# freehand milling-slabbing



## jandc (Aug 14, 2009)

Hi,

I was wondering do u guys sometimes do freehand milling?
Are there any technique, or some tips

i found this movie from a guy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9jdPu4WsNc
looks good to me

are there any other good movies or pictures during freehand milling?

jandc,

belgium


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## crashagn (Aug 14, 2009)

Iam sure it can be done with a short bar like in that video.. but just watching that made my back hurt with all of that leaning over. I tried freehanding a 8ft maple that i brought home with my 371xp with 24' bar and stood the log up vertical. I cut some 3-4' slabs out of it. Most of the cuts i wasnt able to make it all the way through and had to cut through on the other side to finish it. Took it really easy on the saw since i wasnt using a ripping chain. I got about 6-7 good slabs out of the maple that is now stacked out in a shed to be forgotten about untill next year and i can rip them down or run them through the plainer. Next time i do this ill be looking into a Granberg or a Alaskan that way i can get a more even and uniform cut. My eyesite on the log i was able to keep within about 1/2- 1 inch. It just means more work later on getting them evened up


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## mtngun (Aug 14, 2009)

There is a guy in Carolina who built an entire 2 story house and deck with lumber that he chainsawed freehand. His procedure was to snap a chalk line and simply follow the line. He even freehanded the lumber for the flooring and paneling, etc.. BTW, while he was sawing the lumber and building the house, his leg was in a cast. He published articles in Mother Earth News and other mags, and eventually wrote a book about it.

I suspect the Carolina guy had never heard of Granberg so he just improvised. With practice he became surprisingly good at freehand milling. However, there is no logical reason to cut freehand when you can get a Granberg mini-mill for less than $100.


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## BobL (Aug 14, 2009)

The effort needed to freehand depends on the size of the saw/bar/log and hardness of the log that you want to mill but whatever the size/hardness I found that freehand requires a lot more effort than using a mill. This is because freehand you have to physically maneuver the saw all the way down the log compared to using a mill (especially on a slope) where the mill basically slides down the log. If you are an accomplished and active faller then you will already probably have most of the muscle development needed, but otherwise, when I tried it with my 076 I found it really seriously works out your back, shoulders and arms. I found (a bit like falling a big tree) that using a short rocking rhythm and keeping the saw on the dogs reduced the effort needed. I think it's better to use small even length sweeps rather than than unequal or really wide sweeps.

The first or face cuts on a log are easier physically because the width of the cut is narrower but the possibility of wandering off the line is greater especially if there are branch unions or indentations in the log. If you decide to try this I suggest you use a straight smooth log to practice on.

Whatever the case it will certainly give you a good workout. Given my day job is a desk jockey I found I was so unfit that after cutting a couple of 24" wide x 8 ft slabs I was soaked wet from sweat and shaking like a leaf. Compare this to my milling setups where (unless it's hot) I can mill all day without raising a sweat.


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## Freehand (Aug 14, 2009)

I have done quite a bit of freehand milling-it's all I do any more.I tried all the cheap mills,including the alaskan and one day I just went back to the basics.

I don't recommend a saw larger than 80 cc's for the reasons stated earlier...very hard on the back and accuracy suffers for operator fatigue.Also,a bar exceeding 24" is hard to control.(I generally don't mill larger than 22" wide slabs with this method.


And here's the kicker....if it is very big,36"+,I wedge that sucker in half and saw on the quarter...large oak comes to mind with that showy quarter grain.I honestly have no use for a 2x36" slab....I know some of you will beg to differ and we'll just chalk that up to different strokes,eh?


I use my slabs primarily for window and door frames so the stability of the quarter sawn is of great value to me and looks good too.


Also,you're cutting noodles freehand,and I find this much more efficient than cutting 90 degrees to the grain as with the alaskan-type mill,etc.


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## BobL (Aug 14, 2009)

Good post freehandslabber, I'd givya a greenie but have to spread the lurv as they say.

One issue we have here in Oz that really tests out free hand slabbers is the hardness of the timber but there are some very fit aussie freehand slabbers around, including this character who was slabbing 30 ft long beams from something called grey box which is as hard as they get here. There is a news paper story/clipping floating around about this guy, I think it was even posted here on AS, anyone remember the link?


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