chainsaw mill

[white eagle]

any of you use one of these chainsaw mills where you attach a cutting guide to your saw and muscle it through the log?
My son wants to get one but I see more work to produce any lumber, but I may be totally headed in the wrong direction.

[bakerjw]

IMHO, they waste a lot of wood.

[gunther]

If you can find a small mill owner you trust deliver the logs, help him saw them up and pay the saw-bill. Portable mills are too slow and a chainsaw mill is worse.

[pworley1]

I have 2 friends who each bought one. One sawed 2 logs and the other only sawed part of one before they gave up.

[blackthorn]

See if you can get hold of a book called "Chainsaw Lumbermaking" by Will Malloff. Produced by "The Taunton Press", in 1982. That book gives instructions, including plans to build your own chainsaw mill. Those mills are a bit of a fiddly pain but they do make good lumber. We used a mill we built ourselves and took it up to the lake to mill beams and boards for a couple of cabins.

[Mal Paso]

Get the USA made Alaskan, it's solid. I just milled 2 logs. More horsepower is better. I used a 5 HP. It is work. That it wastes wood is splitting hairs, a circular or bandsaw of any size is going to take 1/4 inch or more. I plan to get a $20K mill after I get storage for it but I got 16 boards curing right now.

[WebMonkey]

i still use one.

if you know how to sharpen a chain well AND know how to set the depth gauges well, then you might not get frustrated with it.

:)

i do use a ripping chain for less 'kerf' waste.

i 'mill up' 3 or 4 10' logs a year, that's it.

like i said, you MUST keep the chain sharp and biting or you'll get 3/4 through the log and only throw 'dust' for the next 10 minutes trying to push the saw through.

i'll keep my chainsaw mill because i've learned how to get the most out of it.

if i could 'go back', i'd save up for a bandsaw mill or not attempt to mill my own logs in the first place.

good luck

[Misery-Whip]

It is work for sure. Just rolling logs and getting them off the ground.

If he has plans of making 2x4s he is money ahead to buy lumber. Timbers for structural buildings need to be graded so that's out too. I use a home made rig, it works well. I've cut cherry for projects, 15 fir planks 2-1/4×12 at 6 feet for a atv bridge. Several disks 18" or less at 2 inches for European mounts. And a 12x12 at 8' from cedar (lightweight) and cut a 70* angle for homade car ramps.

Really it's a toy, you can make lumber and timbers you can't buy. My dad shakes his head at my stories, then sees what I made...

[badguybuster]

I used one of the Harbor Freight Bandsaw mills at my old farm (unfortunately I let the new owner convince me to leave it). It worked great so long as you went slow and kept it lubricated. The blades were mediocre but easily replaced with better quality.

[GregLaROCHE]

I started using an Alaskan mill close to thirty years ago. It worked great in the Alaskan Bush where there weren’t any saw mills. There wasn’t any near me. It works great for soft woods, but slower on hard woods. You need a big saw however. The bigger the better.

I had a second mill shipped to me in France and I used it to mill beautiful chestnut boards using a Sthil 880, as well as squaring logs to be used as beams.

One big advantage of a chainsaw mill is that they are portable. A lot of what I cut wasn’t accessible except on foot. Most of the time I couldn’t get a tractor, or even a four wheeler close enough to haul the logs out. Cutting them in place made it possible to carry the individual boards out by hand.

Sure they have their limitations, but they can get the job done. Just make sure you get the first cut set up right. Afterwards it’s easy. Be prepared to go through some gas and chain oil. You can experiment with different chains depending on the finished surface you want. The smoother the finish, the longer it takes. A lot of people like peco chains. In Alaska I used skip chains that made things go a lot faster when I wasn’t worried about the surface finish. Unfortunately, you couldn’t buy the over here in Europe when I was milling.

[abunaitoo]

IMHO, they waste a lot of wood.

That's what I was thinking.

