help with first mill

[wi50]

I've alwayse wanted a chainsaw mill but never been around one or tried one. I went to the local GTG last weekend and got to try a GB mill on my chainsaw. I like how the GB mounts to the powerhead and bar.

I'm going to get a mill now, but am haveing a hard time finding the GB, what are your thougts on the Alaskan mill, never seen one in person?

My other option is to build one, I've got a pretty good line of machining equipment and welding equipment, but am short on time.

 

[mtngun]

About half the guys on this forum are using Alaskans. They are fine for the price and light enough to pack into the woods (unlike some of the homemade CSMs).

Nothing wrong with making your own, either, but your homemade mill will probably be heavier than an Alaskan. Not a problem if you can drive right up to the log.

Post some pictures when you get going.

 

[irishcountry]

GB mill

I have a GB never tried a alaskan a few things on the GB to me its a PITA to adjust for depth if it comes off the depth guide things have to line up perfectly square to get it back up because the guide isn't quite long enough and the slot it goes in isn't quite wide enough. One of my other pet peves is you have to crank the locking knobs down on each side with the force of popeye to have them not rattle loose during milling and fall which I found out the hard way can really screw up a nice level cut!! I suppose with some tweaking it could be fixed just haven't had time to do it to me the alaskan had been used alot on here with no big complaints and it looks alot simpler and cheaper. Just my 2 cents

 

[SilverBox]

It took me about 4-5 hours to build mine, and about 1 hour of rework to correct a few defects. Maybe 6 hours construction time.

http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=91379

 

[dallasm1]

I also have not used the GB. However the Alaskan has served me very well. I am able to change depth quickly and the bolts have never come loose (they use nylock style nuts and I double check once a milling day). The Alaskan is also easy to modify. I will be adding wheels, new handles and an auxillary oiler to mine (hand crafted), all due to suggestions from the experienced and generous AS members here. You couldn't ask for a better resource than this forum which ever way you decide to go. Good luck!

 

[BobL]

There seems to be some confusion here. Any CS mill in which the CS is attached to a portable frame that slides or is pushed or pulled along the top of the log or cant, is an alaskan mill.

An alaskan can be as simple as this.

or as complex as

Ripsaws are a type of CS mill and maybe even be considered a type of Alaskan since they are portable and ride on the log.

CS Mills that ride on rails that are not using the log itself for support or reference are IMHO "Rail Mills". These are as simple as the basic Logosol, all the way up to a Lucas mill and beyond.

The 3rd category of mill is where the log is moved past a stationary cutting device. These are usually what fully commercial mills use.

The GB mill is therefore just a variant of the alaskan mill with the mill frame mounting to the bar bolts. The advantages of this design include
- better support for heavy power heads - powerhead is also slightly closer to log
- longer cutting length (since there is no inboard clamp) and
- ability to remove chain without removing CS from mill (although this is possible with many other designs including the simple alaskan shown above)

The GB mill can be modified as much as any alaskan, search for what Aggiewoodbutcher has done to his. As far as depth adjustment goes, once you try the threaded rod height adjustment system you will wonder why all mills don't use it.

 

[dallasm1]

You are absolutely correct. My mistake for generalizing. When I speak of Alaskan, I was refering to the Granberg Alaskan MK III Chainsaw mill. I was assuming the discussion was on different brands of alaskan mills (small a), ie Granberg vs GB. There are differences between the two, however neither can match your setup Bobl!

 

[LAndrews]

Hopefully this will be useful...

I just bought a Granberg 36" and am running it with a Husky 395xp. Was surprisingly easy to get going but I clearly have lots of stuff to learn. Started another thread if you'd like to see pics of my first cut.

Don't think that you'll be disappointed with anything you buy.

 

[woodsrunner]

GB here also

I have the GB mill as well. It's a double ender so I can run 2 powerheads if I decide to later on. Right now I run it with one 395 Husky. I like the GB, to me it looks a little sturdier than the Granberg but I haven't used a Granberg so that may not be true. I do like the design of the GB because the powerhead of the saw bolts to the mill and the weight of the saw isn't hanging off the end of the bar. Again this may be simply a case of perception but I like this feature. It does require considerable force to lock the depth control knobs down tight, but once I made that first mistake I didn't have any further trouble. I found the quality of the GB to be very good (not saying others aren't good quality). I didn't find the GB to be anymore expensive than the Granberg. I am happy with my mill. In fact, I may buy another so I don't have to transport it back and forth between Florida and Kentucky. I did buy a second set of rails for the mill so when I use a 42 inch bar on it I don't have the long rails hanging off the end. The only disadvantage I have found with the GB double ended mill is you lose 10 or so inches of bar length with it, but, that is not really a problem, just need to be aware of it and select bar length accordingly. The only real problem I have had so far is not enough time to mill as much as I want.

 

[BobL]

I have the GB mill as well. It's a double ender so I can run 2 powerheads if I decide to later on. Right now I run it with one 395 Husky. I like the GB, to me it looks a little sturdier than the Granberg but I haven't used a Granberg so that may not be true.

I have used both and the GB is sturdier. Double enders don't appeal to me that much because I work alone so much and at 72lbs my set up is as much as I want to tote by myself.

I do like the design of the GB because the powerhead of the saw bolts to the mill and the weight of the saw isn't hanging off the end of the bar. Again this may be simply a case of perception but I like this feature.

