Chainsaws and those who use them

[Wyatt Smith]

If that is you milling I may have some questions for you, I’ve got a mill ordered and would take any advice I can get from a experienced miller

The one time I saw a chainsaw mill in use the guys used an aluminum ladder to get it square. The big flaw I see is the width of the kerf. 4 cuts is an inch and half turned to dust.

 

[rookhawk]

The one time I saw a chainsaw mill in use the guys used an aluminum ladder to get it square. The big flaw I see is the width of the kerf. 4 cuts is an inch and half turned to dust.

Devil’s advocate. Fine hardwood’s actual cash value on the forest floor is roughly zero dollars a board foot. It’s all the logistics, fuel, drying, milling, and marketing that makes black walnut $13 a board foot.

Just two weeks ago I dropped many cherry trees that were straight as a rail in my north woods to improve deer habitat. Didn’t buck them up, didn’t haul them out, just left them to rot in exchange for more sunlight on the forest floor. That’s because they are worth zero unless someone mills them into $7 a board foot lumber. Nobody is going to do that.

So if you’re using a home made chainsaw mill and wasting some wood due to a wide kerf, does it really matter? Better than the alternative of letting the logs rot or dropping $40k on a band saw mill, right? You’ll run out of energy to make boards before you run out of free logs in most species.

 

[Tubby’s Canteen]

The one time I saw a chainsaw mill in use the guys used an aluminum ladder to get it square. The big flaw I see is the width of the kerf. 4 cuts is an inch and half turned to dust.

Not such a concern when you own the timber and it’s logistically easier to mill in place than to haul them out mill them and then haul lumber back in. I wouldn’t want to do it commercially but for my purposes I think it will suffice.

 

[Tam Dl]

This guy is fun to watch, sounds like the actor in Buster Scruggs. The Electric he is using seems to be pretty popular with those who are willing to pay a little more.

I am not really sure on the details, but I ran into someone who did safety for a large crew, and said electrics could be dangerous. With my toy sized ones I haven't noticed anything. I think some of it had to do with chaps not stopping them in certain situations.

 

[Tubby’s Canteen]

Devil’s advocate. Fine hardwood’s actual cash value on the forest floor is roughly zero dollars a board foot. It’s all the logistics, fuel, drying, milling, and marketing that makes black walnut $13 a board foot.

Just two weeks ago I dropped many cherry trees that were straight as a rail in my north woods to improve deer habitat. Didn’t buck them up, didn’t haul them out, just left them to rot in exchange for more sunlight on the forest floor. That’s because they are worth zero unless someone mills them into $7 a board foot lumber. Nobody is going to do that.

So if you’re using a home made chainsaw mill and wasting some wood due to a wide kerf, does it really matter? Better than the alternative of letting the logs rot or dropping $40k on a band saw mill, right? You’ll run out of energy to make boards before you run out of free logs in most species.

Locally I can buy a ducar 7hp bandsaw mill for 2300+tax it’s a zero frills outfit but it’s certainly not 40 grand either. Prices of bandsaw mills have really come down in recent years although in some cases quality has also suffered. For me it was simply a matter of portability not of production otherwise I’d of definitely gone with a bandsaw mill.

 

[Tam Dl]

Devil’s advocate. Fine hardwood’s actual cash value on the forest floor is roughly zero dollars a board foot. It’s all the logistics, fuel, drying, milling, and marketing that makes black walnut $13 a board foot.

Just two weeks ago I dropped many cherry trees that were straight as a rail in my north woods to improve deer habitat. Didn’t buck them up, didn’t haul them out, just left them to rot in exchange for more sunlight on the forest floor. That’s because they are worth zero unless someone mills them into $7 a board foot lumber. Nobody is going to do that.

So if you’re using a home made chainsaw mill and wasting some wood due to a wide kerf, does it really matter? Better than the alternative of letting the logs rot or dropping $40k on a band saw mill, right? You’ll run out of energy to make boards before you run out of free logs in most species.

I agree, it isn't really the same world. Chainsaw mills are used in places and for trees that can't be cut with bandmills, or by people who don't have that level of investment. The bandmill is the least of it, you need roads, heavy equipment, etc...

