Hey guys, thank you very much for taking an interest in the wood and milling.
So far we have only milled Northwest Red Cedar which is our main focus since it is pretty rot resistant. We use the wood for mt bike features like wall rides, bridges, jumps and landings in an area we have been building trails for some time now.
Since cedar dos not sell as firewood, only kindling sometimes it is usually easier to come across. Most of the cedar you see in the pictures there I have received free from a friend in the tree cutting business. Others I have cut down.
My friends and I are pretty new to milling, just started this winter actually. We started out with a Husky 359 XP and love the saw but found it was not enough for milling. So I came across this Husky 2100 CD on craigslist for $300 including 3 bars, 36", 33" and 28" lengths. Great deal btw. And ended up spending another $100 on parts and repairs.
Attached to the saw is a
Granberg Alaskan Mill MK-III 36".
We have ordered a granberg ripping chain as well but have not yet used it. Yesterday when we milled all that wood in the pictures above, we used a standard Oregon skip chain, 3/8", .063. Believe it or not, we did not sharpen the chain once and it even cut a bullet straight in half that was in the tree. Looks like a 9mm. I looked at the chain to see if any teeth were messed up but they all look fine. I cannot say for sure whats best for us yet since I have not tried the Granberg ripping chain but I think that buying a 100' reel of Oregon chain is going to do the trick.
For those of you asking about how to set something up like this. It's easy!
Get a powerful saw, an alaskan mill (or fabricate one if you please.) and start milling.
820Wards: Since this was all done right in my yard I didn't take a lunch at all
We just ate some frozen pizzas. Our goal was to get as much wood milled as possible. 3 of us spent 8 hours milling. 2 Guys manning the mill and one putting the wedge in, removing and debarking the planks.
