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BAND MILL OR CHAINSAW MILL ??

Started by EIGHTWGT, November 28, 2006, 12:10:04 PM

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EIGHTWGT

Guys...

Im ready to get serious but....

Im debating on building a "Pro-Cut" chainsaw mill or buying a used band mill....

I want to saw when I can to start gaining experiance as well as collecting lumber to buiold a timber frame house of aprox 3000 Sq Ft.

So Im open for all suggestions...
Home built (building) mill - Milling logs to build a home for the family

Tom

I'd opt for the bandmill.  LIfe would be so-o much easier.

You'll still need a decent sized chainsaw.

rebocardo

Well, a chain saw mill is the cheapest way to go, even with the saw purchase. Since the best saws to use are 85cc+ class, I would not count on using the saw to fall a bunch of small trees if it is your only saw. You still need a smaller or medium sized saw.

The bigger saws, especially a Husky3120 are way too heavy to make notches in small trees (20" and under), imo.

Timber frames are the ideal use for a chainsaw mill, especially when using trees in the 10-20" range. The best thing about chainsaw mills, especially a procut, is you can back it up the tree and roll the log right on without much set up.

The chainsaw mill, if set up properly, will leave almost a planed surface.

I used a Husky 365 (others have used 372s) with a 28" bar, with a Procut trailer, limited myself to 16" diameter wood (would qtr a tree if I had to), and produced nice 2x and 1x lumber. I cut mostly white oak so I avoided anything over a 4x4 except slabs because of weight.

Once I had everything dialed in, square really counts for speed, I could saw at a slow pace from one end of the log to the other. If you angle the trailer down hill and cut with the top of the bar, you need hardly any pressure on the saw, it cuts by itself.




DonE911

You'll hear lots of votes for that band mill.  If you buy a larger band mill with hydraulics your manual labor will go way down, but in turn your price tag will go way way way up if you buy a new machine.

I have a logosol M7 (chainsaw mill ) that is perfect for cutting beams for a timber frame and I'm sure the procut would also, but it's not the fastest thing around and you will need a strong back or equipment to help with log loading. I get by without a loader, but it sure would be nice.  The bandmill can cut beams too and hydraulics are available.

If your going to be cutting alot of other materials like siding or interior studs, the chainsaw mill will do the job, it's just not as fast as a band mill could be. Even better here would be a swinger. Also you'll loose some material because of the bigger kerf as compared with a band mill but it's not a huge issue over the short run. You can buy a band head for the logosol if you want and a band can be fitted to the procut frame as well.

You do need a big saw for chainsaw milling.  I use a team of stihl 066's with mine and I would not want to use anything less.    You can also use the saw to drop and buck your logs and chase kids around in a mask with it :D

Sharpening chainsaw chains is a simple hand operation...  bands are not.

The chainsaw mill will cost less... last I looked the logosol was less than 3K, but could be a little more now.  The procut could probably be built a little cheaper if you don't get paid for your labor.  You could easly spend 5 times as much on a good hydraulic bandmill or only slightly more than the chainsaw miills for a manual bandmill.

The resale value is pretty good on quality band mills.  Not so sure if the same can be said for a chainsaw mill.  I got mine used for less than half the price of a new one.  The 066 that came with my mill needed a rebuild as it was geting tired, but I cut a lot of lumber with it before I did the rebuild. I've added a couple more 066's to that one so the cost have gone up some... I got all the saws used for much less than a new one.

If you start with the chainsaw mill you will soon want to move up to something more.  I started wit the Logosol and then went to a Peterson swing mill.  The swing mill was great, but life issues made me sell it.  I still have the chainsaw mill and have no plans of ever getting rid of it. It can set around with no use for six months and I don't get the feeling that it is costing me money to just sit there.  The same could not be said for the swinger, but that may just be my way of thinking. Some day I will probably get another mill. It may be another swing mill or a band mill, but it will be a while as "life" still has issues that would not allow many thousands to go to one of those.

If $$ isn't an issue, go get one of them hyd band mills from one of the sponsors of the FF. A swinger would be good too, but you didn't ask about those.  

If you want to build you home on the cheap, go with the chainsaw mill and put a little more time into your project.

Either choice is the correct one depending on your needs and you'll get addicted to saw dust no matter what mill you get.  :o

JimBuis

I am currently running a Husky 3120 shopmade mill.  I have not cut much lumber with it.  I have used the 3120 for some cross-cutting as well as to run the mill.  Yes, it is much too heavy for any normal limbing and trimming sort of work.  I have only used it to cut up some good sized logs that were already on the ground and it will flat wear you out!!

Chainsaw milling.  I'll be honest.  It is slower than slow.  It is better than nothing and I am glad I have it. If you have the money, I'd get something bigger and easier on the back.

I would certainly consider a swingmill.  If money is an issue, I'd think about one of the new Peterson Skillmills.  They are small, but with doublecutting you can still put out some fair sized lumber.

IMHO,
Jim
Jim Buis                             Peterson 10" WPF swingmill

Ianab

If you are looking to cut enough timber for a whole house, I think you want a something thats higher production than a chainsaw mill. Either a bandmill or a swingblade will do the job, whats "best" depends on your logs, support equipment, budget etc.

Cutting enough timber to complete a house with a chainsaw mill sounds like a bit of a mission, but even a manual bandmill makes it practical and not such a daunting task.

Cheers

Ian
Weekend warrior, Peterson JP test pilot, Dolmar 7900 and Stihl MS310 saws and  the usual collection of power tools :)

WkndCutter

This question hits home!!

I started out with a chainsaw mill and very quickly found out how much work and time it took to cut.  My chainsaw mill also makes a lot of sawdust, much more than my band mill.

I upgraded to a band mill and cutting is much faster and easier.  I have a manual mill but a hydrolic mill would be nice.  Still for what I cut I'm in a good place with my mill.

Look for a band mill or a circle mill.  Don't be affraid of HP, the more the better.

r/

Andy

EIGHTWGT

Ok.....  Considering my back is not so great, even though Im in decent shape maybe Ill concentrate on a band mill. I really would like to go out and learn more about a band mill and watch someone do some cutting (hint hint Tom) I purchased the plans for Bill Rakes "Simple Saw" and considering my fabricating experiance thought It would be an easy build but thought a used machine wuld be more practical - then I can add on to it.....  I dont want to spend a fortune because I do not plan on going into the cutting business, but I can see getting addicted to it !

Home built (building) mill - Milling logs to build a home for the family

Rail-O-Matic

As an avid chainsaw miller, I would say they do have their place in the milling world, one thing you have to ask yourself is, how much time and money do you have to carry out your project.

If you have plenty of spare time and there is no rush to get things done, then the chainsaw mill will do the job, if you have plenty of time and no money, again the chainsaw mill comes into play again.

If you choose the chain mill over a band mill, there is a few things you can do to speed things up some, firstly you are going to need a conversion to the bar and chain, if you buy any bar buy a Cannon bar, you can change the nose bearing from say a 404 to a 325, this will in the long run, save you timber and cutting time.

If you have plenty of wonga, hire in a band mill to do most of the donkey work and finish off with a Ripsaw, which is a superb chainsaw driven band mill or get a medium sized chain mill and do the same, A procut mill is a very good alternative to a band mill, and afterwards you could add a band mill conversion to it with little fuss, check out the many different home made band mills on the WWW, which I have just decided to go down this path myself.

If you are making a timber framed building from green timber, then the main frame will probably be in sizes of 6 X 6 or 8 X 8's, which could soon be made with a chainsw mill, and you will easily save yourself the money enough to buy a big saw and milling attachment from the money that would be spent hiring in a bavyand, and you would have the chain mill to use for ever more, something to show for your bucks saved doing it yourself.

If you go for a big saw you are ging to need 85-95cc plus, and I would go for a Stihl over any other, personal choise only by the way, and the chain mill would be no wider than 20 inches, or the getting gets tough for one operator, another good combination is a chainsaw mill for the big stuff and a Ripsaw which uses the same saw for the smaller stuff.

Davy
Logg-saw bandmill, Stihl 088, Stihl MS880, Stihl MS660, Stihl 017, 018,  Husky 385XP, Husky 395, Husky 350, Echo WES 350ES, Echo CS 27T, Jonsered 2150 Turbo, Jonsered 111S, good old saw still going after more than 20 years hard service.

Dave Shepard

Two decent saws and a chainsaw mill is going to set you back $2500-$3000. One of those little bandmills is not much more. Doesn't WM have an LT10 for about $3000 or so?
If you are sawing timbers from logs that are just big enough, sawdust isn't going to be a problem, but if you are sawing siding and flooring, you are going to get a lot of waste from a chainsaw mill. You also either have to get the sawn timbers out of the woods with a chainsaw mill, or get the trees to the bandsaw.

Dave
Wood-Mizer LT40HDD51-WR Wireless, Kubota L48, Honda Rincon 650, TJ208 G-S, and a 60"LogRite!

timcosby

i don't see a location in your profile but come on over and cut with me.

rebocardo

While reading the forum I remembered two big pluses of a chainsaw mill, you never have to worry about knots and blade deflection or sap gumming up your band. I have cut some pretty sticky pine and except for me wearing some of it, it was no problem. I could not believe how fast pine cuts vs. oak.


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