I have a few nice trees that I'd like to mill CSM style and am interested if any of you experienced millers have to say.
I am dropping a Red Oak, a large White Pine and some decent sized Poplars in near future and would like to utilize some of the long straight trunks by cutting them into slabs or boards. for use in other projects here.
I can afford a decent CSM and have a Stihl 044 as my largest saw right now.
I have room to store them outdoors and am planning to build a lean-to and garage come Spring.
I'm wondering if I should get them felled and milled by someone with portable BSM or should I try myself with a CSM?
Tell me what you would do.
Since I've got an 046, ms-460 and a 661c with ported cylinder and bars from 20" up to 72". CSM is what I wood do. You can mill these trees with the power head you have IF you can match the raker height to the saw/chain combo. In my avatar the Alaskan has a 60" cannon bar with the 460 spinning a skip square chisel chain. The droop below the bar is from the stretch or wear on what was a new chain 3 slices earlier and snugged after each slice. Oregon brand.
The longer the log lays the harder the wood gets drying and possibly splitting from the ends.
@BobL recommends trimming at least 6" off the end of logs that have been down very long. The hard wood at the end dulls chain a lot more IIRC from his experience outside Perth Australia.
Similar is likely wherever the log is. I try to mill as soon as the tree is down and the end is sealed to minimize split ends, green is easier
I think.
You haven't said what diameters these trees run. I have used a ms-170 with a lumber maker style guide running down a 1x3 rectangular aluminum guide bar to mill a black walnut post 10 1/2" x 12" x 11 feet long. Don't recommend as a constant but seemed best plan at the time the way the log was laying. Just as an example of patience allows for use of saws that are not ever recommended. A 70cc range saw is poo-pooed for milling but with patience and sharp cutters it worked in red oak, white oak and ash as long as I let the saw "sing" rather than bog down. 661c is faster and uses the same b&c's
& stihl brings grins watching chips fly.
Another aspect is the ability to bring a BSM in to the logs or the logs out to the mill. CSM is a lot more mobile and slabs are moved easier than a 40"x12 foot log. Then too there is a lot wider kerf in a saw chain than a bandsaw, costing a board or two difference. from each log.
If I was doing the project presented; I wood start with the smallest diameter of the poplar or white pine to get a feel for the process of milling with a chain saw. Drop one, seal the end and begin milling on the log an inch or three longer than desired boards. As the slabs dry they lose a bit of thickness so if a planed 1 1/2" thickness is what I want in the end I cut 1/4" thicker at least. What I use for out buildings is cut a small amount wider than desired width for the same reason.
I hope the confusion I shared is enough to convince you that broader & deeper info is presented "CS milling 101" in particular
@BobL sharpening seminars. He is an educator drawing on his experience
Stay safe and enjoy
