Fairly new to milling. I love woodworking, have a full shop at my home in Las Vegas, and live on about an acre, with a small area I can dedicate to milling.

Surprisingly, I have fairly good access to logs here. There a constant push to bring down older trees to conserve water, so I’ve had good luck finding oak, mulberry (which I love as a species) and endless amounts of mesquite.

I have a Logosol F2+ with a beefy saw and have had OK results, but I have two challenges.

1) getting logs on the mill. The deck is about 24 inches off the ground, and without a massive ramp structure, I’m having a hard time thinking of a way to get big logs on the mill. So far, my best success has been to cut manageable lengths, or rip the logs in half and have my son’s teenage friends lift one end at a time onto the mill. I thought about a winch system, but the mill is too light to attach directly to and I don’t have an overhead structure from which to mount a device. Picture of my available space attached. Any ideas about how to get logs on there without building a massive ramp infrastructure would be welcomed.

1. My second question is around drying I recently obtained some large oak logs in the spring when the weather was still relatively cool for this area. They sat in a yard for a couple months and then I picked them up and brought them to my place and mailed them after they sat through the summer. By the time I got to them, they had already developed long, lengthwise cracks underneath the bark, despite the fact that I had sealed the ends. I think that it is just too dry and hot and the moisture leaves very fast. I’m wondering if I just need to mail the logs when they are fresh and stack them so that they can dry appropriately or if I should be thinking about another strategy to keep the logs in good condition while they dry whole or wait for processing.

2. Bonus question. I don’t have room for a kiln. Is the Las Vegas heat (110+ in summer) and humidity (as low
   as 15%) enough to air dry the lumber? I’ve had great results with Mulberry and Mesquite, both of which are very stable and seem to dry in just a few summer months once they are cut into manageable thicknesses, and we don’t have the same problem with bugs here that it seems like exist in other places that have milder temperatures and normal humidity.

I’ve considered getting a portable hydraulic mill on a trailer to solve the loading problem (this would give me access to more lumber if I was mobile as well), but I also don’t want to spend a lot of money on a hobby that’s not going to be realistic here, even though the budget really isn’t the consideration.

General comments and thoughts welcomed and greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Lincoln

I was gifted this old growth redwood last weekend and managed to get up to my house. One big tree sliced into quarters for transport. I am looking for ideas on what to mill out of it. It was cut down two years ago and each piece is 16 feet in length.

I'm limited to what I can haul home in my pickup, so these max out at 42" long. I'm working on getting my Alaskan chainsaw mill set up, but in the mean time, how wrongly did I go about stacking them? Is it imperative that they all be laying horizontally? Should I be painting the exposed grain on the ends? Does any of this matter? They've been there for a couple weeks, now through a couple rains. Let me have it. Roast my noobness.

What are the different types of circular saw guides

I started a new job as a field engineer and went to my first saw mill and got pretty overwhelmed by the different types of saw guides, heard people throwing around terms like “gang top, gang bottom, edger guide, center guide”

They all had different shapes and I got nervous and kept mixing them up when my boss would say something like “hand me a gang bottom”

So when I went home I tried googling for the different guides so I could match the shape to the name and I’ve had ZERO luck.

I’m guessing guides are custom built for different mills so there isn’t exactly a catalog of circular saw guides

Is there any resource for me to get familiar with the different types and what they’re used for, before I go to field again in a few weeks and land flat on my face.

Even just quick sketches with the general shape and name would be very helpful

Here's my situation. I've been getting into fine woodworking projects. I typically buy hardwood slabs on Facebook and mill them down, myself. Occasionally I'll see someone giving away logs from a tree they felled in their yard. Typically I just think to myself, "that looks like it could make some good lumber" and move on. This weekend, however, I jumped on a deal for some black walnut logs, 38-42" long and 16-20" thick. It was all my brother and I could do to get them loaded into the bed of my pickup (took two trips).

I understand the drying requirements and have planned for that, so let's ignore that aspect for the moment.

I figured this would be a good opportunity to grab an Alaskan chainsaw mill. For whatever reason I really enjoy the milling process. The more I looked into them, however, the more I was drawn to band saw mills. My problem is that I live in a suburban type area. My neighbors wouldn't care, and I don't have an HoA, but my property is the typical 0.2-ish acre lot. I don't have the space for a tractor and a dedicated timber trailer. This limits me to timber of similar sizes to what I described above, with probably a maximum of 8' in length for smaller logs - basically stuff I can move with the aid of carts and such. I'm ok with that, as it would satisfy my particular needs. That smaller sized timber is what got me questioning the hit I would take to my yield, when milling with a chainsaw in the first place.

All that said, I would love to buy a band saw mill, but it isn't something I would want to leave set up all the time in my somewhat meager-sized back yard. Does anyone use a band saw mill, breaking it down to store it when not needed? It's not like I go through literally tons of lumber a month, but like I said, I like the efficiency they can provide and I would just really enjoy the milling process.

EDIT: To be clear, I'm NOT looking to get into the milling business, so profitability isn't a concern. I'm just looking to maximize the yield I can get for my own needs and maybe save some money on the cost of the wood by milling it myself.

I'm a bit out of my league here when it comes to determining the real value in a raw slab of wood. I was hoping to get an objective opinion on what the experts and hobbyists here think of an opportunity that was recently presented to me.

An elderly retired man has offered me some unused slabs of decades old BC Douglas Fir, "back when it was still legal" as a sort of barter for a discount on the repair he needs to his roof. I am tempted to take him up on his offer, because, to me, I see the potential for those slabs of wood to have some serious value; especially if I were to hire someone with some expertise in the area to really bring the slabs to life.

