big logs just sitting by the barn you have the perfect aliby to get the go-ahead from the wife........just need to sell her on its value, usefullness and maybe it could be her Christmas present to you....... ;D ;D

I say you need a sawmill...... 8) 8)

[Faron]

Sunrise, Most of the mill manufacturers listed on the left have a  list of sawyers.  I think I would check out that possibility first.  A swingmill might suit your purposes, but only sawing once or twice a year would make about any mill a pretty expensive purchase, I would think.

[Tom]

There is nothing wrong with a chainsaw mill.  It is relatively slow compared to the other designs, but all have their good points.  You could start with a chainsaw mill with a long bar and cut table tops even after you decide that you want a band or circle mill.   Chainsaw mills are the most portable too.  That is a big plus.

I think you might find that a good bandsaw mill, saw and all, will have you in the range of a ground mounted bandsaw

While I wouldn't expect a chainsaw to cut as smoothly (though they can) they are still pretty accurate.  If you have a planer of any worth, you will end up with boards that are quite usable.

Expect a lot of work!


Welcome to the Forum

[brdmkr]

Welcome to the forum!  Don't rule out a swing blade mill.  With logs the size of those you mentioned, a swinger would definitely be worth looking at.

[Sprucegum]

I built my own chainsaw mill and was pleasantly surprised at how smooth the cuts were - after I learned how to use it  ;)
A sharp chain and a steady feed rate on a straight guide makes nice boards any thickness you want.

How big is your chainsaw?

[oldsaw]

There is nothing wrong with a chainsaw mill.  It is relatively slow compared to the other designs, but all have their good points.  You could start with a chainsaw mill with a long bar and cut table tops even after you decide that you want a band or circle mill.   Chainsaw mills are the most portable too.  That is a big plus.

I think you might find that a good bandsaw mill, saw and all, will have you in the range of a ground mounted bandsaw

While I wouldn't expect a chainsaw to cut as smoothly (though they can) they are still pretty accurate.  If you have a planer of any worth, you will end up with boards that are quite usable.

Expect a lot of work!


Welcome to the Forum

What he said.

You are the perfect candidate for a chainsaw mill.  Only milling up a few logs a year where they lay sounds just like me.  I pull them off the site one board at a time.  It is a lot of work, but it is satisfying work.

Mark

[Dan_Shade]

where are you located?

you may be pleasantly surprised at what it could cost you to have those logs milled up if you have a local sawyer.

chainsaw mills are pretty good for what you are talking about.  the problem with the small bandmills is that you end up swamped at their production levels, those things are slow....  a chainsaw mill is slow, but you can keep people from knowing that you have that

[Nate Surveyor]

OK, just think of this.

hire it done to one of these trees. Tell him your thoughts. Tell them to quarter saw it.

Pay your bill.

Now, go buy a trailer, and a good winch to load them, and DELIVER the log to the mill, and pick up the cut material, take it home and stack it to dry (sticker stack on blocks)

Pay your bill. You see, 1/2 the bill is in the MOVING of those logs!

You can get into the moving equipment cheaper, than you can get into the MILLING equipment.

And, by viewing the material you typically get with rough sawn lumber, you can make a MORE informed decision.

OF course, you could get an Alaskan mill (Granberg) and try it, and not be out alot of money.

I'm trying to encourage you to spend little money, and learn before you spend ALOT and learn!

Nate

[sunriseseamless]

Thank you for your good advice.
After reading through things, I'm thinking of quartering the logs myself, (that should make them easy enough to transport), then taking them to be sawn.
I'm in mid-Michigan, the lower peninsula, anyone know of a local sawyer?

[Furby]

Give us a county at least.

mid-Michigan, the lower peninsula, anyone know of a local sawyer?

Covers a lot of ground. ;)

[Tom]

It depends on where in that big place you reside.  Jeff, our webmaster, has a saw in Harrison.  Kelvin has a saw somewhere just N.E. of Lansing in Bath.  Furby is in Grand Rapids and would help to set you up.  You might find others on "Find a Forester-Sawmill" at the top right of the page too.

[sunriseseamless]

Sorry about that.  Bath is just a stone's throw, could I have his number?

[Tom]

http://ravenfarm.com/

It's on his profile. 

