Mind you, this is not to build a homestead or anything else.

It is solely to cut some lumber, on occasion, that I will then put up to season, at which point it will warp, crack, etc. And be generally useless for its intended purpose (woodworking).

That being said, is a Husky rancher 55 with a 20" bar too puny? I'm not looking for production, as this would be a hobby. Just looking to say "I did it" without killing my saw. A rip chain would be used.

Its hard on the saw. LONG runs at full power. But yes, you can get the attachment and mill lumber. Though about making one from a vertical shaft mower engine I had, but then I accidentally put an SS109 bullet through the block .

My wife ordered me a Granberg mill for Xmas.  Its been back ordered for some time but I don't have much plan for it in the winter other then to play around with it anyways.

I decided on the G777 which is the small saw model, designed for 20" bar or less.  I plan on running it with my Husqvarna 372XP which is a 72cc saw.  I have had the saw for a while, actually rebuilt it a year or two ago.  From everything I have read and watched you need a decent size saw, so I figured the combination of a 72cc saw and only being able to rip 18~19" diameter logs seemed like an acceptable compromise.  I don't plan to make buildings and probably wouldn't do any boards longer then 8' so as to keep it easy, on both me and the saw.



http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200316891_200316891

The use of a ripping chain is very important when milling, or so I read.

I don't have any grand delusions of putting back huge amounts of lumber, but if I need a pine board here or there, its something I can do it.  We also have a decent table saw, and planer so we could turn out some decent lumber for small projects.  Think, chicken coop upgrades, small wood working projects etc.

We also have plan to replace some molding in our house, we are going to do it with rough sawn so it should work out for those small little projects.

With chainsaw mills think "very small scale."

I have more lumber on my property then I could ever use myself so its not like I have to buy logs or anything.

I really want to build a small primitive type lean-to camping shelter on my property.

Nothing more then 8x8, a cross between something like this:


(with a real roof)

and something like this:


(without the fire place)

Just enough to have a small bunk or cot, and a small table.  Primitive in style, but permanent in construction.  I figure a small saw mill would help me achieve that.  I think it will make a really cool getaway on my property.  I love to camp, but having something permanent with a cot would make it really easy to just head out to the shelter, build a fire, cook dinner, have a few drinks and lounge back without the need of tents or tarps.

Those are my thoughts anyways.  If I ever get the darn thing I will post some pictures and an actual opinion based on usage.  

I did this to use some trees I cleared from my property to build a chicken coop.  The mill works, but is slow.  I used Rancher 55 with 20 inch bar and ripping chain.















In the above photo the only thing that came from the lumber yard was the 6x6 supports and the plywood floor.

Awesome



would you do it again like that or spend a bit more for another diy mill setup?

For another small project - yes.  I would say that size chainsaw is the absolute minimum.  One motivation I had was to utilize trees that I needed to remove anyhow.  The other was to teach myself how to mill lumber in somewhat "barebones" setting.  





That setup does work.  A bigger chainsaw would be a plus.  I did mill some very nice pieces that seasoned without warping.  There is some personal satisfaction in building a structure, even a lowly chicken coop, from lumber milled from your own trees.











 

From the hip, I'd say that a cheap band saw mill would have instant resale and probably do a better job.

It will be an adventure either way.

Prob best to find a local sawmill and cut to the case. Cash and carry, probably half dry already, can choose your own.

I haven't used one.  But Ive been seriously contemplating it.  I'd like to cut a flat on a few trees, so I can make rudimentary foot bridges over creeks at my hunt camp.  

I have one concern with a 20" bar.  When I look at all available milling setups, I see that most "loose" a few inches right near the saw for attachment.  And then many loose a few more inches at the tip, also for mill attachment.  Your 20" bar now has about 14" of actual available cutting length.  Depending on the design, you also loose a few more inches cutting the plank on a tangent to the actual full diameter of the tree.  Unless you are trying to mill 10 or 12" diameter trees, a 20" saw might well not be enough bar length.  

Again, I don't have real life experience at this, but the above certainly looks like my concerns.  I've wondered about a longer bar and chain.  Not to actually increase cutting capacity (engine size is a limiting factor) but to provide more 'real estate' for mounting the milling attachment, leaving a good 18-20" cutting length INSIDE the milling mount.

All just speculation

fro

I already have chainsaw I could use, just curious if you would save up a bit more $$ and go with a bandsaw setup or do the chainsaw setup again, especially if you want to keep using your own trees.  We have land, and would really like to use our own trees too.  I'm just not sure for how often I'ld use it (maybe 2-3 projects per-year) If it's worth the $$ for the bandsaw.



 

Sounds to me you should save for the bandsaw.  The chainsaw method is SLOW.  If you plan on doing 2 -3 projects a year - bandsaw.



 

Thanks! Time to look into the bandsaw and post.. I'm sure some are better than other :)



But, I don't want to drop 5k+ on one either

Mine is still on back order...  Someday I will post some pictures!

The Harbor Freight mill isn't too bad. I have seen several "survivalists"  and "preppers" that have one that are happy with it.

