# 36" Alaskan Sawmill



## deezulsmoke

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=3

Is this a pretty good deal for a 36" alaskan sawmill ?? I am going into the milling business, this will give me a really good excuse to get my 660 mag LOL I dont have any experience with these mills, so I will probably have a lot of questions. One I have in mind is I was looking at this mill and I can see how after you get a flat surface on the log you could guide the sawmill down the length of the tree section to cut your boards. My question is how do you get the first cut on top of the log to be parallel with the center of the section ?? Are there guide rails, ect. than you can purchase for this ?? I dont even want to think about how much money I have burnt up in the fireplace on cherry,oak, and hickory. These look like they would be a lot of fun to mess around with.


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## smithie55

Hi there,
Nothing shows up when you go to the HF site. What is their price?
Also checkout this site:
http://www.toolcenter.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=TC&Category_Code=CHAIN_SAW_MILLS
You can buy the guides or you can make your own, the lighter weight the better if you have to pack in your equipment very far.

I made mine out of light weight square metal tubing, made them in 10 foot lengths so that I can do a 20 foot length at one time.

Keep us posted on your progress.


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## appalachianarbo

There are several types of guide rails you can buy, or you can make them from 2x6's or angle iron. Correct me if I'm wrong woodshop, but don't you use the guide rails from the ripsaw with your alaskan? As far as aligning the rails with the center of the log, you need shims under the rail at the narrow end of the log. Just use a measuring tape to obtain equal distances. For squaring the sides, either flip your log 90 degrees and set up your guide rails again, or get an Alaskan mini mill, which uses the flat top cut as a guide to rip the sides. It is inexpensive, but requires another saw.


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## rb_in_va

I think he meant this one. The end of his URL got chopped off.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=32376

And that price is excellent. Those were $180-200 not long ago if I remember correctly.


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## hautions11

Here is the $29 Granberg rails in action. They use the same extrusion as the mill with some holes drilled in it to nail the rails in to the log. You drill counterbored holes in a 2 X 4 and run a carrige bolt thru it. The rail grabs the head of the carrige bolt and slides in width until you tighted the bolt on the nut. It is staightforward. Once you lay the 2 X 4 on the log, you measure from the centerline on each end and set the 2 X 4's parallel to the centerline of the log. It is easier then my description. These 2 X 4's are 8" short of my log, so I am only attached at one end. The free end is lagged to the log with 3" wood screws. Look at this pic.


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## deezulsmoke

RB, thanks for fixing the link, that is the one I was trying to link to. Thanks all you all for your tips and pics. I cannot wait to jump into this and try my hand at it, I think it will be a lot of fun. One of the guys on here posted a couple of desks he made from cherry that was just beautiful wood. I would imagine it is pretty rewarding knowing that you did everything yourself from cutting the wood to the final build. What I would really love to do is find a really large cherry and slice a thick chunk off the base for the top of a table that I could make for the living room. I would imagine that would be a beautiful chunk of wood, I would like to leave the edge alone and some of the bark when its finished if possible, I am just trying to figure out what would be the best way to fit and finish some type of leg system to this for support of the table. Thanks again everyone.


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## hautions11

$139 by the way is a good price for a 36"


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## rb_in_va

deezulsmoke said:


> RB, thanks for fixing the link, that is the one I was trying to link to. Thanks all you all for your tips and pics. I cannot wait to jump into this and try my hand at it, I think it will be a lot of fun. One of the guys on here posted a couple of desks he made from cherry that was just beautiful wood. I would imagine it is pretty rewarding knowing that you did everything yourself from cutting the wood to the final build. What I would really love to do is find a really large cherry and slice a thick chunk off the base for the top of a table that I could make for the living room. I would imagine that would be a beautiful chunk of wood, I would like to leave the edge alone and some of the bark when its finished if possible, I am just trying to figure out what would be the best way to fit and finish some type of leg system to this for support of the table. Thanks again everyone.



I like the idea of leaving the natural edge. I would debark and sand it some then stain it.


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## oldsaw

hautions11 said:


> $139 by the way is a good price for a 36"



They were $129 when I bought 4 years ago. $10 increase isn't bad at all. Mine was some crazy internet coupon deal though.

Some of the best money I ever spent.

Mark


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## smithie55

That's a great price even with the shipping, I wonder if you can buy that at one of there local area stores?
Good find, thanks for sharing. I think I'll get me a 48"


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## smithie55

looks like the 36" is all you buy at Harbor Freight


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## oldsaw

smithie55 said:


> looks like the 36" is all you buy at Harbor Freight



36" only. Internet only. None in the stores, but only $5 or so to ship...no biggie.

Mark


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## MikeInParadise

I use an aluminum ladder and just attach it at a different height on each end of the log to get it centered as close as possible.

A note on this is that if the ladder is too high off the log it can be a little shaky and you must not push it too hard.


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## dustytools

What part of southern Indiana are you in deezulsmoke?


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## deezulsmoke

I am pretty close to evansville, IN. Actually closer to owensboro really.