[Harter66]

We dropped coin on the HF 301 cc mill . First cuts took me an hour to reduce a 18" Pine log to 2×4 . The big bug is is the 9'3" cut length . I bought two 20' 3×3×3/16 angle iron and have 17'4" . It will make a first cut on 26" logs IF there aren't any protrusions over 2" out either side . Yeah it's $2200 but after hosing the first blade practicing and getting some gift wood I have some cherry to cut 1×4 to 1×18 gobs of oak and cedar and 30' of pine walls and all the hardwood floor I ever wanted it's a great investment . At current prices it takes 50 10' hardwood 2×6 , 1×12 shelf boards or about 250 pine 2×4 studs and your sawing wood for gas and blade cost . It runs a 144×1-1/4" that are $15-18 ea it runs 4-5 hr on a gallon of gas . Running labor ? Set up the bed with 2" of fall in 12' or about 5" in 20' and it will just about self feed on 12-16" widths of pine .

Not shilling just information .

[Moleman-]

My BIL Dave can break almost anything. About 15 years ago he called up and said his fairly new pro grade Husqvarna chainsaw wouldn't start so he brought it over. It had no compression. Turns out he managed to melt the piston over the rings using it in a chainsaw mill. Got him a new piston and installed it, cleaned the melted piston streaks out the cylinder and the saw ran fine again. He'd taken the non running saw to the local dealer he'd bought it from and they told him it was ruined and offered him $50 for use as a parts saw. Saw is still running fine although he got rid of the mill kit.

[GregLaROCHE]

I always grind down the rakers, so the saw will dig in and cut as much as you want. It will bog down a saw if you force it too much. I had a piston and cylinder replaced in a Husqvarna 266 once and soon after I burnt it up again. It was very hot and that saw had a bad reputation. It was maybe too highly tuned and I possibly forced it too much. Saws are best run rich so you are sure you get enough oil. Rich in the gas oil ratio as well as the high speed richer than max speed. Unfortunately, today those adjustments are getting harder and harder to do. So far I haven’t been overly impressed with the new all electronic saws. Maybe they are better for novices, but for the moment, I still like to do my own adjustments.

Wasting wood with each cut is relative. If you are cutting a lot of half inch boards you are going to loose a lot more than cutting three inch planks. Not much at all is waisted squaring up a log to make a beam.

[owejia]

Had a Echo with a 28" bar used the chain saw mill to cut southern red cedar into a nice thick mantle, made a cedar bench and cedar porch post for my log house. Brother borrowed it to make a big walnut bench. Sharp chain cuts easy, I used a electric hand planer to smooth the chain marks out of the wood, works well for thick cuts.

[ascast]

I have a Haddon Mill-uses a 2x6 as a guide. I busted out some timbers for hay wagon beams-3"x12", 4" by 8", 16 ft long. Stuff like that. Good enough for that kind of stuff. I would want something MUCH better to make boards ( anything under 4") or any quantity. I plan to buy a band saw mill. I have lots of mills around who might cut my lumber for me, but the loading and hauling is not trivial.

[BJK]

I made lots of lumber with an Alaskan mill. You need lots of HP in the saw, I used a saw with 5+HP but not just for making lumber I also use it for making firewood. It makes short work of turning a tree into stove length with the appropriate bar. I was turning out a 8' board in under 60 seconds, just keep the chain sharp and the logs clean. But it also turns 1/4" of wood into chips with each cut, so there's plenty of waste. I see it as worth more for timbers than boards but I made lots of boards since I had/have the trees. I did it as an experiment and it didn't take me long to pile the boards up. But it's time consuming, work, and uses oil and gas. But if you're back of beyond it's worth doing. If I lived where lumber wasn't available and I owned plenty of trees it would be the way to go since just get the mill and associated required items in place and make as much lumber/timbers as one needs as long as the fuel and oil lasts.

Oh, and one needs a good way to square up the first edge. I used a long piece of channel iron screwed into the log.

[rbuck351]

I went with the Wood Mizer LX 25 which is their lowest priced hobby mill. It will cut up to 22" wide and 12.5 feet long. It uses a .031" thick blade which with the set teeth still cuts less than 1/8" of waste. It's quick to set up a log after you get it on the saw frame. It will cut a 12 foot log of soft wood in a minute or less but I don't have access to hard wood logs so I'm not sure how fast it will cut hard woods. I have only cut some smaller pieces of hard wood about 5 or 6" in diameter whic were a bit slower than the soft woods. At $3000 it's spendy compared to a large chain saw and the mill attachment but if you are going to use it much, I believe it will pay for itself in time and lumber.

