36" Alaskan Sawmill

[deezulsmoke]

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=3

Is this a pretty good deal for a 36" alaskan sawmill ?? I am going into the milling business, this will give me a really good excuse to get my 660 mag LOL I dont have any experience with these mills, so I will probably have a lot of questions. One I have in mind is I was looking at this mill and I can see how after you get a flat surface on the log you could guide the sawmill down the length of the tree section to cut your boards. My question is how do you get the first cut on top of the log to be parallel with the center of the section ?? Are there guide rails, ect. than you can purchase for this ?? I dont even want to think about how much money I have burnt up in the fireplace on cherry,oak, and hickory. These look like they would be a lot of fun to mess around with.

 

[smithie55]

Hi there,
Nothing shows up when you go to the HF site. What is their price?
Also checkout this site:
http://www.toolcenter.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=TC&Category_Code=CHAIN_SAW_MILLS
You can buy the guides or you can make your own, the lighter weight the better if you have to pack in your equipment very far.

I made mine out of light weight square metal tubing, made them in 10 foot lengths so that I can do a 20 foot length at one time.

Keep us posted on your progress.

 

[appalachianarbo]

There are several types of guide rails you can buy, or you can make them from 2x6's or angle iron. Correct me if I'm wrong woodshop, but don't you use the guide rails from the ripsaw with your alaskan? As far as aligning the rails with the center of the log, you need shims under the rail at the narrow end of the log. Just use a measuring tape to obtain equal distances. For squaring the sides, either flip your log 90 degrees and set up your guide rails again, or get an Alaskan mini mill, which uses the flat top cut as a guide to rip the sides. It is inexpensive, but requires another saw.

 

[rb_in_va]

I think he meant this one. The end of his URL got chopped off.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=32376

And that price is excellent. Those were $180-200 not long ago if I remember correctly.

 

[hautions11]

Here is the $29 Granberg rails in action. They use the same extrusion as the mill with some holes drilled in it to nail the rails in to the log. You drill counterbored holes in a 2 X 4 and run a carrige bolt thru it. The rail grabs the head of the carrige bolt and slides in width until you tighted the bolt on the nut. It is staightforward. Once you lay the 2 X 4 on the log, you measure from the centerline on each end and set the 2 X 4's parallel to the centerline of the log. It is easier then my description. These 2 X 4's are 8" short of my log, so I am only attached at one end. The free end is lagged to the log with 3" wood screws. Look at this pic.

 

[deezulsmoke]

RB, thanks for fixing the link, that is the one I was trying to link to. Thanks all you all for your tips and pics. I cannot wait to jump into this and try my hand at it, I think it will be a lot of fun. One of the guys on here posted a couple of desks he made from cherry that was just beautiful wood. I would imagine it is pretty rewarding knowing that you did everything yourself from cutting the wood to the final build. What I would really love to do is find a really large cherry and slice a thick chunk off the base for the top of a table that I could make for the living room. I would imagine that would be a beautiful chunk of wood, I would like to leave the edge alone and some of the bark when its finished if possible, I am just trying to figure out what would be the best way to fit and finish some type of leg system to this for support of the table. Thanks again everyone.

 

[hautions11]

$139 by the way is a good price for a 36"

 

[rb_in_va]

RB, thanks for fixing the link, that is the one I was trying to link to. Thanks all you all for your tips and pics. I cannot wait to jump into this and try my hand at it, I think it will be a lot of fun. One of the guys on here posted a couple of desks he made from cherry that was just beautiful wood. I would imagine it is pretty rewarding knowing that you did everything yourself from cutting the wood to the final build. What I would really love to do is find a really large cherry and slice a thick chunk off the base for the top of a table that I could make for the living room. I would imagine that would be a beautiful chunk of wood, I would like to leave the edge alone and some of the bark when its finished if possible, I am just trying to figure out what would be the best way to fit and finish some type of leg system to this for support of the table. Thanks again everyone.

I like the idea of leaving the natural edge. I would debark and sand it some then stain it.

 

[oldsaw]

$139 by the way is a good price for a 36"

They were $129 when I bought 4 years ago. $10 increase isn't bad at all. Mine was some crazy internet coupon deal though.

Some of the best money I ever spent.

Mark

 

[smithie55]

That's a great price even with the shipping, I wonder if you can buy that at one of there local area stores?
Good find, thanks for sharing. I think I'll get me a 48"

 

[smithie55]

looks like the 36" is all you buy at Harbor Freight

 

[oldsaw]

looks like the 36" is all you buy at Harbor Freight

36" only. Internet only. None in the stores, but only $5 or so to ship...no biggie.

Mark

 

[MikeInParadise]

I use an aluminum ladder and just attach it at a different height on each end of the log to get it centered as close as possible.

A note on this is that if the ladder is too high off the log it can be a little shaky and you must not push it too hard.

 

[dustytools]

What part of southern Indiana are you in deezulsmoke?

 

[deezulsmoke]

I am pretty close to evansville, IN. Actually closer to owensboro really.

 

[dustytools]

I am pretty close to evansville, IN. Actually closer to owensboro really.

Cool, I was born in Salem and actually lived in Paoli for several years before moving to Ky. Good luck with the mill.

 

[woodshop]

There are several types of guide rails you can buy, or you can make them from 2x6's or angle iron. Correct me if I'm wrong woodshop, but don't you use the guide rails from the ripsaw with your alaskan? As far as aligning the rails with the center of the log, you need shims under the rail at the narrow end of the log.

That is correct appalachian, I have been using the aluminum guide rails that come with the Ripsaw for my 36 inch alaskan mill. They are easy to attach to the log with the special angle iron that attaches to the guide rail, and simply gets hammered into the end of the log with two pins. They come in 5 ft sections that easily attach to one another, and thus you can make the cant as long as you want. For support in the middle of a long run, I just slide a couple felling wedges under. They are a little pricey, but you can buy those guides stand alone on the ripsaw website.

 

[deezulsmoke]

Woodshop, that is a nice looking setup. Looks like a simple and easy to use setup. When I was little my great uncle use to have a big sawmill, he ran it with a cat diesel motor. I just went by there this weekend and everything is starting to fall apart, someone has taken the motor. It had a huge round saw blade that cut, I have no idea how old it was. It was a big mill though and got the job done.

 

[gunnarfan]

Funny. Seems the only real pain with the alaskan mills is that first cut. Good idea with the ladder. Seems like even alot of the pro and simple sawmills.. bandsaws especially are trailers and ladders reconfigured.

What do I know.

 

[jgoodwin]

36" alaskan mill

I bought the 36" alaskan and mounted it on a 660. I would like to know if clamping over the joint toward the tip of the bar will cause any problems. I can move the clamp back a little and miss the joint but it will cut down on my width of cut. Any help is appreciated. Jgoodwin