Advice on suitable milling start-up kit

[Acer Forestry]

I occasionally have access to oak and other suitable hardwoods for milling (I'm a groundie, employer does not always need what is felled), and would welcome any advice on what may be the most suitable mill- I for the best part would be looking to quarter saw on site to produce beams, with planking being secondary, and depending on what I am able to access other than oak? Also Has anyone used the little Haddon lumber makers with any success, I have had one demo'ed previously and whilst the cuts were not perfect, it did a respectable job on smaller oak that could then be finished on a bed saw. My budget is reasonable but not top end, what would you suggest is the best start-up saw / mill combo for occasional use, ie, not every day, or even week to begin with.

[agg221]

On the saw, go as big as you can stretch to. If you don't, you will just end up buying a bigger one later. Assuming you don't want to buy a brand new MS880 I suggest a secondhand Stihl 075 or 076 at 111cc is a good option. They are solid thumpers that last well and parts availability is good. If you do go down this route, make sure you know how to distinguish the above from an 051 - don't just rely on the badge on the top!

 

On the mill, I would go with a 48" Granberg Alaskan MkIII. The above saws will pull a long enough bar and this will mean you can process the majority of what comes your way. If you wanted to, you could start with a shorter bar, say a 46" Sugihara, which would give you most of the capacity, and then go for a longer bar later on.

 

You should be able to make good enough cuts with the above, particularly if you fit a ripping chain, that no further re-sawing is needed on beams. However it is a lot quicker if you add a vertical mill, such as the mini-mill, to make the first perpendicular cut (you then roll it through 90degrees and use the Alaskan again to make sure the cut on the other side is at a constant width).

 

Your cutting spec is slightly unusual. You would normally make beams box-heart where possible, rather than quartered. Is there any particular reason for it?

 

Alec

[Wood-be]

You will only get through and through boards with an alaskan mill.

 

I have a ms 880, 47" sugihara bar and a 52" alaskan mill.

 

If you want to produce as much quarter sawn wood as possible then it is a circular saw mill is what you need.

 

Get a grinding machine (one that clamps onto your bar as so you get a constant tooth length and set which makes a massive difference on the quality of the finished surface on the board.

 

Sent from my C6903 using Tapatalk

[agg221]

You will only get through and through boards with an alaskan mill.

 

You can use an Alaskan to make quartersawn boards or beams, it's just more work. In combination with a vertical mill such as the mini-mill it is fairly straightforward.

 

A circular saw takes a narrower kerf and cuts faster but the portable ones are fairly limited in the dimension they will cut and I wouldn't say they are in the 'start-up' bracket for most people.

 

Alec

[Acer Forestry]

Ok, replies appreciated. Alec, your knowledge of how to produce beams in naturally higher than mine (as a beginner!), so I have noted that. I will be taking on board as much online info as I can before I start cutting much. Phil

[growforest]

Have a look at the latest deals on Logosol. I've no affiliation to them, but started with an M7 years ago and it did me fine. Good company to deal with, and their kit is very well engineered.