Ever since I posted my GoFundMe link and someone talked about coming to cut slabs from the maple, I started investigating Alaska Chainsaw mills.
I drank the kool aid. I want.
I can't imagine having less than a 36" bar for this, although they sell them in nearly any size. I have two chainsaws. One is an Echo CS400 which I doubt will do the job. The other is a Stihl 028 AV super.
Do you think if I put a 36" bar and a 10-pitch chain on the Stihl it would do it?
In reply to Curtis :
Would do it? Yeh, probably. Go slow enough, sharpen often enough.
Be happy with it? I doubt it. Most use much bigger more powerful chainsaws.
if you don't own one shop critically. Compare output to the bandsaw units. Some of them waste very little in the saw kerf. All my wood was sawn on a big 54 inch circular blade. But 22 inches is the most it could produce. At that over a bandsaw a typical 24 inch log yielded 3 less boards because of the thick kerf.
The kerf on that 54" circular saw is tiny compared to a chainsaw kerf
I think I would use it once or twice a year. I'm a carpenter (tech director) by trade, and I find myself looking at downed trees that say "free" in people's yards and think about the desk, shelf, chair, or cabinet I could make with it. A little side hustle so to speak.
The kerf sucks with a chain, but I can't imagine storing a bandsaw mill for what amounts to an infrequent hobby.
Thanks for the input. I'll look into what I can find in bandsaw land. Seems like if you go big enough to do 36" or more, you're looking at a trailer-mounted unit, which means you're also looking at a big enough tractor/bucket to load the logs as well. $300 and an extra peg on the garage wall is a far cry from $30,000 and storing a trailer and tractor.
Well, there is absolutely a market. And like you I see the same downed trees and think of all the stuff that could be made. Instead we make mulch (which I guess isn't that bad, really).
But a neighbor had a couple of walnuts go down last year and he couldn't even get someone to saw them for him since everyone he talked to was worried about junk (nails, etc) being hidden in a residential tree and therefore would ruin a saw blade. No one would do it for him unless he paid a ridiculous amount.
Seems like (though I don't really know) a chainsaw would be tougher and cheaper to fix than a giant bandsaw blade. Yes, more loss to kerf, but maybe you can mill the trees others won't touch.
Go this route and adjust to scale of need:
https://wilkerdos.com/2019/02/building-a-giant-bandsaw-mill/
This is GRM. How was this not the first reply? 
Grtechguy said:Go this route and adjust to scale of need:
https://wilkerdos.com/2019/02/building-a-giant-bandsaw-mill/
Way cool video! I started it and couldn't stop watching until it ended.
I need a new small chainsaw for yard work. I thought this was going to be the thread for me. Now I feel like John Bobbitt post chomp on a big boy porno set. Slinks off quietly....
1988RedT2 said:Grtechguy said:Go this route and adjust to scale of need:
https://wilkerdos.com/2019/02/building-a-giant-bandsaw-mill/
Way cool video! I started it and couldn't stop watching until it ended.
Wow, I don't want to come off as sexist but where do they build women like this April Wilkerson? She just seems to be an amazing combination of personality and capability. I find her very attractive and not just physically.
Of course, how would I ever find her (or one like her) to even give me a moments look? I have non of the skills that she has.
Check your local Craigslist. Portable saw mills are a money sink, but there probably someone trying to pimp theirs out to recover the cost or justify the purchase to the wife that would be willing to help with your project.
Could kindle up a beneficial relationship
John Welsh said:1988RedT2 said:Grtechguy said:Go this route and adjust to scale of need:
https://wilkerdos.com/2019/02/building-a-giant-bandsaw-mill/
Way cool video! I started it and couldn't stop watching until it ended.
Wow, I don't want to come off as sexist but where do they build women like this April Wilkerson? She just seems to be an amazing combination of personality and capability. I find her very attractive and not just physically.
Of course, how would I ever find her (or one like her) to even give me a moments look? I have non of the skills that she has.
I don't think it's sexist to appreciate a woman's personality and physical beauty. It's not like you're saying "A woman.with power tools?"
But don't sell yourself short. You have skills that you likely won't find in your partner.
Think about it... if the roles were reversed and you were a woman watching a man in that video build a sawmill, you wouldn't think a moment about seeing a man possess those skills. You're just respecting her butt. I mean....
Grtechguy said:Go this route and adjust to scale of need:
https://wilkerdos.com/2019/02/building-a-giant-bandsaw-mill/
I do love that idea, but I still have to go back to the idea that an Alaska Mill uses a tool that I already need for other things, plus a few pieces of aluminum that can hang on a peg and the whole thing would cost $300 including the jig, the bar, and the chain. I live on 0.18 Ac with a 1-car garage full of motorcycle, lawn mower, and tools. I just don't have the space for even just the band saw, let alone anything that would transport it and make it functional. Plus I would have to find a way to get a 12' x 36" log up onto the mill, whereas an Alaska you just cut it where it lays.
Still looking, but I haven't found anything even vaguely close in either size or price.
For example: This will cut 24" and costs $5000 used, plus crane/hoist or tractor
Or this will cut 36", occupies next to zero space, uses a tool I already have and need for other things, and would be a total investment of about $300...
In reply to John Welsh :
Yup. Lots of awesome in that video. Apparently she's a big deal on youtube and even has a wikipedia entry. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_Wilkerson
And I hate to be the one to break it to you--she's married.
