Alaskan mills - are they any good?

[rdbee]

Im looking at a Granberg Mk 111 Alaskan Mill. Are these things gimmicks or do they work?

 

[Newfie]

They work with a big a$$ saw and a lot of sweat and strain. It can be kind of fun if you ain't doing thousands of BF.

 

[rdbee]

ya I got a few bigger saws, and I'm only looking to cut a few maple slabs here and there- something like 3" thick- maybe make some doors or a table top out of them. I talked to a guy in Vancouver who was selling slabs he cut from salvage fir- he said there was good money in it, sold it in Europe for castle doors and the like.

 

[Brit101]

Here is a site that tells you how to make your own attachment similar to the Alaskan one. Suspect it has been mentioned before but as a newbie rdbee you most likely have never seen it, and since I could not be bothered doing a search....

Disclaimer: Just came across the article, have not tried it.

Guy has a big old saw in the photo, any guesses/c.c's?

www.backwoodshome.com/articles/tresl39.html

 

[fishhuntcutwood]

Alaskan mills are good for mobility and cost, compared to other mills that shine compared to the AK mill concerning the amount of physical labor involved. They aren't torture devices, but they'll work you. They do work, and work well. Certainly wouldn't call them gimmicks. They're good for the guy who'll be milling smaller amounts of wood, and may have to move from site to site.

Jeff

 

[rdbee]

Thanks guys- I think I will go ahead and buy one, unless anyone out there has one used they want to let go.

 

[clyde]

I have several chainsaw mills I would sell.

 

[rustyb]

Clyde,

Can you tell me a little bit about your mills & how much you'd let them go for?.

Thanks,
r

 

[NWCS]

hey rbtree, i used to have an alaskan mill. i used to mill out some sweet boards. my main market was dumptruck sideboards.. then my dad told me about a guy he worked with wanted my mill and would trade me a "nice running 084" well.. that 084 turned out to be a worn out, beat to crap 051 that barely ran... once the dude had the mill he wasnt giving it back to me..

 

[canguy21]

Brit101, go to www.acresinternet.com click on chainsaws and check out the Pioneer RA. That beast certainly had the power required to run a mill but took two men and a dog to lift it on.

 

[bman]

Just stood a timber frame last Tuesday I cut with an Alaskan, 6,800 bdf. Nest is th roof deck, then siding, loft floor, main floor and trim boards. Do Alaskan Mills work? You bet!

 

[bman]

Alaskan mill cut timber frame

Tried to post this on the previouse message ,here is my second attempt.

 

[rdbee]

Nice Lookin' Building Bman!

 

[clyde]

sorry it took so long to reply, I have GB mills and some Grandburg mill. They can be set up for what ever size you need.

 

[towtow]

sorry it took so long to reply, I have GB mills and some Grandburg mill. They can be set up for what ever size you need.

Clyde,
Are these mills new and/or complete? Also, from what I've seen, the GB mill looks more robust than the Granberg. In reality, is one better than the other?

Thanks,

Mike

 

[bvaught]

How do you keep a flat surface with an alaskan mill? It appears the mill would just track the top surface of the log.

 

[bvaught]

How do you keep a flat surface with an alaskan mill? It appears the mill would just track the top surface of the log.

It appears I should have done a little reading before posting. Starter boards.

 

[clyde]

The GB mill bolts onto the saw using the bar studs. The Grandberg mills clamp only onto the bar. For using it as an open ended mill for smaller stuff the GB is for sure better(ie. grandberg small log mill). The grandberg mills are a little lighter, so for one guy sometimes it can make all the difference, but the GB clamping system puts less stess and flex onto the bar, and is toolless to adjust.

 

[weimedog]

Alaskan Mills (Granberg) work pretty well. And you don't have to spend
big dollars on a saw...pick an old McCulloch with a power head over 100cc's.
They work really well partly because they oil well and have a good sized
chain oil resevoir. I might have 500 bucks into mine and I've done more than
3200 board ft for my stalls....mostly ash and hard maple because thats what
I have on my farm. The other reason I like those old Mac's are they have really
good power with a wide power band. That makes it easier to wrestle that thing
thru the log without stalling the chain.

(Thats an old 797 series McCulloch & a XP-1020 Homelite in the picture. The McCulloch
has a 36inch bar and a 3/8 skip chisel chain. I now grind that chain around 5 degrees for best results
in the hard wood. The slabs are between 27-32 inches wide.)

 

[woodwiser]

ripping chain and bar advice request for a mill similar to the alaskan

Greetings sawyers,
I looked at the Alaskan option and wound up with a Logosol !

Please give me an update on your opinion of ripping chain based on my following question. I just bought a timberjig big mill kit from Logosol with two 9 foot aluminum guide rails. I plan on buying a Husky 395xp powerhead. I would like to cut some large southern yellow pines, white oaks, red oaks, poplar, sweetgum and just about anything else hurricane IVAN blew down on my relatives property back in September 2004. Most of the trees are 25" diameter and up with some possibly 36" in diameter. I want to cut stock that I can eventually use for flooring and paneling . I want to have a small kerf and have heard that a picco chain is very nice. I am thinking of getting a 16" bar and also a longer one like a 24" or even longer to slab through the big ones in one pass ( maybe something like 30" ) Any advice on chains and bars is very much appreciated.
p.s. I plan to make a sawlog setup like the Logosol M7 using hydralic racing car jacks so I can raise and lower logs to get them so I do not have to bend my back.
Thanks in advance for the feedback