thoughts on chainsaw mills

[4x4American]

what do yawl think about the chainsaw mills? i see you can get one of the set up deals from baileys for fairly cheap. my buddy thinks they're a waste because with a 3/8 chain you make 4 cuts and lose over an inch of wood. my thought is that its good for when you don't have alot of money to drop on a real sawmill. i see they do take a long time to set up though it seems. anyone have one that they like alot that don't take too long? also, can anyone recommend a good chain grinder that can grind both chisel and semi chisel chain thats pretty good for not too much money?
thanks, doug

 

[fearofpavement]

Chainsaw mills fill a niche. It is something that is inexpensive and generally for creating relatively small amounts of lumber. They can be lugged into areas inaccessible to other types of mills (for building a cabin or cottage for instance). they are also good for making some timbers or beams for assorted uses. They are very slow compared to other types of mills and the average person would be better off to haul some logs to someone with a band mill such as a wood mizer, etc. I have cut a few heavy planks with them but never any serious usage. I have one, just don't use it. If you think it is something you're interested in, borrow one to try it out and it might cure ya of it.

 

[ptjeep]

Chainsaw mills fill a niche. It is something that is inexpensive and generally for creating relatively small amounts of lumber. They can be lugged into areas inaccessible to other types of mills (for building a cabin or cottage for instance). they are also good for making some timbers or beams for assorted uses. They are very slow compared to other types of mills and the average person would be better off to haul some logs to someone with a band mill such as a wood mizer, etc. I have cut a few heavy planks with them but never any serious usage. I have one, just don't use it. If you think it is something you're interested in, borrow one to try it out and it might cure ya of it.

My thoughts exactly.

 

[4x4American]

thanks for your thoughts, after doing some thinking, i proberly wouldnt use it much seein as how i've been used to using a mobile dimension sawmill. I think i'm going to try and get out a loan from the bank to get a hud-son hfe-36 portable bandsawmill. I think that'd be the way to go. I can make extra money on the side selling wood and i can cut out my own barns and such.

 

[fearofpavement]

thanks for your thoughts, after doing some thinking, i proberly wouldnt use it much seein as how i've been used to using a mobile dimension sawmill. I think i'm going to try and get out a loan from the bank to get a hud-son hfe-36 portable bandsawmill. I think that'd be the way to go. I can make extra money on the side selling wood and i can cut out my own barns and such.

Before you go into debt, I would recommend getting some logs together, bring in someone with a bandmill to slice it up for you and see how well the product sells. If you can market the wood, then maybe your own mill would make sense. I wouldn't recommend jumping too many hurdles at once though.

 

[WidowMaker1]

lots of good info over in the Milling forum. http://www.arboristsite.com/milling-saw-mills/

 

[4x4American]

Before you go into debt, I would recommend getting some logs together, bring in someone with a bandmill to slice it up for you and see how well the product sells. If you can market the wood, then maybe your own mill would make sense. I wouldn't recommend jumping too many hurdles at once though.

good thoughts, yea i have not seen a bandmill in action but i know a few people that have them, and they all seem to love them. I love bossmans mobile dimension sawmill that thing is real fast and can do some wild and wonderful things with logs that i don't think a bandsaw could do. my boss has made alot of money selling wood because around me theres not too many places besides the home depot where you can buy lumber. so he makes pretty decent money doing that, if he could hook me up with a few buyers that'd be great i know he'd be there to help me with anything or give me advice hes a real good guy. and i know for sure he'd give me a few real big nice logs in exchange for a few hours labor. i also have 3.5 acre lot where i plan to get my logs from to start out

 

[discounthunter]

as said they fill a nitch. sometimes one just hates to waste a good log to firewood or see it rot in the woods. this pine wood otherwise be firewood so ,csm plus some extra hours and tada,

 

[Tempestv]

Chainsaw mills are great when you have to bring the mill to the wood, rather than the other way around. I've seen them used in log construction a fair amount, for making very straight cuts on logs that are already part of the house.
This setup works great for cutting windows and doors on log houses, if you screw the guide rail up vertically beside where you want to cut: