Remote milling in the snow

[onegunsmith]

Hello all and thanks for sharing so much information. I've been reading up on milling for the last several days and can't believe i can't find an answer or discription of what im looking to do. I'm looking to build a cabin on some remote property that i own that is only accessable by snow machine. This area recieves 4-5 feet of snow a year. It's tough going! I'm hoping to build a cabin using two sided logs, as they stack much nicer than round logs. I've been looking at the Haddon Lumbermaker, the Beam Machine and the Mini Mill. I want to be able to drop a beetle killed spuce run the saw down two sides the skid the 18' timber/cant to the building site. Does this seem logical or am I crazy? Do i need a mill or could i just freehand cut with a straight 2"x4" as a guide. Are there any threads on chainsaw milling in snowshoes? lol Thanks for your time and input.

 

[freetrapper]

I'm sure a small mill would be handy. Check out the video on the Alaska Trappers Associations cabin building workshop. It may give you some ideas. Some of you may recognize the guy on the wall from TV

http://www.alaskatrappers.org/cabin_building_workshop.html

 

[onegunsmith]

Thanks for the link. I've built a smaller cabin/shed in my yard using the saw between the logs method. Its not as easy as it looks. I thought getting them flat before hoisting them up would speed things up and simplify things. I have the ATA handbook and will need to go dig it up and revisit the cabin section. i like the look of the cope corner but its time consuming and takes practice. Thanks again for the link.

 

[mtngun]

A Granberg mini-mill would do a good job of flattening one side of the log. The trick would be making the opposite side parallel to the first side, easier said than done. It might actually be easier to cut 3 sides if you don't mind that look.

 

[beachcomber]

If you had an Alaska mill and a mini mill you could cut the top and bottom slab with the ak mill and then rip the log in half with the mini mill giving you twice the material

 

[qbilder]

I'd think a simple mini-mill type jig should do you just fine. Getting a parallel cut shouldn't be terribly difficult. Take a small square/rectangle shaped board about an inch thick and butt it up against one end of the log & trace out the cut lines with a crayon. You will likely need to double check the other end of your log after the first cut to ensure your guide on the second cut will be parallel at each end. The second cut is the critical cut. If you don't get things parallel, then your cabin walls are not going to stack straight.

 

[onegunsmith]

Thanks for the input guys. I talked to Eric at Granberg yesterday and he suggested using an Alaska mill and making the top and bottom cut or a mini mill with two V tracks on a 2x8, thus allowing two cuts with one set up. I think I'm going to try the mini mill and practice on some logs here at the house before the snow flies. If it goes well i may make three sided logs as that would make toe nailing logs easier too. I gotta say with this heat i wish it was snowing now...

 

[rarefish383]

I have a Haddon and I'm not sure it will cut that square. I was cutting 6X6's by going down one side of my guide board and then coming back down the other side. It was out a good 1/4 inch+ from top to bottom. I cut them on 3 sides. Once the top cap was taken off I attached the guide board and ran the saw down both sides. Across the top the cant was a perfect 6". If you looked at the end you could see the sides getting wider at the bottom. They would not stack square. When you tighten the 3 set screws on the bar you could see the clamp part torque and bend a little. There are home made versions here that folks have made that are much stronger and don't flex, look easy to build, and are cheaper. If you had an Alaskan mill you could take the top cap off and then just adjust your bar down the thickness you wanted and make your second cut, then top and bottom would be parallel, Joe.

 

[yukon7]

Last winter I was out milling using a snow machine, cut a pile of lumber, mostly 6x6s for a cabin project. The snow was quite deep but it worked well. I used snowshoes to go in 1st and then snowmobile to pack milling area. The thread was titled Winter Milling and had a few pictures.
Jon

 

[WidowMaker1]

freehand milling is all about tons of practice & patience. but also as important, a good evenly filed sharp chain with a good bar with even rails & a sound un-worn bar groove will help keep you on track. make shore your chain cutters are evenly filed either side, and your bar rails are level and square to the bar as well as each other.

Think of it like a wood chisel thats sharp & square uniformly across the leading edge, a good chisel will cut a nice even slither of wood out when used, ..take that same chisel and have the leading edge 'unevenly beveled' and it will veer off in direction.

lots of practice will be the key, then chain and bar . it takes time and concentration. milling devices will make it happen quicker, but freehand is very rewarding and a real skill, plus its much easier to set up.

hope that makes sence.