[GregLaROCHE]

A friend bought one of the lower priced Wood Mizers. I worked with him and it worked really well I thought. First he added extensions to cut longer logs Then two years later he bought a bigger version, with a computer built in to calculate all the cuts. It all depends what you want to do and of course, how much you are willing to spend.

[8mmFan]

This is a very, very interesting thread to me. I am not as mechanically inclined as most, though. I have seen those portable lumber mills and always thought that, for a person who is patient and has a mechanical bent, the mills would pay for themselves easily for someone building a barn, house, or a lot of three-plank-and post horse fence.

8mmFan

[Markopolo]

i use one for about everything...

286430

i dont push my chainsaw through for the smaller stuff. I use a boat winch and pull mine through. unless I need to mill something longer then 8ft. i also use a deck to do mine as its easier on my back.
286431

[Edward]

any of you use one of these chainsaw mills where you attach a cutting guide to your saw and muscle it through the log?
My son wants to get one but I see more work to produce any lumber, but I may be totally headed in the wrong direction.

Owning a tree co I can tell you the only thing they are good for ,if you are way off the grid they will get your cabin built but if your just in the sticks go to a lumber yard . As far as wasting wood ,so what in the woods means drop another tree!/Ed

[jim147]

I have three Amish mills within about twenty minutes of me.

[GregLaROCHE]

There used to be a very simple and inexpensive version, that attached to the chainsaw and used a 2x4 as a guide. I don’t know if they still exist. They were popular for squaring up logs, but not really up to the job of cutting a lot of boards.

[WebMonkey]

There used to be a very simple and inexpensive version, that attached to the chainsaw and used a 2x4 as a guide. I don’t know if they still exist. They were popular for squaring up logs, but not really up to the job of cutting a lot of boards.

i've got one of those.
think the sticker said 'beam machine' or similar.
basically a length of U channel steel on a pivot pin that clamped to your saw bar.

i used it a couple times to slick off a log for a bench. also made a 6x6 beam/post or two.

i think i used the 12' long 2x4 for a quick project and put the beam machine on the shelf.
;)

[John Wayne]

You're getting some great advice here White Eagle! The are few things more satisfying than opening up a log and seeing it's grain. I'll add this...pressure wash the dirt out of the bark if you dragged the logs and use a LARGE Stihl brand saw with a decompression button for cranking.

[thxmrgarand]

I used one quite a lot many years ago; lumber to build a truck shop, skids for logging equipment, and selling lumber. It is entirely worth your time to debark the logs. I used a Stihl 090 and a McCollouch 125, and both worked well. I used both of those saws for falling. The special chain for milling is worth the cost as is the separate tank for B&C oil. I have a mill now, and some logs to mill but I don't have a saw that is nearly large enough in displacement. I passed up a great buy on a Husky that was large enough as I didn't have the mill at that time and I drag so much stuff home that storage space is a problem. The garage sale gods would not have allowed me to find the mill had I not passed up the saw. With reloading and gun stuff I just buy whatever it is and don't worry about it. I am not even tempted by the Chinese saws.

[MrWolf]

There used to be a very simple and inexpensive version, that attached to the chainsaw and used a 2x4 as a guide. I don’t know if they still exist. They were popular for squaring up logs, but not really up to the job of cutting a lot of boards.

Got one also from Grainger I think. Very simple. Have not had the time to try it as was planning on taking down some trees to put in a small pond. No way to really move the cut trees up a hill.

[dverna]

There are plenty of videos so they will give you a measure of speed of production and ease of use.

The issue with a chainsaw mill that I see is you need a large saw for it to be effective and those are not cheap and they suck fuel. Saws that size are too big for me to handle for other work where an 18"-20' bar is enough.

My buddy is getting a "hobby" bandsaw mill and I think he is on the right track. He can easily sell the bandsaw mill if he tires of it and get most of his investment back. Used bandsaw mills do not last long on Criagslist in our rear.