One

Two

http://www.harborfreight.com/saw-mill-with-301cc-gas-engine-62366.html



I would love one of these, but I don't know if I could justify $2300 + tax and extra blades...

My father has decent size mill that you tow behind a truck, someday when he is done using it all the time I will be able to borrow it for a month here or there

That is awesome.

Is that the bottom of the line?  Is it possible to get down to the $1500 neighborhood?    Are these good for sawing dimensional lumber, like 2x6s?   How are folks seasoning the wood prior to using it, so that it doesn't warp like a sunuvagun?

I posted a link to harbor freight and the cost just prior to your post... $2300 on sale plus tax and blades.

At that point I would probably spend a bit more go with something a little higher quality and semi local.

I can get one local to me for around 3k and would probably go that route.

http://www.hud-son.com/products/product-detail/hfe-21-homesteader

They have gone up in price but the one guy was saying with coupon he got his for like $1750 delivered. Yes, these mills can do pretty darn good work IF 1. The operator understands how they work 2. They are properly set up, by that I mean leveled etc......There are a couple of ways to season the wood. Kiln of course- you can haul it to a commercial kiln. You can air dry it- takes awhile depending on conditions, size of lumber etc....What many folks do is use Board and Batten type construction. They simply put battens over all the joints so if the lumber shrinks, it's still sealed. For some rough carpentry a little warpage probably doesn't matter....

There are timber milling websites etc...and in areas where there are lots of timber you can find used mills same as any other kind of "machinery". You can probably buy a decent used one from a "name brand" for only a little more than the Harbor Freight if you shopped long enough and knew what you were looking at. It's like a lot of things- lathes, mills, Bobcat, small tractor etc.......If you know where to look and what to look at any especially if you can do some fix it work yourself, you can do pretty well.....

Check this out for $50




http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200326318_200326318?cm_mmc=Google-pla&utm_source=Google_PLA&utm_medium=Logging%20%3E%20Saw%20Milling%20%2B%20Accessories&utm_campaign=Northern%20Tool%20and%20Equipment&utm_content=11890&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=11890&gclid=CIfy_Pro7soCFQiUaQodmuIFlg

This....................

I'd shop around for a bandsaw.........

I know at least in my AO the words cheap & band saw mill are rarely said in the same sentence.  Your looking at 3K easy for a basic ground level mill...  Something towable with tires and your over 5K...  I can buy a lot of lumber for 3K when talking small projects.  If you have the timber on your land and are building a barn or such, and equipment to place full logs on a mill then I would defiantly go for it.  Realistically speaking for the homeowner who works a full time job, they are a toy    Lets not kid ourselves.
Some day I will have one.  

The UPS guy just dropped this off









Now I just need to wait for my ripping chains to come.

I'm lucky that I have a sawyer with a decent bandsaw mill less than 5 miles away and cuts my logs for $.18 a board foot. I trailer the logs over there and I'll help with the cutting and loading back on my trailer. It's ALOT of work making your own lumber no matter which way you do it. I don't know what they charge to dry in a kiln but if you plan to air dry it yourself you'd better be sure you have the space and time. You have to "sticker" the lumber to air dry it. You have to use kiln-dried lumber for your sticks, I just ripped bought 2x4's into 3/4x3/4 sticks and stacked it in the open air lofts under the carport of my shed. I did white oak, red oak, cherry, poplar and beech. After 2 1/2 years I did the ceiling of my front porch with some of the beech, cut into 4 1/2" wide boards ship-lapped and before 2 months went by those damned boards had shrunk, opened-up the seams (good thing I ship-lapped it well). This was after 2 1/2 years of drying. I just finished paneling a 10'h x 16'w wall in the house with some of the 7" wide oak,6" wide cherry and 4" wide beech and it has done real well, but it's been 6 years drying now !! I can't even count the hours I've got into ripping and planing the boards and then running thru the saw again with the dado stack. I left the boards a full 5/8" thick so maybe they'll be stable now on the wall.

Even if you just wanted some rough-cut lumber for utility building I would imagine in most cases you'd want to dry it for quite some time unless you're going to use a kiln. A lot of boards that looked primo when freshly milled really turned to shit during the drying process, I can imagine what a structure might look like if the lumber was used before well dried. I might do my own lumber again someday, it's a real good feeling to go thru the long process and do a project with lumber you cut the logs for, and in my case these were trees that got blown over in a storm. That damned beech tree was 40" diameter and the I cut the butt log 13' long to get some 12' boards out of it. Then I got gobs of firewood from the top of the tree.

Very good point.  That's another aspect to consider when contemplating buying price vs milling it yourself.  I only plan to build a primitive lean-to on my property, and maybe cut an extra few boards here and there for other projects.  Also plan to start working on some trim, but stuff that small won't be hard to store inside my basement next to the woodstove for drying.

I have worked with some green 4x8  fir beams and as long as you got them locked in place before they started drying they where fine. It did take metal brackets and bolts to hold them in place.
This thread is making me miss trees.