by oldclaypaws » Sun Aug 10, 2014 10:26 am
That looks more like a half completed sideboard or sink unit than a sawmill. Not entirely sure why he cut a small tree along the middle, can't see him making much use of that timber. A bit too Heath-Robinson. Entertaining but rather ineffective. You could also see the shaking reflected in the jagged cut.
Chainsaw mills are in effect a rigid frame that braces a saw in place as it moves along the tree. For strength, portability and rigidity a metal mill is clearly the way to go, but if you tried to source all the various components to make one yourself I think you'd find it cost more for an inferior home made design; £150 to £200 isnt a huge sum for a basic mill such as a small Alaskan or the Timberjig.
I doubt you'll find any Chinese Knock-off to rival the performance of a Stihl 660 or 880, they have a lot of grunt and will take a 48" bar. Considering that the value of one cut and dried decent oak will be more than the cost of the saw and mill (£25 per cu ft x 100 = £2500), they will soon pay for themselves.
Regarding seasoning, as long as they are carefully stacked level with spacers under cover and dried gradually, I don't see any problems. Its in the interests of commercial sawmills to make out its a difficult mystical art, but people have been felling and using trees for centuries with very simple techniques. Logosol sell their own seasoning 'kilns', and its not difficult to make your own. A sealed space such as a container with a £200 dehumidifier in it will do the job over a few weeks.
I realise my position isnt typical, I have a substantial number of very large crowded 130 year old oaks that do need thinning to benefit the wood. If I can take out half of them gradually over the next 30 years, milling and putting value added into the timber, it'll improve the wood in a low impact way, make attractive useful stuff, and return me a very useful pension, keeping me fit, happy and creative too. Can't be bad.
I'm not proposing to have mains lecky at the wood as the cost of so doing would be prohibitive, but virtually any finishing I might need to do to the planked timber for small to medium rustic items such as sanding, cutting, drilling and carving can be done mechanically with the newer generation of 18V 4ah cordless tools. A couple of decent batteries charged in 30 minutes at home the night before will enable me to work for most of the following day in the wood, sitting outside my shed assembling chairs, tables or whatever. I've been researching rustic furniture techniques and it all seems theoretically quite viable; time and experience will tell how successful it'll be. Certainly having your own vast free timber supply gives big advantages v. other would-be makers of crafted wood items.
