the only way you will make money with an Alaskan is to cut wide and interesting stuff that would get top dollar. Regular production isn't going to happen.
Even a manual bandmill isn't going to get the production needed to make a real living without killing you in the process.
Mark
stumpjumper83, listen to what oldsaw says about the manual mill. Trying to make a living cutting logs over 20" dbh with a manual mill will work you to death, slowly
I bought a 36" alaskan/stihl 066 along with a ripsaw and it's a great combination for personal use or cutting big slabs to sale. Other than that, I wouldn't recommend it for production use. I ended up buying a manual mill to cut dimensional pine to rebuild a couple of barns destroyed by a hurricane and can tell you cutting the advertised bf/hr is very diffucult, everything has to be just right. If your planning on making a living cutting lumber I'd strongly recommend hydraulics; log loader, log turner, height adjustment and power feed. Anything less will put you in the poor house and leave you exhausted.
And don't forget about the limitations of the mill, mine is 29" diameter x 18'-6" long logs. I'm going to need the csm just to get this log cut down to haul and fit the mill.
The saw on top of the stump is a stihl 066 with a 36" bar. The log is 37 1/2 inch dbh.
I think I'll cut this one in 4 pieces to quarter saw, big saw and bar needed but not the csm frame.
This is the second log, still 36" dia. There was a lot of limbs forking out the top of this log, I'll have to use the csm to slab it down. I'l probably just saw it with the csm/ripsaw in place, Couldn't get the mill to it even if it would fit.
Just a pict of the limbs I had to cut, the biggest was over 24".
So even if you decide to go with a portable bandmill you might still want to consider a big saw/bar combination. And while you at it, the csm frame is only about $150 more.
Best of luck with you decision, any more questions just ask.