John Welsh said:1988RedT2 said:Grtechguy said:Go this route and adjust to scale of need:
https://wilkerdos.com/2019/02/building-a-giant-bandsaw-mill/
Way cool video! I started it and couldn't stop watching until it ended.
Wow, I don't want to come off as sexist but where do they build women like this April Wilkerson? She just seems to be an amazing combination of personality and capability. I find her very attractive and not just physically.
Of course, how would I ever find her (or one like her) to even give me a moments look? I have non of the skills that she has.
I think my ex- is still single... many of the same attributes, except for the willing to be on camera part.
As far as the saw will question goes... how big of a bandsaw does the shop have? Could you justify getting a resaw capable model? In theory, you only need the chainsaw to get a log small enough to fit through the bandsaw, which should ease some of the kerf concerns.
The metal in trees issue is probably more real than we want to think about. Otherwise those guys wouldn't be so dead-set against the work. I wonder how deep metal detectors work...
Adrian_Thompson said:I need a new small chainsaw for yard work. I thought this was going to be the thread for me. Now I feel like John Bobbitt post chomp on a big boy porno set. Slinks off quietly....
If you want gas powered... buy the smallest Stihl that has the easy recoil start system. I did that years ago and couldn't be happier. If you want electric....buy the smallest Stihl that has the recoil start system. Ok, there's plenty of case for electric, I just don't know anything about them.
And the Alaska mill looks cool as crap.
ultraclyde said:Adrian_Thompson said:I need a new small chainsaw for yard work. I thought this was going to be the thread for me. Now I feel like John Bobbitt post chomp on a big boy porno set. Slinks off quietly....
If you want gas powered... buy the smallest Stihl that has the easy recoil start system. I did that years ago and couldn't be happier. If you want electric....buy the smallest Stihl that has the recoil start system. Ok, there's plenty of case for electric, I just don't know anything about them.
And the Alaska mill looks cool as crap.
I'm 100% done with gas powered yard tool. Electrumatrisical all the way from here on out.
Adrian_Thompson said:ultraclyde said:Adrian_Thompson said:I need a new small chainsaw for yard work. I thought this was going to be the thread for me. Now I feel like John Bobbitt post chomp on a big boy porno set. Slinks off quietly....
If you want gas powered... buy the smallest Stihl that has the easy recoil start system. I did that years ago and couldn't be happier. If you want electric....buy the smallest Stihl that has the recoil start system. Ok, there's plenty of case for electric, I just don't know anything about them.
And the Alaska mill looks cool as crap.
I'm 100% done with gas powered yard tool. Electrumatrisical all the way from here on out.
I'm kinda the opposite. I guess I'm the small engine whisperer. I don't think I have ever bought gas stabilizer, and every one of my powered tools starts up right away in the spring.
I hate cords. And I haven't found any electric tools that really have the torque I need. I do have an electric hedge trimmer, but that means I also have a few extension cords that have multiple splices in them.
I just bought this thing. 5.5 hp, 240 mph, and 900 cfm. When you squeeze the trigger, the torque from the engine will twist you around and put you on your butt if you're not careful.
Robbie said:Well, there is absolutely a market. And like you I see the same downed trees and think of all the stuff that could be made. Instead we make mulch (which I guess isn't that bad, really).
But a neighbor had a couple of walnuts go down last year and he couldn't even get someone to saw them for him since everyone he talked to was worried about junk (nails, etc) being hidden in a residential tree and therefore would ruin a saw blade. No one would do it for him unless he paid a ridiculous amount.
Seems like (though I don't really know) a chainsaw would be tougher and cheaper to fix than a giant bandsaw blade. Yes, more loss to kerf, but maybe you can mill the trees others won't touch.
Hitting that hidden nail or hook etc will cost you a circular blade or a bandsaw blade. And while that's not cheap. The real reason is the danger.
I don't know if you've ever seen a blade explode and the wood go flying.
My sawmill guy had a chunk of wood about the size of a 2x4 go right through his stomach and out the back. It took him more than 2 years to recover. And I got the impression that he was very close to dead.
He assured me he had checked with the magnetic wand trying to catch any metal. Heck maybe the batteries were weak or he rushed it. I didn't ask and he didn't say.
Sawing wood is dangerous. Yard trees dramatically increase the danger.
Curtis if you live near Minnesota I'll have more wood in a year or two than you can haul home in a semi.
Free!
Black walnut, Cherry, White oak, and White hard maple.
I don't live near MN, but sounds like a worthy road trip from PA. I have a cousin in the twin cities. Two birds, one stone.
Yeah... not really hoping for a huge chunk of wood to sever an appendage. I have had a chain break on me before and it didn't damage me, but it was a sobering moment. Fortunately it broke just as it was going over the tip so the log took the hit. Ruined a perfectly good 18" bar though.
In reply to Curtis :
Try it.
Its not a question that can be answered online, and even if we could you wouldn’t like the answer.
Report back after you have tried it.
My issue with “free” wood has always been the cost to store it while it dries. Typically a year per inch of thickness for air drying.
I could cut a helluva lot of wood in 2 years while I waited to use it. Where the heck would I store all of that wood?
I would take it to the shop at the theater, or over to dad's barn. He'd be down with that as he already has three stacks of red oak drying that someone cut for him... and as long as he could use some of the maple :)
In reply to SVreX :
It's been drying since I bought most of it in 1998 stickered up and under tarp. About 2005 it went inside.
While most of it is 1 inch thick there are still the odd timber or two that's 6 inches.
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