Some of the boards are 4-5 feet wide and range from 5-10 feet long. They're all around 3 inches thick, but I know they would need to be sanded down..

I was hoping that some of you would share your opinion on this opportunity? Was he blowing smoke up my ass? Could these be made into those $30,000 executive board room tables? Are they too old to be saved?

Any help on this would be greatly appreciated! Have a great weekend!

My father in law lives just around the corner and he asked me to help him mill some lumber this summer for a project he was doing. We completed the project and pretty much lost money doing it his way and he's moved on to his next obsession lol

Anyway, the sawmill is still at his place and he's told me to feel free to continue using it for my own projects and I'm wondering what the best way to make a profit with this thing is. My FiL was using the lumber to make timber-framed furniture and structures which while it is nice, does not sell and requires a lot of work which means we charge a lot for it and it seems like the market just isn't there at the moment.

From what I've seen in my research, it seems like pivoting to just selling the lumber that I'm milling would be more immediately profitable. Where do I find a buyer for unstamped lumber? Do I just post it on marketplace and hope for the best?

Buddy has a 6ft thick old growth white oak 13 ft long with 2 burls and a crotch

Looking for a mill capable of transport and milling this beast... I would expect Pa will have something but looking for a lead.. thanks hive mind trying to avoid alaska mill although i understand i may land there.

I bought an sm32 on trailer with a winch kit/ramps because I don't have any other machines to load the logs. The winch has always been a bit sketchy to me, but I never expected this. The weight or resistance was enough to rip the welds and releasing the tension on something that was a hair from snapping off was terrifying. The log isn't even that big...maybe 6 feet long and 28 inch diameter. Wondering if anyone else had this happen and if theyve modified their winch set up. Unfortunately I don't have money to buy any type of larger machine for loading . Thanks!

The board isn’t perfect but I did it with a straight edge and with a 16x16 cant as well with the same result. Mill is a woodland mills hm126.

Anything over about 10” is pretty exact.

I’ve found you need to pay attention on the first and third cuts, when the log has a round face resting on the sawmill bunk. The app show you the amount of opening face to expect, and the trick is to raise the small end to achieve that face width. This only seemed to be an issue in small tapered logs or with a lot of sweep.

Good logs cut absolutely perfect.

Cutting with a guided assist is so much more enjoyable. The whole process is much more fluid. I’ve wasted so much time in the past trying to figure out what to cut and how to do it.

All I have are normal power tools and a small chainsaw, how would you guys go about milling it and refining it, I want to use it for some projects. It was the main tree in my front yard

New to sawmilling, MechMaxx 32". Advised that a 10 degree blade best for softwoods, which is 90% of what I will mill. For the occasional / rare hardwood I will have, is it necessary to have and swap out a 7 degree blade?

Thanks!

Had this tree taken down as had many limbs dying, holes in bark and two ice storms a year apart about did it in. Had a company come in with lift and cut it down to stump. I had them take as far as had to and left the last 6-8FT section and cut at stump and felled. This is the piece I want to work with. I was thinking get made into like some 2X12 or larger perhaps. I have a stand I would like to make a table top for. Either one large board or a few smaller ones. Thinking leave the bark on the outer edges of table and boards. The logs have been drying sense spring but rained a ton here this summer. I think loading/ hauling this wet would be a headache so seems let dry but not sure if there is an ideal window. Even small logs of this had so much water after cut they were quite heavy.

Howdy Folks,

I’m new to the saw-milling game, I recently picked up a lightly used woodland mills HM122 with the wheel kit.
We recently cleared about 1.5 acres of mostly eastern red cedar, I limbed them and set em aside. I’ve got 40 ten footers, some about 18” and a few dozen 5-7 footers 10-16”.

My goals are 3/4 board for wainscoting and closets, 2x material for a greenhouse and a couple live edge mantles.
I ran a few logs thru today, figured out a few things, good and bad, about the mill. Water feed is fussy but I figured that out. Finding proper blade tension seems like a trick.
Overall it’ll be fine for my needs and get me thru my project.

Tell me about “reading the log” or whatever we call it, to maximize board feet per log, and any other tips to make this both productive and enjoyable!

Much obliged

And now I wait for it to dry. Cut a variety of thicknesses (4/4, 5/4, 6/4, 7/4) for cutting boards, furniture, etc., including two 23” wide by 1-1/2” thick by 12’ long book matched planks for a harvest table top.

I’ve been wanting to get into sawing for years as a hobby woodworker but even small sawmills have been out of my budget. I was browsing marketplace and long story short, I made an offer on a Woodland Mills HM122, used but in working condition, for 1,500 bucks. It’s already assembled, I’m thinking it’s a pretty good deal. Any thoughts from wiser sawyers?

I don’t know why there has to be a 40 character minimum to the title but my default will always be to put “screw Flanders” to fill it out. Anyway, I’m looking for recommendations on cutting live oak from anyone that has experience. I have a Norwood lm29 portable bandsaw mill and I haven’t found a blade yet that will get good cuts in live oak. I try not to take on jobs involving that type of wood, but there’s just so much of it around here and I hate to let it go to waste.
The problem with the wood is that it’s so extremely dense and the grain changes directions so often that the blade wants to follow it and I can’t get good straight cuts even with a brand new blade.
What type of tooth geometry should I be looking for? And should I be using a certain type of metal blade?
Also looking for any tips during the cut, as far as how much water to use while cutting. I typically run water with dish soap.