# Granberg Question



## Dieselnutz (Dec 6, 2007)

I am a new guy here. I have been reading for quite some time. Started out trying to find answers for tuning the 031 and soon ended up with the 5100. Last Friday I stopped by the dealer and brought home a used 7900!:greenchainsaw: So I want to buy a mill for a 24" bar. I was thinking about a 30" Granberg from Baileys. Most of the logs I have are around 20". Does this sound about right for what I have? I do not plan to go any bigger unless I can talk my father-in-law out of his 166.:greenchainsaw:


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## olyman (Dec 6, 2007)

to me--the price diff between the large and the small--large------------can always go bigger logs--but get the smaller--its over--and to buy new longer rails--theyre nuts--been there---


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## woodshop (Dec 6, 2007)

You will regret later not getting the 36"... remember you lose around 5 inches of the bar putting it on the mill. I can only mill 31 inch max with my 36 inch bar. As said, cost diff is not much.


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## oldsaw (Dec 6, 2007)

woodshop said:


> You will regret later not getting the 36"... remember you lose around 5 inches of the bar putting it on the mill. I can only mill 31 inch max with my 36 inch bar. As said, cost diff is not much.



Listen to this man, he is wise in the ways of chainsaw milling.

Mark


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## woodshop (Dec 6, 2007)

oldsaw said:


> Listen to this man, he is wise in the ways of chainsaw milling



Flattery will get you everywhere!!! ...truth though is a 180 from what Mark said. The older I get the more I realize how much I don't know. A nice mix of both kinda scary... and relief that it just doesn't matter as much.


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## BobL (Dec 6, 2007)

woodshop said:


> Flattery will get you everywhere!!! ...truth though is a 180 from what Mark said. The older I get the more I realize how much I don't know. A nice mix of both kinda scary... and relief that it just doesn't matter as much.



That's what I tell my students. The fact that they don't know enough to realize how little they know is both an advantage and disadvantage. Some even say its the reason why all the really big discoveries are made by youngish people instead of auld pharts!

Oh yeah what WS and OS said - get the 36"er - you won't regret it.


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## Trigger-Time (Dec 6, 2007)

They also talked me into the 36" mill when I was looking.
I very glad they did!


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## stonykill (Dec 9, 2007)

I have both 24 and 36 inch rails. Actually 2 sets of 24 and 1 set of 36. I can count the # of times I needed the 36 inch on 1 hand. I never use them now as I rip down wider logs with the mini mill. To me as a professional furniture builder, Boards over 15 inches wide are useless. They warp, twist, crack, and simply become narrower boards. I can mill 22 inch logs with a 24 inch mill. The usable bar length is 18, but by rolling and slabbing the log, you are down to 15 to 17 inches in no time. In my experience you get better quality boards this way. 
The 2nd thing is, from a safety standpoint, having 12 or more inches of unused bar extending out the log is a disaster waiting to happen. Slip and lose your footing, and your arm is gone. I compare it to using a table saw. If your ripping 1 inch thick boards, would you set the blade height to 3 inches? That would be unsafe, we all know that. 

Just an observation from milling, and liking all my limbs. I always run a 24 inch bar if possible, from a safety standpoint 1st, and 2nd, running a shorter bar is always easier on the saw. I have run a 36 inch bar on my P51, but its a totally different animal with a 24 inch bar and low pro chain.


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## CaseyForrest (Dec 9, 2007)

Stony, good advice.

But just because you have a 36" mill doesnt mean you need to use a 36" bar milling 15" logs.

Its nice to have to adjustment out to a 36" bar, for those times when you need it.

Id agree with OS and WS. Having the room to expand is a plus.


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## stonykill (Dec 9, 2007)

CaseyForrest said:


> Stony, good advice.
> 
> But just because you have a 36" mill doesnt mean you need to use a 36" bar milling 15" logs.
> 
> ...



thanks, personally I find running the 36 inch rails with a shorter bar awkward. The balance just feels off. Also if milling in the woods, its a lot of unused rail to get hung up in unseen objects. 

With that said on the very rare occation I needed the 36 inch rails, I was glad to have them. Now they sit ready and waiting.....Someday I might need them again.

If I had it to do over again, I wouldn't have bought the 36 inch rails, and just would have made them.


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## woodshop (Dec 9, 2007)

stonykill said:


> ...To me as a professional furniture builder, Boards over 15 inches wide are useless. They warp, twist, crack, and simply become narrower boards...




I certainly agree with this. When I started milling I would use the csm to make as large a cant as my little Ripsaw would make lumber out of, 14 inches. I ended up with lots of 12-14 inch wide boards. As Stoney says, in most cases if making furniture, wide boards are rarely used because of the stability and wood movement problems in all wood. Also, even many full blown cabinet grade woodshops don't have a 12 inch jointer, often only an 8 inch. So the first thing you do with wide boards is rip them down to 8 inches. Starting with a 12 inch board leaves you with an 8 and a 4 inch. By the time you trim away waste and clean up the board, often that orphan 4 becomes a 3 inch or less wide board. Not always lots of call for that width. Your shop ends up with lots of skinny 3 inch boards good for picture frames and such, but little else. Bottom line is I started milling most logs into 9 inch wide cants and thus after cleaning up and S4S, you end up with 8 inch boards you can use in the shop, and you get more of them out of the log than wider boards. Sure there are things I make where it is an advantage to start with a large 8/4 12 inch wide board. Better grain continuity, color matching etc. Most of the time though I mill 9 inch boards as they end being much more practical and usable.


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## Dieselnutz (Dec 16, 2007)

The 36" mill is in and I talked the Father in Law out of his Sachs Dolmar 166 for my Christmas present! 
Need some chain and to get the old beast running.


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## oldsaw (Dec 17, 2007)

Dieselnutz said:


> The 36" mill is in and I talked the Father in Law out of his Sachs Dolmar 166 for my Christmas present!
> Need some chain and to get the old beast running.



Click on the Bailey's link above and get their ripping chain. I use it as my primary milling chain.

Mark


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## dustytools (Dec 17, 2007)

oldsaw said:


> Click on the Bailey's link above and get their ripping chain. I use it as my primary milling chain.
> 
> Mark



Listen to this man too, as he is also wise in the ways of chainsaw milling!!! :greenchainsaw:


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## oldsaw (Dec 17, 2007)

dustytools said:


> Listen to this man too, as he is also wise in the ways of chainsaw milling!!! :greenchainsaw:



   :greenchainsaw: 

Haven't I read that somewhere before? :monkey: 

Mark


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## BobL (Dec 18, 2007)

dustytools said:


> Listen to this man too, as he is also wise in the ways of chainsaw milling!!! :greenchainsaw:



Shouldn't that be;

"To this man listen, as wise he is also in chainsaw milling ways":greenchainsaw: 

or something like that.


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## ropensaddle (Dec 18, 2007)

Or redneck listen to the feller he knows his chit in them there
dern chainsaw mills


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## dustytools (Dec 18, 2007)

ropensaddle said:


> Or redneck listen to the feller he knows his chit in them there
> dern chainsaw mills



I like this un best!


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