Status of Chainsaw Mill Use

[Snag]

I have been wondering about those of you who started off with a chainsaw mill and then upgraded to a bandsaw or swingblade mill.  What ever became of the old chainsaw mill.  I have been using an alaskan with a 395xp for a couple years, and was wondering how much I would ever use it again after my Peterson arrives?  Can someone share what happened to their chainsawmill once upgrading?

[Jim Shockey]

It is great to square up a large log so it will fit Thur the mill.  Jim

[jpgreen]

THAT remains to be seen for me.  I've got some folks that want to buy my chainsaw mil, but my particular type can be used for an edger, and it's still portable.

I'm definitly not going to be selling my 3120 power head, and I'm looking for a 60" bar so I can use an alaskan jig to slab an occational old growth monster.

I have visions of draft horses pulling cants out of our steep mountains to my Wood-mizer..  ;D..... :D

If I had a swinger, I would figgure a way to  hang the alaskan for slabbing...
 

[Snag]

Thats a pretty good idea.   

I wont give up my 395xp, and I would probably hang on to the alaskan anyway (I have shed alot of sweat with that thing). 

I like the slabber that is offered with the Peterson, but I just dont think I would be using it enough to justify it.  I figured my alaskan would still help me out here and there, but I guess I'll have to wait and see.  Mounting like you mentioned sure would add a few more years onto the life of my back.  smiley_bucktooth

There - my first use of smileys

[Ianab]

You could allways fabricate a bracket to hold your alaskan under the frame of the Peterson , or even use it freehand in conjunction with the swingmill to take a couple of live edge slabs out of a log and saw the rest of it.

If you like wide boards and live edge slabs keep your chainsaw mill 

Ian

[vgbob]

I built two 'alaskan' mills when I started out. A single and a double
saw motor. I found I ended up using the single saw motor most of
the time. I bought a couple of Jonsereds 70Es so I've been able
to use them for all of my wood cutting for the past 25 years because
they aren't too big to handle under normal circumstances. As
has been mentioned I could probably adapt the double end bar,
which is about 40" long, for use with my Peterson WPF someday.
But that wasn't part of the plan when I bought the mill.

[rebocardo]

> What ever became of the old chainsaw mill

Sold mine, then the person who bought it sold it too. The thing I did not like was working by myself and loading the log onto the trailer (Procut) on uneven ground, that got to be old. I hope to build one soon with a couple of loading improvements.

[Kevin]

I keep my chain saw mill for those single big trees off the beaten path.
I get a kick walking out to the road with finished lumber and watch the roadies stare like I was picking them from the wild like berries.  ;D

[woodbeard]

Just boxed mine up this morning and shipped it off to it's new owner.

[Captain]

I sold mine to Engineer when I bought the swingmill.  He sold it when he bought the Woodmizer.  Now he wants to sell that and possibly get a Peterson.....go figure...

Hanging an Alaskan under the mill frame has been done..it's pretty easy and makes the pushing easier and more balanced.  I would keep the mill for the slabs from the middle, as Lanab indicated.

Hey if you guys want to get into the slabbing game and have a big saw, we sell the GB chainsaw lumbermills and can also fulfill any and all of your big bar needs...just go to the store and leave us an email.  The GB product line will be entering the store slowly over the next few months....all qualifying for FF 10% donation.

Captain

[Shawn]

I have a 385XP and 36" alaskan. It works real good...at working me out. I've never sweat so much in the winter time. Can't imagine using it in the summer. I'm considering building a portable bandmill. I don't care to make a living, just to pay for itself and keep itself maintained. Chainsaw mill will come in handy for reducing the Big Boys into more manageable cant's. Besides the chainsaw kerf wastes alot of wood. I need all I can get!!!
Shawn...

[Shamus]

     Since I got my D&L mill, the Procut has pretty much been sinking into the pile of sawdust it created. I recently bought an alaskan setup through Bailey's, and use that from time to time with the Stihl 088. I am using it right now to break down some 40' 9"x27" laminated beams for a neighbour. Of course they used nails to hold the boards together while glueing, so every pass exposes 4-5 shiny metal 'dots'.
     I may still use the Procut to square larger beams or to do some live edge sawing for special orders down the road. But it may be more trouble than it is worth...
     

[JPM]

i started with the procut and it worked fairly goodwith a 3120 husky w/36'" bar BUT i saw a timber harvester at a house down the road, less than 15 seconds to cut a log ,and the seach was on.I ended up with a oscar 28 mounted on the procut trailer  ;D So  i have the bandsaw and chainsaw to use if i need plus i learned to weld  j

[Brucer]

Mine's for sale ;D.

[Coon]

Hey BruceR,
   If you still have the mill when I get moved out to BC I would be interested in it.  That's if the price is right though. ;D ;D  May even be able to Barter with ya if you know what I mean.... :D :D
Brad.