Entry Level/Light Milling Work

[iggy913]

I'm looking to get into doing some light milling work. I have so many trees around my home that I plan to cut down over the next few months and I'd like to use the wood rather than just have it taken away. I'm not trying to get into any kind of business, just mill wood for my own woodworking use, say something like 200-300 board feet a year at most.

I'm looking at the Granberg MkIII. From reading a lot of posts on CSMs it seems like it's a pretty easy item to fabricate if you have basic fab skills but I think I would need to have something sitting in front of me to build off of or a really good set of plans.

I'm going to be using the mill with a Husqvarna 181SE and cutting mostly gum and maple, at what point do you think the Husky will be over it's head as far as size is concerned? The 30" MkIII requires a 32" bar I'd have to believe that's about the limit of the saw? What about additional oiling as the end of the bar?

Also my mind isn't made up on the MkIII if there is something else in the price range that performs better.

Thanks for the help.

 

[gemniii]

I'm going to be using the mill with a Husqvarna 181SE and cutting mostly gum and maple, at what point do you think the Husky will be over it's head as far as size is concerned?

If it's in good tune etc you should be able to mill up to about 28" for a SWAG. Just keep it cool, run the chain sharp.

 

[mtngun]

The 30" MkIII requires a 32" bar

The clamps typically consume 6" - 8" of the bar. To mill 30", you'd need AT LEAST a 36" bar, probably longer.

What about additional oiling as the end of the bar?

Yep.

 

[john taliaferro]

I have one ,nice mill but i would go 36'' or more . You can always mill larger stuff just by using a different bar, and the weight is not noticable . I got the 56" and ran a 46o with a 36" bar for while its adjustable :hmm3grin2orange: welcome home:hmm3grin2orange: