Help needed....

[John Hancock]

I’m considering buying an 36” mill, and matching saw and putting it to good use in some Oak & Ash woodland that I help manage here in Worcestershire. My question is this –

 

What would be a reasonable rate that I could hire myself out as an ‘owner/operator’? I'm not bothered about getting rich, or making a living doing this work; I just don’t want to be taken advantage of.

 

Also, I assume the ’88 is the best saw for this set-up?

 

Cheers, John.

[Gareth Dalzell]

I'd be interested in this one as well - I've been on already with the Alaskan Mill people. We're were going to put it on our 66 with a 36" bar with a ripping chain which they supply.

[Ben Ballard]

hi john i have recently got a mill when i got it only got the 24"rail as was using it with a ms460,had to make a long term investment in a 880 as with 48"rails with 50"bar when i have saved up will get a 36"bar to run on it as the 50 a bit over kill but glad i got it as got a good deal on the saw ,it worth getting big rails to start with as would save a few £ if you decide to up grade saw,i would like to think £150-200 a day would be a fair price

[tommer9]

With over ten years of having an alaskan mill, i have to say that the only set up worth considering for anything other than hobby stuff is on 088 with a 48" bar. With that set up you can mill up to about 40" max. With a 36" bar you would only be able to do about 28".....I really think that with the access to timber you must have John that this would be too small, and would limit your ability as a service offered.

No doubt Rob wil be here soon to clarify!

[Mark Bolam]

Totally agree with Tommer.

 

I bought the small Alaskan (24") which I used to use with a 440 and now a 660 (25" bar with ripping chain).

 

Whilst I have done some great smaller pieces, I've missed out on a lot because my set-up can only mill 20" max.

 

Saw wise, although I love the 660, I would go with the 880 for milling for the sheer extra grunt, the fact it can run a 48" chain, and the fact that it's excessive weight is not such a big factor here.

 

Remember the big mill can cut small stuff, the small mill can't cut big!

 

Good luck with it John.

 

Must get back to some milling once the weather gets warm enough to thaw out my testicles.

[John Hancock]

Thanks for the advice guys, that’s brilliant stuff. I’ve always dismissed all the ‘milling’ at the shows (God-knows why) because I’m fascinated by it all now. I’ve banged off a few e-mails to the local farm/land owners I know to see if they’re interested, if there is a few ££’s in it for them then I hope they will be!

[Gray git]

The best thing about how the alasken is built is you can put any saw/bar/chain combo in it up too your max rail length. No point in trying to mill 12" apple with a 088 with 48"bar when you can drop that saw out narrow up the posts and stick in a 441 with 18" bar and off you go, makes it a little less hard on the arms.

If you are going hard all day with a 088 you can burn 10-15litre of fuel so remember to figure this and bar/chain costs into your price.

[Rob D]

Been away hence a bit late on this one....

 

But as above really the MS880 is the milling saw you want as you can still put smaller bars on/do smaller stuff with it. It's torquey and can handle the hard work. There's loads of good size trees out there so you'll always use it.

 

Milling is very addictive in it's own way and I still find pleasure in just converting a lump of wood into something that is useful.

 

Day rate wise I charge £40 per hour and limit milling to half a day at a time if possible as it is hard on the elbows.

 

Or sometimes a price per plank or cubic foot. I've now started charging by cubic foot (usally 2" planks) at £8-00. A 6 foot plank 2" thick and 20" wide will be 2880 cubic inches divide by 1728 gives 1.6 cubic foot so the plank is £13 or so. The customer sees this as good value (especially if you bring a similar plank with you and say "this would cost you £13".)

 

This way you can earn a bit more per hour if you want to crack on with it but the customer isn't so worried when you have to put the time in sharpening the saw etc.

 

Cause where could you buy timber like that from?!! And for that price?!

 

[John Hancock]

Thanks for the input Rob, much appreciated!

 

I’ve just come back from an ‘eyeing-up the Oaks’ walk in the woods – there are some lovely pieces down there and cant wait to get stuck in! I’ll be getting an order together ASAP.