saw mill

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.

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..