Need Alaskan Mill Advice (small wood, high volume)

[catalytic]

I would like your advice about an Alaskan Mill and powerhead for a specific application. I need a mill setup to take 2"-6" wide cuts off of peeled 22' long x 12"-25" dia. Jack Pine logs (and lots of them). This is to make square surfaces for log building.

I know some of you guys use Alaskans to cant some monster hardwoods -- this should be a breeze in comparison. However, the small mills I see look more like homeowner toys. What's an Alaskan model & setup that is built strong for (lots of) small wood?

Also, I have a Stihl MS260 up there that I could donate to this -- is this too small even for these narrow cuts?

[Ianab]

It's when you say "lots" that it makes it a problem...

All the Alaskan mill really consists of is a frame that holds a chainsaw. You run this along a guide board, and it cuts. The "Heavy Duty" part is needing a real chainsaw, MS660 or similar, maybe smaller if they are only small cuts.

Milling with a MS 260? Possible I guess, but it will be slow and hard on the saw. When you say "Lots", that makes me think it's not such a good plan.

In term of a more "heavy duty" chainsaw mill, there is things like the Logosol M8.
http://www.logosol.com/sawmills/m8/

But by the time you set up one of those, and buy a decent powerhead, you are probably going to spend more than a small bandsaw mill (Woodland, Woodmizer LT10 or similar) Those WILL do the job easily enough, without any struggle at all. Should be small enough to dismantle and haul to a remote site?

It's the "Lots of logs" that makes me think you want a real mill  :P

Ian

[Brucer]

I ran an Alaskan mill using 70 cc saws (Jonsereds) for years. That wasn't really enough power but I had to use the same powerhead for everything else so I compromised.

One thing I liked about the Alaskan mill was that once you got two flat faces at 90 degrees to each other, the thickness of any timbers or boards was exactly uniform down the entire length of the timber. The trick with timbers is to saw off the bottom of the log, not saw down from all four sides.

For me the really important thing was to get the log up to a height where I could comfortably saw without bending over. That usually involved a tractor and a couple of heavy duty horses.

[losttheplot]

For what you are doing a Granberg mini mill would be the option I would use.


http://youtu.be/PL7eTJjZWs0

With the Alaskan the guide board has to be parallel to the cut, up and down.
Any taper or sweep requires shimming or messing with lag bolt spacers, The set up time on 20+ ft logs would be excessive.

The mini mill has to be parallel to the cut but it is running vertical and cutting off the side of the log.
Taper and sweep dont effect the guide board, set up with a bit of string takes a few minuets.

All the granberg products are good quality, avoid trying to save money with a cheaper product.

For logs of the size you are quoting you will likely need at least a 24" bar.
Some of the bar's length is used up by the mill and the guide bar.
That will effect your choice of power head as a longer bar leaches more power from the saw.

Large saws are a dime a dozen around here, Not sure about your area.
If your building a cabin the cost of a used saw would be a very small percentage of the total cost, and you could sell it again after.

Best of luck.
LTP

[Delawhere Jack]

I'm with Ian, a small band mill would be a better choice. Imagine running a chainsaw almost non-stop all day long. That's not something I'd look forward to. A band mill would get the job done twice as fast, and if you set it up properly, it should give you better, more consistent results.

[catalytic]

Wow -- some great responses -- thank you guys!

Since my camp is hike-in only, I think a bandmill may be too much tool here (although I'll keep it in mind -- I've rebuilt a number of upright industrial woodworking bandsaws and love those machines).

I am really interested in the Gransfors Mini Mill you guys mentioned. I will try one of these for sure.

One questions: What size saw would you get for it, given that I'll be going through soft wood with 6" or less cuts? I understand that bigger is better for ripping, but I'd prefer NOT to buy a huge saw, since I'll likely be carrying it in the bush swinging it around for felling and bucking too in rough terrain (camp is small and tools have to work double duty).

Also, should I buy or machine/fabricate a device to put additional oil on the blade?

