Bandsaw for resawing up to 200mm oak beams...or do it by hand?

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Do you know ow the 'brand' the chines saw mill was?

I have a 16inch husqi chainsaw I use for firewood and small trees etc.

Don't like using it due to all the PPE and risk of certainl death etc, but it might be different in a mill


Thank you
Milling is hard on saws. What cc is it?

It is however a lot safer than using them freehand. Any of the cheap "Alaskan" type mills are fine, but be aware you loose a lot of cut width with attaching it at both ends of the bar. You should be ok with 8" cut with a 16" bar though. Don't consider one of the vertical ones they aren't nearly as accurate.

The finish is pretty good once you get in practice.

How are you with a sharpener? Keeping the chain razor sharp is essential.

This isn't to be negative - milling your own timber is incredibly good fun and addictive. I haven't bought timber for years and have a lovely supply of wide native hardwood just from asking people when I see fallen trees.

I agree with @clive griffiths though that hiring a woodmizer might be worth considering.
 
Simon, my Grandson cut up a fallen Oak and used it to make a new porch and some mock Oak beams for an old cottage he's renovating. The wood was milled with a chainsaw/ ladder rig, he has milled lots of wood with this setup. We are DIY only don't do anything commercial. Here are couple of photos.

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Thank you for all the interesting and informative replies. Lots to think about.

Some of the answers seem to be including processing fallen trees, trunks, et cetera, so may not be directly applicable to what I’m trying to do, but certainly interesting.

If you look at these two links, it’ll show you the timber from our nearest timber yard that I’m looking to cut up:

https://savarytimber.co.uk/collections/oak

https://savarytimber.co.uk/collections/framing-timber

https://savarytimber.co.uk/collections/framing-timber-1

Any advice of how to turn this sort of timber into usable planks would be gratefully received.

With thanks,

Simon
 
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Thank you for all the interesting and informative replies. Lots to think about.

Some of the answers seem to be including processing folding trees, trunks, et cetera, so may not be directly applicable to what I’m trying to do, but certainly interesting.

If you look at these two links, it’ll show you the timber from our nearest timber yard that I’m looking to cut up:

https://savarytimber.co.uk/collections/oak

https://savarytimber.co.uk/collections/framing-timber

Any advice of how to turn this sort of timber into usable planks would be gratefully received.

With thanks,

Simon

I'm still reckoning a track saw might be used to accurately and successfully mill those - but maybe only if you'll be cutting into the wide face (although clamping a number of them together in a vertical fashion might also enable cuts into the thin edge?). If losing too much stock is a concern then maybe using a thin kerf blade and several passes going a bit deeper every pass might work.
 
Thank you for all the interesting and informative replies. Lots to think about.

Some of the answers seem to be including processing fallen trees, trunks, et cetera, so may not be directly applicable to what I’m trying to do, but certainly interesting.

If you look at these two links, it’ll show you the timber from our nearest timber yard that I’m looking to cut up:

https://savarytimber.co.uk/collections/oak

https://savarytimber.co.uk/collections/framing-timber

https://savarytimber.co.uk/collections/framing-timber-1

Any advice of how to turn this sort of timber into usable planks would be gratefully received.

With thanks,

Simon
You’re buying from a sawmill so they can mill to your specifications. My assumption is you are looking at the beams and thinking ‘oh, that’s a cheaper way to buy timber’. The timber boards are c. £100/cuft the beams are c. £45/cuft. The difference in price is because the mill is suffering all the waste in sawing a board that is free of defects.

If you look at my post on desk building, where I milled up a sleeper to make a desk, you’ll see the number of defects I had to workaround/fix. As a labour of f love it was worth it, for multiple projects the time impact would be too great.

Fitz.
 
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