This would be an example of where a really wide cut is required, yet a single person could carry the whole mill. Suffice it to say the wood would still be a moving challenge if it outback.

About the smallest log that is worth using for me is a 16" log, and in that case I will sometimes set the first cut to go right through the heart/pith of the log so major waste will we removed by that cut.

Also, what I normally want are thick boards. Low value work, like cutting one's own siding, would see a lot of waste, but my preferred cuts are 1.5 and 2 inches, because they dry quickly enough, and they can then be handled by shop equipment like standard band resaws. Or the product might be worked by hand, like the seat of a Windsor Chair. Thicker pieces, if one can control cracking (never been a problem for me), tend to dry straighter. They are also more valuable per volume, though I don't sell my wood.

So it is correct to point out that the kerf can we waste (though it is a bonus to the soil), but a lot of it is just a mater of thinking through one's options, and planing one's approach, as with anything. The real shame is to see an arbor crew knock over a walnut and run it through the chipper. I am certainly happy that somewhere, someone is efficiently processing 2x4 lumber, but we catch only a small amount of the noble wood that could really find a valuable home if life weren't dominated by plastics.

 

[Tam Dl]

"the appellation of Gentleman is never to be affixed to a man's circumstances, but to his Behaviour in them"

I wish someone could convince law enforcement, and others, not to use "Gentleman" for every perp found with parts of an infant in his backpack, or the equivalent.

 

[ZG47]

I could only afford one, so have a Stihl MS361 with a 20" bar. One of the contractors working for me that cut trees a lot used one and swore by it. Dad has one of those, and a smaller Stihl.... He uses the smaller one 95% of the time but then gets the heavier one out now and then. I could only get one, so got the heavier one. On paper, there are only a few pounds difference between them....but the heavier one seems to feel MUCH heavier after a couple hours than the 3 lbs lighter one. I forget the model....MS299 or something. A buddy of mine has some old Homelite's where the power head is the size of a 12hp Briggs and Straton. He has one that is a two man saw and the bar is about 8' long. Some fool has to hold the idler bearing thing on the end of the bar while the other guy runs the power head. We don't have trees that big where I live....guess he got it as a collector

There was a general engineering firm here in Wellington which also imported tools and after their Aussie supplier closed up, they kept their display window filled with old tools. At one stage, they reportedly had a huge old chainsaw on display. One of my brothers, who occasionally did business with them, asked about it and wondered why you did not see that size of machine any more. He was told that it was used for cutting down kauri trees and that wasn’t happening any more.

 

[Tam Dl]

The one time I saw a chainsaw mill in use the guys used an aluminum ladder to get it square. The big flaw I see is the width of the kerf. 4 cuts is an inch and half turned to dust.

I have used the ladder, the thing about the board I use is that one would be advised to cut it the length one wants on average, or can store in the truck. But it can be used to cut a 50 foot log. It is also cheap and smooth.

This picture might be hard to read, but the board he is using, similar to mine, is only on the board where the people are, otherwise it has been slid along the row of screws. If you look behind the last head, you can see the log is crowned.

For most of my work the board is supported over a length of log, by scraps at either end. But it does have the ability to cut as long a piece as I want.

Photos from Will's book. He adapted the process to use a winch so he could drag the saw from the far end. But for the amount of work I do, I have not bothered to try that. I am curious about it. Maybe some day.

 

[Tam Dl]

OSHA must just have made a visit: As you can see, the chainsaw has been made secure with a line.

 

[Altitude sickness]

I cleared brush yesterday that had over grown some fence lines. A combo of a loader tractor, brush hog and Milwaukee battery chainsaw. ( the big 400 and 500 saws stayed in the barn). It’s amazing how quickly the earth reclaimes ground.

I have had logs from trees I cut milled, and kiln dried. I am lucky to have several Amish saw mills close.

Here is a 150 year old black cherry I cut from the yard and I made a coffee table for friends. I’ve made Black Walnut, Red cedar tables also

 

[Wyatt Smith]

Not such a concern when you own the timber and it’s logistically easier to mill in place than to haul them out mill them and then haul lumber back in. I wouldn’t want to do it commercially but for my purposes I think it will suffice.

