Feedback wanted on newbie plan

[jczv]

Wanted to start some small scale milling thought I'd post my current plan for feedback.

I've had some oak wilt go through the woods around my house and hope to mill some of them. I currently have two white oak snags which have 20 feet of trunk 25"-30" diameter. One white oak with 10 feet of 30" diameter and 20 feet of 20". One white oak with 15 feet of 45" and 20 feet of 30" (although this tree has some rot on the bottom). One red oak with 25 feet of 25+". One red oak 20 feet of 18".

I purchased a used echo cs-8000 with a 36" bar awhile back. My plan is to get some ripping chain and a 44" alaskan mill for it (in case I ever want to go larger in the future). I thought I'd start with the smaller red oak and some elm logs. Then the white oak snags. I can't do the larger white and red oaks until fall (they need to be dropped between some other trees). All of these are close enough to the house that I can setup lights etc and work in place (and far enough away that dropping them isn't an issue). At least initially I'm not to worried about how long the cuts take. If I get hooked on this there's 20,000 acres of state park land (30% oak forest) that I can get permits to get deadfall logs out of - if I went that direction then I'd look to upgrade saws.

My main questions are:
- Has anyone used a CS-8000 for milling? Will it work acceptably for a newbie who doesn't know any better (I'm figuring on making a few cuts a night). I'm also trying not to think about the local craigslist 3120 for $600.
- Does getting the larger alaskan make sense? Is there any down side to this?
- Two of the trees are in a grown over pasture so I have some concerns of old embedded barbed wire - what's most effective way to detect metal?

 

[oldsaw]

You are on a good path. Keep on going, and read what's here for more info. There are a lot of good guys with a lot of CSM smarts on here.

Mark

 

[SilverBox]

My main questions are:
- Has anyone used a CS-8000 for milling? Will it work acceptably for a newbie who doesn't know any better (I'm figuring on making a few cuts a night). I'm also trying not to think about the local craigslist 3120 for $600.
- Does getting the larger alaskan make sense? Is there any down side to this?
- Two of the trees are in a grown over pasture so I have some concerns of old embedded barbed wire - what's most effective way to detect metal?

I think a cs-8000 would work acceptably for milling. A 3120 would be better, but I would estimate 50-75% faster then a cs8000, so if your not in a hurry, don't hassle it.

It makes sense to get the larger alaskan, the downside is that your pushing more weight thru each log then is really necessary, but if your efficiency is your goal you need a bandsaw...

Metal dectector.. If its not a very good one run it over the log after each slab comes off as it may not find something deep inside the log initially. Barbed wire isn't really that big a deal your chain will go right thru it, and a few teeth will get very dull, but you'll still cut good. What you need to worry about is something like 3/4" diameter lag bolts or some other large chunk of metal. This will dull or destroy your entire chain.. If your milling deadfalls from the middle of a forest your not likely to see metal, along fencelines, in yards, or along property lines you might see metal, but in in the middle of a stand of trees of no particular importance, your very unlikely to fine metal.

 

[glennschumann]

Hi,

I'm assuming that the echo is about 80cc. With a 36" bar, that is probably about as long as you want to go. I started with an 066 (90ish cc's) and a 36 inch mill. That is a really nice combination to start with. Based on my experience, I'd hesitate to go with a 44" mill... I use a 24" bar over half the time, and the longer bars less. With the 24" bar (that I would suggest having), a 48" mill would be a bit cumbersome when working on smaller logs. You can always order 48" or 56" rails to expand your capacity (when you get that 3120xp too...)

By the way, welcome to the site. Given your access to state wood, I'm assuming you are up nort.

Check out the "Sticky" at the top of this forum for lots of information.

Hope that helps.

 

[BobL]

. . . . Based on my experience, I'd hesitate to go with a 44" mill... I use a 24" bar over half the time, and the longer bars less. With the 24" bar (that I would suggest having), a 48" mill would be a bit cumbersome when working on smaller logs. You can always order 48" or 56" rails to expand your capacity (when you get that 3120xp too...)

Yep I agree.

I have a small alaskan mill with fixed (welded) rails that can handle up to a 24" bar (20" cut) and a larger mill with 54" and 64" rails using 42/44" and 60" bars respectively.

The difficulties come between about 20 and 25" diameter wood where the small mill is too small and the rails on the big mill are on the too long side. I can easily fix this because have several 30" bars and I should just get some 36" rails.

If I did this over again I would have made the small mill a bit larger or made it with easily replaceable rails.

 

[BIG JAKE]

That 3120 for 600.00 is a good price if the saw is in good shape. If money is no object you could pull the trigger. Those saws go upwards of 1k on ebay if they are in good shape. I'm milling with an 066/92cc and for the softwoods I mill it is plenty of power. Those hardwoods you're milling put you're outfit at the lower end powerwise but good enough to find out if you like it. Oldsaw was saying his 066 wil pull a 42" bar in oak(milling).

 

[jczv]

Thanks for all the responses.

Glenn I'm actually just west of you out around Dousman/Eagle. In Kettle Moraine South you can get a 6 week license to collect up to 10 cords of downed wood for 10 bucks a cord. You can also work with the forester to drop dead trees. All the easy small stuff disappears quick - I bought the echo because a decent amount of big stuff was still available right by the roads.

The 3120 guy has been trying to sell it for awhile. He originally was trying for $800 but that was also when the same phoney $500 3120 ad was showing up on a bunch of craigslist sites so I'm guessing a lot of people thought it was the same scam ad. Hmmm why do I keep bring this saw up!

Thanks again for all the advice and encouragement.