[New Inn Wood Man]

Hi Sunrise,

I do quite a bit of quartering to reduce larger logs prior to bandmilling. The kit I use is called the 'Big Mill' made by Logosol of Sweden and it used to have the nickname of the jungle saw. This would be ideal for your purposes and is highly mobile. It can also be used for planking and can be made into a static saw bench like the 'M7' by making up a wooden log ladder. If you are going for larger timbers you would need to buy the large log kit as well. Most of their advertising is based on smaller Scandanavian timber but if you would like examples of larger timbers have a look at my website(below).The pictures on there are of the version 1 which is the one I use the most, but if you would like a piccy or two of the version 2 strapped to a large log I have some somewhere. Just PM me.

When it comes to board finish my experience is that if you look after your chain well the finish is surprisingly good. Hope this helps.

Richard

[hazard]

I have a chainsaw mill from Granberg.  I use a Stihl 066 with a 36" bar.  I use an extra oil tank on the post away from the saw for extra bar oil.  This is a good setup.  Also a really good work out.  I use the ripping chain that granberg sells.

A 38" log would have to be turned a few times with my setup.  I sharpen after every 3 boards or tank of gas.  A log like this would take my probably 4hrs to cut.  Unless I am doing something wrong.

The boards are no rougher then boards sawn with a bandsaw.

You are wasting 3/8" from the saw kerf.

All in all I probably have $1500 into the mill.

I have simplified my setup some from what Granberg sells.  If you go this route and want some tips on setup let me know

Chris

[beenthere]

hazard (chris)
Welcome to the forum. That was a good post, with good information.

Hope you find the time to post some pics of your set-up and about the wood you are cutting.
We like pics.. ;D ;D

[hazard]

I have no pictures of them mill setup or jig for making the first cut.  Next time I cut a log I will take a picture though.  I have cut red oak, white oak, apple, soft maple, hard maple, hickory, cherry, walnut, cottonwood and american elm.  The two hardest were probably walnut and hickory.

I do have some beautiful white oak, walnut and elm that are 16"-26" wide.

If you go with the chainsaw mill make sure you are in decent shape.  It also helps to position the log so you cut downhill.

Thanks for the welcome.  I previously joined after the site crash so all of my post were deleted.

Chris

[Furby]

Chris, you had one post and it's still there with all the rest of the posts.
Look for the "Crash Archive" button at the top of the page. ;)
Here's a link to your post.
https://forestryforum.com/board2/index.php?topic=5.msg11585#msg11585

[Brucer]

I used an Alaskan chainsaw mill for 20 years. The finish on the lumber was almost as good as planed -- definitely better than a bandsaw mill. There's a few little tricks to pull this off. Use kerf wedges every few feet as you saw, to keep the kerf from pinching down on the backside of the bar. Keep the chain tight. Use regular chain that has been filed straight across, with a tip angle of 45 degrees. Place a weight on top of the handle to offset the weight of the powerhead (don't rely on downward hand pressure on the handle) -- I used a round of log with a notch cut across one face to clear the handle. Keep the feed pressure consistent -- get into a groove where the saw is cutting at a uniform rate, even if it seems awfully slow.

The Alaskan mill has one big advantage over bandsaws, swingblades, and "guided" chainsaw mills like the Logosol. The lumber will always have a consistent thickness, even if the cant moves as stresses are relieved. That means you don't have to leave as much planing allowance.

I still have an 8' x 12" piece of birch "veneer" 0.020" thick over the whole surface . (I sawed it off the bottom of a cant -- no way could I saw it off the top ;D.)

[blueduck]

Sunrise.....

you might wanna take a looksee at D and L's eco saw http://www.dltimbertech.com/sawmills.asp  as it is about as portable into the woods as anything ive seen in print anyway, a little more portable the mill I have which is a mobile dimension, which can be knocked down to haul on a mule over a mountain if you wanna, but is still fairly heavy in doing so, ive broke one down and carted it in the back of 3/4 ton pickup and it took a few minutes to do so without equipment and i can fetch a fairly hefty hunk of iron up into rig if i was a mind to.  http://mobilemfg.com/ ...... but they aint cheap niether for just sitting and not using.....

hazard

have you thought about using a power sharpener to do like 10-15 chains and just change a chain after they get to the dull point instead of filing.... when i was falling professionally that s the way i could make an extry dollar or two by the end of the day just keep the chains sharp and changing is faster than filing by a long shot and a roll of chain is not all that spendy compared to buying a loop or three at a time.

I use the same method for my sawmill, since i only have 18 teeth to change and I can change them faster than i can sharpen them if they are bad.....

sawdust piles up either way!

William