Buying an Alaskan small log mill

[HappyHammer]

Hi,

I'm a newbie on this forum and this is my first post so be kind fellas

I've been thinking about buying a chainsaw for ages and I have some English Oak logs, picture below, and I've been quoted A$ 2-300 to mill them into planks. I looked up the Alaskan mills and I can buy a small log mill for A$ 330 so thought this might be a better way to go. It's unlikely I'll get my hands on any logs bigger than 50cm across so this should be fine.

Any views would be appreciated on the best saw for these types of mills and / or on the mill itself also pictured below.

HH.

 

[clearance]

Welcome to the site H.H., help will be along soon.

 

[HappyHammer]

Bump

HH.

 

[sloth9669]

dark spot on the log.....

iam not a pro by any means but from what i have seen and what i have been told thats a sign of metal in there...if iam wrong someone please correct me...and best of luck

 

[BobL]

Hi Happy - I'm surprised no one has shown up so let me not disappoint you. I'll give my point of view and if nothing else let others shout me down?

You didn't say how long the logs were but if they are no more than 6ft and if you only plan to mill a couple of logs a year in your back garden then a big cheap electric might suffice.

On the other hand if you plan to do it more regularly and/or go bush, a simple answer is a brand petrol saw like Stihl or a Husky. Even brand names offer grades of saw eg consumer, farm, semi pro or pro. Milling is quite hard on saws so a plastic bodied garden pruner type consumer chain saw is not going to last long. Generally a pro-saw will last longer but is probably overkill for occasional use.

The next you need to think about the size or power of the engine. A 20" cut will generally require a 24" blade and something like 3 - 3.5 HP or thereabouts to drive it. While some 50 cc saws will generate this sort of power they will have to work harder or longer to do the job than a bigger saw. If time is not an issue, you have short logs and you are not milling that often a well tended 50 - 60 cc brand name, new or near new, semi or pro 60cc saw would be fine.

You haven't mentioned any Aussie hardwood. If you are going to tackle any of this I would suggest something in the 5HP 70-75cc range for a 24 inch blade in Aussie hardwood.

Of course if you have loads of money a bigger saw will do the job easier - but it will be more expensive and heavier to cart around.

I hope this helps but I'm sure there are others with more experience that can provide more advice.

 

[curdy]

Not 100% sure what your question is. Are you asking if you should purchase a saw and a csm? If that's the main questions I think I can feel safe in speaking for just about everyone here with a: "Heck yeah, go for it."

If the question is about the size of the mill...from what I can tell, its not that much more $ to get a larger size mill for a Granberg. Nice thing is that it can be adjusted to work on a smaller scale if that's what you'll be doing most often...but will allow you the larger size when (and I'll bet you will) you come across the larger logs. Just a thought to consider. Of course, if you ever want to mill larger logs you'll need a larger saw... and that opens up a whole different topic!

 

[HappyHammer]

Thanks guys,

I don't want to over work the saw (I'm assuming the easier for the saw the safer as you're not pushing it beyond it's limits?) and in all likelihood I'll come across some aussie hardwood logs so it looks like a 75cc petrol with 24" blade.

Is Granberg a make of mill or a type of mill? I'll google it and take a look.

HH.

 

[HappyHammer]

Is Granberg a make of mill or a type of mill? I'll google it and take a look.

Ahhh you mean a larger mill of the same type...took me a while but I got there.

HH.

 

[dustytools]

First of all, welcome to the site. I own a small log mill and a 30 inch Alaskan (both made by Granberg). The small log mill is good for just that (smaller logs) in the 10-12 inch range. The main advantage to the full blown mill is that both ends of the bar are supported by the mill. Dont get me wrong I would suggest using the smaller mill if you dont do a lot of milling but as Curdy said if the price increase is not too great I would surely pick the Alaskan first. I made the mistake of going with the 30 inch unit instead of the 36. I havent needed the extra width yet but Im sure that I will someday. Happy milling!

 

[woodshop]

Welcome Happy Hammer... if you do some searching on the subject you will find tons of info on how big of a saw you can get away with for the size you want to mill. BobL summed things up nicely. Bottom line... 60cc very minimum unless you will always only mill 12 inch (30cm down your way) dia or less. As for the Granberg mill, don't get anything less than a 36". Remember you lose 5-6 inches (15cm) because of the way the mill attaches to the bar. My 36 inch Granberg with a 36 inch bar will mill max only 31 inches (78cm) of log.

Lots of variables though, thus lots of different answers.

I agree with sloth9669... a black area in an oak log usually means metal buried in there somewhere, so be careful. That black follows the grain up and down the tree, so that metal will be in that side of the tree, but could be anywhere up or down its length.

 

[HappyHammer]

Thanks for the welcome and the advice....

HH.

 

[murphyranch]

"Bottom line... 60cc very minimum unless you will always only mill 12 inch (30cm down your way) dia or less. As for the Granberg mill, don't get anything less than a 36". Remember you lose 5-6 inches (15cm) because of the way the mill attaches to the bar. My 36 inch Granberg with a 36 inch bar will mill max only 31 inches (78cm) of log. "

Happy,

I agree with WOODSHOP I bought a Alaskan Small log mill and wish now I would have bought the 36" instead as most of my logs so far have been right on the edge of what my 20" bar on my 029 stihl will handle. I wish now I would have found this forum before I did my purchase. Also the 029 so far has done ok but I an sure once I get into some hardwood I will be really be taking a beating. I am looking at building my own mill and picking up an 066 or bigger to put on it.. Just thought I would throw my 2 bits worth in as I just wandered down that road you are on now. Good luck

Murph

 

[1953greg]

woodshop

"My 36 inch Granberg with a 36 inch bar will mill max only 31 inches (78cm) of log."

i also have a 36" granberg alaskan mill on a 42" bar and can squeeze out 35" by mounting both brackets, between the upright tubing and the cross rails, so that the 90* angle is inward on both. not sure how to explain it but i think the light wil come on when you look. assuming you have enough bar.

 

[woodshop]

"My 36 inch Granberg with a 36 inch bar will mill max only 31 inches (78cm) of log."

i also have a 36" granberg alaskan mill on a 42" bar and can squeeze out 35" by mounting both brackets, between the upright tubing and the cross rails, so that the 90* angle is inward on both. not sure how to explain it but i think the light wil come on when you look. assuming you have enough bar.

This does make sense, since the limitation is mostly in the bar, not the Granberg itself since you can't go to the very end of the bar (sprocket type) or you will pinch the sprocket. Also if you leave the dogs on, that sometimes takes a few inches of your bar. The actual mill itself can be tweaked all the way out to 36" if your bar is long enough.

 

[1953greg]

wood

another detail,
i noticed a "crown" in the board and couldnt figure out why. found out that w/ a 42" bar the weight of the power head puts enough weight on the bar that it causes a flex of bout 1/8 to 3/16" in the middle of the bar. solution is to attach a tarp strap between the saw wrap handle and the top of the upright post of the mill nearest the power head. adjust strap tension to negate bar flex.

but of course if one wants a crown then thats another deal.

 

[BobL]

I attached my 42" bar to my new mill last night and measured 39" of milling cut. This is because I use a hardnose bar and a onesided outboard bar clamp mechanism can sit within 1/2" of the chain @ the nose end. Inboard I removed the dogs and the mill frame protects the saw from contact with the log. And because the mill is bolted directly to the bar bolts there is also no milling bow effect.

Cheers

 

[HappyHammer]

Can you attach any size bar to a saw or is there an equation of cc's to bar size?

ps. Bob you forgot to tell them the story about buying the bar.opcorn:

HH.

 

[BobL]

Can you attach any size bar to a saw or is there an equation of cc's to bar size?

ps. Bob you forgot to tell them the story about buying the bar.opcorn:

HH.

You mean the bragging rights story?

RE: Can you attach any size bar to a saw or is there an equation of cc's to bar size?

There's no clear equation, but lot's of experience.
The variables include; -

1. saw power (rather than cc)
2. quality of engine build
3. type/hardness of wood,
4. chain and a mountain of chain variables,
5. length of bar/cut,
6. time taken to cut,
7. longevity of engine, and
8. length of grandma's nose (well . . . . maybe not !).

If you can identify all bar one of the variables above maybe we can pitch in and recommend what you need/expect for the remaining one.

Also nothing works quite as you might expect. EG: In principle you should be able to halve the number of cutters on a chain and use twice as long a bar but it's not that simple because frictional power loss between the bar-chain-wood also also increases with a longer bar

Cheers

 

[woodshop]

1. saw power (rather than cc)
2. quality of engine build
3. type/hardness of wood,
4. chain and a mountain of chain variables,
5. length of bar/cut,
6. time taken to cut,
7. longevity of engine, and
8. length of grandma's nose (well . . . . maybe not !).

I'm with BobL on this one completely. Where I come from here on east coast, there are dozens and dozens of species to mill, some more valuable than others but each has some redeeming quality, if only that it is cheap and plentiful. Add to that diversity of wood the plethora of chainsaws and power bands and types of chains etc... and there are very few absolutes in that mix. It's kinda like somebody asking you how to drive. Drive what... bicycle, car, tractor trailer or M60 battletank??? Start with some basics and then start milling, and build a kindof "experience database" partially from listening to others that have done it, but also trial and error to fit your circumstances. When you find you have tuned in a wood/saw/mill setup for a certain set of circumstances, jump on here and share it with the rest of us.