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Thread: My Low Cost Mill in Action

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
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    My Low Cost Mill in Action

    I milled another red oak log with a former colleague this past Saturday. We felled the tree in the Spring and had already milled the butt log. There were still three logs to cut from what remained of the trunk, and they had to be transported out of the woods a few hundred yards down to the milling area. Here's the first log after we picked it up with my log dolly on the back of his nice little JD diesel tractor. This log is about 22" at the butt end and 8 ft long.

    20151003_151008.jpg

    After getting it down to the mill he maneuvered it into position above the mill.

    20151003_103534.jpg

    The mill has ramps that temporarily attach to the bunks. With those in place we rolled the log up onto the mill and blocked it in place. He wanted a couple of live edge slabs so I milled it full width which makes for pretty slow going. I think it took at least 5 minutes per cut, and two cuts for a tank of gas. I took off two or three 4/4 boards, and then two slabs at a fat 7/4. That got me near the center line and the log looked like this at that point.

    20151003_123938.jpg

    You see the crack in the end of the log? A funny thing happened when I milled the slab above it. When I was about half way along the cut I felt and heard a "thump" and when I looked back that little crack was now a big crack as you can see in this photo.

    20151003_123951.jpg

    I milled the rest of the boards at 4/4 and then put each board back on the mill, vertically against a backrest, and cut off the bark:

    20151003_142636.jpg

    We got the other two logs moved down to the mill and then the rain was coming down pretty hard so we called it a day - a good day. BTW it took a gallon of fuel and nearly that much bar oil to mill the log. Still cheap for about 130 BF of mostly clear wood.

    John

  2. #2
    John,
    Good photos -- they tell the story nicely. And, the pith-related crack notwithstanding, that's lovely wood.
    I am in envy of your log arch. Is it a commercial unit or home built? (I presume the latter, as it appears to be painted John Deere Yellow.) If indeed the latter, did you create plans for it? I am in need of an arch about that size and have some, albeit limited, welding skills.
    Charles

  3. #3
    Looks like a fine day.

  4. #4
    Join Date
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    WNY
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    Thanks Charles. Yes, it's a home built arch. I originally built it for a max. diameter log of 25". Of course that was too small so I upsized it a couple of years ago to handle a 33" diameter log, the same as the mill. The stub axles are off of an old GM X-body car, and neither they nor the tires are rated for that much weight but probably would handle it. I have hauled a couple of 30" logs with it w/o problems. Anyway, I do have a basic SketchUp model for the arch section. I'll post a link soon so check back. Welding it was pretty easy. It's mostly 2" square tubing, 1/8" wall. My welding isn't that good either but nothing has broken so they must be good enough.

    John

  5. #5
    Join Date
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    WNY
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    Here's link where you can download a basic SketchUp of both the mill and log dolly.

    https://sites.google.com/site/jteneyckwoodworker/current-projects/chainsaw-lumber-mill

    John

  6. #6
    Impressive work on the mill and log dolly.
    _______________________________________
    When failure is not an option
    Mediocre is assured.

  7. #7
    Excellent John, sometimes the simpler the better... Also thanks so much for sharing all those great pics. For me itīs a nice tutorial to start on this fascinating milling world
    Last edited by nelson lasaosa; 10-08-2015 at 7:49 PM.

  8. #8
    Join Date
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    Location
    WNY
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    Thanks. Simple is all I can justify. I have about $2500 total invested in everything shown above. A chainsaw mill is the cheapest option to mill your own lumber. I started with this chainsaw (Husky 385XP) in an Alaskan Mill and that is really low cost and the ultimate in portability. But this mill is much easier on my aging body, and I can still easily set it up wherever needed including out in the woods or someone's backyard. On the other hand, a chainsaw mill is slow compared to a bandsaw mill and you get fewer BF of lumber with it's wider kerf.

    John

  9. #9
    Definitely an awesome simple and efective DIY chainsaw mill. John, donīt you have any tilting or bouncing problems with the chainsaw train, due to more weight needed ...or any other related issue as you push it forward ?

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