Chainsaw mill

[Thewoodman]

Does any one here use a chainsaw mill? whats your thoughts on them?

[celliott]

I use one, occasionally.
I think that's part of the reason for having a CSM in my case. I don't mill often enough, or enough volume to justify the cost of an entry level bandsaw mill.

It's fairly slow. It's hard work. You use alot of fuel, hard on your saw, but you can make nice, true lumber. I enjoy it. Satisfies my sawdust bug, for the moment.

I have a Granberg MK3 36", powered by a Husqvarna 395xp. You want alot of power for milling, as much as you can afford.

[JohnW]

I also have an Alaskan mill and a 395 xp.  I say the same thing as celliot.  I see nice logs sometimes that should have better use than firewood.

[boscojmb]

I ran a CSM for a few years and made money with it.
I had more money into my CSM than you could spend on a intermediate band bill, and it was still really slow.

The most bang for your will be with a band mill, or anything other than a CSM.

Here is MY CSM. I am in to it for about 5K.


I cut cabin kits with it in rural AK for several years. It worked good for taking a few outside boards off of a log, turning it into a 3 sided cant for log home building.

The powerhead alone will run you close to 2K ( husky 3120 or stihl ms880).
Bottom line is if you have lots of money and time, a CSM may be the way to go.

If you have limited time, and a budget to follow, go with some other type of mill.

[celliott]

Interesting, boscojmb. I haven't had a similar experience.
Looks like you were doing some pretty serious production milling making those cabin kits! My use is much, much less.

I bought the granberg mill, around $250 I think it was.
I knew the saw was gonna be expensive. I waited and waited, looked for a long time. Knew I wanted minimum a 395xp, maybe a 2100 or a 3120. Finally found a 395xp project saw. Bought it right. Into the saw probably $350 with parts I needed to get. Got a sweet deal on a 32" bar and chain.
I was milling wood with my CSM for under $750.

If you're gonna go buy a new 3120 or MS880, yeah, that'll cost you alot of money though.

For me, one ripping chain could last me awhile. I slabbed one big sugar maple this spring. Done some fir, have a big aspen at my Dad's place he wants milled up. Like JohnW said, sometimes logs deserve better than firewood.
Plus I get to have a 395xp around for bucking big logs on occasion  8)

[teed]

I use a Logosol framers sawmill Logosol SpeedSaw E5 with automatic feed E37. Think it works quite amazing.
Saws with really good speed and is easy to set up.
Have some movies on it on my youtube channel.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsx6Ebzfq3YuzKNRw58ZdEw

[symamania]

I`ve just started using a Granberg 36 inch CSM with a stihl 076 i brought second hand and I love it. Great fun it is slow but iIfind it rewarding and enjoyable. So if you have some cash have at it and get one

I didnt buy it to make money so the time it takes dosn`t matter

[BUGGUTZ]

I was pondering a Granberg mill. I looked them up online and decided I could build my own. I came up with a pretty good tool. I run it on a Shindaiwa 757. I mostly cut Red Pine since I have tons of it. It takes me less than 2 minutes to cut 12"w X 10'.

[symamania]

Have you checked out Panther chainsaw mills? they`re a fair bit cheaper than the granberg`s worth a look

[free_rider_151]

I have a csm. I didn't have the money to buy a newer saw, so I looked for an old 6 cube saw. I run a pioneer p61 on a 36" bar with the granberg setup. Works great. no complaints. Power is very very important. After I started milling, I modded my saw here and there to get more from it. Fully ported, bigger carb, increased comp. sharpen the chain frequently and lightly. Lots of oil. Run the saw rich so it stays cool.

[BUGGUTZ]

I have a few old C-72's. I was thinking of setting one up to mill.