Chain saw "mills"?

[GT2]

Hi guys, I'm hopefully going to be building a pole shop next summer ( with tractor help) and was wondering what you think of these small chain saw mills?
The area I'll be clearing has some medium sized pines on it. Do you think I could make my own 6x posts?
Any input would be appreciated.
Thanks, Tim

 

[Egon]

Yes you could mill the posts. It may take awhile though.

What kind of mill were you considering?

 

[2manyrocks]

I remember reading some article that concluded that chain saw milling was a lot of physical work especially compared to band saw mills. The chain saw mills are less expensive, but you work harder and you make more sawdust.

 

[GT2]

Yes you could mill the posts. It may take awhile though.

What kind of mill were you considering?

Its the type that has a rolling jig that holds the C saw and moves on tracks.
Any wood quality conserns? Or is it obvious, watch out for knots etc.?

 

[Stimw]

Do some research on bandsaw mills, check google and ebay. They are a lot better in that they cut a lot thinner pass, you can get off of the shelf wood blades. They are building them using air tires for the wheels. If you are creative you can build your own and have a nice machine..

 

[SPIKER]

I would say buy PT beams, you can mill trees well enough but for pole barn you need to have treated lumber that is planted in the ground or else rot & termites will have fun with in a few years the posts will be done at ground level...

the chainsaw mills will be worth wile if you are out in remote areas, otherwise to buy a good saw that will cut through a 20" log slab will cost a lot of work & effort. Cost wise it would be better to take the logs to someone to have them milled on a band saw or hire a operator to come to you to cut them. siding plants ect would work same for above ground 2x materials.

mark

 

[dillo99]

Look into hiring someone with a portable mill. I had a friend who lost a bunch of oak trees to one of those micro burst wind storms. He found a guy with a mill who would bring it in for about $300 per day. My friend got all the oak ready to go (right lengths, dragged to an open spot, etc.). The guy with the mill showed up and was done in less than a day and they cut a LOT of wood. My buddy basically built a two story barn out of what was cut (frame - not siding). He had a list of what he wanted and the guy just cut away. He said it was very impressive.

I have thought about one of those chain saw mills too - for smaller jobs. Let us know if you decide to do it.

 

[GT2]

I would say buy PT beams, you can mill trees well enough but for pole barn you need to have treated lumber that is planted in the ground or else rot & termites will have fun with in a few years the posts will be done at ground level...

mark

Well I was going to plant them in concrete and treat the first couple of feet above ground. Would that work?

 

[BigE_]

Well I was going to plant them in concrete and treat the first couple of feet above ground. Would that work?

Nope, that isn't going to work. I just replaced all the posts in my pole barn that were done exactly how you are describing. They were all completely rotted out at the base and in the concrete. This was cedar...

Here's a couple of pics...

If you do want to treat them yourself, you can soak them in a barrel of used motor oil for about 6 months. The stuff you paint on just doesn't soak into the wood very well.

 

[Egon]

A bandsaw mill would definitely be faster and easier.

You could treat the posts yourself by placing them in a barrel of [ treatment chemical of your choice] . Done properly the chemical will be carried up and saturate the post. This is a much different and more effective procedure than painting on a preservative. We used to treat fence posts this way using copper sulfate or "Bluestone" as we called it.

For the chainsaw mill there are different chains available. Some of the wood milled with a narrow kerf chain that I have seen was surprisingly smooth.

I have used a chainsaw to mill lumber but only for shorter lengths. For my purposes it works well.