wanting to hire chansaw mill services

elliotst · January 13, 2021, 10:16:11 AM

Hello All,

If this is not the correct location for this post I apologize in advance. My friend lives on the near west side of Madison, WI, and is having a huge burr oak (38-40" diameter) taken down in the far corner of his back yard this upcoming weekend. I am a furniture maker and really don't want the wood chopped up for firewood, but instead want to have it milled up. The trick is that the only access to this backyard is through a gate and walkway that is only about 36" wide. There is no way to get any large machinery back there to either mill it up or pull it/lift it to the front of the house. So it needs to be milled where it falls, more or less. So we are looking for someone who we can hire with an Alaskan mill or other appropriate equipment to mill up a couple (likely 8') logs that are 38-40" diameter.

Thanks for any info/leads.

jmouton · January 13, 2021, 06:43:08 PM

take part of the fence down and get a bobcat to get it out , have done it many of times

Brad_bb · January 13, 2021, 08:37:02 PM

A Peterson Dedicated Wide Slabber mill would also be portable as well as a Lucas Dedicated Slabbing Mill.

With them or a regular Granberg Chainsaw Mill Setup, fire on $100 per hour minimum and maybe more. Set up or travel fees may be needed. CSM slabbing is really hard work, work that I would not do in the heat of the summer. I have one and I've done about 10 logs for myself. I would not do it for others as it's just too physically taxing and hard on the equipment too.

You definitely have a better chance if you can get it out of the back yard, but understandably the weight of the log is a significant issue. By milling it in place and stacking and stickering the slabs there, a lot of the water in the log can evaporate over the next two years making it possible to then remove the slabs one at a time, which will still be a chore, but necessary to kiln dry after air drying down to ambient 12-14% Moisture.

I'd start my search with Craigslist and Facebook marketplace, and the internet. Look for someone doing wide slabs in some proximity to you. Talk to other sawyers locally (even band mill sawyers) and see if they know anyone who can do such portable slabbing. That is probably one of your best bets.

Or....You could buy a large slabbing mill and sawhead and do it yourself and then sell the equipment after....We here could coach you on setting up your first cut, and sharpening your chain, using a secondary oiler, keeping your chain tight etc...

If you do find someone to do it, offer to be the helper. And get some more help to move and restack the slabs. The sawyer will have enough work just setting up and doing the cutting. And help him set up and load up when the job is done. Making it clear that there will be help onsite when he comes should be a plus to him. And make sure you guys have hearing protection. Do you know what you need to do to stack and sticker and protect the slabs from rain while still allowing good airflow around the stack?

D6c · January 14, 2021, 07:23:07 AM

I had a similar sized burr oak slabbed (48" big end x 13½'). The log will be HEAVY!
I could pick up one end with my loader that has 5000# capacity but not the whole log. My brother loaded it on my trailer with his excavator.
I'm guessing an 8' section of your log could be around 5000#.
I found a guy with a swing blade mill with an optional chainsaw slabbing attachment. It wasn't portable enough to get into a location like you're in. He had a telehandler to set the carriage on the track frame.
If you want just lumber you might find someone with a lighter swingblade mill.
Hope you get it cut up..... love the rich brown color of burr oak.

offrink · January 14, 2021, 05:07:26 PM

I agree with the others. It will be to heavy. We run a cat 299d (biggest Cat makes) and it wouldn't be able to move it. I also run a csm and they are a lot of work to run. And not only that but to move each slab. Each 3" slab will be in the 5-600+ pound range easy. Not the easiest for even two body builders! I would go to your local chainsaw dealers (stihl, husky, etc.) and ask them if they know someone that is capable. I keep my dealers stocked with cards and get a call from someone ever month or two and usually it's because it's big. We run a 72" bar so we can do upto 68" widths without getting crazy.