Which mill

[Treemover]

I have been interested in the Alaskan mill concept, and I'm hoping to take the plunge this autumn with some form of mill.

 

I have a husky 357xp and 395xp but still need bars, mills, chains etc.

 

After watching the logosol mill and then the woodlands band mill; I can see pros and cons.

 

I guess the Alaskan is a handy tool to break down large lumps otherwise unmoveable; and also can break down large pieces or remove outer bits ideal to let a band mill finish.

 

I have no idea what my end product will be. I have clients with large trees that want to get more than just firewood. I see a band mill being better suited to boards?

 

I was wondering if an Alaskan with a circular saw bench would be a better start; but a circular bench starting at 1k is a fair junk out of a band mill.?

 

I should stress I'm only looking at 20-30 days a year.

[Forest2Furniture]

I've been milling using an Alaskan for the past 8 years or so.

I've toyed with the idea of getting a band mill many a time but there a few considerations to take into account:

Not many mills will take over 28" girth

Storage and transportation could be an issue

Loading the logs onto the mill, you'll either need extra help or a tractor

Access to and on site.

Cost, £3k plus

Having taken all the above into consideration, so far I've stuck with the Alaskan. In addition most of the trees I mill are in hard to reach areas on foot let alone for a bandmill.

 

I use a Stihl ms660 for felling & side milling and an ms880 for the main milling, largest width board I can mill is 48", don't quote me but don't think there are many portable bandmills that will do that.

 

If you're only looking to use the kit for 20-30 days a year then a bandmill seems a waste of money to me but like most things it's horses for courses!

[Treemover]

I was looking a few utube clips and one guy says keeping band mill blades sharp requires 20-30 mins; and you use s few blades per day.

 

Loading unloading won't be an issue as I have kit that lift no problem.

 

I just don't know if I'm better to run with an Alaskan mill and saw bench (tractor bench) or Alaskan and bandmill?

 

We have 70 acres of our own forestry and I'm keen to utilise some of our mature trees and thinnings. I have a market for boards and stakes; so I know the Alaskan will be too slow and kerf will be an issue.

 

I'm love to hear more about a good saw bench?

[Big J]

Alaskan and bandmill. Use the Alaskan to break down larger logs and do the bulk of your cutting on a bandmill. Even a basic manual bandsaw mill with produce twice as much in a day as a chainsaw mill and remember that you are creating 3 to 4 times less sawdust with every cut too. This means better efficiency and not having to deal with colossal amounts of sawdust. That said, all my horsey types that take my sawdust are full to the gunnels and I have 30 cube of the stuff waiting to go out!

[se7enthdevil]

Alaskan and bandmill. Use the Alaskan to break down larger logs and do the bulk of your cutting on a bandmill. Even a basic manual bandsaw mill with produce twice as much in a day as a chainsaw mill and remember that you are creating 3 to 4 times less sawdust with every cut too. This means better efficiency and not having to deal with colossal amounts of sawdust. That said, all my horsey types that take my sawdust are full to the gunnels and I have 30 cube of the stuff waiting to go out!

 

 

 

what he said...