Saw recommendations for milling

A friend and I are considering setting up a milling business. The idea is to use a more portable chain saw mill to get the timber cut to move-able sizes, and make most of the cuts with a band saw mill at his house. We will grow organically, starting off with basic entry level equipment and then re-invest the profits into bigger and better milling and storing equipment as income allows.

What I could use some advice with is saw size. I'm thinking of something that could handle a 24" rip cut, so probably something with a 36" bar with a ripping chain. Preferably Stihl, but I'll also consider Husq as well.

 

New saws- Husqvarna 390XP,395XP Stihl 660 Magnum

Older or vintage saws - Husqvarna 2100CD thin ring version (parts are getting scarce now though),394XP,288XP,385XP,285CD Stihl 066,075/076

Top dogs of the vintage heavyweights - McCulloch Super Pro 125,Stihl 090,Homelite 750.

 

661 or 395 for milling.

 

I priced the 661 at my local Stihl dealer. Good thing I was leaning on the counter and there was a de-fib on hand for my friend.

Add in the cost of a 80 cm bar, two or three ripping chains and a sharpener and I might have to mortgage the grandkids. Speaking of which, does anybody know if Timberline makes a sharpener for ripping chains? I love the one I have for my current saw.

 

Timberline sells the different angle guides, but they only allow 25 degrees I believe. I have a pair but haven't used them.
My vote is for a 394. It oils like a boss!

 

I was playing with my new 36" Granberg setup today, on my MS661. I'm very happy with how it handled it. Red maple; the slabs are about 25" wide, which was just about the limit for that setup (you lose some length due to clamping onto the bar at both ends)



It oiled the bar enough (.063) not to bother with the aux oiler. I have the pin pushed in on the oiler that allows the adjuster to turn a little further. It had plenty of power - and I like to lean on it pretty good to keep my chain cutting aggressively. I make and sharpen my own milling chain.

 

Hey Shawn, nice slabs. We are looking at one of the Logosol models that doesn't have a bar clamp at the far end of the bar. On a wider cut it may not be as accurate as one with two bar clamps, but for squaring up logs and reducing the girth, it hopefully will be enough.

I hope to get to the point of milling my own chain. Someday.

 

Thanks Scotty for the tips. We are looking at the harbour freight bandsaw mill as a stationary mill and are looking at the Logosol mill and Stihl combo for bringing larger logs down to a manageable size out in the field.

I know that Harbor Freight doesn't have the greatest reputation, but because of costs, we are going to try that out first.

There is a commercial Wood milling Expo coming up in Toronto in November. I'm going to look at the Granberg and some other manufacturers & dealers before we pull the trigger.

I think I read on another forum that the Woodmizer may be the HF repackaged

 

You might want to check here. Sawmill Exchange

Scotty is right about the hard work. Ill probably be looking at one of those Hud-Son mills when I can afford it.

 

As an owner/user of a Granberg 36" mill since 1992,let me say there's no replacement for displacement.

Started out with 60cc (meh on anything over 15"-18"),then 77cc (great up to 24-28",slow on 30"-36") finally ending up with a choice of three 88cc to 123cc saws (unstoppable -haven't found anything around here yet that is too much for them)

 

I have seriously thought about a stationary mill with the amount of Pine trees I have on my property. The wood I could sell, and more importantly build with, makes it very inticing. I do not have enough time in the day here though.

I'll be watching to see what you decide on.

Best of luck to ya Steve!

 

Gentlemen (and ladies?), thank you for your sage advice and opinions.

Shawn Curry, the Sawmill Exchange website has been bookmarked. Nothing that I can use currently, but it is all about the timing so I will keep a close eye on that one.

Thistle: Go big or go home, right? The Stihl 660 is 91 cc's so it is right in the middle of your recommendation for larger cuts.

Scotty Overkill & Shawn, good advice regarding the strain on the body. I enjoy hard work, but too much of a good thing... Also, I'm ~155 lbs and 56 years old. I'm not as good as I once was, but I'm as good once as I ever was

I've got a question for those that are familiar with milling; is there money in this? A local sawmill (Century Mill) sells D4S lumber of all kinds. They are getting a decent buck for their wood, but how marketable is the wood? Are there buyers lined up for product? And is decent hardwood readily available for scroungers like me?

But most of all, I am putting this before the Lord. The last thing I want to do is to go in the wrong direction.

 

I'm not in it for the money personally; it's a hobby for me. I own 14 acres of really nice hardwoods, and I have access to a total of 77. When I bought the property, I wasn't really thinking about lumber at all; until one day, I was splitting up some maple rounds, and the wood was just beautiful - much nicer than the maple boards I had recently purchased for another project. I started to see my forest for the lumber that day. What I get out of it is better than money IMO: access to lumber that you just won't find in any store. Check out some of my other milling threads if you'd like to see what I mean.

There's an Amish fellow around here who's very well known and he's really got the market cornered for the folks who have logs they want turned into lumber. He also sells rough cut and surfaced lumber, so he's got some decent business with woodworking folks as well. I've got a few friends drooling over some of the live edge slabs I've produced, and I could probably sell quite a few of them if I wanted to. But I doubt that money could pay the bills for very long, so I won't be quitting my day job. Even if I had more buyers lined up, and unlimited logs to cut, I think it would be difficult to produce enough with the chainsaw mill. I'd probably need to get a trailer-portable band mill to even begin to compete with that guy, and some other heavy equipment as well. But then of course, the bills would be larger and I'd need to produce even more to make it profitable.

Bottom line though, I'm still extremely satisfied with what I get out of it, even if it isn't money.

 

Shawn, that is exactly the kind of first hand knowledge I was looking for. I could afford to take this on as a hobby, so long as I have a regular income as well. My friend's (and potential partner) position is a little different though and his income needs are a little more immediate, so I will proceed cautiously. I just had a meeting with an 82 year old friend who has had a few successful business ventures, some not. His advice to me is that: "A partnership is a tough ship to sail". So I really appreciate all your advice.

 

Touching on what Shawn was saying. There are 4 Amish mills within 12 miles of my land. Three circular saws and one band saw. I have one of the bigger guys with a circular saw lined up to cut the lumber for a barn from my logs. He is charging me $150 per 1000 bd.ft. If I remembered that correctly. LOL (C.R.S.)

So better for me to let them saw it up for me. Unfortunately there will be the cost of moving it to and from the mill.

Keeping your overhead low and having enough business would obviously be very important to seeing a profit.

Got a good business plan?

If your working it part time and your partner is working it almost full time......? What percentage do you both put in. Money and time wise? What percentage do you both get out?

Well anyway. Hopefully you can both work it out, or maybe your friend could go it alone and you could help him by giving him your business and help.

Do you have the time to devote to it or would you be better off as a financial investor/partner of some type? Just a few things to consider.

 

Gasifier +1, +1. The more I look into this, the more I realize I need to have my eyes open. We would be focusing mostly on prime hardwoods; oak, sugar maple, locust, walnut and the like that have a better profit margin rather than discounted construction lumber. The business plan? Working on it thanks to all your input. And I'm realizing that the partner relationship will have to be closely scrutinized to create a fair playing field.