milling without add of power tools

spankie

Ok Gents. I imagine I am crazy for asking this but I will go ahead anyway.

How can I hand mill a beautiful tree trunk (cut in 6' sections. 3' in diameter) without the add of power tools?

My neighbors black walnut crushed my garage last May. After cutting up most of it for firewood, about 15' of trunk has been sitting/laying behind the new garage I constucted . i was hoping to have it milled, but after the cost of the garage i have little or no money left. I told myself I can do it by hand! Thats how they did it way back when,right. Why cant I?

I was hoping to get some input . some ideas. Am I totally crazy. this wood is beautiful , I would hate for it to go to waste. At this point point I dont know if I could get anything behind the new garage to mill it anyway.
Suggestions on tools techniques would be appreciate.

Bruce Hopf

I guess, the first thing that you could do, is check out Museums that cover that Ara, to see just how they did things back then. I'm sure that you will be able to find that out.
Next, on eBay, you can buy one of those kits for your chain saw, that you can cut lumber with. http://cgi.ebay.com/Alaskan-MK-III-Portable-Chainsaw-Lumber-Mill_W0QQitemZ400059210903QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item5d25631c97&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14 .Not that bad on price. You will also need a ripping chain as well to do the job. Bruce.

__________________
McCulloch chain saws
1- Pro Mac 60, 1- Pro Mac 700, 2- Mac 10-10 Automatic's, 2- Mini Mac 30's, 2- Mac 110's,
2- Mini Mac 35's, 1- Mac 140 with Automatic Chain Sharpener,
1- Pro Mac 10-10, 1- Mac Cat, 2- Eager Beaver
2.0's, 1- Mac 1-10
Stihl chain saws
2- 044's, 2- 034's, 2- 024's, 1- 064, 1- 084,
Strunk chain saws
1- Busy Beaver, 1- SpeeDemon Special
Stand Back, I Have A Very Extreme Case of CAD (Chain Saw Addiction Disorder).

Garry Brockley

A two man cross cutting saw is how they used to do it

this is a slow hard process you will need to be fit and strong. the best way is to saw top to bottom, the person on the bottom pulls down and the top pulls up, this is how they used to process wood for boats in the uk.

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Bruce Hopf

Would they have to stand the log on end first, before they could cut it, into length? Thanks. Bruce

__________________
McCulloch chain saws
1- Pro Mac 60, 1- Pro Mac 700, 2- Mac 10-10 Automatic's, 2- Mini Mac 30's, 2- Mac 110's,
2- Mini Mac 35's, 1- Mac 140 with Automatic Chain Sharpener,
1- Pro Mac 10-10, 1- Mac Cat, 2- Eager Beaver
2.0's, 1- Mac 1-10
Stihl chain saws
2- 044's, 2- 034's, 2- 024's, 1- 064, 1- 084,
Strunk chain saws
1- Busy Beaver, 1- SpeeDemon Special
Stand Back, I Have A Very Extreme Case of CAD (Chain Saw Addiction Disorder).

Leif Raukleiv

Here's another method. Very old, and cheap!


Leif.

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My place - Bjørndalen.
http://www.youtube.com/user/MultiVoff

Garry Brockley

No bruce they put it onto a high stand lying prone, then one under one on top pull push all the way through the length time and time again.
and leifr has a great idea too

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Leif Raukleiv

Thank you, Galbee. Yes, it's a good idea and it is not mine. The technique was probably known in the stone age (2.000.000 - 8-000 years b. C.)
We have an old tradition here about making fences, called ski fence. Ski is a piece of splitted log. Wedges of wood was often used for this purpose.

The pictures tell the most of it. Smaller logs were split i 4 pieces or more. Simple, but a lot of work.




We see here clearly how the logs are split.

Later, the vikings used the technique in their advanced shipbuilding.


Leif.

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__________________

My place - Bjørndalen.
http://www.youtube.com/user/MultiVoff

Willard Holmen

I think you mean a pit or drag 2 man saw. The man underneath was in a trench below the log and the man on top pulled the other end standing on the log. Its teeth only cut on the down stroke.

Done it

Thats how they did it. The lucky guy was on top.

I worked as a "tailer out" for a few weeks once, that was bad enough. They didn't tell me about all this stuff, a lot of 3 fingered deaf guys around that place.

http://www.workspacetraining.com.au/...ip_saw_sop.pdf

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Garry Brockley

great pics done it yup them rip saws claim fingers everyday as do large band saws.

__________________

Bruce Hopf

That must have been a real Art to saw logs that way. Bruce.

__________________
McCulloch chain saws
1- Pro Mac 60, 1- Pro Mac 700, 2- Mac 10-10 Automatic's, 2- Mini Mac 30's, 2- Mac 110's,
2- Mini Mac 35's, 1- Mac 140 with Automatic Chain Sharpener,
1- Pro Mac 10-10, 1- Mac Cat, 2- Eager Beaver
2.0's, 1- Mac 1-10
Stihl chain saws
2- 044's, 2- 034's, 2- 024's, 1- 064, 1- 084,
Strunk chain saws
1- Busy Beaver, 1- SpeeDemon Special
Stand Back, I Have A Very Extreme Case of CAD (Chain Saw Addiction Disorder).

Leif Raukleiv

It surely must be a sort of art to get the planks straight?

But what job is the worst one? Standing above pushing the saw, or below pulling, but getting the sawdust in the head??
The man below will probably need a TW cap!

Leif.

__________________

My place - Bjørndalen.
http://www.youtube.com/user/MultiVoff

southsoundtree

look into a mobile milling service. local to me in Olympia, Washington, usa, its $60 per hour. He told me that he might be able to mill 1000 board feet of cedar logs (largest is 36" on the large end of the butt log) in 5 hours or so with set up time included.

If you have a heavy duty trailer that you can winch a log onto, then drive it to the mill, it might be cheaper as the miller will not have transportation time/ expense, not set-up/ break-down time.

Of course this is not manual milling, but might be a better alternative.