Milling

I have cut 6500 board feet of lumber this year with an Alaskan Chainsaw mill. You can Google it. Something to look at.

If I was close I’d come do it for you :-)

-- Mother Nature created it, I just assemble it. - It's not ability that we often lack, but the patience to use our ability

For bandsaws check out Grizzly.com. As for milling your own lumber first you want to learn how to dry it correctly. You would also need a planer. I’m sure others will be along soon with more suggestions. Good luck.

My advice would be to buy a small portable band sawmill like the Woodmizer LT10. You can go to Woodmizer.com and look it up. It will cost you about $3600. There is another good small manual mill called the EZboardwalk JR. Go to EZboardwalk.com to see it. It will mill a 30” diameter log 12 feet long. It is about $4000. The reason that I recommend this option is that you can sink a lot of money in a chainsaw mill and chainsaw big enough to run it. However, chainsaw milling is slow and very labor intensive. Plus, the chain cuts a large kerf at least 1/4” and is not as yield efficient as a bandsaw sawmill where the blade only takes 1/8” of kerf. Make a significant difference if you mill a lot of logs.

Investing your money towards the small manual bandsaw sawmill is a smart way to go because of the added value. I bought a Woodmizer LT15 in last Fall 2001. Sold it in late summer 2012. I sold it for 70% of the initial purchase price. The small bandsaw sawmills have excellent re-sale value if you decide to sell down the road and upgrade to a larger mill. I have sold thousands of BF of lumber and paid for the mill about 15 times over. There is a good market for good hardwood lumber to local woodworkers if you have the space to dry and store the lumber.

I have nothing against chainsaw mills. They are good tools and have a place. If you plan to cut much lumber, the small manual bandsaw sawmill will be more efficient and worth the additional money.

-- Wood-Mizer LT15

See if you can find someone close by that has a small mill, they may help unless you just want to DIY. You could fall smaller trees and take them to their mill. I used to have a Woodmizer mill and I think they keep a log of where their mills are and can put you in touch with someone

-- I saw an angel in the marble and I carved until I set him free-Michelangelo

After a VERY generous donation by my grandfather, i think i’m going to buy an Alaskan Chainsaw Mill. Thanks for all your help! I didn’t even know there was such a thing. Haha. Lj’s help once again :-)

When you get going with it, if you have any questions give me a holler. It’s kind of a slow process. But I enjoyed taking wood from tree to finished product. Good luck.

-- Mother Nature created it, I just assemble it. - It's not ability that we often lack, but the patience to use our ability

Here’s a little more help with the Alaskan.

http://lumberjocks.com/donwilwol/blog/23436

-- There is nothing like the sound of a well tuned hand plane. - http://timetestedtools.wordpress.com (timetestedtools at hotmail dot c0m)

I will make sure to ask all questions I have. Thank you! And thank you for that link, it’s very, very helpful! You did a great job on that writeup!

Alaskan is the way to go for $$$ reasons. Spent time in Alaska and the guys up there that mill on the spot use it with great results. It’s basically an attachment to your chainsaw that gives you an even cutting surface.

Personally I think you would be happier with a bandmill but if you want a chainsaw mill check sawmilltrader.com there are always chainsaw mills for sale used. Since there is not much to wear out on them except the chainsaw a used one should be almost as good as new provided you buy one without the saw or at least don’t pay too much for a used saw. If you buy a used one at a fair price you save some money and if you want to upgrade in a year or two you should be able to get most of your money back.

-- A tube of calk and a gallon of paint will make a carpenter what he ain't

I’ve seen small chainsaw mills on IRS Auctions a number of times.

helluvawreck aka Charles
http://woodworkingexpo.wordpress.com

-- If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away. Henry David Thoreau

An Alaskan mill or similar will require a serious chainsaw, not a toy from the likes of Home Depot. I think you would be much better off getting time on a bandsaw mill. Chainsaw mills are a crude impersonation thereof, not to mention that they are pretty hard on the saw too.

-- Dwight - "Free legal advice available - contact Dewey, Cheetam & Howe""