# First time milling questions



## billdogg (Jan 4, 2009)

I am moving to a new property, where we removed some trees. They were good size, and cut into logs. There is another tree that has fallen that's still in the timbers. The logs are mostly ash, some oak, and the fallen tree is possibly cherry. I'm not sure. I'd like to mill the logs and fallen tree to make some furniture for the new house, and other woodworking projects. I have researched the Granberg MK III chainsaw mill. The chainsaw I have now, Stihl 025, is not going to be big enough for the logs I have. The biggest logs I have are ~32" diameter. I was looking at the 36" chainsaw mill, with a 36" bar. I've done some research on saws, and see suggestions of a minimum 70cc saw, such as 372XP, or a bigger MS661. Looks like I'd be into it at least $1000 to $1500 to get started. I've looked at bandsaw mills, but they seem a bit out of the budget. Plus I don't have a means of getting the bigger logs onto the mill. The Harbor Freight mill could be within the budget, but it's listed as 20" max. I plan on selling some of the logs or cut wood to make my money back. My question is, what's a good compromise of budget for the amount of wood I have on hand. There's another stack than what I have pictures of.


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## hwebb99 (Nov 27, 2012)

I'm pretty sure the downed tree is cherry. On the extremely unlikely chance it is not rotten it is the best log you have,


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## purplenurple (Dec 15, 2013)

Um also in the same situation. Am looking for a mill. I was looking at the cheaoer 139$ chainsaw mill. Havent seen a harbkr freight one. Do you have a link?


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## nuttin tour (Jan 23, 2015)

The harbor freight one can cut a 20" wide board it could cut at least a 28" log if you cut it square then cut your boards.


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## timetestedtools (Aug 23, 2012)

I wrote these two which may be of interest.

http://lumberjocks.com/donwilwol/blog/23436

https://timetestedtools.wordpress.com/?s=saw+mill


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## johnre (Aug 27, 2009)

For a one-time use, I think hiring the job is much preferred over purchase of equipment. Someone in your area probably owns one of these, and could bring it out to your site:

http://www.norwoodsawmills.com/products-portable-sawmills/lumberpro-hd36-portable-sawmill

Being a bandsaw, the amount of wastage from the kerf would be considerably less than a chainsaw.


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## Tuko43 (Jul 17, 2013)

I recently had to remove a red oak from my office due to disease and have since built some really nice furniture with the salvaged part of the main trunk.
Unless you plan to cut more trees I would highly recommend you hire someone to do it. I hired a guy to come pick it up and quarter saw it. It was very reasonable and there is a lot more to it then just sawing up a log. I then transported the boards to my shop and stacked it for drying....which took a year. A moisture meter will help with this. The logs are also extremely heavy when wet and unless you have the equipment to handle them it can be dangerous.
Trying to justify the extra cost is like trying to justify having a boat to save money on fish.


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## thewalnutguy (Oct 31, 2010)

I agree with the approach of hiring someone with a portable bandmill. To locate someone in your area you could contact Woodmizer, they've got a list of owners who do custom work. 
I tried the chainmill approach years back. It's typically very slow, you'll probably spend as much time sharpening the chain (which should be a ripping chain, not the typical chain) as you do cutting. The waste factor is very high, several times over that of a bandmill. Not only is the kerf much wider, the surface of the boards will require a lot more planing. Looking at the picture of the pile of logs, I see one and possibly two others that could be worth milling. The downed tree does look like cherry (does it have a scaly (like fish scales?) bard, and if solid would be well worth milling. Bandmill will get twice as much finished lumber as a chainsaw mill (assuming 1" lumber). I've milled quite a few cherry logs of about that size from my property and highly value the material I've recovered. Very seldom will you find cherry logs as straight as that one appears to be.


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