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Wood species that I have milled with my Alaska Sawmill

944 Views 7 Replies 3 Participants Last post by doubleDD, 7 mo ago

Oregon Woodworker

Seven or eight years ago I went to a picture framing shop to buy an 11 x 14" oak picture frame. The shop wanted $80.00 for that frame! That motivated me to become a woodworker, and to start milling my own wood. Since then I have made many picture frames with my table router, as well as furniture.

So far I have milled Claro black walnut, Pacific juniper, American chestnut, Big leaf maple, Red alder, Coast redwood and Grand fir. I have 36" and 50" bars for my Stihl 064 saw.

Yes, there is waste with a 3/8" kerf using an Alaska chainsaw mill. But often the logs that I mill are on terrain that would be difficult or impossible to get a portable bandsaw mill to. Also some logs I cut are larger than many portable bandsaw mills can cut.

I stack and sticker my slabs (ends painted) and use the air drying rule-of-thumb of one year per inch of thickness. This has produced flat slabs with no warpage and usually I let the wood dry longer than three years (I cut most slabs to 2 3/4" thick).

These Claro black walnut logs were the first logs that I milled (5 or 6 years ago). This tree was on a golf course in Corvallis, Oregon. It is all beautiful figured wood. Later I will post photos in the Projects section of a fireplace mantle that built from this wood.

Car Tire Automotive parking light Vehicle Motor vehicle

Stacked and stickered Claro black walnut

Natural material Wood Plant Land lot Trunk

This is Coast redwood that I milled. It took the 50" bar to mill these slabs and a tractor with forks to move them.

Plant Wood Tradesman Tree Composite material

Wood Road surface Grass Wood stain Hardwood

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Western juniper. The saying is that Western juniper fence posts will last longer than the hole that the post is set in. I plan to use this to build picnic tables for our deck.

Big leaf maple. I used slabs from this log to make live edge coffee tables. The slabs have a lot of "quilted" figured grain. I will post photos of the coffee tables in the Projects section.

Wood Tree Composite material Grass Hardwood

American chestnut. See my other post in this forum for more photos and info about the chestnut. I do not have woodworking plans for it and plan to sell it.

Wood Plant Grass Road surface Groundcover

Grand fir. In 2020-2021 we built a barn for our horses and I felled two Grand fir that were right where we were building the barn.

We used the Grand fir to build the stalls. Some of the boards are over 30" wide. I used my plunge router to inlay images of our horses. The inlay for Scout is made of Oregon bitter cherry, African blackwood and black walnut for the hooves. The inlay for Jazz is African padauk.

Working animal Horse Stable Wood Pet supply

Except for Red alder (I did not take photos) I think that this covers most of the wood that I have milled with the Alaskan sawmill. Soon I will be milling a large Pacific dogwood that blew down last winter on our property. I will also be milling some large Oregon white oak trees, and a huge Big leaf maple (which will require the 50" bar).

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doubleDD

· #2 · 7 mo ago

Nice display of milled lumber Oregon Woodworker. It's always a pleasure to see what beauty is inside those logs. I've been doing some but on a smaller scale without a Mill. I just purchased a 36'' chainsaw so I can get some wider slabs. I've gotten some outstanding Elm and Ash over the years. Any suggestions on which chainsaw mill is best or do you think the Alaskan is tops?
Thanks.

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Oregon Woodworker

Discussion Starter · #3 · 7 mo ago (Edited)

doubleDD said:
Nice display of milled lumber Oregon Woodworker. It's always a pleasure to see what beauty is inside those logs. I've been doing some but on a smaller scale without a Mill. I just purchased a 36'' chainsaw so I can get some wider slabs. I've gotten some outstanding Elm and Ash over the years. Any suggestions on which chainsaw mill is best or do you think the Alaskan is tops?
Thanks.

Mine is the original Alaskan sawmill made by Granberg. A friend has a knockoff made in China that cost about a third less than the Granberg and it is almost identical to the Granberg. These are the only two chainsaw mills that I am familiar with, and they work great.

The two best tips that I can give regarding chainsaw mills is to use a very powerful saw, and razor sharp ripping chain. The two largest professional Stihls are the model MS 661 and their largest model; the MS 881. Here are specs for the two models:

MS 661 - 7.2 bhp - 91.1cc engine - powerhead weight is 16.8 lbs
MS 881 - 8.6 bhp - 121.6 cc engine - powerhead weight is 21 lbs

My old Stihl 064 has very similar specs to the new MS 661. For any log over 30" I would not want to use a saw with less power than the 064 or the MS 661. I have been tempted to get a new MS 881 but that is a heavy and expensive beast and my 064 handles most of what I mill. When I start milling the 48" diameter Bigleaf maple, I will be wishing I had the MS 881.

I have tried almost every hand filing contraption on the market for filing saw chain. Those devices work but they are slow and tedious and you will never get as perfect of a sharpening as with a professionally sharpened (or new) chain. Finally I got a bench mounted Tecomec Jolly Evo chain grinder similar to what most chainsaw shops use. A bench mounted saw chain sharpener has several angle settings that no hand filing device will have (top plate angle and tilt angle). When you sharpen a chain with a device that does not include the top plate and tilt angles, the chain will not cut as smoothly and efficiently. See illustration below from the Tecomec chain grinder's manual.

When you buy a new saw chain, the angles above will be listed/illustrated on the box, however the terms (top plate, vise angle and tilt angle) may be different. There was a learning curve to using the bench mounted chain grinder but now that I have mastered it (I only ruined one chain while learning) I would never go back to any type of hand filing device!

I use Granberg ripping chain (filed at 10 degree "vise angle" as per Granberg) and I have four chains on hand. When you are milling a log, if it starts cutting slowly; resist the temptation to keep cutting; stop and put a freshly sharpened chain on and then go back to cutting. At the end of the day I re-sharpen any chains that are dull on the bench grinder.

One more tip for now: I use a 10' section of an aluminum ladder for the first cut. After the first cut, which establishes a flat surface, you are done with the ladder. There are other ways to do this but the ladder works well for me. I drilled holes through the rungs of the ladder and I screw the ladder to the log with a screw gun. Just make sure that your screws are shorter than the depth of that first cut. I learned this the hard way!

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doubleDD

· #4 · 7 mo ago

Oregon Woodworker said:
Mine is the original Alaskan sawmill made by Granberg. A friend has a knockoff made in China that cost about a third less than the Granberg and it is almost identical to the Granberg. These are the only two chainsaw mills that I am familiar with, and they work great.

The two best tips that I can give regarding chainsaw mills is to use a very powerful saw, and razor sharp ripping chain. The two largest professional Stihls are the model MS 661 and their largest model; the MS 881. Here are specs for the two models:

MS 661 - 7.2 bhp - 91.1cc engine - powerhead weight is 16.8 lbs
MS 881 - 8.6 bhp - 121.6 cc engine - powerhead weight is 21 lbs

My old Stihl 064 has very similar specs to the new MS 661. For any log over 30" I would not want to use a saw with less power than the 064 or the MS 661. I have been tempted to get a new MS 881 but that is a heavy and expensive beast and my 064 handles most of what I mill. When I start milling the 48" diameter Bigleaf maple, I will be wishing I had the MS 881.

I have tried almost every hand filing contraption on the market for filing saw chain. Those devices work but they are slow and tedious and you will never get as perfect of a sharpening as with a professionally sharpened (or new) chain. Finally I got a bench mounted Tecomec Jolly Evo chain grinder similar to what most chainsaw shops use. A bench mounted saw chain sharpener has several angle settings that no hand filing device will have (top plate angle and tilt angle). When you sharpen a chain with a device that does not include the top plate and tilt angles, the chain will not cut as smoothly and efficiently. See illustration below from the Tecomec chain grinder's manual.

View attachment 3857317

When you buy a new saw chain, the angles above will be listed/illustrated on the box, however the terms (top plate, vise angle and tilt angle) may be different. There was a learning curve to using the bench mounted chain grinder but now that I have mastered it (I only ruined one chain while learning) I would never go back to any type of hand filing device!

I use Granberg ripping chain (filed at 10 degree "vise angle" as per Granberg) and I have four chains on hand. When you are milling a log, if it starts cutting slowly; resist the temptation to keep cutting; stop and put a freshly sharpened chain on and then go back to cutting. At the end of the day I re-sharpen any chains that are dull on the bench grinder.

One more tip for now: I use a 10' section of an aluminum ladder for the first cut. After the first cut, which establishes a flat surface, you are done with the ladder. There are other ways to do this but the ladder works well for me. I drilled holes through the rungs of the ladder and I screw the ladder to the log with a screw gun. Just make sure that your screws are shorter than the depth of that first cut. I learned this the hard way!
View attachment 3857320

Thanks for the tips, especially on the sharpening. I got a super deal on a Husqvarna 390xp. It came with a 32'' and 36'' bar. This will be my limit since all of my sawing is done alone. I've been getting into slab and river tables so this will work out fine. Today I cut a 26'' maple 38'' long without a mill with the regular chain. It worked great and cut quick. Just not as straight as you would like so that's why I'm looking into the mill. I do have ripping chains on order.
I have my eye on the alaskan grandberg. Sound like a good choice and good to know the opinion of someone using it. Funny thing is I was looking at a china one also for $100. that is identical. May be the same one as your friend.
Thanks for the reply and all the help.

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Oregon Woodworker

Discussion Starter · #5 · 7 mo ago

doubleDD said:
Thanks for the tips, especially on the sharpening. I got a super deal on a Husqvarna 390xp. It came with a 32'' and 36'' bar. This will be my limit since all of my sawing is done alone. I've been getting into slab and river tables so this will work out fine. Today I cut a 26'' maple 38'' long without a mill with the regular chain. It worked great and cut quick. Just not as straight as you would like so that's why I'm looking into the mill. I do have ripping chains on order.
I have my eye on the alaskan grandberg. Sound like a good choice and good to know the opinion of someone using it. Funny thing is I was looking at a china one also for $100. that is identical. May be the same one as your friend.
Thanks for the reply and all the help.

Husqvarnas are great saws (my smaller saw is a Husqvarna). I really like Husqvarnas patented turbo air system that blows sawdust away from the air filter. I can cut three cords of firewood without having to clean the air filter on the Hsqvarna; but I have to change it after every cord cut with the Stihl. Your 390xp has 6.5 hp with an 88 cc engine. That's a little less than a Stihl 661 but still powerful enough to mill most logs.

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BolDesigns

· #6 · 7 mo ago

The live slabs look beautiful! Very well done and professional! You're getting a lot done!

The finished stalls look great as well! Thank you for sharing all this!

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Oregon Woodworker

Discussion Starter · #7 · 7 mo ago

doubleDD said:
I got a super deal on a Husqvarna 390xp. It came with a 32'' and 36'' bar. This will be my limit since all of my sawing is done alone.

I forgot to mention; Granberg makes this winch device for milling large logs with one person. I have not had experience with it but one of my friends mills big logs all the time by himself, and he says the winch makes the cutting go well.

Wood Vehicle Sky Automotive exterior Roof

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doubleDD

· #8 · 7 mo ago

Thanks Oregon Woodworker, good to know. I looked at that gizmo a few days ago on u-tube. It looks to be a great aid for doing things yourself on larger logs. Anything that would make life easier is worth checking into more.

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