long timber csming help please

[northwest coast]

hi so i've been milling red and yellow cedar for a little while now and enjoy it thoroughly. when i wipe off the saw dust to make another cut it often gets a little bit too involved, and i usually still smell every board.

anyway, i could use your help. my friend wants to build a shelter for his portable band mill. he wants to span the entire 30 foot length of it with a spruce timber so that there is no middle support post to get in the way of removing timber from the mill. since he can only cut 20 foot logs, he asked me to mill that spruce beam for him. heres the pitch:

how should i set up a guide for milling a 30 foot timber ?? also, does anybody have anything to say about milling spruce compared to cedar that i should be aware of ?? any help will be rewarded with nothing but the self satisfied feeling of helping a brother in need, thanks !

 

[oldsaw]

You can create "path" using the same guide but moving it as the saw moves forward. In other words, you can use a 10 foot guide board, run the saw 9 feet down it, than have it set up to move the guide another few feet down the log. In the Chainsaw Lumbermaking book, he uses lag screws and a level to create a level surface on which to slide the board. Zip screws would work too. Stop the saw, slide the board forward, and continue until you are out of board, slide and continue.

 

[northwest coast]

yeah i've done the lag bolt method before and i favor a ladder screwed to the log but i guess either way i'll just have to move it ahead each time. i thought about screwing 2x4s to each side of the log and get them all leveled and lined up. i'd rather do it in one pass to try to get a smooth cut, not that i'm restoring westminster abbey or anything, but i might as well try to do a good job. thanks for the help.

 

[Brmorgan]

You might want to check out this thread I posted about a year ago:

http://www.arboristsite.com/milling-saw-mills/129503.htm

I milled a 26' 8X12" Douglas Fir beam with only an 8' 2X10 as a guide board, to use in my shop to build an upper level for storage. Pretty much everything I'd have to say about this is in the thread, so read thru it and if you have any questions I'd be more than happy to oblige. Have fun, I love milling big stuff like this, especially when it turns out well.

As for spruce vs. cedar, if the cedar is very dry it can want to tear out easily if you have an aggressive chain. Though to be fair, spruce can do that too, but not as much in my experience. Spruce is structurally stronger, if you were wondering about that...