Lumber Maker

[jhb]

I was perusing one of my tool catalogs and came across a lumber maker. NE1 hear of this? This seems really cool and I have been thinking about trying to build one because I did not know they existed.

After a search, I also found attachments so you can notch lumber. I would really like to build a post and beam outbuilding with the old trees I take down on my property.

I figured with all the tree removal projects going on, someone else might find this interesting. Lumber Maker

Do these work?

 

[Youare]

There are many variations of that style of chainsaw mill around. They will produce lumber from round logs. You will need a decent size chainsaw, also the chain needs to be sharpened differently to rip wood than to crosscut as you normally cut with a chainsaw.

Most companies will offer chains specially sharpened for milling but you can do it yourself, there are many internet sites that show you just how the chain needs to look.

If you are going to make a big building it may take a while to mill out the timbers necessary but you will enjoy the time and learn many thngs.

Randy

 

[kensfarm]

Here's a quick list of some of them...

http://forestry.about.com/od/portamills/tp/port_chain_mill.htm


I have the Alaskan Mark III.. you can make beams and boards... but it is time consuming & hard work.

 

[inveresk]

Also with these, the amount of wood you lose because of kerf, the thickness of the saw, is high. If you mill small size lumber, the wood loss can be very high. Thinnest kerf is with a bandmill followed by some of the swing blade mills.

 

[EddieWalker]

I have one that I used to cut some oak logs into beams in my ceiling. You can look through my post in the Projects section called "Creating a workshop and home"

I forget who made it off the top of my head, but if you're interested, I'll look it up, just ask.

I also paid around $40 for mine. I don't know which one is better, but mine works great for roughing out a square beam.

I need to cut a few more to finish off my house, but there's no rush on that. When the weather cools off, then I'll get around to it.

Egon also had a post on one he built himself. PM him or search around for it. His was much nicer and he's much more knowledgable about them than I am.

As for chains, I just use regular ones. If I do allot of it, I'll look into special cuts, but my chains are used for everything and I'm not interested in having special cuts on them at this time. Later I can see the advantage, just not yet.

Eddie

 

[Egon]

I paid $20.00 at House of Tools for the one shown.

Found the set screws to hold it to the bar would work loose. Drilled the bar and put bolts thru which worked better. Like my own design better as it gives a little more stability and more accuracy.

These type of systems work well for making square or large pieces of dimensional lumber. For thinner pieces the kerf loss is high as well as the time factor is high. They do work well for small jobs,short logs or stuff that a mill has trouble handling.

Egon /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[have_blue]

I've milled a few boards, and it's not something you want to do on an extended basis! Milling lumber will give your chain saw the equivalent of years of work in a day or 2. The bar will probably be well on the way to wearing out in 6-8 hours of steady sawing. The smoke, oil, and vibration will start wearing on you. The vibration made my hands burn like they are stung by fire ants after about an hour of steady sawing.

If I find the right logs, I will do it again just to make a fine big board or beam that one simply can't find at the lumber yard. But I would never go through that ordeal again to make common building material. No sir! /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[ScottAR]

If you'd like more ideas, or just more help spending your money...
Forestry Forum

HTH

 

[crb478]

I have one and they do work, but they are labor intensive. Ususlly get a better product by hiring a band saw mill operator to come to you. On the plus side, they are great for cutting in doorways and window openings. Just nail your domentional lumber in place as a guide and you can get nice straight square cuts with little effort.

 

[Slamfire]

I use an Alaskan model modified as directed in Will Malloff's book, "Chainsaw Lumbermaking". This get you on the opposite end of the log out of the smoke and away from the vibration. Trouble is the book is out of print and if you can find one will cost around $100. Let's see now, book $100, Alaskan mill $135, usec Stihl 066 chainsaw $500, getting out of the smoke and vibration and makin' somethin' useful out of the beetle killed SYP, priceless. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif