Simple sawmill setup
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I like that. Simple, shaded, works.
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I wonder where the sawdust goes on this model. Maybe the chute takes it over the half/knee wall?
Since it is too HOT out, I thought I would come in and I found this thread I think I can add to. I grew up on the west coast of BC and was involved with logging for several years. Since moving to the Cariboo I did find a need for my big old Husky.
This is my sawmill set up, it doesn't get much simpler and cheaper. I modified my old alasken sawmill toadd the v-wheels, bought two pieces of angle iron and stuck it on my car trailer. The end result is smooth, straight boards.
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This is my sawmill set up, it doesn't get much simpler and cheaper. I modified my old alasken sawmill toadd the v-wheels, bought two pieces of angle iron and stuck it on my car trailer. The end result is smooth, straight boards.
............fluidp , very simple and mobile setup . I'm curious , how many passes can you make with your chainsaw before having to change blades ? With enough blades and time you could cut the necessary lumber for a nice cabin with your simple setup . Also , do you push the chainsaw to cut each board and leave the log stationary ? Maybe a dumb question but I've never done any "sawing" . , thanks , fordy
You could very easily mill enough lumber for a small cabin or what ever you want to build. Yes I push the saw through the log. You need to keep one hand on the throttle and with a properly sharpened chain you can ripp through a lot of lumber in a day. It will take a bit to get used to the setup and every one is a bit different. If you are cutting clean wood you can cut maybe 2000 linial feet of boards. It would be easy to make a few changes to the setup I have to make it easier to use, but I am happy with what I have for now.
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Nice setup fluidp,
I might have to try that....Looks like an easy set up to build, or at least easy enough for those mechanically challenged.
I might have to try that....Looks like an easy set up to build, or at least easy enough for those mechanically challenged.
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nice setup fluidp. heres a link to plans for making the Alaska Mill, someone could add the legs, wheels, and angle iron tracks. and there you go.
http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles/tresl39.html
dean
http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles/tresl39.html
dean
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I run a portable mobile dimension sawmill that my dad and I bought 21 years ago, and we have put a couple bdft through it over those years..... a circle mill that is about as easy to use as there is, can be broke apart and packed anywhere in the world on mules [or i spect by hand] I have never had the pleasure of a roof over it, soive shoveled snow from bothe the mill and lumber piles, cut in weather of 3 below zero [call me stubborn but i still put in a day of it] and in weather over 100 degrees F [ok call me foolish but i had an order to get out] this year when it got hot I decided to only run a part of the day, so i got up and ran from 4 am to about 9 am when it got around 85-90F out..... that old Volkswagen just gets to hot to run much above that.... and I just cant seem to take the heat anymore.....
For those folks who want vriety and simplicity I found an outfit up in BC that makes what i think might be pretty nice milling machines for the light commercial outfit like myself and the medium commercial as well. D and L double cut their twin mill is similar to the Oregon made Mobile Manufacturing mill I run, though I believe that Dave and Lindsay get a few dollars more for their mills of comparable size...... and of course they have a couple of their mills like the eco mill that can be packed in and set right on a log in the middle of nowhere too...... I never have cared that much for band mills like the original post started with, but shoot I may end up with one in the next few weeks to run if only for awhile to do some resawing of timbers with that have been salvaged out of old timber frame buildings [ a friend gave me a shout today about a 50 mbdft order and something about a 30-45 day window to do it in... but no firm price today]
and anyone wanting to check out available used millls across the the several states and provinces can do so on the Sawmill Exchange
William
Central Idaho
For those folks who want vriety and simplicity I found an outfit up in BC that makes what i think might be pretty nice milling machines for the light commercial outfit like myself and the medium commercial as well. D and L double cut their twin mill is similar to the Oregon made Mobile Manufacturing mill I run, though I believe that Dave and Lindsay get a few dollars more for their mills of comparable size...... and of course they have a couple of their mills like the eco mill that can be packed in and set right on a log in the middle of nowhere too...... I never have cared that much for band mills like the original post started with, but shoot I may end up with one in the next few weeks to run if only for awhile to do some resawing of timbers with that have been salvaged out of old timber frame buildings [ a friend gave me a shout today about a 50 mbdft order and something about a 30-45 day window to do it in... but no firm price today]
and anyone wanting to check out available used millls across the the several states and provinces can do so on the Sawmill Exchange
William
Central Idaho
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nice looking mill setup agman, too often you see these set up in the open with no way of sawing in the rain (our only spare time it seems!) i like the band mills for small boards where a circ or chainsaw mill takes a chunk of lumber outa the log as sawdust, they are great for squaring where the waste is slab but not nice seeing good maple, walnut or cherry lying in a dust pile!
fluidp that is a very nice log hoist ya got!! mill set up looks good to, any problem with the oiler feed? we have a large hydraulic powered saw that we are looking too use as a mill/fire wood blocker, way too massive to haul through the bush!
fluidp that is a very nice log hoist ya got!! mill set up looks good to, any problem with the oiler feed? we have a large hydraulic powered saw that we are looking too use as a mill/fire wood blocker, way too massive to haul through the bush!
