The "Micro Sawmill"

The Alaskan mill works great, but setting up for a cut in the middle of the woods is a lot of work, takes a lot of time and really hurt my back. There should be a better way, so over the winter I came up with the "Micro Sawmill v1.0". Basically it is intended to solve two problems ... (1) make the setup for the first cut quick and simpler and (2) get the log off the ground so I don't have to kill my back.

Here's the Google Sketchup model:


It is basically six level supports about 16" high to raise the log about waist high and three "goalpost" supports for a guideboard. I saw where some guys use a ladder instead of a guideboard, so that's what I'm using in v1.0. The goalpost supports are adjustable to accommodate various log diameters up to 20". The six supports are pressure treated 4x4s sunk a couple of feet into the ground. The total length of the micro-sawmill is 16'; it could easily handle a 20' log if needed.

Here's a shot of the Micro-sawmill with a maple log ready to go ...

Choosing a chainsaw mill - Alaskan Small Log Mill

About a year ago I purchased a new Sthil MS390 chainsaw and the Granberg Alaskan Small Log Mill. I also bought the slabbing rail brackets; these are simply two 16" aluminum rails that nail to each end of a log. Then two 2x4s are bolted to the brackets such that the boards straddle the log to guide the first cut. The Granberg site has a lot of examples on how to set this up. At first I used a regular chain, but soon ordered the Granberg ripping chain.




This chainsaw/mill combination is an order of magnitude better than my setup with the Beam Machine. With this chainsaw (64cc, 20 inch bar) and mill combination I cut a 16" wide x 6' long cherry board in 7-8 minutes. Certainly not what I would call fast, but this is a big improvement over Poulan. One pass on a ~8-12 inch wide log takes 2-4 minutes.

I would like to have a more powerful saw (~80cc), but such a saw would run about twice what I paid for the MS390. I'll work with the MS390 for now:)

The Alaskan mill does a great job guiding the saw for straight cuts. However, the setup for the first cut is still time consuming. Even with the slabbing brackets, getting both brackets parallel to each other (necessary to avoid a twisted cut) is still somewhat tricky. Granberg has some good illustrations at http://www.granberg.com/alaskan_mill.html on how to set up the first cut, but there are some other important details I'll cover here.

Basically the procedure is:

1. Roll the log onto a couple of short 4x4s or 6x6s to get it off the ground. A peavey helps for large logs.
2. Chock the log if necessary to keep it from rolling (or use a log dog if you have one).
3. Cut the log to a length matching the length of the 2x4 guideboards. I use 8 footers, so I cut the log to 6'6"'. This lets the 2x4s hang over the ends of the log a bit to help guide the saw at the start and end of the cut.
   
4. The ends should be as square to the log as possible by eye (makes attaching the brackets easier).
5. Trim off any branches, bumps, etc that would interfere with the guideboards.
   
6. Use a bubble level to nail the first bracket level then do the same at the opposite end of the log.
   
7. Bolt two (straight) 2x4s to the brackets for the guide.
8. Cut a slab from the log using the 2x4 guideboards.
   
9. Unbolt the 2x4s and remove the bracket nails.
10. Turn the log 90 degrees to cut the adjacent face.
    
11. Using a framing square, draw a line 90 degrees to the first face about 1/2" above where you want to cut the second face. Draw this line at both ends of the log.
    
12. Nail the slabbing rails flush to the two lines on each end of the log.
13. Bolt the guideboards to the slabbing rails (as in step 7).
14. Adjust the depth of the mill to where you want to cut the 2nd face.
15. Cut the 2nd face.
16. Unbolt the slabbing rails and remove the nails in the slabbing rails.
    

You also have to haul chainsaw, mill, gas, oil, faceshield, chaps, ear protectors, slabbing brackets, peavey, hammer, nails, level, measuring tape, wrench, framing square, pencil, two short 6x6s and two 2x4s to the log.

Afterward, don't forget Advil for the back pain from doing all of this close to the ground;)

Choosing a chainsaw mill - Beam Machine

I thought I would start off this blog by summarizing my experiences selecting a chainsaw mill. I don't know anyone who has a chainsaw mill or ever used one, so I relied on information I found on the web for research.

I started chainsaw milling about 2-1/2 years ago. My first attempt was using a Beam Machine on my Poulan Pro (46cc, 20 inch bar).

This is a simple device, easy to use and cheap (I paid $29). This setup worked fairly well; however it had some disadvantages that didn't work for me.

First, it was time consuming to set up, especially the first cut since there is no flat face to fasten the 2x4 guide board. It took a lot of improvisation to nail a flat 2x4 to a round log! Things were much easier after the first cut; however it took a fair amount of time to re-nail the guideboard after each cut.

Second, my Poulan Pro didn't have enough power to rip cut a log of decent width in a reasonable amount of time. It took about 15 minutes for each pass on an ~7 inch wide, 4 foot long log. Add 5-10 minutes of setup time per cut, it took almost a whole afternoon for a few boards.

Third was the accuracy of this setup. It all hinges on the accuracy of the very first cut. Since it was difficult to get the guideboard flat and straight on a round log, I typically ended up with boards with a pretty good twist.


Not to take anything away from the Beam Machine, I think it has its uses. It was just too time consuming for me to get straight, flat boards. One improvement that I didn't try was to use a ripping chain; Beam Machine says it doesn't make a difference, but I think it would improve the speed significantly.

If you are interested in making rough posts and had a more powerful chainsaw (~60cc or better); the beam machine could work for you. I could see how it would be possible to use it to cut posts.