Chainsaw Milling

[RockChucker30]

Anyone else enjoy milling? We've had some huge old oaks blow down in storms over the last several years, trees much too big for a conventional mill.

So last winter I got rigged up for chainsaw milling them into slabs. The slabs will dry in a barn for several years, then I can use them to make mantles, tables, or resaw into dimensional lumber. Lots of work, but rewarding.

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[35-acre]

VERY Cool!

 

[bwoods11]

Looks nice, I have always liked using wood from the land a person owns.

 

[yoderjac]

Pretty neat setup!

 

[davidhelmly]

That is some beautiful wood in the 2nd and 3rd picture!!

 

[RockChucker30]

That log was a homestead tree that stood in the yard of a long abandoned house on our farm. It fell in a straight line wind about 10 years ago. I thought it would be too far gone to mill, but turns out it spalted. Gorgeous color, and I salvaged a lot of wood from it.


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[Telemark]

Really cool. How much was the mill? I have a big maple burl I want to cut into slabs.

 

[Mozark]

Hi RockChucker
That's a good set up you have and a beautiful slab! Is that an 880?

 

[RockChucker30]

It is an 880. My buddy manages a Stihl service dept, so I got a really good deal.

Cost wise, the saw, the bar, and the mill were the big ticket items. It's expensive stuff, but bought right will hold value and not burn me too much.

I enjoy it a lot, though it is a cold weather thing for me. Summer is for fishing, mowing, bushhogging, spraying, and prepping for foodplots. After hunting season winds down is chainsaw time.

I've got a bunch of logs cut and stabilized with anchorseal waiting on cool weather. Couple I need to pull off the sandbar in the river while the water is low.

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[Mozark]

RockChucker
I have never had a chance to run an 880, I know it is a beast! I have a 661c with a 36" bar I use with a 48" Granberg, havnt had a chance to mill very much, enjoy the heck out of it.

 

[Adittmer]

I have a mill sitting in the garage still in it’s box. Need to get a chain for my saw and get it assembled some day. That slab looks great and should make some beautiful furniture


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[Tree Spud]

Anyone else enjoy milling? We've had some huge old oaks blow down in storms over the last several years, trees much too big for a conventional mill.

So last winter I got rigged up for chainsaw milling them into slabs. The slabs will dry in a barn for several years, then I can use them to make mantles, tables, or resaw into dimensional lumber. Lots of work, but rewarding.


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RC# ... Great work! You should have some great piece for tables or bar tops. Very artisanal!

What is the Mill you are using?

How do you dry & stabilize the wood slabs to prevent warping or cracks forming?

 

[RockChucker30]

Im using a 60" Granberg with a 60" Cannon Superbar and a homemade auxiliary oiler.

I'm putting anchorseal on the endgrain, then stacking and stickering in a barn out of sun with minimal airflow. There's quite a bit of weight on the slabs, so I just put the best ones at the bottom.

I have gotten some end cracks, not much warping yet, but there will be some. I cut them 10/4 so that I can flatten with a router jig when the time comes. I'll likely have to buy a good moisture meter to know for sure they've dried down. At 2.5 to 3" thick it will take several years I expect.

Edit to add that I'm also spraying Timbor to keep powder post beetles or other bugs out. With the slabs stacked, stickered, bug proofed, and in the barn I've got decades to decide what to do with it. It'll dry down to 8-12% moisture and stay there.


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[4wanderingeyes]

I wish you lived closer to me, I have a few large trees down, I wanted to get cut up, but the "pros" either are too busy, or want way to much to make it worth it, and I dont have time to get a mill of my own.

 

[RockChucker30]

If you've got a log too big for a bandmill you can get a cheap bar mount jig and use a 2x6 as a guide to split the log in quarters. That will break them down small enough for the mill, and if it's oak it gives you a head start on quartersawing to show the ray fleck.

I'm in this for fun and to make use of trees that I hate to see rot. I don't want to make another job out of it, I have too many of those as it is :)


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[Red]

RC, awesome find in that spalted log!
Years ago I tried the cheap jig on a 2x6. It worked but not well. A wind storm recently brought down a big oak so last week I ordered a bigger chainsaw and ripping chain. My buddy lent me his Gansberg jig and rails. Can’t wait to try the new setup.

 

[NE PA QDM]

Awesome post. Beautiful logs.
Gives me hope to do something like this some day. Love working with wood. Nothing purtier......

 

[RockChucker30]

RC, awesome find in that spalted log!
Years ago I tried the cheap jig on a 2x6. It worked but not well. A wind storm recently brought down a big oak so last week I ordered a bigger chainsaw and ripping chain. My buddy lent me his Gansberg jig and rails. Can’t wait to try the new setup.

Couple tips before you start

1. Stihl Bioplus bar oil. Expensive, but will mostly biodegrade. I run canola oil in the auxiliary oiler, but the good stuff in the saw. You will make mountains of sawdust contaminated with bar oil, so I want it to compost.

2. I made some set blocks out of wood to set my cut thickness on both sides of the mill. Way way way easier, and you know it's even side to side.

3. Check your chain tension and bar nut tension 3X before starting a cut.

4. Refill gas and oil before EVERY cut. Major pain if you run out mid cut.

5. Take a broom and something to wet the slabs when they're fresh cut (I spray with Timbor immediately. They'll never look prettier than straight off the log until you make something and apply finish.

6. Take pics. I wish I had more.


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[Red]

Great tips. Thank you.
Chainsaw arrived and now just waiting on the ripping chain!

 

[RockChucker30]

Started turning the mystery sinker log out of its hole. It’s been on our sandbar for 20+ years, spends half the year submerged and half dry. Could be awesome, or a colossal waste of sweat.

Anchoring to a fallen catalpa which floated in during the last big rain. Need to get both to high ground before the river rises again.


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