Alaskan Sawmill?

[JimNAZ]

Hello,

My wife and I purchased some land and have been doing some clearing of trees. All we have are juniper and cedars. I'm new to using a chainsaw but I'm learning and feel I've come a long way since my first cut.
Anyway, we have accumulated some logs/branches up to around 24" in diameter. Would love to get some lumber out of them instead of just firewood. I stumbled upon the Alaskan sawmill and wonder what you think about that for my situation? I have a Husky 450 Rancher with a 20" bar. My wife has a Stihl 192 with a 16" bar. Not sure if the Stihl has enough cc's but I believe mine is 50cc. I realize we would need different ripping chains. When I went to the manufacturers site there were a few different mills and a whole bunch of accessories.
Any comments on the sawmill itself and any suggestions on what setup I should get?
Thx
Jim

[schmism]

I have one.   I have a stihl 039 - 64CC and its useable with a 24" bar on smaller logs.

I think your going to be short at only 50CC.  The recommendation I've commonly seen around there is starting at 70CC (MS440 or the like)

If your looking at a saw purchase, plus the chainsaw mill (CSM) you may be better served just rounding up the logs and either having a mobile setup come and saw them or haul them to a sawyer you have the equipment to do so.

[boscojmb]

I think your going to be short at only 50CC.  The recommendation I've commonly seen around there is starting at 70CC (MS440 or the like)

If your looking at a saw purchase, plus the chainsaw mill (CSM) you may be better served just rounding up the logs and either having a mobile setup come and saw them or haul them to a sawyer you have the equipment to do so.

X2

[stihlsawer]

I think your going to be short at only 50CC.  The recommendation I've commonly seen around there is starting at 70CC (MS440 or the like)

If your looking at a saw purchase, plus the chainsaw mill (CSM) you may be better served just rounding up the logs and either having a mobile setup come and saw them or haul them to a sawyer you have the equipment to do so.

X2

The bigger the cc the better. 70cc or larger IMO. I use an 076 Super, 3/8 63 gauge ripping chain on my GB mill.

[mad murdock]

If you are serious about wanting to mill yourself, look for a used saw in the bigger size(70cc +). I use my husky 372XP with a 32" bar outfitted with stihl 63PMX ripping chain(1/4" kerf). It does well in doug fir and WRC. If you just want to see how it will do with what you have look at the Granberg small mill. The Alaskan MkIII needs a bigger saw,IMO.

[JimNAZ]

Thanks everyone for the feedback. We are off grid and Internet is very slow. Cannot spend a lot of time researching. I now realize that maybe my only option is the small sawmill if at all. Not sure hiring/paying for milling will be worth it since we do not have the best logs or a lot of them. (Juniper  does not grow very straight) Just thought it would be cool to build something out of OUR wood.

Does anyone have the smaller mill and what are your thoughts for my situation?

[mad murdock]

If you want to try it out, you can get the small mill, it will work with your 50cc saw, just be slower than with a bigger one.  Most important thing is to keep your chain sharpened properly and keep it sharp, so it will not take more power than it should to do it.  If you like it, you can always bolt the small mill onto a little larger saw, when the opportunity comes.  As long as you don't go thinking you will be making 18" cuts with it, you should be ok, to get a taste of what it is all about. Be warned, milling wood is an addiction, and you will get inflicted, once you start there will be difficultiy in turning back ;)  It can be very rewarding though.  If you want to go real cheap you can alwasy try the haddon lumber maker, or beam machine, for rudimentary milling and such.  Can get into one of those for less than the granberg setup.

[terrifictimbersllc]

I agree with Murdock. You can try your 450, even with the chain you have, on one of the alaskan mills. Especially in softwoods.  The Mark III's can be adjusted to fit any shorter saw, for example you could get a 36" if you wanted, the extra length just hangs out over the side.  I wouldn't rule out finding someone to saw up  your wood for you however, level of expense is likely mostly about whether there is someone close by or not.

[NMFP]

Jim, Maybe I missed it but where are you located at?  I know where there is a used sawmill that will cut up to 10' long and I think the guy only wanted 8-900 for it.  Its a name brand, just one of the earlier models.

Let me know and I will get info for you.

[DCrocker]

Jim,

The Alaska mill is a good option to a more expensive set-up especially if the logs to be milled aren't handy to a portable or stationary mill.

As others have said, bigger saws with more cc's are better for a couple of reasons. First, no matter what saw you use, milling with an alaska mill is labor intensive and a bigger saw will work faster, thus you wont be bent over breathing fumes and sawdust quite as long with each cut. The other advantage is that you need to run the saw wide open for the duration of the cut.  A larger, professional saw tends to handle that stress better than a smaller homeowner saw.

Before I upgraded to a bandsaw mill, I used an alaska mill with a husky 394XP and milled a lot of beams, slabs, and boards. With sharp ripping chain, a 10 foot board 16 inches wide could be produced from a softwood log in a minute or two.

Hard work, but doable, even with a smaller saw. Also a sure cure for insomnia - you will definitely sleep after milling a few hours.

[Deese]

Hey JimNaz, welcome to the forum.
They make some really small/inexpensive bandsaw mills that I've heard work really well.
I think it's called the Lumber Smith portable bandsaw mill. I almost bought one before purchasing my EZ Boardwalk Jr.
Basically, you make your own tracking system with lumber...check it out.

[JimNAZ]

Again thanks! I will look into those other options. We are outside so Seligman Arizona, which is west of Flagstaff. Was only looking to spend a few hundred dollars tops. $800 is just not on the horizon right now but thanks.

[AllanLindh]

My experience has been to use the shortest bar that will get through the tree's you need to mill.  (A long bar just leads to more drag, and more links to sharpen.)  The cheap ripping chain from Bailey's works good for me.  And remember, it is the dirt in the bark that dulls chains, so it is worth your time to snap lines down down both sides of the log where your chain is gonna be cutting.  Then (carefully) use a sharp axe to remove the bark, leaving clear bright wood.  Will reduce the time spent sharpening.  And I find that the animal fat based two-stroke oil from Baily's is a lot less obnoxious to breath than the usual stuff.  Go slow and be careful.