Milling For Beginners

[Destro31780]

I own a tree company on Long Island and I come across so much nice hardwood, especially oak, and we usually cut it firewood and give it away, its such a waste of time and money. Is there a market for hardwood tables, desks, mantles...? And if so, how do I get started in milling without spending a fortune? I don't own a skid steer to lift large logs so I would have to mill onsite at the customer's house, or transport smaller sections to my house. Thank you.

 

[ammoaddict]

I own a tree company on Long Island and I come across so much nice hardwood, especially oak, and we usually cut it firewood and give it away, its such a waste of time and money. Is there a market for hardwood tables, desks, mantles...? And if so, how do I get started in milling without spending a fortune? I don't own a skid steer to lift large logs so I would have to mill onsite at the customer's house, or transport smaller sections to my house. Thank you.

There is a milling 101 thread on this site. Some pretty good info.

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[unclemoustache]

I'm just getting into it myself - mill still hasn't arrived yet.
I don't think oak is that valuable. Other woods like maple, cherry, and walnut are better.

I'm surprised that you own a tree service, but not a way to move large logs. I take it you chunk them up and manhandle them into a trailer?

I also don't have any heavy equipment for loading, so I have a setup very similar to this:


The place where my mill is going to be has a tractor that can unload and move the logs, so no problems there.
My mill is going to be stationary, but many people use a portable mill on site. You'll still need to maneuver the log over to the mill, so maybe a skid steer would be a great investment anyway.

 

[motorhead99999]

I started playing with alaskain mills two years ago just from stuff I watched on YouTube and reading on here. I built my mill out of 1 1/4” 1/8” wall tubing and run it with a ms 660 clone. I’ve done a couple pieces of oak and maple but I did a bunch of cedar for deer mounts and what not. Haven’t done any in a while due to time.

 

[Mad Professor]

If a tree service, on LI, you'll run into a lot of metal in the wood.

It takes a while to learn to mill and get the best wood. I had to work in a lumber mill a while to finance college, I learned a LOT about cutting logs into lumber and handling wood, stacking/stickering, drying......

Clear straight logs free of defects/metal make quality lumber. Odd logs can be slabbed to make table/bar/counter tops.

You need to figure out what you have for material/wood and what you can/could produce for products. Then think of tools needed.