[Montana Sawyer]

 Through trial and error with several saws over the years I found the Stihl 660 to be the best all around saw, for both milling with ripping chain and bucking or felling trees with a cross cut chain. My .02 cents.

[Brucer]

The 660 was my eventual choice for serious chainsaw milling. I was going to upgrade but ended up buying a bandmill instead.

[losttheplot]

For a good all round saw a Husky 372 works very well.
I find the anti vibe very good on the husky saw and the air cleaner seems to work well.
I have a full wrap handle on my saw. I push on it, instead of the handle on the mini mill.
If you want a multitude of personal opinions you could ask the question in the chainsaw forum 

You won't see much benefit from an auxiliary oiler cutting what you describe.

[mad murdock]

I have a Granberg Alaskan III, and a home made mini-mill similar to Granberg's. the mini mill would do a good job. If all you are doing is slabbing 2 opposite sides for cabin building, I would opt for the Alaskan III on a minimum 70cc or larger saw. I use a 372XPW, it does pretty well. I get better production with the saw set up with low-profile ripping chain (stihl 63PMX) on a .050"x32"long bar.  I have a Mac 10-10 on the mini style mill for edging, saves time using 2 saws setup for different tasks. I recently bought a Logosol Timberjig, and for a lot of dimensional chainsaw milling, think it will do better than the Alaskan(speed wise) as setup for each cut is quicker and changing thickness dimensions between cuts is faster as well, due to its different design. The Alaskan is very precise, either way will produce good accurate lumber and portability for a CSM cannot be best by any other method.

[boatman]

I use a 395xp and an Alaskan, Both the small log mill and the 36" cut version.  I also have the vertical cut alaskan but I don't use it.

The SLMill is great for small stuff but when I try to max out the 20" bar with it I often break it.  Which reminds me, I need to get it welded.

The 36" cut Mark III is great with two people, and a real workout with only one.

The 395xp is an excellent saw.


Are you going to move the logs to the mill of the mill to the logs?  Set up with an Alaskan takes as much time as cutting.  If you get some kind of frame mill like a logosol you can arrange your logs on a skidway when you have help and then do all the cutting on your own.

We chose to cut the logs in place and then move the planks/beams.  It is very hilly where we are building and any weight off the log helps.  We move them by hand.

[hunz]

I'm with the other guys on this one too. The one thing I don't think anyone has mentioned yet is the downside of a low HP(economy) band mill. My mill has a 24hp engine and even with that and a razor sharp blade 30" of wood will leave a slight wave in knotty pine. 25" jack pine 22' long is going to be difficult to turn as well. I have done my fair share of ewp that big and could only imagine what heavier yellow pine would be like. My goal isn't to deter you by any means, just want to share my hard fought struggles with you.

[JSNH]

There is a saw call the Ripsaw. It uses a band blade but is powered by a chainsaw. It  looks like it has the features of a chainsaw mill but with the smaller kerf can run with a smaller saw. The size of the cut appears limited.

http://www.ripsaw.com/ripsaw.html

I don't have one never ran one.

[mad murdock]

Turbosaw in NZ just came out with ultra portable swingblade mill that is powered by a chainsaw powerhead, the whole shebang weighs in about 137 lbs and breaks down into smaller bits for transport.  You would have the speed of a swingblade mill and good portability, if you needed some wider planks you could always bring along an Alaskan for those wider cuts, and do your dimension milling on the swingmill. I think it is priced around 8500 USD. http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kB94QzoHRx0
Here is a video of the "weekend warrior" chainsaw powered swingblade mill.

[captain_crunch]

 I run 2 husky 372's but for mill I would lean towards a sthil they seem to have more bottom end to them but most important part is chain most chains you buy are 35 deg ripping chains should be 0 deg in my experience they don't dive and produce much smother cuts Baileys sell ripping chain

[Jay C. White Cloud]

I like the Ripsaw that we owned and have thought of replacing it, but there are better options for the price, and cut width.