Ford major, The saw in the pics has a bum manual oiler, so I give the chain a squirt every cut, my other huskythat I normally use has a good manual oiler.
Blu3duk, The D & L Double Cut link you added, they are located about 40 miles from where I live, The put out a very nice mill, but you will pay for it.
Blu3duk, The D & L Double Cut link you added, they are located about 40 miles from where I live, The put out a very nice mill, but you will pay for it.
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I am about 300 miles give or take from the border and was gonna go up that way last fall and check the units out first hand, but have been busy until a month ago with a lawsuit.... and I am not going to expand this fall [unless I a get another chance at a huge timber frame contract and am still able to get the logs for it] so until next year I spose and then i understand I might have to provide a passport..... and I have a personal problem with the part about seeking permission and having to tell the state department I am a federal subject and not that the federal government is the servant..... but that is just me..... I suppose I should just write up my own like some other folks have done and keep on traveling with my own papers..... and take it to international court if I have to.fluidp said:
Have you went and talked to dave and Lindsay? Ive only talked on the phone with them a little bit and they sent me theirr first DVD project......
William
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I wonder how he gets those logs that look like they weigh 700 pounds up on the mill. I dont see a tractor, or a hoist, or even a timberjackRamblin Wreck said:
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I do see some skid ramps and a chain hoist. If you have enough "gumption", you could manhandle logs into place with some cant hooks...but I'd stand to the side in case of a slip!michiganfarmer said:
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A consideration that the chain saw mill crowd doesn't seem to get is the incredible inefficiency of wasting 3/8" or more of prime lumber in each pass. By the time you have milled 10 logs into lumber you have wasted 20-25 percent of your wood, mill enough lumber for a house and you have to throw away enough sawdust to have built a garage...I'll vote for an .060" kerf, instead of .375"
A tip I discovered with my WoodMizer is to arrainge the mill so as to have the prevailing breeze blow the sawdust away from where the operator works, not the other way around so that you are constantly breathing the sometimes toxic dust (as in black walnut) and cleaning your eyes.
A tip I discovered with my WoodMizer is to arrainge the mill so as to have the prevailing breeze blow the sawdust away from where the operator works, not the other way around so that you are constantly breathing the sometimes toxic dust (as in black walnut) and cleaning your eyes.
As far as the chain I use, it is a chisel tooth, skip tooth that I sharpen straight accross, . I take the rakers down so I have about 0.025" cut. It ripps through boards pretty good.MELOC said:
As to the amount of wood I am wasting?? YES I am wasting alot with the chainsaw. First I have to consider my supply of logs, keep in mind this is for my own personal use and maybe a neibour or two, But if I don't cut them into lumber they will get burned for firewood or burned in the huge slash piles after logging. I am not sure if most of the users of this site are familiar with the Mountain Pine Beetle that is killing all our pine trees in centeral BC, Canada??. There is more wood around for the taking than you can imagine. Big logging companies leave a good part of it behind and burn it. So us back yard sawmillers have to get out there and get it. If you look at the boards that I posted, ypu will see a Blue stain on the outer edge of the board. That is what the Pine beetle does to the tree. Its CHEAP lumber.
The second thing to consider is the investment I have in my mill. I have two husky 2100's that I have had since new and they run great. I bought a new 36" bar and a chain, $150. I bought 2 leaghts of 2" angle iron, $100. I allready had the trailer!!! If you aren't in a hurry and don't mind a bit of work, hey why not??
Happy Milling
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whatever get's the job done...and to each his own. i wish to have a bandsaw mill, but if i needed lumber asap and had the stuff to chainsaw mill with, i would certainly do it.
just out of curiosity and since this thread draws the milling crowd...when i was pricing bandsaw mills, the catalog listed replacement blades for about $20. they also sold a tool to sharpen those blades for well over $100. ummm...i think i would just pop in a new blade. what do you all think?
just out of curiosity and since this thread draws the milling crowd...when i was pricing bandsaw mills, the catalog listed replacement blades for about $20. they also sold a tool to sharpen those blades for well over $100. ummm...i think i would just pop in a new blade. what do you all think?
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The sawyers will chime in here with real world experience, but quality blades cost much more than 20 bucks. As well, a blade can be sharpened a few times before being too worn down. Doesn't take long to see the value in a sharpening system.MELOC said:
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i am sure there is a world of difference in blades. i am pretty sure this catalog only offered one type though. i honestly cannot remember which manufacturer it was, but it was a popular manufacturer of bandsaw mills. considering the time it would take to sharpen an old band blade, and if i had a mill...which i don't, i think that considering the cost of the sharpening system i would still opt for the new blade if $20 blades were all i had access to. i forget the specific price of the system offered, but it was somewhere between 5 and 10 new blades, lol.
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