Britt woodworker

Well it's been over a year ago since I made that post! But here, as promised, is the video on my attempt at milling with an electric chainsaw. I have fully explored this option now and the result is best shown in the video link below Alaskan Mill Goes Electric!

That's an amazing setup for an electric chainsaw. I wonder how long the guide bar is? Interesting that the saw is shown cross-cutting and not ripping the logs. I am making slow progress (finding time) for my project of using an electric chainsaw with an Alaskan Mill. You can view my progress to date: HERE Currently working on building a support cradle for the wood and the mill. Will post another update (with videos) when completed and tested

Many thanks for that advice which is well given. I'll be back with results.

Many thanks for your post Richard. Comments as follow: That's exactly what I want to do. Can you tell me which spec Oregon bar you used? That' would be my spec as the resulting boards would mainly be for woodturning projects. I accept that it would be slow which is no problem as it would only be for occasional use for for the odd special timber that I get offered. Many thanks for posting I will have a look at your blog post.

Many thanks to everyone who has taken the time and trouble to respond to this post. Conclusion: - Even on a small-scale occasional use basis, it's definitely a thumbs down, as an electric chainsaw just hasn't the power "to cut it" when milling in all senses of the phrase! I fully accept that advice and am grateful to all who have responded. Under normal circumstances I would just walk away from this. However, I have just been offered the loan of a small mill and I just can't resist the temptation of following Daniël's advice and giving it a go. What I propose to do is video my attempt and post the same on my website which, if nothing else, will demonstrate the futility/limitations of doing this, will show why it won't work, and can be used as a reference for anyone else who might think it's viable. I could post a link here when done Thanks again.

Thanks very much to both for your useful comments. As you suggest, turning the wood after the first cut is the procedure to follow to reduce diameter to enable the kit to slice the rest. It would be good to talk to other folk who may have tried this.

Hello I am a woodworker primarily engaged in woodturning and related small-scale woodworking projects. I often obtain boles and boughs of lumber from tree surgeons which I free cut with my electric chainsaw and share with colleagues. However with some of the more attractive and rare timber that often comes my way, I would like to utilize as much of the wood as possible by using a small chainsaw mill. The overall diameter of these boles and boughs never exceeds about 14" The major constraint is working in a residential area where the use of a petrol powered chainsaw is really not an option. With that in mind, I would like to do this small-scale milling with a good quality electric chainsaw and a small mill such as the 36″ Ecomill or Alaskan Mill. I have been trying to do some homework on this and have come to the following conclusions. I am most grateful for advice from Rob at Chainsaw Bars on specific equipment queries but would greatly appreciate some comments on what I think could be a way forward. Mill choice As regards choice, I would prefer a mill as specified above, which grips the guide bar at both ends rather than on the one end of the guide bar, even though this reduces the maximum cutting diameter. It seems to me that the the clamping pressure on a single (or double) pressure point at the power end of the bar would need to be excessive to avoid movement through leverage, and minimize vibration which can effect the guide when cutting parallel with the grain. Electric chainsaw guide bars may not be tough enough for this (see discussion below on guide bars). Which chainsaw? A good quality electric chainsaw would be essential and I have considered corded and battery models. I think that none of the battery powered chainsaws can currently compete with the power of the corded models and, as the milling would be within easy reach of outdoor mains power, this is not an issue. I have shortlisted the Makita UC4051A (Chain Gauge 0.050" Chain Pitch 3/8" Lo pro, chain Speed 14.5m/sec, guide bar size 40 cm (matching the Oregon 160SDEA041 bar), 2000 watts, 15Amp, Net weight 5.6 kg). The longitudinally orientated motor would look to provide better balance than those with transversely mounted motors. One of the good features of this saw is that it has a safety cut-out which cuts power if the saw is overloaded. This saw has a good lineage and generally very good reviews. Replacement guide bar? This saw (like all electric chainsaws), is very much aimed at the home/hobbyist light user and I think that the standard guide bar (Oregon 160SDEA041) with a small radius tip to minimize kick-back risk would probably not be wide or strong enough to withstand the pressure/size of the mill guide-bar clamps. To this end Rob of Chainsaw Bars has suggested alternative bars such as the BL1M-0L40-A Sugihara Pro Lam 16″ 3/8 Lo Pro .050 58 drive links. Some of these have wide radius tips ideal for mill use but increasing kick-back. However, it would only be used for milling (where the tip of the saw is guarded), so that kick-back risk would be greatly reduced. Longer guide bar? A 16” (40cm) length bar with an Alaskan mill would give an effective cutting breadth of about 8” (205mm). One possibility would be to use a longer 18” (45.5cm) bar which would increase the effective cutting capacity to about 10” (25.5cm), which I would reason should still be in the capacity of the saw, bearing in mind that the length of the default guide bar is 40cm. Would the use of a 20” bar (effective cutting capacity 12” (30.5cm) be safe and still within the capabilities of the saw? If longer is viable, what longer alternatives are available for a saw with an Oregon 160SDEA041 guide bar? Auxilary oiler I would rig and use an Auxillary Oiler Kit (in addition to using the automatic system which is built into the saw), to maximize lubrication and minimize load on the saw. I'm sorry that this is such a long post but there is very little information to be had on this topic (perhaps such milling is a none starter?). Any advice on the points raised above would be very much appreciated. If I go ahead I will certainly post an update to this topic as regards progress (or otherwise). Very many thanks!