Anybody Ever Use a McCulloch Lumber Maker? - Page 2

M.D. Holloway · 07-07-2006, 08:58 PM

oh ya, the Granberg site opened great but the deluxwooding site did not. Is that address still OK?

POPS · 07-07-2006, 09:04 PM

www.deluxewoodworking.com I should know this by now...it's been my business for many years! John

M.D. Holloway · 07-07-2006, 09:36 PM

POPS - you do some amazing work! I love the table you did with contrasting wood - light and dark and the Bar Table. Holy Shyt! Are you using the chainsaw like a lathe and spinning that table with the motor? Very nice work.

I looked at the Alaskan Mill set-up with the ladder as a guide. That trunk is pretty thick. Do you think if I go slow that a regular chain saw will be OK or should I think in terms of something beefy-er?

turbo6bar · 07-08-2006, 07:21 AM

There's a nice Alaskan Mill on eBay for cheap. Part number is 110005396308

You do use a conventional saw, but less HP equals slower feed rate. How fa$t do you want to cut?

turbo6bar · 07-08-2006, 07:22 AM

http://www.arboristsite.com "Milling and Saw Mills" forum

kycarguy 935 · 07-08-2006, 11:23 AM

Thanks for the website post POPS. We have so many people clearing property around here to build houses I wanted to use some of the trees myself in a new custom home I'm getting ready to build.

I have a walnut stump I need to dig out soon. It died a few years ago and I needed to cut it down to prevent it from falling on the house. I cut it in a few large pieces but alot of it was rotted out. I guess that had something to do with its passing.

We have so many nice hardwood tree's in this area and I hate too see it made into firewood.

Thanks for the post Lubemaster.

POPS · 07-08-2006, 12:18 PM

Another option would be to have a portable saw mill come in and cut up the wood for you, especially if you have a lot of nice wood to be cut. A good mill with someone who really knew how to operate it could cut thousands of board feet in one day, and they would know how to cut up the logs for best use (very imporant). There are lots of different ways to cut up logs. Soon after cutting a tree down, all endgrain should be coated with two coats of oil based paint or waxed John

POPS · 07-08-2006, 12:23 PM

Hey Mike H. The tree you're cutting is one of the hardest woods there is. Unless you use the proper chain, you'll be wasting your time and will be hard on your saw. You might want to make the gas and oil mixture a little rich so it will be easier on your saw. John

M.D. Holloway · 07-08-2006, 11:08 PM

I think I will get a rip saw chain and look to use it. The hombres coming out will have chainsaws but I don't want to burn them up. I would love it if portable mill came out but that doen't exist around dez parts.

POPS - feel like aroad trip?

fastpat · 07-09-2006, 04:49 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by LubeMaster77
Some Hombres are coming by this weekend to cut down my Post Oak. Plenty of good wood I want to use someday so I am going to make some planks out of it and store/cure in my attic for a few years.

I picked up this little number to make the rough boards. In the future I will plane them down and finish them out but for now I will cut 1 x Y x Z and 2 x Y x Z and maybe even some thicker stock.

I was wondering if anyone ever used one of these before. I picked it up at Harbour Fright for $25. Chances are it may not last the weekend but it should provide a straighter cut than trying to do it but sight or snap-line alone. Any input? Suggestions? Comments?

Article on this subject: http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles/tresl39.html

I don't think you're going to like the way that unit works, not enough support for straight cutting in my opinion. There are machines that let you use your chain saw for cutting, but they cost a lot more, usually around $700-800.00, but they are complete systems that carry the full weight of the saw, hold the log in position and so forth. Cheaper than the bottom end portable saw mills such as Wood-mizer

Look for chainsaw mills on google, like http://forestry.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=forestry&zu=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.granberg.com%2F
Also, you want a special chain for the work, much less agressive than the standard chains, designed for cutting the length of the log instead of across the log.

I have about 6 acres of trees, mostly hardwoods, so have been looking at these tools for a while, but haven't purchased anything. I'll probably look for a good used Wood-Mizer or similar.

One thing you really want to buy is a coating to paint on the ends of the lumber to prevent cracks and splits since the ends dry faster than the rest of the slab. I bought Anchorseal based on recommendations of the experts over on the ForestryForum. Apparently hardwoods split more often than softwoods such as pine.

M.D. Holloway · 07-09-2006, 08:31 AM

I can take my time and this is most likely a one time use thing. Investing $700 in a tool I will never use again is not gonna happen. Thanks for the insight! I will check out shian saw mills in my berg but I have a feeling I will come up short.

turbo6bar · 07-09-2006, 08:45 AM

Luber, seriously consider the Alaskan Mill auctioned on eBay. Once you establish one clean rip, the Alaskan Mill will be less work than the Harbor Freight tool pictured in your first post. With the Harbor Freight tool, it appears you need to remount the 2x lumber for each cut.

When it's all over, put the tool back on eBay or sell on a foresting forum.