 

[mtngun]

a mini mill with two V tracks on a 2x8, thus allowing two cuts with one set up.

I hadn't thought about that but now that you mention it, it makes a lot of sense. That's the way I would go. The mini-mill is easier to setup than an Alaskan.

 

[mad murdock]

If you are considering 3 sided logs, a Logosol Timberjig would be the ticket, a lot quicker setup than an Alaskan small mill or MkIII, the Granberg mini would be about as fast as the Timberjig, just not quite as versatile.

 

[IanB22]

Just because I can...

How are you going to lift the cants into place? logs of any length with significant size are difficult to get into place quickly. Snow makes it even more difficult because it sticks to the logs like glue. Maybe cutting in winter and building in summer is a better plan?

Just some thoughts from an un-informed snow-miller.

 

[beachcomber]

Also, milling in the winter provides very few daylight hours

 

[Nrick]

Long time lurker and this is my first post but I feel somewhat knowledgeable enough to comment. We have a cabin in Alaska with snowmachine only access in the winter. I have slabbed out spruce logs using an Alaskan Chainsaw Mill to provide the decking for a dock. I’m currently messing around with cutting 10”x10” timbers from spruce trees blown over in a wind storm.

First off, unless you have a LOT of time, I’d rethink building the cabin from local trees. Ours is a recreational (weekend) cabin and cutting lumber with a chainsaw is not quick. I can buy it at the yard, load it in the truck, drive it up to the trail head, load it on a freight sled, and tow it in by snowmachine much faster than cutting it. However, if you have large blocks of time and a strong desire to do this, it can be done.

After much looking around on this site and others, I ended up building my own guide rails to make the first cut on a log with the Alaskan Mill. It looks like a plywood ladder and it is in 3 eight foot pieces that I can bolt together depending on the length I’m going for. I can carry or haul it to the downed tree and set up on it. This takes the most time but once it’s on and level the first cut leaves a nice flat surface on the top of the log. Adjust the mill to the depth you want and make your second cut. If you are doing a two sided log you are done cutting at this point.

As for milling in the snow, plan to get at it earlier in the winter when the snow is not as deep. It’s a drag to have to shovel 3 feet of snow off your log before you can even start. Limb the logs before it snows. Use your snowmachine the day before to pack in a trail next to the log and out of the woods to your main trail. Boot pack/shovel the snow along both sides of the log then too. Give it overnight for the snow to set up and you will have a much easier time moving around with a saw. You really don’t want snowshoes, you cannot maneuver around a log wearing those.

 

[onegunsmith]

NRick,
I think we might be in the same area. I'm 25 miles from the Deska landing. Thanks for the info lots of good hints there on packing snow and such. I know frieghting lumber in would be much faster build but i want to build from the timber on the land as much as possible. I get several weeks off in a row so ill have some time to make some headway. it might take all winter but thats ok too. Hopefully it will get cold early and not to much snow. I have a wide track Expedition that is 700 plus pounds of stuck pig when it sinks. It hates water too!!! lol
As far as lifting the can't into place i plan to use ladders or use two logs fo a ramp and pull them up with a snow machine. Snow that sticks to the logs will just have to be removed before they are put in place. Lack of daylight is an issue i hadn't thought of. We spend most of the winter with a headlamp on so that will probably be answer to that.

 

[Nrick]

We're a little farther north - Petersville/Trapper Creek area. Also, much closer to the road, 3 miles instead of 25, so hauling is very much shorter round trip. I totally understand the "I'm doing it because I want to, not because it is faster or cheaper." I just wanted to warn you that it will take much more time than you expect.

I know you have to do it when you are on your off weeks, but messing around with logs when it is good and cold, but not bitterly so, say 0 to 15 F, is actually better because the snow doesn't stick to much. You can easily clean it off with a broom.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[onegunsmith]

Well i got my mini mill and had to give it a go. Might have been asking a lot of the 261 but it seemed to work pretty well. I used a 2x8 and put a track down both sides and made a nice two sided log with one set up. The mill only comes with 12 feet of track so i fashioned one out of UHMW or some type of plastic that doesn't like my table saw. The mill slides nice on it but i had to fasten it every 6 inches. I had come up with a high tech way of leveling the guide board but it didn't work to well. I think it still holds merrit but with need some work. I'll post some pics if i can figure out how. Just glad to be making saw dust.