Correct, saw is closer to log, In general this is good, but on extra long bars the GB mill does not compensate for bar sag as well as the clamp to bar method mills. My magnetic anti bar sag fixes that.

It does require considerable force to lock the depth control knobs down tight, but once I made that first mistake I didn't have any further trouble.

. Granberg also needs to be locked down tight. Mine does not, if I forget to set the locking cams, the all thread rods are enough to hold the height as set, if the mill is started without locking the cams they rattle like crazy and in <3 seconds you stop and lock them

I found the quality of the GB to be very good (not saying others aren't good quality). I didn't find the GB to be anymore expensive than the Granberg. I am happy with my mill. In fact, I may buy another so I don't have to transport it back and forth between Florida and Kentucky. I did buy a second set of rails for the mill so when I use a 42 inch bar on it I don't have the long rails hanging off the end.

I have 54 and 64" rails but I just leave my 64" rails on all the time.

The only disadvantage I have found with the GB double ended mill is you lose 10 or so inches of bar length with it, but, that is not really a problem, just need to be aware of it and select bar length accordingly.

I hate losing bar length, but maybe that's just me!

The only real problem I have had so far is not enough time to mill as much as I want.

Sounds very familiar.

 

[BlueRider]

I have a granberg mill that I bought used in 1994. The mill is old enough that it has pat. pend. rather than a patent number and I bought it with an early 70's saw. My mill looks as old as it is but it is still solid. last sumer I replaced the rails and I have replaced all the hardware several times. I have added a handle and an oiler. I don't know if these were items that were not available when my mill was originaly sold or if they were lost by some previous owner. the point is, all the parts were availble and fit my mill 30 years after it was originaly sold. I suspect the majority of wear my mill recieved before I aquired it was from rattling around in the back of a pick up truck, possibly with a full load unsecured chainsaws. I have milled about 5K BF with it and it is as solid as ever and always acurate.

As for the design I like the bone headed simplicity of the Granberg. nothing to screw up and the ferwer parts the better. I appriciate Bobs BIl mill and he has a great system for using it, if he wanted to gift it to me I might even pay shipping to California which is likely more than the cost of a new Granberg mill. I have been milling in an orchard that is soft dirt and on a slight incline. I would hate to hoist around a 75 lb rig in that situation. Bob and I use the same powerhead and my rig is right at 50lb with a 42" bar and it is a bit more than I would like it to be at times. If you will always have a helper handy weight is less of an issue.

I have never seen a GB mill in person.

 

[BobL]

As for the design I like the bone headed simplicity of the Granberg. nothing to screw up and the ferwer parts the better. I appriciate Bobs BIl mill and he has a great system for using it, if he wanted to gift it to me I might even pay shipping to California which is likely more than the cost of a new Granberg mill. I have been milling in an orchard that is soft dirt and on a slight incline. I would hate to hoist around a 75 lb rig in that situation. Bob and I use the same powerhead and my rig is right at 50lb with a 42" bar and it is a bit more than I would like it to be at times. If you will always have a helper handy weight is less of an issue.

Small correction, the BIL mill is 73 lb with the 60" bar and chain, the 64" mill rails and extra cross bar, and corresponding less with the 42" bar and 54" mill rails. It also depends on which bars I use, sprocket/roller/hardnose because they are also different widths. Whatever it weighs I would like it to be less. Fortunately most of my milling involves driving right up to the log otherwise I use these jockey wheels if I have to move it more than ~20 yards. I have also wheeled it through open bush with these wheels on for distances of up to 100 yards.

In January I used a 60" Granberg Mk III for a week or so and despite the greater weight was very happy to go back to the BIL mill. A month later I ended up buying a never used 56" Granberg Mk III when I bought the two saw package of milling gear and the 441 and 880 saws. I toyed with the idea of keeping the Granberg as an alternative mill, maybe modifying it a bit etc, but ended up selling it while it was in the never used condition so I could maximize the sale price.

 

[BlueRider]

I think what is obvious from Bob and my posts, other than two completely opposite opinions about the Granberg mill is that we are both happy with our set ups. To me this means we are both happy with the results we are getting i.e.; both will produce lots of good usable lumber. Personally I think how the wood is stacked, stickered and stored will have a greater affect on the quality than what rig was used to mill it with.

In the end go by what features and qualities of the mill fit your needs and personality and you will be happy with what you get.

 

[BobL]

I think what is obvious from Bob and my posts, other than two completely opposite opinions about the Granberg mill is that we are both happy with our set ups. To me this means we are both happy with the results we are getting i.e.; both will produce lots of good usable lumber. Personally I think how the wood is stacked, stickered and stored will have a greater affect on the quality than what rig was used to mill it with.

In the end go by what features and qualities of the mill fit your needs and personality and you will be happy with what you get.

I don't think our views are that opposite. I'm not saying the Granberg is a poor mill in the overall scheme of things and I do recommend these to folk who have no interest or ability to make their own mill. GB mills are very hard to come by in OZ at the moment and the two remaining brands are Granberg and Westford (an all Aussie Mill) are very similar in design and price and do a good job for what they are - simple, light and effective which are features that are a top priority for most users. If a user can and enjoys making their own gear, an alaskan mill is not a difficult project and the extra satisfaction it brings while milling is part of the whole milling process.