Starting to Mill

[Al North]

After much thought I am going to purchase an Alaskan Mill. I have struck a deal with a local landowner to make use of timber that would normally go to waste because its uneconomical to extract by traditional means or there is no suitable access. Some gets cut for firewood but it would be much better as useable timber and easier to move out as boards and posts rather than rings.

 

I have a few questions before I make the leap! I currently have a 560XP and a MS660. I currently run 20" and 30" bars on the 660. A blacksmith friend of mine has a Mini Mill and a Small Log Mill which I have just taken loan of. I would like to add an Alaskan Mill to the set-up as some of the timber I have available is 3' diameter and above. My plan is to either sell the timber or to make stuff and then sell the products. I have had a bit of success with this already but I don't plan on it being a full-time business but something that has the flexibility to fit around my first aid training business.

 

My main questions are:

What bar size will the 660 comfortably run in a mill?

Is it worth going for a bigger mill size to reduce upgrade costs at a later date?

What sort of upgrade in milling performance do you get by moving up to an 880? Just dreaming at this point but some of the timber I have ringed up recently was nearly 5' diameter and there is similar stuff still available.

 

I have already signed up with Rob's site (excellent site - wish I had found it sooner).

 

Anyway any advice greatly appreciated.

 

Al.

[agg221]

Hi Al,

 

In answer to your questions:

 

The 066 will run a 36" bar, which will allow you to mill 30" width if you take the dogs off, 28" if you leave them on. With a suitable milling pattern involving a bit of log rolling or the use of the 30" or 36" bar on the mini-mill to edge up, you can convert 3' logs with it.

 

It won't be particularly quick, but will work OK. The key is to keep the chain absolutely sharp and even in tooth-length. Personally, I use the Granberg Precision Grinder for this and it does it very well. It is also very quick for sharpening long chains.

 

The improvement in performance using a saw such as an 880 will be very significant for anything much over 18" diameter.

 

In your position, I would be inclined to buy a 48" mill, a 36" bar + ripping chain, the precision grinder and a ripping chain for the 30" bar, and either a ripping chain for the 20" bar, or ideally a 25" bar with ripping chain. I would normally have the 36" bar mounted in the Alaskan and reckon on using the 30" bar in the mini-mill when needing to edge up 3' butts to get the mill through. A 25" bar will allow 18" through the mill and is significantly quicker and gives a cleaner finish as there is less vibration; you could do the same with the 20" bar but would be limited to about 13-14". It is also handy on the mini-mill for quartering up 3' butts to yield higher quality timber.

 

The 48" mill is because if you get addicted to milling then you will inevitably end up with a big saw and it is cheaper to buy it first off.

 

Hope this helps:001_smile:

 

Alec

[Al North]

Thanks for the advice Alec, its all much appreciated.

 

Managed to get out with the small log mill the other day for a practice on some Poplar. Only did a couple of logs but I think I'm addicted already. Off out to do some Larch tomorrow to make raised beds,

 

Cheers

 

Alistair

[nick1854]

How did you get on with the larch Alistair? We recently chainsaw milled some for a Stargazing Shelter in rural Northumberland (not far from you). It is really nice timber.....yet whenever I have asked sawmill operators about it they really don't like cutting it. Something about the internal stresses in the wood and what happens to it as it leaves the saw.

[Graham w]

you may have to cut the tension out of the larch log first otherwise the springy side of the log will close on your bar/blade

[Al North]

nick,

 

going to collect the milled larch tomorrow all being well. Its the first time its been dry enough to get a tractor and trailer to the location without making a mess of the fields on the way. It looks good though and the hope is to get a lot of more milled in the next week or so.

[Big J]

How did you get on with the larch Alistair? We recently chainsaw milled some for a Stargazing Shelter in rural Northumberland (not far from you). It is really nice timber.....yet whenever I have asked sawmill operators about it they really don't like cutting it. Something about the internal stresses in the wood and what happens to it as it leaves the saw.

 

Very much dislike cutting larch if I'm honest. Even high quality logs have a huge amount of tension in them. It's almost impossible to get a true cut. Add to that the fact that the sawdust is very irritating to your respiratory system and that it moves even more when it's drying that when it's getting cut, you've got an undesirable saw log! Much prefer douglas fir.

[nick1854]

We also chainsaw milled some Douglas Fir Jonathan, and it was very easy to mill. Well behaved timber.

[Al North]

Not sure I understand what you mean by the tension in the log. I have been inserting wedges to stop the cut closing up.

 

I've got about 40 planks cut from the larch and the first of the raised beds made. I used the small log mill to cut the planks then edged them with the minimill. I didn't go for parallel sided planks - just maximised the timber recovered. I've use the tapered planks alternatively to build up the sides of the beds.

 

I am addicted to milling now and looking forward to trying out some other timbers. I look at all standing and windblown timber in an entirely different light now!

[nick1854]

Al

 

We needed 6 x 2 inch boards for our project and I found the easiest way to cut the 2 inch thick Alaskan-cut slabs was with a hand held circular saw. It is an old hitachi that can cut 3.5 inch and I fitted an 18 tooth blade. I marked the edges with a chalk line and got pretty accurate cuts. I am sure this would be quicker and waste less timber than the mini-mill, though I needed mains power...

 

I was surprised to find that the timber that was most difficult to cut was the Sitka (also had Larch and Douglas Fir).