Is 272xp enough saw for milling

[Nealm66]

I loved my 395, it was my first try at husqavarna. Was actually cutting for mike papac on axman at the time ( before he went to Alaska) The guy I was subbing for traded saws with me for the day and I really liked it and been a fan of huskies every since. Not sure about these new ones though just because of no 63 gauge short bars for tree work ha ha

 

[SpaceBus]

I run .050 gauge and the saw came with .058 from the dealer brand new. I really like the .050 on the mill.

 

[Nealm66]

Well, if you notice your chain running and can’t figure it out besides buying a new bar, try 404 full skip. I’ve been running stihl but going to try Oregon my next roll.

 

[SpaceBus]

Well, if you notice your chain running and can’t figure it out besides buying a new bar, try 404 full skip. I’ve been running stihl but going to try Oregon my next roll.

I don't run bars long enough to justify full skip. Just not enough big trees like that where we live.

 

[TradEddie]

Another option that might make economical sense is to find and pay someone local with a portable sawmill.

TE

 

[Diabel]

Sure, even better to have the lumber delivered from local mill. No fun!

 

[Nealm66]

Sure, even better to have the lumber delivered from local mill. No fun!

That’s the spirit! There’s a pretty good market for live edge when you get done making boards. I’ve seen where a guy was milling for half of the log is worthy. That’s where the portability/versatility shine. Way more valuable than just boards. Not sure what’s available in your area but mantles and accent walls don’t take much. It’s a little tougher to sell green but I’ve seen it happen. Room and time to dry is a huge hurdle. There’s a few places around here that have big supply of dry live edge but it’s off the chart expensive. I’ve learned a bit and made plenty of mistakes at drying to say it’s definitely very important to get that figured out before you put all that effort into milling. A couple things, stick, strap and paint the ends. Also, pitch set if planning inside use.

 

[SpaceBus]

Honestly if you are going to use the lumber for finish purposes the best thing to do is air or kiln dry the rough lumber and then plane to final dimensions. I plan on milling some laths for our house to do plaster, but I can just dry the pieces in our spare bedroom. Giant live edge slabs are much more difficult. Most folks I see that mill or sell lumber for profit build essentially carports that they air dry the lumber under with stickers, painted ends, and the whole deal. If you have the bucks there are kilns that make it much faster and more controlled, but that is a huge expense. Even still that rough lumber has to have some kind of finishing. A good mill doesn't mean anything if the drying process is flawed and the boards turn into bananas. My logosol makes a flatter and straighter board than a band mill, but If I unknowingly cut boards from a log with a ton of tension there is not much I can do. One of the earlier logs I cut was fairly small, really just two 2x4's worth of wood in it. I should have turned it into a 4x4, but I got greedy. Once I finished the final rip cut the board above the kerf jumped into the air and fell on the ground. To me there are three big parts to good lumber: straight logs with no twist or tension, well dialed in mill, and a good drying process. Any one of those is off and worst case the lumber is worthless, best case you will have to take off a lot of material with the planer.

 

[Diabel]

I was not planning on drying the wood. The plan was to build the shed as I mill. Wouldn’t fastening everything together prevent twisting? To some extent. This will be a woodshed in the woods not really visible other than one part of my driveway.

 

[SpaceBus]

I was not planning on drying the wood. The plan was to build the shed as I mill. Wouldn’t fastening everything together prevent twisting? To some extent. This will be a woodshed in the woods not really visible other than one part of my driveway.

I built my chicken coop with green lumber as I milled it, but by the end of our dry summer the boards were starting to become fairly dry and the 1" boards were more prone to cracking and splitting when nailing. Many of my boards wanted to curl and bend after fastening with 3.5" framing nails, but it's pretty stable now that it is finished. I think the real issue with green lumber, at least in my experience with the chicken coop, is that my exterior 1" thick board and batten siding and roof got a bit draftier and leakier after a few weeks. Next summer we plan on staining and sealing it all up. If we had dried lumber to start we could have stained all the wood and then assembled the structure. Some of my boards are a bit inconsistent on thickness and straightness since I was learning as I went. My mill is much better dialed in now so my lumber is more consistent, but a planer would have solved a lot of my struggles.

