Watch this BEFORE buying a chainsaw mill.

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Best chainsaw milling video on YouTube! Every other video just shows milling. You teach the finer points of milling. Bandsaw miller's can learn from this video also. 👍

Great points. I have a bandsaw mill and it's great for logs that I can get to and transport with my tractor. On my property, I also have a lot of dead standing / downed trees that I either can't get to easily with my tractor or, they're simply too big for my tractor or my bandsaw mill. Slabbing out a 36" Honey Locust where it fell means I get access to wood that I would otherwise not.

I have been using a Sthil 271 with a 24” bar and rip chain for 3 years. It gets the job done just fine, let the saw do the job and not force it.

This is one of the best videos I've seen about chainsaw milling and points out practical aspects for consideration. I have been thinking about whether to get a Granberg and I'm now thinking that what I probably need is to find a local with a mill (actually a neighbor has one) who would be willing to mill my timber for me. I will rarely be cutting timber that I would want useable lumber from (mostly now I am cutting firewood), and I can always get one later if it becomes a more serious endeavor.

I have a farmmac 660, it's a clone of the ms660. Haven't had that many problems with it. You're right about idling the saw before and especially after every cut, they need to cool down.

Cole, just stumbled on your channel. I also have a Logosol F8, mainly use it for milling rough 6x6. Power head is the 661. You have some great points. Most of the time I do find the mill to be a main in the ass. But the fact that I can carry the mill to the tree is why I have this rig on the wood lot. Thanks again.

Thanks for the very clear and important video. I am a novice and appreciate the advice.

Thanks for this info! I would add that a chainsaw mill gives you the liberty to cut logs where they fall. This is a great advantage if the logs are located in a hard-to-access area. Personally, I'm in an urban area (Atlanta) looking into chainsaw milling because I don't want to buy a tractor and grapple to move big logs onto a sawmill, nor do I have the space to store a tractor or sawmill. I want to cut them where they landed and easily carry the boards. If someone's tree falls in their fenced-in yard, I can't get all that equipment in there. But with a chainsaw mill I can cut it where it landed AND they get free mulch! Is it tedious? Yes. But getting all the equipment required for sawmilling takes a lot of added time and manpower as well, so in my situation where I'm just doing this as a side hustle in an urban area, chainsaw milling seems to make the most sense.

Great information! I have been doing research concerning chainsaw milling. I am glad I came across your video. Great content, Thank you!

Great video!! Bed rails are some of the best cheap guides!!

So many questions have been answered in such a short time. Thank you

I have a Holzfforma g070 105 cc power head. I've been using it for 4 years now. This is the first year i've had difficulty starting it. I have ordered tune up bits. It still has great compression. I've been using it primarily on sweet gum and pine, with the occasional red oak and am only running a 42" bar.

Very informative and good information to consider. I'm at that place of Chainsaw Mill or Bandsaw mill and you gave me a lot to think about on Pros/Cons I've not seen elsewhere. Thank you Sir!

I've got a farmertec ms660. It was purchased as a bax of parts and assembled by myself. Some OEM STIHL parts were used in place of the kit parts. It's also a good idea to upgrade to a high flow oiler if you plan to use it for milling. There is a lot more kerf waste with a chainsaw mill than a band mill, but the portability can't be beat. I can just toss the equipment in the back of my truck, head to a site, or atop when I see a log I like, and get to work. You take the mill to the wood, not the wood to the mill. The final cut slabs are much easier to movw than an entire log. A bandsaw mill will use less fuel per cut and the amount of physical effort will be much greater for the chainsaw. There are a lot of tradeoffs on both sides and I guess if one were to do it as a business it would be worth having both in the long run.

Another big advantage to an Alaskan mill is that you rip the lumber where the tree was felled, and don’t have to transport heavy lumber to the mill. Not really an issue for industrial forestry who build roads for this exact purpose, but a boon to the small scale diyer, especially when you’re selectively felling trees

I started milling back in the early 1980's, bought a brand new Jonsereds 910E and a Grandberg Alaskan Mill 36 inches. Did my last milling in the late 90's. The most significant thing learned by me was the physical strain of milling, it is taxing on the body to the max. I never had a hiccup with that Jonsered, out here in the Pacific Northwest I collected Black Walnut, Big Leaf Maple and Sycamore. I had a bunch of black walnut that were years old logs, dry and hard. I always rested my saw with idling, a guy has to have some savvy using a saw or you will smoke them. I also ran 32:1 oil. I never even tore that saw down for maintenance of any kind until this past winter. Did so because now I am collecting vintage saws and the ones I had were the first ones I started restoration on. Piston and cylinder is in premium condition, carbon build up was under a mm thick. Seals are still good, rebuilt the carb and replumbed the fuel lines for the first time. JUst take care of the saw by not pushing it and feed it a good oil mix. Oh yeah, I tried a variety of chains but settled on standard link with about a 10 degree cutter, Never did have good luck with skip chain of any kind. Kept the bars and chains in excellent working condition. And I made and auxillary oil tank that mounted on the far end of the mill, fed oil to the bar groove through a hole drilled just behind the sprocket assembly, keeping that chain well oiled is essential, less power robbing on the power head and chains and bars go more miles. A good read for chainsaw mill enthusiasts if Chainsaw Lumber Making by Will Maloof (sp?) he was a Canadian and had some real good instruction to offer in the book.

This is really helpful. Me and my wife want to build a horse barn. A small one. And also prepare lumber to build a garage. But i think its worth chainsaw milling enyway. It will be some mouth work. A chainsaw milli is less complicated than a portabel bandsaw mill. All things around before its possible to start working is to much money... Chainsaw mill is more work but the end of the days cost is much much lower than buy everything expensive wood material from the store...

I learned a lot here, certainly enough to keep me out of trouble.

I am so happy you posted this Video. I would like to Buy a Chain Saw Mill This video tells it all.. THANK YOU