[Visteonguy]

I guess this is maybe the best place to post this item,,,,
Since I have bought this rig,,, my cost for potentially the biggest cost in the wood working hobby,,, the wood itself,,,, has been reduced to almost -0- dollars,,,

I have owned this saw mill ( made by LOGOSOL ) since 2001 and it has paid for itself over a few times already, and it looks like it will continue to do so many times over into the future,,, its the coolest toy I own,,, you would not believe the feeling you get when you take a log ,,, even one that at first did not even look like it would produce acceptable firewood.. and inside you find beautiful grained boards,, that are yours for free,,, Just about everything I make now is out of this wood that I produced,, and seems like you do not have trouble getting wood,,, people want trees cut down from fence rows,, trees get blown down after major storms, you can go to your local city DPW and ask them if they have any wood that they want to get rid of,,, and the answer is Yes ! In Michigan you can go to the state and get a permit to go on state land and recover downed wood,, all free lumber..... I got to believe other states have simular programs,,
the mill cost me about $3000 because they were having a sale at that time,,, that was the complete cost including the chain saw,,, now its about $3500 but you will not believe what you can produce with that mill besides being self sufficent as far as your wood needs... I have been collecting the Crotches out of large trees and am going to be cutting slabs out of the middle of those peices that will produce natural leg sets for benches and tables,,,
You cannot even buy stuff like that !!! and you can make your own for free,
I am now remolding a room in my house that will be a home theater room and I am remaking it with a raised pannel kind of look. All I had to buy was the 1/4 inch oak plywood for the walls,,, and eveything else was made out of the wood I cut with this mill and cost me about nothign,,,for an example there is over a thousand feet of a molding I ran on my router table , 6 good sized beams spanning the cealing and a larger beam ringing the entire room. I believe that the mill has paid for itself a few times over just in the making of this room remodeling, alone.

I cannot think of any thing else that I can buy that can save me more money for my wood working hobby.. then this thing.

 

[NewMontanaWorkshop]

Suweet!!!!!

 

[Visteonguy]

hahahaha ,,,,,,,,,,, yes Stan,,, ya pretty much covered it with that remark

 

[GoonMan]

Yep I agree very nice.

 

[Glenmore]

Terry that is a neat toy. How many times do you have to sharpen the chain per log. I heard of them chainsaw mills first time I've seen one. The 2 mills that I worked at have 56" cicular blades. At least with that you don't have to worry about nails and metal flying at you. I seen a rail spike one time bend a blade and went running for the clutch on the detroit to shut down the pto. I think your way is safer. Oh yes I'm as green as the leaves on them trees in your pics with envey. Have fun and be safe.

 

[Visteonguy]

Glenn,,, If you are doing a really large log,,, perhaps one too big to put on the mill... maybe then you would have to sharpen the chain a couple of times,, but I can usually do an average log on one chain,,, I bought quite a few chains,, so all I do is use one and then, instead of stopping and sharpening the chain on the saw with a file,, I just install another chain and off we go,,, I wait till I got maybe half dozen chains that need sharpening and then do them all at once,,, got the little electric chain saw sharpener rig that is sold at,,, where else,,, HF for $79 ,,, its just like what they have in hardware stores and chain saw places that sharpen chains for customers,,, it is plastic but works great !! I wish you could see a board close up that comes off that mill,,, you would not believe how smooth that thing cuts,,, it will WAY outpreform the big old 56" mill you worked on,,, as far as smoothness of cut,,,, No way would it stay up with your mill on output though. I can buy a 16 " chain right from LOGOSOL for just a bit under $25 now,,, and every time I have time to kill when I stop in Lowes or Home Depot,, I like to take a stroll down their lumber isle and gander at the prices they are getting for their hardwood,,, I have seen them selling red oak,, 1x 12" x 8 feet for $65 to $80,,, and thats a composit board,,, made up of smaller peices glued together if you look closly,,,, geesch,,,I like that mill,,,,hahahah It does not take much time at all if you are figuring on that kind of prices to make that mill pay for itself..
If you go to www.logosol.com
and take a look at their site,,, you can order a FREE demo tape of them putting that mill through its paces,,, I asked them if they would send me their newer version they just started to put out and they happily did,,and you would be absolutly amazed at what they can do with that thing... Its a first class tape they made,,, last longer then half hour,, maybe even 45 mnutes,,, hard to believe its free... My hats off to Logosol for their marketing dept.

Oh and about the wood I used in the canes,,, mostly I used red oak, but in that batch I also used some Bass wood that I have and I tried a board in Elm,,, that one I would not recomend,, it does not route too well,, but the bass wood did ok and the red oak did beautiful,,,
In the picture The redish tinted ones are the red oak and the one real white one is the Elm and the other ones that are mostly white are the Bass wood,,, they are extreamly light in weight,, kind of nice,,, but all of them are not too heavy in the first place,,, but you can tell the difference in the basswood.

 

[Glenmore]

Seems your mill is a lot more fun. To use and a lot friendlier. I know what you mean about how smooth I used to split wood with my chainsaw a whole lot smoother then from the 56" mill especially when the blade get heated up or the shanks aren't alligned properly. For chains when I worked in the woods me and my friend used to go halves for a spool of chain it was a little cheaper then buying the premade loops maybe you should look into that. Still a neat toy you got there and thanks for the link.

 

[Visteonguy]

yes,, I have bought 25 foot rolls of bulk chain and made up some loops,,, I had a heck of a time figuring out how to mash down the rivets where ya put the loop together,,, tried just to peen em in the old fashion way,, it worked but was a lot of work and a lot of bruised fingers,,, then one of my coworkers said he had a little thing he bought from a guy on ebay to "Spin" the rivets.. he brought it in and made a loop for me out of my chain and it looked like it was factory done,,, so I made myself a copy of his gizmo and now ,, no more black and blue fingers,,, but you can only find special "Ripping " chain in a few places,, most folks think its dangerous to try and rip wood with a chain saw and want no part of it,, even when I try and explain how that mill works,,,, oh well,, their loss,,

by the way,, only difference in regular chain and ripping chain is the angle of the cutting edge ground on the teeth,,, ripping is ground to 10 degrees and regular chain saw chain is ground to 30 degrees,,,,,, makes all the difference in the world when you try and cut down a log,,, verses across the log as in making firewood,,,get the right chain and it cuts easier then you think..

 

[kp91]

Terry,

Got the LOGOSOL video based on your post on Hardwood Suppliers, and all I can say is WOW. Maybe I'll be able to justify that in a few years! great DVD, they are quite convincing, especially with one guy lifting the entire sawmill off of the top of his Volvo.

Thanks for sharing your experience.

 

[Djm73]

Dave here,

How do you clap the short pieces in place? I see you use a plank under them. I have tried a ladder but clamping them is difficult. My saw has a 24" blade and we have done 22" and larger logs. Great care must be taken above the 22" as they become very heavy and require a different lifting style.

Thank You
Dave

 

[DaninVan]

Terry; what displacement is your saw? Looks like an 18" bar?
I bought an Alaskan Sawmill a couple of years ago and it's still sitting in its box...
Alaskan Chainsaw Mill | Granberg International
I've been procrastinating about getting the ripping chain; my bad.