# First shot at milling a log



## BanditGTP (Dec 6, 2013)

Recently we had to have a few trees removed by my job and since I was tasked with arranging the removal with a local tree service, I figured that I should also be able to do what I want with the logs. The tree service said 1 tree was oak and the other 2 were cherry. I asked him to leave some behind so I could play around with it to see if I could get some lumber out of them. Some of the trees were cut up for firewood and he still left me with 4 decent size pieces to play with. One of the cherry trees was dead for a few years and was full of bugs so he took that so I got left with a 7' piece of cherry about 13" in diameter. The 3 oak pieces are about 10' and range from 10" to 20" thick. This was a nice score since my job paid for the removal ($2000)but I got to keep the wood.:thumbsup:

I've seen several videos and web sites showing chainsaw sawmills and decided to build a homemade version based on the Alaskan Chainsaw Mill. Not as fancy but it did the job.

I was using a friend's chainsaw that was brand new (never had gas in it). It was a Poulan Pro PP4218A. Basically it is 42cc with a 18" blade. It worked fine on the first 2 cuts except that it kept bogging down if I put too much pressure on it. On the 3rd cut, the saw stalled half way through. Started back up but stalled shortly there after. It kept stalling out and then eventually when I was 5 inches from finishing this 3rd pass, it appears the motor seized.:thumbdown:

I kind of know that this saw probably wasn't made to handle this but do you think I was doing something wrong. I mean should a chainsaw be able to run under load for 6 minutes straight without having problems. I seem to feel the chainsaw was just so underpowered and not made for this that it just broke. I'll probably tell my buddy he's out of luck and the chainsaw was a piece of junk to begin with. I actually did him a favor by junking it for him.:laughing: Just kidding...I'll have to see how long ago he bought it and hopefully its still under some sort of warranty otherwise I stopped and HD and saw they have a Poulan Pro with a 20" blade right now for $169.

I also might look into finding a mill that I can take these logs to and have them cut it up for me. It's not as easy up here in NJ. Woodworking and especially logging isn't that popular around here.


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## BanditGTP (Dec 6, 2013)

I almost forgot...Everyone always likes pictures. 

I'm just taking the tree cutter's word on it but does this look like cherry?


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## FishFactory (Nov 8, 2013)

Poulan is the cheapest piece of junk saw there is. I am not surprised it burned up doing that. Most guys using those Alaskan Mills go with Stihl or Husky, On Stihl I would not go less than a 660, maybe a 440 but 660 is better. A 660 is 91 cc....they are big saws. Also, need to use a ripping chain, its a skip tooth chain that's ground differently to cut across the end grain, way less work on the saw.

As for the wood, bark looks like cherry....not sure if its black cherry though, maybe pin cherry? Hard to tell in the picture.


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## mako1 (Jan 25, 2014)

If I was in this situation with you I would say you are a POS.You borrow your buddies brand new saw and use it for something it is not designed for and tear it up.Then tell him it was a POC saw to begin with and he is out of luck?Glad I don't have any friends like you.
Then try and screw the company on a warranty by using the saw for something it was not made for.
Your "just kidding "remark is hard to believe.


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## BanditGTP (Dec 6, 2013)

mako1 said:


> If I was in this situation with you I would say you are a POS.You borrow your buddies brand new saw and use it for something it is not designed for and tear it up.Then tell him it was a POC saw to begin with and he is out of luck?Glad I don't have any friends like you.
> Then try and screw the company on a warranty by using the saw for something it was not made for.
> Your "just kidding "remark is hard to believe.


Hey dude what's with the attack on me? Lighten up. Sounds like you sat on a chisel today. Maybe those Kotex ads were aimed to you.

There's no reason in the world I owe you an explanation but just to cover a few bases:

My buddy is pretty well off and always buys "toys" just because he wants to and there are plenty he may never even use...like this saw. He also knew what I was going to try to do and said "No problem. Go for it!" I haven't spoke to him yet but I'm thinking he may tell me not to even bother buying him another one. (I would buy him one or give him the $$ so he could buy another "toy".)

I also mentioned I stopped by HD to price out a new one to replace his. Not as another one for me to try again. There is no way I would "stick him with it" if I screwed it up. I'm not as well off as he is but I also don't have a problem laying out ~$200 if that is what it would cost to replace his.

