New SawMill For A NewSawMiller?????? ohh the questions

[jeepyfz450]

I have been interested in CSMs for a few years but just havent pulled the trigger. Me and my wife are in the process of buying our first home and i will finally have a little property i can call my own. Now i will be able to bring home some logs and make a little noise and a mess in the yard without worrying about the landlords.

Well where do I start?

I guess i will start with what i want a CSM for. A friend of mine has a small larch/Tamarack stand on his property and i can buy the trees cheap and haul them home for milling. the trees are all around 16-18'' around and 60-75' tall.

I would like to be able to mill the logs into cants to build a carport a few leantoo's (SP) and maybe a barn beam style pavilion. I will probably mill a some boards here and there but nothing too major.

I have been looking at the Granberg small log alaskan because i will be milling the small larch logs into 10x10s 8x8s and 6x6s. I thought about buying a bigger mill but think a 36'' would be big and clunky for such small logs.

I am also planning on buying the Granberg Mini Mill to assist in making the cants.

I will be milling with my Stihls 660,046,and 440 depending on how each works on the mill.

do you think this setup will work well for these size logs and for making cants?

Thanks for the input i am trying to come up with a game plan before spring


Josh

 

[dustytools]

Go ahead and spring the little extra cash for the 36" Alaskan. It is easier (IMHO) to operate than the Small log mill and it is adjustable so you wont have to use the max cutting width if you dont need to.I would agree with the mini-mill as well, it is a handy little sidekick for the Alaskan. Best of luck to you on your milling adventures and congratulations on the new place. BTW, the saw line-up that you have will be all you need for what you are planning on doing.

 

[betterbuilt]

It sounds like you have the saws. I'd get a mill for the largest log you gonna come across.

 

[jeepyfz450]

thanks for the input guys. I really dont plan on ever milling anything big but you never know i guess.

 

[BobL]

thanks for the input guys. I really dont plan on ever milling anything big but you never know i guess.

Just remember you said that and check back in a few years time.

 

[jeepyfz450]

Just remember you said that and check back in a few years time.

my other thought is that if i really get into milling i would like to build my own setup. the small mill would still come in handy and at 130 bucks that pretty cheap.