Chain saw mill projects

[Cphinman]

Thinking about splitting a chainsaw mill with my buddy. We don't need one and don't have any use for it, but we like doing this type of stuff so we are just wondering if people have done any projects using their saw mill other than making your standard boards or beams. Has anyone built a slab coffee table or or farm style dinner table. Using just your chainsaw mill to make the legs bracing etc. or if anyone has pictures of projects there used it for. Thanks!

 

[DougA]

I would suggest that you look into making a bandsaw sawmill project. A lot easier to do, lightning fast at cutting compared to a chainsaw and you'll have a surface that is much smoother. Mostly it's just angle iron, pulleys, wheels and a 5hp engine. Many of the kits are portable so you can take them into the bush - sort of. I looked at buying a used one but ended up using a guy near me for the dozen or so logs I have. On a 24" log, he can cut a band so thin it will roll up into a one foot tube. Amazing. Most of my stuff was cut 1" or 2" for furniture.

 

[peakbagger]

My brother did all the wood for 3 sided Adirondack shelter with an Alaskan mill. He did it mostly out of hardwood. He bought the biggest Husky chainsaw the local dealer had and its still slow plus the wide kerf means a lot of wood loss. The initial setup for the cut also takes awhile. Yes it can be done and if there is no alternative its better than nothing but bandsaw mills are the way to go.

 

[jeffesonm]

I agree that a band saw mill is far superior for turning trees into lumber, so if you have a bunch of trees you want to turn into lumber, buy/rent/build one of those.

However if you want to mess around and cut yourself a handful of slabs or beams, and especially if you already have a big saw, get an Alaskan mill for <$100/ea and have at it! It's hard work and somewhat slow, but you can get very nice results. I took an old chain and made it into ripping chain by re-filing it to 5 degrees and grinding off every other cutter. It leaves a pretty nice finish on the boards, not quite planer smooth but definitely bandsaw smooth.

I posted a thread here you can check out: https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/anybody-use-a-chainsaw-mill.139228/

Recently a neighbor had a big white oak taken down and saved a 10' section of straight trunk. I need to get over there sometime this holiday break and mill it into boards for him.

 

[CentralVAWoodHeat]

Agreed. It takes a while but it will make boards. We have an outdoor garden table that I built for my wife out of a large red oak I felled several years ago. Most of it went to firewood but there was a ten foot section near the base that was particularly straight and thick. This became the lumber for the table. Just make sure to let the boards dry in the shade for twice the time your firewood does. If you dry the boards in the sun they will warp in the direction the sun hits them. Patience is a virtue unless you have a kiln to dry the lumber.

 

[Longstreet]

You need to define "chainsaw mill." That can mean anything from an Alaskan mill at under $100, a Norwood mill at $1000, or a Logosol M8 at $3000.

If this is only for occasional milling and some fun, I see why you would want an Alaskan mill, especially if you already have a saw. If you where going to cut lots of 2 by stock, you really don't lose that much material. The big difference is time - bandsaws are crazy fast. If this would be mainly for fun, I'd save the coin and go with an Alaskan. Takes a lot of lumber to make up the $1000s tied up in a bandsaw.

 

[ClintonH]

Woodmizer. Get a woodmizer. http://woodmizer.com/us/

 

[BenTN]

If you want to mill up wide slabs for live edge table tops I would suggest an Alaskan mill with the biggest cc saw you can find. If you want to pump out dimensional lumber than a band mill is the way to go. You will be hard pressed to find/afford a band mill that will cut >36" logs. A chainsaw mill also allows milling without a lot of the log handling equipment, you can mill it where it drops and carry the boards.

 

[Jazzberry]

Baileys sent me a sales flyer on the Granberg Alaskan 36" mill for $219.00 shipped a few weeks ago. They had others listed also but since I already had a 36 I paid attention to the 36 price.