Anyone?

[sandspider]

I'm tempted at that price as I suspect a mill would probably spend most of its time gathering dust with me so it is not cost effective to spend much.

If I used one the standard 24" or 28" bars on my primary (80cc) saw would probably be adequate for the bulk of what I would mill, would it be better to buy the larger 48" mill for the relatively small difference in price to give myself the option of using bigger saws if needed or would I be better off just getting the 30" mill & upgrading at a later date if I did get into milling.

 

I'm in a similar boat.

 

I messaged the ebay seller and asked about bar length, and apparently all the 3 sizes will work from a 20" bar upward. My only saw has a 16" bar, so I'd need to upgrade my saw anyway - but I think the biggest size mill makes most sense, for the extra few pounds.

[timbernut]

That was my thinking, longest bar I have is 36" but figured I'll get bigger bar etc later

[wisewood]

You need to factor in that you'll lose 6" of the bar length when attached to a mill. So a 36" bar will mill a 30" diameter log max.

[sandspider]

To me at least, a 30" diameter log is pretty big. Perhaps I don't need the largest mill after all! But then - it's only £10 more than the 36" version.

 

Is there any disadvantage to milling a smaller log with a larger mill? As long as your bar is long enough to use the mill at its narrowest setting?

[wisewood]

The only disadvantage is that'll be bit more cumbersome but the pro's outway the cons. Having the bigger mill gives you more flexibility on size of logs, you're bound to find a log That's just too wide and you'll kick yourself for not getting the bigger mill 😄

[Mike Dempsey]

The main difficulty is making sure you have clearance at both sides of the log so you are not cutting into dirt etc. I normally wait till I am down to the last couple of planks and I will then raise the log up on a couple of smaller logs. There is also the balance aspect of cutting an 18" dia log with a 48" bar. There is a lot of protusion on the rhs. I think it also looks a bit silly as well but thats only my opinion:001_tongue:

[woodwizzard]

With all the business I have put their way from you lot, I think I should ask for a discount

[Mike Dempsey]

When someone gets one, it would be good to get a thickness measurement of the rails to compare it with the original. I will measure mine tomorrow and post it up.

[woodwizzard]

I was hoping to be able to use the 18" bar on the new makita, but if the minimum

is 20" it looks like more expenditure

[aswales]

A quick couple of picks out of the box, perspex and bar to fit yet