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## dustytools

deezulsmoke said:


> I am pretty close to evansville, IN. Actually closer to owensboro really.


Cool, I was born in Salem and actually lived in Paoli for several years before moving to Ky. Good luck with the mill.


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## woodshop

appalachianarbo said:


> There are several types of guide rails you can buy, or you can make them from 2x6's or angle iron. Correct me if I'm wrong woodshop, but don't you use the guide rails from the ripsaw with your alaskan? As far as aligning the rails with the center of the log, you need shims under the rail at the narrow end of the log.


That is correct appalachian, I have been using the aluminum guide rails that come with the Ripsaw for my 36 inch alaskan mill. They are easy to attach to the log with the special angle iron that attaches to the guide rail, and simply gets hammered into the end of the log with two pins. They come in 5 ft sections that easily attach to one another, and thus you can make the cant as long as you want. For support in the middle of a long run, I just slide a couple felling wedges under. They are a little pricey, but you can buy those guides stand alone on the ripsaw website.


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## deezulsmoke

Woodshop, that is a nice looking setup. Looks like a simple and easy to use setup. When I was little my great uncle use to have a big sawmill, he ran it with a cat diesel motor. I just went by there this weekend and everything is starting to fall apart, someone has taken the motor. It had a huge round saw blade that cut, I have no idea how old it was. It was a big mill though and got the job done.


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## gunnarfan

Funny. Seems the only real pain with the alaskan mills is that first cut. Good idea with the ladder. Seems like even alot of the pro and simple sawmills.. bandsaws especially are trailers and ladders reconfigured.

What do I know.


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## jgoodwin

*36" alaskan mill*

I bought the 36" alaskan and mounted it on a 660. I would like to know if clamping over the joint toward the tip of the bar will cause any problems. I can move the clamp back a little and miss the joint but it will cut down on my width of cut. Any help is appreciated. Jgoodwin


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## aggiewoodbutchr

jgoodwin said:


> I bought the 36" alaskan and mounted it on a 660. I would like to know if clamping over the joint toward the tip of the bar will cause any problems. I can move the clamp back a little and miss the joint but it will cut down on my width of cut. Any help is appreciated. Jgoodwin



Welcome to AS!

Shouldn't hurt as long as the clamp pads are solid (I believe Alaskan's are). What brand/ type of bar are you using?


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## jgoodwin

*36" alaskan mill*

It's a Stihl Rollomatic ES 24". Thought I'd start with some small pine logs to get
the feel of milling. I'm gonna take it slow. It's my first time with a big saw and a mill. I'll probably waste all day worrying and being cautious. I've read every thing on this site for over a year. We'll see how much of it I retained before the
day is over. I've got my mobile phone and 911 on hold. Thanks jgoodwin


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## woodshop

aggiewoodbutchr said:


> Welcome to AS!
> 
> Shouldn't hurt as long as the clamp pads are solid (I believe Alaskan's are). What brand/ type of bar are you using?



Don't want to be in the position of disagreeing with my buddy aggie, but when I put my alaskan on my 28" Rollmatic bar for the first time couple years ago, I clamped it near the end of that bar not knowing better, and the chain would hardly move. Moved it back behind the sprocket and then it was fine. The pressure of the clamp was keeping the chain from spinning around the end of the bar freely. Experiment yourself... stick it on and see if you can spin that chain by hand, and if it binds then move it down a little at a time till it's free.


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## aggiewoodbutchr

woodshop said:


> Don't want to be in the position of disagreeing with my buddy aggie, but when I put my alaskan on my 28" Rollmatic bar for the first time couple years ago, I clamped it near the end of that bar not knowing better, and the chain would hardly move. Moved it back behind the sprocket and then it was fine. The pressure of the clamp was keeping the chain from spinning around the end of the bar freely. Experiment yourself... stick it on and see if you can spin that chain by hand, and if it binds then move it down a little at a time till it's free.



Disagree all you like! I've been wrong before and I'm sure I'll be wrong again. You won't hurt my feelings. 

When I read his question I pictured the clamp to be covering the joint between the tip and bar but not all the way out on the roller nose. I should have been more clear but thanks for pointing it out. It could have caused a bad day for Mr. Goodwin.


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## jgoodwin

*36" alaskan mill*

Thanks aggie & woodshop. Aggie you had it right. It was in that joint but I 
moved it back just to be on the safe side. Everything went fine. Just slow due
to being old, cautious, ignorant and scared. The saw just blew through the soft pine. Nothing broke anyway. I checked and I still have all the skin left on my body that I started with. I'll get the hang of it. When I get to real milling on the hardwood I'll post some pics.


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## woodshop

Glad you got it going Jgoodwin. A big saw will blow through soft pine or poplar, almost not fair to the wood  Don't be timid though, stick that clamp out near the very end like aggie says and try it, it might work and you'll get an extra few inches if you need it. No harm done because you can tell right away as soon as you clamp it and try to pull that chain around with your hand if it's going to bind or not.


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