1st of 420

[Forest2Furniture]

This is the 1st of 420 x 8' long planks of sweet chestnut that a client has ordered.

 

The logs I'm milling first have been on the ground since early 2012 and are cutting very nicely.

[muttley9050]

Looks nice, certainly a lot of planks to get through. You doing it all with an alaskan?

 

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[dervishcarving]

jeez that would be a slow job eh?

[Forest2Furniture]

The general idea is to do it all with the alaskan.

I'm getting out about 25 - 30 planks a day and now I've got a winch on the mill and a way of locking the throttle, milling is a lot easier then when I first started 8 years ago.

 

What I've got on the ground won't be enough so I have spotted 3 more trees for felling this coming week.

[Big J]

The general idea is to do it all with the alaskan.

I'm getting out about 25 - 30 planks a day and now I've got a winch on the mill and a way of locking the throttle, milling is a lot easier then when I first started 8 years ago.

 

What I've got on the ground won't be enough so I have spotted 3 more trees for felling this coming week.

 

That's madness. With the amount of boards you're needing to produce, you'd actually make more money (and need fewer trees due to sawdust related wastage) hiring in a bandsawmill.

[Forest2Furniture]

The whole project is madness!

 

If I find that the timber on the ground is no good and I have to fell more I'll get in a bandsawmill.

 

In the mean time do we know of anyone local to north Nottingham who has one and out of interest how many 8' boards 1" thick would a mil produce in a day?

[Big J]

The whole project is madness!

 

If I find that the timber on the ground is no good and I have to fell more I'll get in a bandsawmill.

 

In the mean time do we know of anyone local to north Nottingham who has one and out of interest how many 8' boards 1" thick would a mil produce in a day?

 

Say you are starting with 45cm diameter logs.

 

For a bandsaw mill, total cut thickness include sawblade kerf is 28mm. For a chainsaw mill (assuming the usual MS880), it's 35mm.

 

So, assuming two inches waste on the way in and out (usually more on a chainsawmill as you can't mill that close to the outside of the log due to risk of hitting the screws holding the ladder onto the log), you have 350mm of sawable timber. A bandsaw will give you at least 12 boards (I'd expect 13) and a chainsaw mill will give you 9-10.

 

So assuming that log size, you need 33.6 logs for bandsaw milling and 44.2 for chainsaw milling.

 

I'd expect to get through the 34 logs in two days with the bandsawmill, whereas you're stating it will take you 15 days with the chainsawmill.

 

I don't know of anyone in that area, but you need to find a local mobile bandsawmill.

[agg221]

So, assuming two inches waste on the way in and out (usually more on a chainsawmill as you can't mill that close to the outside of the log due to risk of hitting the screws holding the ladder onto the log), you have 350mm of sawable timber.

 

I don't know of anyone in that area, but you need to find a local mobile bandsawmill.

 

Entirely agree on the fact that a bandsaw would be the appropriate way to do this job, but one observation - I normally mill the first cut "+1 board" so that I can be sure not the hit the screws, then flip the section over and take the board off. That way, I don't risk hitting metal but get the maximum yield with no extra depth adjustment.

 

Alec

[Forest2Furniture]

Thanks Big J for your advice, I sense your annoyance that someone is stupid enough to try this but everyone has to start somewhere and hopefully learn by their mistakes.

 

I've done an extensive google search for mobile bandsawmill and as yet have come up with nothing nearby, short of buying my own.

 

Alec, that's what I do with my first cut too.

[carpenter1]

I take my logs to local sawmill, and they charge me about 20 -25 an hour if I help move boards, so all they are doing is sawing,

It surprising what you can do in a hour