 

[Diabel]

Spaces are good for a woodshed...
I will see how it goes. If I can get the proper set up in terms of equipment, then mill the posts and few 2x10s and maybe the 2x6 for the roof I will be very happy. The lumber for the walls I might order from the local mill. The woodshed is my next summer project. The milling looks so gratifying and would be a project that leads to the shed project.

 

[SpaceBus]

Spaces are good for a woodshed...
I will see how it goes. If I can get the proper set up in terms of equipment, then mill the posts and few 2x10s and maybe the 2x6 for the roof I will be very happy. The lumber for the walls I might order from the local mill. The woodshed is my next summer project. The milling looks so gratifying and would be a project that leads to the shed project.

I really enjoy running my mill. It is loud, but in ear hearing protection with ear muffs over makes it very comfortable. With the doubled up ear pro It's like a meditation. My wife disagrees, but now that it's cold and we don't open the windows the noise isn't so bad. You will also get *very* good at sharpening your chain. I recommend the Granberg Grind N' Joint 12v grinding jig. I have one and my boards come out with a surface that cleans up to a finished appearance with 30 seconds of 200 grit. Eventually I'll have a good shed with a workbench and I'll get a stand alone grinder, but until then my Granberg setup is very precise for $90.

 

[Diabel]

Is the grinder adjustable for ripping chains and regular ones?

 

[Diabel]

Is the grinder adjustable for ripping chains and regular ones?

Just looked it up. Neat thanks

 

[SpaceBus]

Just looked it up. Neat thanks

I use mine for everything, but I wouldn't necessarily call it faster than doing it with the manual version (it's a guided file holder). With the electric grinder and lube I get a smoother cut on rip cuts than using a round file. Which makes sense, the grinding stone is a diamond stone and the file is far more coarse. For cross cutting the file might produce a better/faster cut due to being a bit "grabby" compared to a highly polished cutter.

 

[Nealm66]

Another word of advice, don’t look at the wood when you push your first slab off. Just close your eyes, draw a 90 with a square on the small end, measure and draw another on the other end, rip it off, drop down and start making cants. Flip the cants all live edge up, screw a 1by to hold them tight, start making boards. If you happen to notice the really cool grain and highly stainable white wood hemlock typically has, it’s game over.

 

[Diabel]

Another word of advice, don’t look at the wood when you push your first slab off. Just close your eyes, draw a 90 with a square If you happen to notice the really cool grain and highly stainable white wood hemlock typically has, it’s game over.

If you happen to notice the really cool grain and highly stainable white wood hemlock typically has, it’s game over.

Why would the game be over? Might be a silly question

 

[Nealm66]

Because the thought of stepping over dollars to pick up dimes might pop into your head. I really debated putting this out there but that first slab you cut off is going to expose some really nice looking wood with the potential of 3-4 times the value of regular lumber. I hope you can ignore this but it’s definitely hard not to admire a wide slab of wood. I used hemlock to make a top for a kitchen island on a house I flipped. I stained it with black walnut. I’ll try to find a pic. Really thought about not mentioning this but I really feel I should mention it

 

[Diabel]

I appreciate all your comments. I have only cut hemlock (lots of it) for fire wood, never thought it would have a nice grain.

 

[Nealm66]

Here’s another curve ball. If let’s say you go”holly cow!” And throw a couple pics on Craigslist and some contractor buys everything and wants more and asks if you can make more with those ugly saw marks, it can be replicated by cheating the motor at an angle and working back and forth. Ha ha, it’s a rabbit hole. It’s so much easier to make boards

 

[EbS-P]

I saw a great crotch. I want it on my wall to put all the family pictures on. Get it family tree 350$ later I have a set up to cut 42” widths maybe not enough saw now. So I agree that the snowballing possibly is really.

 

[Nealm66]

Are you thinking about one of those green 660’s? A cut like that would be a good test for one

 

[Nealm66]

So my neighbor/friends just brought the 880 back and said it’s a 181 husky that he uses with a 28” bar. Not a 272. I have a horrible time with the husky models. Anyways, he says it works really good

 

[Diabel]

I have been reading tons in terms of what saw I need, was leaning to g660. Now I don’t now. G660 might not do it. 880 or what is most liked is the 395xp. Mucho dinero!

 

[SpaceBus]

I have been reading tons in terms of what saw I need, was leaning to g660. Now I don’t now. G660 might not do it. 880 or what is most liked is the 395xp. Mucho dinero!

The new 881 has more power but some folks still prefer the 395xp for the better oiler.