Advice needed on chainsaw milling.

[Brad_bb]

Cutting 23" Locust I averaged about 8 feet in 10 minutes.  But it took longer than 10 minutes fiddling around with wedges, moving my blocking on the last cut, re-positioning, refueling, etc.   It is relatively slow.

[wiersy111]

It is definitely not a fast process like a bandsaw mill. What saw and chain are you using? I have never seen Locus so I don't know how hard it is, but up here in the frozen north Red and White Oak, Ash and Elm are pretty hard especially in the winter when it freezes the moisture in the wood. I guess I don't include the setup and other mechanical processes in my cutting times as I am strictly concerned with the time it takes to get from one end of the log to the other. My main concern is how long the saw is running wide open vs idling. Of course there are always good days vs bad days. Some days I end up drinking beer and sharpening more than I do actual cutting. I usually chalk those days up to Murphy's law.   

[Brad_bb]

First locust and first log I milled.  It didn't seem that much harder than other hardwoods, though it might be slightly.  Wiersy111, I hope you are using the granberg grind N' Joint sharpener.  Sharpening by hand would take forever with a milling chain.  Their sharpener is fast and consistently repeatable, which is what you really want in a chainsaw chain- consistency from one tooth to the next.

[wiersy111]

The Granberg sharpener is nice when I have to stop and sharpen in the field especially when I am running the 36" bar. If it just needs a touch up I will give it a couple swipes with the file to bring the edge back but that isn't necessary to often. Usually if I have to sharpen in the field it is because I found an unexpected trophy in the log.

[RPF2509]

Jespers video was good.  I've never cut anything that short and rarely cut that small diameter.  I looked slightly speeded up too but you could tell by the chips his chain was sharp.  As others have said you spend a lot of time fiddling about with making the first cut, adjusting depth, wedges, moving slabs fueling, oiling and more.

[Jesper Jepsen]

Yes RPF2509 I had speed up some part of it. Normally this is as small as I go with exceptions if I get my hands on some very special species as thorn and fruit tree. This wood is for woodworking, cabinets and so. I prefer to mill above 22" in diameter logs and around 9' long into 2,5" boards.
One thing I have found out is to set the depth gauge a little deeper that on a normal crosscut chain especially when cutting everything else than oak and beech it speeds the milling up and the dust is coarser and don't fly around as much as the finer dust do. On the bigger logs I use the hand winch to get a uniform speed (and a better surface on the board) and to get the strain of my back.
The chain I use for milling is the Granberg ripping chain.

[RPF2509]

 I was wondering what the winch was for and yes it would allow a smoother cut.  Here are some pictures of my setup.
A big cedar down, bar on the Stihl just cleared the opposite side bark, there is a lot of taper in this tree.

I use a ladder to set a straight level surface for my first cut

Lots of wedges to keep it level, plumbers tape to keep it all in place - just remember to pull the nail loose before the blade gets there

Once the slab is cut I use my Husky 51 mounted on the Beam machine to edge or cut out beams.  I'm making fence posts here and one run down, flip the saw around back the other way gets you a six inch wide post. I cut the slab six inches thick so I get a 6x6 post. Need it sturdy to handle the snow.

[RPF2509]

Here is the complete setup.  Mill has the factory oiler but it did not last long mounted up on the post due to vibration.  A bunch of zip ties hold it in place.  Foam pad on the bar helps keep vibration off the hands.  Still a loud, dusty, physically hard job but it works and I get fenceposts from what would be firewood.  The mill paid for itself when I slabbed up a 48" x 16' redwood log - think the pig roast table.  Since then it cut 2x's and 4x's for my shed foundation and has sliced burl into boards. Here the trusty 51 edges the swell off the butt so the mill will fit.