I have a source of 70 pine/spruce logs 10-18" in diameter (for free) 4 mile from me, plus a tractor with a grapple. I will help him saw the wood and take a bit for my time and trouble. At 70 YO I am not going to be building much so setting up a drying shed is not worth the effort. One of the issues with making lumber is getting it dry and that takes time.

For a few timbers, the chainsaw mill seems to make sense, but if you are going to cut a lot, or make smaller dimensional lumber, the bandsaw mill is worth looking at.

[Mal Paso]

If you want dimensional lumber a swing saw is faster and you don't have to worry about knots pushing the band saw blade around.

On a swing saw the blade rotates 90 degrees to make a second cut on the return stroke so you get 1 piece of lumber per cycle. On a band mill the return stroke is a deadhead.

Baileys ripping chain used to have 4 different cutters and was great stuff. Their new chain has 2 cutters and left a washboard finish. I Do Not Recommend The New Chain. I milled the Oak with RC Chain.

[yeahbub]

I thought about getting one, but between the chain saw and band saw types, I thought the kerf was really thick and you could get more board feet with the thinner band saw cut. In some applications, it may not matter. I'm thinking that for floor boards, there would be much less sanding to finish out the wood. I'll be reading what those with experience have to say. . . .

[Ed K]

Only interest here is for making beams. The kerf becomes a non-issue in this application: take the extra waste out of the slabs, not your beam. Using a commercial Fairmont-Greenlee hydraulic chainsaw which has tons of torque and can take a ridiculous amount of abuse.

Agree a bandsaw, swing mill, etc. is best for boards but there are good uses for the chainsaw mill.

[Mal Paso]

The are few things more satisfying than opening up a log and seeing it's grain.

That's the darn Rabbit Hole. Pretty soon you will be telling yourself you are saving money......

I milled a 6 foot redwood windfall with an Alaskan once upon a time.

[jim147]

I thought about getting one, but between the chain saw and band saw types, I thought the kerf was really thick and you could get more board feet with the thinner band saw cut. In some applications, it may not matter. I'm thinking that for floor boards, there would be much less sanding to finish out the wood. I'll be reading what those with experience have to say. . . .


I only do small stuff but a planer and jointer makes things very smooth once you have it rough cut.

[jonp]

There used to be a very simple and inexpensive version, that attached to the chainsaw and used a 2x4 as a guide. I don’t know if they still exist. They were popular for squaring up logs, but not really up to the job of cutting a lot of boards.

I have a Haddon https://www.amazon.com/Haddon-Lumbermaker-CECOMINOD088770/dp/B009L6CJXA/ref=sr_1_8?dchild=1&keywords=timber+tuff+chainsaw+mill&pd_rd_r=7369fceb-bee1-4d72-970f-384b6b1ceab9&pd_rd_w=LOWXT&pd_rd_wg=9wdkr&pf_rd_p=4fa0e97a-13a4-491b-a127-133a554b4da3&pf_rd_r=8ZNQW59VV3J0SB8XRT19&qid=1627218972&sr=8-8

It works fine if you watch a youtube on how to do it properly. I've cut 2x4's, 6's and 2x8's as well as 6x6's. Use a big enough saw with a sharp chain, ripping or narrow kerf is best and don't muscle it. If you don't want to buy a narrow kerf bar then a ripping chain is what you want for this. I keep it at my camp along with a $89 Chinese chainsaw to cut up down stuff right in the woods where it lies. Works great for occasional use, cutting a few timbers or using that downed hemlock for something other than letting it sit and rot.

I've used a 41cc saw with an 18in bar and narrow kerf. Worked but slowly and not the best for the saw. Used my 50cc Jonsered Professional and that worked ok but I'd recommend a 60cc or up saw for this if your going to cut on a regular basis. Guy I bought if from runs a chainsaw shop and his sister used it to build a cabin in Northern Canada. If you have the time it would do that but for something like that I'd buy an Alaskan and a Chinese powerhead of the 80cc up on Ebay. Save your good saw for logging/firewood