I do agree with you, the great part is if your log lands somewhere level you don’t even have to move it. The boards are easily carried out by hand. That was just the big flaw I could see in an otherwise very clever system.

 

[Wyatt Smith]

Devil’s advocate. Fine hardwood’s actual cash value on the forest floor is roughly zero dollars a board foot. It’s all the logistics, fuel, drying, milling, and marketing that makes black walnut $13 a board foot.

Just two weeks ago I dropped many cherry trees that were straight as a rail in my north woods to improve deer habitat. Didn’t buck them up, didn’t haul them out, just left them to rot in exchange for more sunlight on the forest floor. That’s because they are worth zero unless someone mills them into $7 a board foot lumber. Nobody is going to do that.

So if you’re using a home made chainsaw mill and wasting some wood due to a wide kerf, does it really matter? Better than the alternative of letting the logs rot or dropping $40k on a band saw mill, right? You’ll run out of energy to make boards before you run out of free logs in most species.

I cut a lot of cherry for firewood. In my experience they rot in the middle before they are big enough to make a good log. For as common as they are around here, no logger cuts much of, I’m guessing that is the reason.
I do like cutting cherry, they grow like telephone poles, and very little brush.

 

[PCC600]

I have a heavy duty McCulloch 2 stroke chainsaw . Bought it in 1977 and still use it regularly . It was used for many years to cut iron bark fence posts on my family’s cattle stations . I was using it recently to cut up a big iron bark gum tree which tipped over in my back yard during Tropical Cyclone Alfred. Impossible to kill this thing . Also use a lighter Stihl battery powered saw on a pole arm for pruning . Pretty good too .

 

[Tubby’s Canteen]

I cut a lot of cherry for firewood. In my experience they rot in the middle before they are big enough to make a good log. For as common as they are around here, no logger cuts much of, I’m guessing that is the reason.
I do like cutting cherry, they grow like telephone poles, and very little brush.

Could it be quarter sawn? Would get clear of the rotten heart wood.

 

[Wyatt Smith]

Could it be quarter sawn? Would get clear of the rotten heart wood.

Maybe but I doubt it. Often they are only 18” around.

 

[Ravensview]

 

[Ravensview]

I used a device that runs along a leveled board for a lot of my logs, you can see it to the right of the pictures tucked into the cross brace above the table, works good, takes some practice to use it, I think it’s made by beam cutter, helped my buddy build a few log cabins that way before he got his wood mizer, I used it as well when building my log home, need sharp chains and a powerful enough chainsaw, I also used a chainsaw attachment for your skil saw called a beam cutter, will get a picture of it when I can, ran it with a Honda 1000 generator.

 

[Dirtdart]

If by electric you mean battery, EGO is the best IMHO.

My brother owned a tree cutting business and was a true believer in Stihl and his advice has proven sound for gas saws. I will be giving a Shindaiwa 27" a run in the future mainly because of local dealer support.

I started using the EGO string trimmer in 2018 and am using the same battery in 2025 that came with it although its capacity has diminished since new. The EGO trimmer is every bit as powerful as my Stihl gas trimmer was but much faster to load string which is nice considering you run lawn tools 9+ months out of the year in Florida. The leaf blower that I bought shortly after is used daily. I added the 18" chain saw a couple of years ago. The most common complaint I read about this saw is weight compared to some others. I mention the other tools to show a pattern that I have personal experience with so forgive me if too far off topic.

I am of the belief that a running chainsaw is dangerous if it is powered by battery, corded AC, gasoline, hydraulics, or anything else. I view them the same as "unloaded" firearms.

The 3 year battery warranty (5 years on tool) was appealing along with the fact that I could pay for an extra battery compared to the cost of other brands. I will let you know how good their warranty policy is when I have the occasion to use it. I have no affiliation with any manufacturer, dealer, or distributor. Im my case battery compatibility across a broad range of tools is important and all EGO does is battery, and in my opinion they do it well.

 

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