With regard to the saw...it was a POC to begin with. I had to take the top cover off the saw to see what was going on with it since the choke would not pull out as stated in the directions. I found out that there wasn't anything preventing it except for a poor design. I nearly needed to use a pair of pliers in order to pull it fully out. That was the first sign that it definitely wasn't a Stihl. The first 2 passes I made didn't even cut the entire length of the log. 
The first pass cut approx. 2', then barely skinned the bark for the next 3; and didn't even touch the log for the last foot. 
The second pass cut for the first 3' and then again barely skinned the log for the remaining 3'.
The third and final cut is what you see in the pictures. The start of the cut was approx 8" wide and then drops down to a rather narrow cut.
I don't really think I put that much stress on the saw between these 3 cuts to warrant the motor seizing up.

I posted here originally to show what I came up with and my score on the logs. I also had some questions regarding the wood and my technique. Apparently this isn't the place for that. My mistake.


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## BanditGTP (Dec 6, 2013)

FishFactory said:


> Poulan is the cheapest piece of junk saw there is. I am not surprised it burned up doing that. Most guys using those Alaskan Mills go with Stihl or Husky, On Stihl I would not go less than a 660, maybe a 440 but 660 is better. A 660 is 91 cc....they are big saws. Also, need to use a ripping chain, its a skip tooth chain that's ground differently to cut across the end grain, way less work on the saw.
> 
> As for the wood, bark looks like cherry....not sure if its black cherry though, maybe pin cherry? Hard to tell in the picture.


Thanks for the suggestions. I'm not sure I'm going to go down this route much more. It was fun but I don't know how many times I would ever do this again. I don't have many trees in NJ that I would be able to cut down and mill. None in my neighborhood. My other house in PA on the other hand has 11 acres but I don't get up there as much as I would like. 

I found a mill in PA (1.5 hours away)that would cut the logs for me at a rate of $5 per minute on the mill and a typical log 8" long and 10" to 12" thick would take about 5-6 minutes. I may see about going this route. I have a full size work van but it would be pretty hard to load and unload. I might have to see about borrowing a buddy's pickup truck to carry the logs. :surrender: (Just kidding again. Just making a reference to the previous post). I'll actually hook up a trailer to my truck.


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## mikeswoods (May 18, 2009)

Your home made mill did a nice job--At one time I had 7 Poulane saws--all broken and given to me for free---I didn't want them and never fixed any of them----

Nice find---


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## BanditGTP (Dec 6, 2013)

mikeswoods said:


> Your home made mill did a nice job--At one time I had 7 Poulane saws--all broken and given to me for free---I didn't want them and never fixed any of them---- Nice find---


Thanks a lot. A bunch if guys at my job were all intrigued and puzzled by what I was building and couldn't believe the finished product. 
One of the younger guys (23yrs old) asked me after I made the last slab, "Now what can you do with it?" I looked at him and told him it was wood. You can use it for just about anything. 
Another "kid" was amazed and asked "so that's how they make wood". No Mother Nature makes wood in the shape of a tree. I was making lumber.
These 2 guys have never really been involved with building things too much and are probably too busy just watching rap videos all day long.


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## mikeswoods (May 18, 2009)

I love this forum---what an amazing feeling opening up a log and hoping to find the perfect board--

It's the same feeling we had as kids shucking ousters and hoping for a pearl.

Have fun----post a picture of your home made mill if you don't mind---Mike----


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## djg (Dec 24, 2009)

I'd like to see a photo of your jig. What did you fabricate it out of?


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## BanditGTP (Dec 6, 2013)

We have a good amount of Unistrut at my job and since you can bolt everything together it worked out perfect. I thought I was going to need to have some support at the tip of the blade but once I clamped it to the saw it was surprisingly sturdy. I don't have any pics with me but I'll get a few tomorrow at work and post them for you.


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## BanditGTP (Dec 6, 2013)

Here are a few pictures I took today.


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## djg (Dec 24, 2009)

It looks easy enough. What did you use as a shim to keep the strut away from the bar when you clamp the jig to the bar?


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## BanditGTP (Dec 6, 2013)

I just cut 2 small pieces (about 1/8" thick) from a 2x4 I had laying around. My thinking was that if it shifted and started to rub on the back of the chain, it was soft enough that it would just get worn away. I was worried if I used something made of steel and it shifted, it could cause damage to the chain.


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