chainsaw mill

[MR TREEBUS]

Just wondering if anyone has any experience of this mill on fleabay,

 

chainsaw mill complete package | eBay

 

and if so any feedback good or bad for this item?

 

I have some timber to mill,but wont be milling with any great regularity.

I know the Alaskan is held in great esteem,but pennies a bit tight at the moment,and this set up appears to supply horizontal and vertical mill for a reasonable price.

 

By the way I have never milled before so this is all new to me :-/

Edited March 13, 2015 by MR TREEBUS
missed a bit

[kinderscout]

Their is a few things on the eBay one that I don't like the look off.the way the up rights are bolted is one that jumps out at me.I have an alaskenmill and I can see why they are the market leader.

So for me buy once and buy the best.As I am still learning the art off milling the alaskenmill does give you that confidence to push yourself.

[mendiplogs]

Just wondering if anyone has any experience of this mill on fleabay,

 

chainsaw mill complete package | eBay

 

and if so any feedback good or bad for this item?

 

I have some timber to mill,but wont be milling with any great regularity.

I know the Alaskan is held in great esteem,but pennies a bit tight at the moment,and this set up appears to supply horizontal and vertical mill for a reasonable price.

 

By the way I have never milled before so this is all new to me :-/

 

Hi mate ring or PM ROB D on here thanks Jon

[gobbypunk]

Hi same as above the alaskan is by far the best and the back up from Rob D is ace he is a font of know how ,all the spare parts are just a phone call away and of course all the alaskan millers on hear are always happy to help , being the same as kinder just learning the alaskan is defo the best value for money , I am in dorset you are welcome to come down for the day and have a go if you want no worries just P M me

Cheers Mark

[Forest2Furniture]

I've used an Alaskan for the last nine years, milled hundreds of boards. You get what you pay for and if the mill on eBay comes with back and knowledge supplied by Rob then fine, if not then save you money.

[josharb87]

It'll probably do the job....but i would get frustrated with it.

 

Looks heavy for a start, not keen on the steel with powder coated finish, no "skidders" on the clamps-can see it catching the bark and grabbing the mill, no proper handle, don't like how the uprights attach to the rails to make it adjustable, no rails included with the upright mill, thats my take from looking at the pictures compared to using my alaskan mills.

 

Looks like you're "saving" about £100, or just one decent board! Go alaskan

[muttley9050]

Don't do it, get an alaskan, they are slightly more expensive because they are better. I wouldn't be too concerned with getting a vertical mill to start with either. Get the standard alaskan and as you get into it more buy the mini mill. There's only a few things a mini mill can do that an alaskan can't, but it can save on handling.

[MR TREEBUS]

Ok,thank you all for your advice and opinions,pretty much as i expected,as with a lot of things it seems you get what you pay for!......including mills.

Mark, (Gobbypunk).thank you for your kind offer,if you were nearer i would jump at the chance to learn how its done,unfortunately you are at least 300 miles from me.

[agg221]

It'll probably do the job....but i would get frustrated with it.

 

Looks heavy for a start, not keen on the steel with powder coated finish, no "skidders" on the clamps-can see it catching the bark and grabbing the mill, no proper handle, don't like how the uprights attach to the rails to make it adjustable, no rails included with the upright mill, thats my take from looking at the pictures compared to using my alaskan mills.

 

I agree with this. The steel/powder coat and weight wouldn't worry me per se, but I would expect it to go rusty, and I would get irritated by the rust stains on board surfaces whenever I milled something with a high tannin content such as oak or sweet chestnut. The lack of skidder on the rear clamp would be annoying - for reasons too dull to go in to, I have two standard uprights without skidders and forgot the lower clamp with the skidder on the other weekend (I normally use long uprights but needed short ones due to lack of space), so improvised one out of angle iron. It worked fine but the lack of skidder meant a lot more thought and care to avoid it jamming, and you could only really mill on the 'heel' of the clamp. The lack of handle would be OK (I usually end up holding the rail anyway) and I actually think the vertical mill is quite clever as it is more interchangeable with milling rail configurations than the Alaskan.

 

The biggest weakness however is the clamping system. You are likely to end up applying enough force that it digs in to the upright. This means that once you have a few 'dents' it will be almost impossible to make fine adjustments near a dent, as it will either slip up or down into the dent, or not grip firmly enough and tend to shift in use. The double-ended even tightening of nuts on the U-clamp on the Alaskan may be a bit fiddly (particularly the inboard one where it fouls the rail) but at least it is infinitely adjustable and gives secure clamping without wear to the upright.

 

Alec

[kinderscout]

I am in Buxton Mr treebus if you would like to have a go with a alaskenmill?