Portable saw mill in the field

[andler10]

Thinking of buying a small log portable saw mill. I have some "downed" trees(poplar and oak) that I cannot haul out of the woods. I'm thinking that if I can cut these trees into 'manageable' slabs, I should be able to get them to my woodshop. Is it possible to use a portable saw mill -like an Alaskan portable saw mill in the woods? I have seen videos of this mill, but the log is always on pads and out of the woods.

Also, can you use a chainsaw with a 20 inch blade to do this type of milling?

Thanks, in advance, for any help.

 

[Gooserider]

Never done it, but what I've seen of the guys on Arboristsite that do, I would say it's more important that you use a big engine saw for milling as opposed to blade length. Seems most of them are running at least 80-100cc saws - keep in mind that milling involves LONG stretches of wide open operation, much more so than a normal bucking saw would see, so you need a saw with good reserve power.

If you don't get good answers here, you might look over on arboristsite, as I know they have a bunch of people that do milling over there.

Gooserider

 

[peakbagger]

My brother uses an Alaskan mill quite often "in the field" He bought a large husky saw in order to run a long bar. Bascially as long as you can wedge the log so it doesnt rock side to side and you have clearance for the saw, it will work. Be aware, its very time intensive and the saw kerf is quite wide, so you lose a lot of wood.

 

[woodconvert]

Thinking of buying a small log portable saw mill. I have some "downed" trees(poplar and oak) that I cannot haul out of the woods. I'm thinking that if I can cut these trees into 'manageable' slabs, I should be able to get them to my woodshop. Is it possible to use a portable saw mill -like an Alaskan portable saw mill in the woods? I have seen videos of this mill, but the log is always on pads and out of the woods.

Also, can you use a chainsaw with a 20 inch blade to do this type of milling?

Thanks, in advance, for any help.

Before you lay out the cash for a portable mill (which would be in my top five all time cool tools to have), let your fingers do the walkin' and see if there is a local that has one and hire him. There is a fella here in Michigan that has a small portable bandsaw for hire, he does a good job and it makes quick work of a tree. Just a thought.

You can buy (or make) a fixture for mounting a chainsaw to do what you want but it's hard on the saw and S.L.O.W..

 

[smokinj]

Thinking of buying a small log portable saw mill. I have some "downed" trees(poplar and oak) that I cannot haul out of the woods. I'm thinking that if I can cut these trees into 'manageable' slabs, I should be able to get them to my woodshop. Is it possible to use a portable saw mill -like an Alaskan portable saw mill in the woods? I have seen videos of this mill, but the log is always on pads and out of the woods.

Also, can you use a chainsaw with a 20 inch blade to do this type of milling?

Thanks, in advance, for any help.

the bar size you would need depends on the tree size, and your going to need one big bad saw!! Ripping a log is a whole other beast! Ripping chains as well.(Most people will use 30 in bars and up)

 

[chad3]

Thinking of buying a small log portable saw mill. I have some "downed" trees(poplar and oak) that I cannot haul out of the woods. I'm thinking that if I can cut these trees into 'manageable' slabs, I should be able to get them to my woodshop. Is it possible to use a portable saw mill -like an Alaskan portable saw mill in the woods? I have seen videos of this mill, but the log is always on pads and out of the woods.

Also, can you use a chainsaw with a 20 inch blade to do this type of milling?

Thanks, in advance, for any help.

Wouldn't cut with a saw that "uses" a 20" bar. I have a 3120 that uses a 2 handed bar. You need to cut with a correct chain and make sure the saw is set up for milling in terms of the carb. Make sure you know what you are doing before you can mill. Sorry for the bad advise, but look more into this before milling.
Chad

 

[mikeathens]

Where in Ohio are you? My neighbor keeps his woodmizer parked behind my barn, and he's does milling on top of his landscape business. I helped him haul a blown down monster white oak (4 X 10' logs, 36" diameter) out of the woods this past summer. He uses a bobcat with forks to get stuff out. One of the logs was so heavy that I had to chain it to the 3-point hitch on my tractor (45 horse diesel), and he had to push from behind with the bobcat to keep the front tractor wheels on the ground.

You are gonna burn through some serious time and chains for your saw using one of those alaska mills, plus, as stated, waste a lot of wood in that kerf.

Edit: one last thought. It is mega-time consuming using the woodmizer. I can't even imagine how long you're going to have to commit to using one of those alaska mills. I'd do some serious research.

 

[computeruser]

Yes, you can do on-site milling in less-than-ideal conditions. Anywhere you can physically get yourself and make enough room to work the mill will do fine.

As for equipment, either the Granberg Alaskan mill or the GB mill will work fine. You'll need some sort of slabbing rail setup that you can level out to make your first pass nice and straight, and a cant hook and some blocks to orient your log and keep it in that position; you can make a cool setup out of UniStrut and some bolts, some good pics of such a setup are on Arboristsite. You'll want a bar that is at least 4" longer than your largest cut, and probably more than that; you will need to remove the bucking spikes from the saw if you want to mount the mill right against the powerhead and use the entire bar length.

Saws...here's where the challenge comes in. Something in the 90cc range is the minimum, quite frankly. Stihl 660, Husqvarna 395, or bigger; older models of similar size will work, too. You need a saw that still has power when detuned - you're going to be WOT for a long time, so you will want to dial those RPMs back down a bit!

For the guy who is starting out, a used Stihl 066 in good condition, running an opened up muffler (really gotta move heat/air out when milling), and wearing a 28" bar would be a good setup for milling stuff up to 20". This way you have enough bar that you can "rock" the saw a bit if necessary, are less likely to get hung up on that branch stub that you should have flush-cut before you started cutting, etc.