# Light Milling with Electric Chainsaw (it works!)



## mackman (Mar 2, 2016)

So I had a tree that needed to come down in my backyard, and i also had a big chunk of walnut that I'd been wanting to cut into two slabs for a while. I bought the 18-inch Worx electric chainsaw because from the reviews, I knew it would do the trick with regard to the tree. And if it didn't work with the slab...well, the tree had to come down anyway, and the saw was only $95. 

But it works! And it didn't even take very long to do it, either. I didn't notice any significant slow-down or stalling even at its thickest (14-15 inches), and since it's electric, I didn't have to deal with any fumes, didn't have to buy any gas, and didn't even make all that much noise, either!

Anyway, I'm pretty psyched by the result. It's not perfect, but that's all due to the slap-dash nature of my "guide" rather than anything about the saw itself, and I'm really excited to take it to my parents' house and take care of the slabs I have over there. 

Anyway, the main reason I'm posting this is because I'd done a lot of searching on whether this was even possible with an electric saw, and hadn't seen anyone saying "Yes, it is, I've done it". So...that's what this is, for anyone else who's interested in doing some very light milling and doesn't want to drop a ton of money on a powerful gas saw!


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## hawkeye10 (Feb 18, 2015)

mackman said:


> So I had a tree that needed to come down in my backyard, and i also had a big chunk of walnut that I'd been wanting to cut into two slabs for a while. I bought the 18-inch Worx electric chainsaw because from the reviews, I knew it would do the trick with regard to the tree. And if it didn't work with the slab...well, the tree had to come down anyway, and the saw was only $95.
> 
> But it works! And it didn't even take very long to do it, either. I didn't notice any significant slow-down or stalling even at its thickest (14-15 inches), and since it's electric, I didn't have to deal with any fumes, didn't have to buy any gas, and didn't even make all that much noise, either!
> 
> ...


That is hard to believe that this little chainsaw did all that. Great job. So what are you going to make with those slabs? Looks like a lot of hard work ahead for you.


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## mackman (Mar 2, 2016)

hawkeye10 said:


> That is hard to believe that this little chainsaw did all that. Great job. So what are you going to make with those slabs? Looks like a lot of hard work ahead for you.


Yeah, this saw is an unexpected beast, that's for sure!

First, the slabs have to dry for quite some time. I've had it in my garage for a year and a half now, so the outer inch on each side is dry, but the middle was still quite damp - which meant that not even half an hour after I'd made the cuts, I was starting to get some SERIOUS warping as each slab bent inwards towards the wet side. For now, they're clamped to one of my workbenches to keep them flat, until I can get my router sled, do some initial flattening, and then stack and sticker them (probably with some cinder blocks on top) for a more permanent storage solution. 

Once they're ready, though, I have two ideas. One is a round coffee table with a resin river joining the slabs right in the middle: The other is a dining table with these two slabs on the ends, and walnut leaves in between. I like both ideas: I guess when the time comes, I'll ask around and see if anybody on my Facebook is interested in either of those options.


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## Brian72 (Jun 10, 2018)

My understanding is an electric saw will have good torque which is a good thing for milling. Certainly not something for heavy loads but an occasional project should be fine. Nice job!

Sent from my Moto E (4) using Tapatalk


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