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Old 09-19-2017, 04:04 AM   #1
Raz
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Lumber Making

More a labor of love than a hobby. At one time there were at least six lumber mills close to our home where one could buy rough cut lumber. Over the years they have all closed. This led me to try making my own. It's dirty, hard work, takes a long time, and certainly is not cheap. But there is a lot of satisfaction in building something with your own lumber. We needed some 1 x 12's for a cold frame project, so out came the chainsaw mill. If you've never seen one, it's kind of interesting. These are what the folks use to build homes in the Alaskan woods. I'm not that brave. There is a cold one waiting for me back at the house as well as a nice hot shower.
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Old 09-19-2017, 04:42 AM   #2
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Very cool Raz. That's one piece of equipment I always wanted to add to my shop but never did .
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Old 09-19-2017, 05:39 AM   #3
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Don't forget to let the lumber dry for at least 1/2 a year before ise to allow for shrinkage. If drying put stickers between every level if stacked for air flow to prevent cupping.
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Old 09-19-2017, 08:49 AM   #4
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Very nice, I am impressed by the results, Raz. How do the bar and chain hold up under so much cutting - how many boards before you need to get your sharpening file out?
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Old 09-19-2017, 10:10 AM   #5
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Interesting Stuff Raz. The last "Mountain Men" show on the History Channel featured one of the characters (Morgan) using a set up very similar to yours to make lumber in order to fortify his food larder against the Alaskan grizzly bears. I believe it was Season 6 Episode 14 if you want to watch it. It was the first I'd seen that process. Now twice in one week. Good stuff. Thanks!

Tom
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Old 09-19-2017, 11:13 AM   #6
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Good fun! I have seen quite a few personal lumber mill operations as I live in the Pacific Northwest where there is a lot of timber. Even in the cities in the Northwest we have small scale and sometimes commercial "urban" lumber harvesting operations.

I make my own lumber now and again but as I only work on small scale projects I can use a resaw blade on my bandsaw for slicing up shorter lengths of logs. Getting ready to do that with some pear wood logs I have had curing for a number of years. Labor of love...yes... hobby, not really as I mostly sell what I make to people who use them as part of their hobby.
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Old 09-19-2017, 03:28 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul O. View Post
Very nice, I am impressed by the results, Raz. How do the bar and chain hold up under so much cutting - how many boards before you need to get your sharpening file out?
Bought the saw for this purpose. Since then we've cut perhaps 2 k bf. The original bar is still on it. I have two ripping chains. I swap them out when the saw feels labored. I've only cut white pine but as you can imagine, the saw gets a work out. Kudos Husqvarna. I do minimize the cuts. First slab then second perpendicular. Then cut boards sufaced three sides. This let's me cut any size up to the bark edge on my table saw. Only needed three boards but .......
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Old 09-19-2017, 04:10 PM   #8
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Daughter in laws father has one of the lumber saws you buy, I think about $5,000. he cuts a lot of interesting kinds of local woods that are not available in stores, to make some special pieces.

So many hobbies, so little time....
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Old 09-19-2017, 04:43 PM   #9
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Several years ago, we had friends building a log home using timber from their property. For lumber, they had a mill. It was two lawn mower engines on a platform with saw blades instead of a mower blade. The engines were offset so that the blades were at the same height but overlapped for a clean cut. The platform, about 30" square, was supported by four trailer jacks connected together so when you turned one, all adjusted the height by the same amount.

To mill a log, they layed it between two level planks that became the run for the saw assembly. Start the saw, run it to the other end cutting a plank, remove the plank, adjust down a set amount, push it the other direction to create the next plank. We watched them work it one evening. It was amazing.
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Old 09-19-2017, 10:30 PM   #10
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Interesting stuff. I've never seen or heard of a chainsaw mill before this. I'm amazed.

My father in law spent his last couple of decades cutting down trees and sawing boards on his own mill, but it was a big circular blade turned by a belt, and powered off his tractor IIRC. He built pallets as well as some benches and other rustic items. It was his livelihood, then after retirement age it became a social security supplement.

I've never done anything like that, but I did build a screen door for my back porch this month (using purchased pine boards). I had to cut the 2x4s down to 1-1/16" x 3" with my table saw. The outside is painted, but the inside surface received 2 coats of blotch control, then dye, then polyurethane. Not a pro job by any means, but I'm pleased with how it turned out considering my relative lack of experience.

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