Chainsaw MILL | How to Slab a Log | Simple Cheap Portable

In this video I’ll share with you my initial experiences with chainsaw milling. I’ll be showing the mistakes I made, as well as the lessons I learnt.

I’m using chainsaw mill from a Chinese supplier (TOPQSC). It’s an affordable jig, and easy to put together and use. You can watch how easy it is to assemble on the bottom-right corner. I’ll link to a video on my secondary channel of the full process.

Before milling a log, it’s best to remove all the bark and dirt you can. Neglecting either will increase wear on your saw, and dull it faster.

I’m using split firewood as wedges to prevent the log from moving sideways while milling it.
I recommend mounting the chainsaw with the jig facing down and partially supported by the log.

For this job I’m using a Husqvarna 266xp with a 20” bar, my first petrol chainsaw.

Once the chainsaw is securely attached to the milling jig, we can fasten some planks to the log to create a flat reference surface. Here is my first mistake. As you will see, I attached those too far from the top, so I couldn’t support the jig. I was on a bit of a rush, and the top of the log was flat enough to try it freehand. The results may have been better had I not pushed too far the plastic wedges during the cut. This lifts the whole slice and pushes the chain away from its natural direction. After the first cut, I had a ridge at the end of the cut, which caused issues on the second cut. I also made another mistake using a regular cross-cut chain, which leaves a pretty rough surface and cuts slower.

At the end of the second cut you can see how the cut started to go crooked and how the guide stopped running by hitting the ridge from the first cut. I solved this by flattening the surface by hand with a hatchet.

On the remaining cuts the chainsaw is outfitted with a milling chain (10deg cutting edge) which makes the cut faster and leaves a better surface finish.

The third cut and beyond were pretty straight forward, without any other issues. You can see how I make a full cut, without rushing, in 76 seconds.

This log is from a European Chestnut that was felled on February of this year. Chestnut is considered a hardwood and, compared to oak, is nearly as strong but lightweight and half as hard, so it’s a really great wood to work with. The heartwood is durable but, as you may see during the footage, the sapwood is vulnerable to insect damage.

For chain sharpening on the job site I used an appropriate file size for the chain (in this case, a 7/32” or 5.5mm diameter round file) attached to a file guide to maintain the correct angle.
I got 5 90x35x4cm (35x14x2inch) chestnut boards of decent quality out of that milling job. Overall I’m very satisfied.

I hope you like this video. Leave a comment with your thoughts, I'll be glad to answer you.

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[davetobias]

Nicely done; love the "no talking, just watch and learn" approach.

[deltoid-nick]

Most beautifully edited Hardware demonstration video I've ever seen no minute is wasted there is information everywhere jam-packed I love it

[stevefrench]

Great vid, incase you haven't corrected yet your bar clamp at the saw head end is the wrong way around. The flat plates should ride along the log making it move smoothly. Also the whole unit seems to be set up wrong, the handle should be leaning away from you. Keep up the good work, there's no better feeling than milling your own timber.

[Fishin_Fixin_things]

I love it when Youtuber's show their Fails. I fail quiet often, but we learn more from our mistakes than our success. I recommend leaving the text u a little longer, trying to watch everything you do and read the separate text was a little work. Not impossible just harder. Still great video. thanks

[bradkelly]

Hey mate great job, just a tip, try not to see saw the blade so much, you will get a better finish, also try out a skip tooth slabbing chain, you’ll notice the difference straight away. Keep it up🤘🏼

[josephcoyle]

The mill was a little unintuitive at first glance but your video clarified how to use it. Thank you!

[keefardin]

AT LAST A VIDEO WHICH SHOWS THE SAW SHARPENING PROCESS AS WELL AS THE CUTTING ETC GOOD VID AND GOOD VISUALS, %100

[lal]

Thanks for the video. I was looking into getting something like you got. Didn't want to spend a fortune on one and wasn't sure the cost vs. hassle would be worth it. Looks a little fiddly, but not terrible with some practice. Thanks dude!

[CanadianCombine-Buck]

Nail (2) 2"x4" boards one each end of the log minimum 3' long each. Stabilize the log, then slow, steady straight push forwards. Can put you n an old aluminum ladder with rolling wheel rail system. Use a bicickle brake handle as your throttle. Use rear brake of BMX, mountain bike. It will also have a recyclable throttle cable.

[maineman]

I bought one on these cheap China made mills and it works pretty good on short hardwood logs up to 16 inches in diameter. / I had to make some modifications to it because form the factory it would not clamp down on the bar at the guard end, the guard was to wide where the bolts went through and had to be ground down about one quarter of an inch, I also added one eighth inch thick rubber pieces to the clamping blocks because they would slip on the bar when cutting. / The handle is pretty cheap and bent on the fourth cut I made so I made my own out of steel pipe which hoops up and over the slide bar of the mill and bolts to the other side of the mill as well as the push side, it made a big difference in how well I can push the mill as well as controlling the saws side to side swing motion. / All and all the mill was a good investment and I got my moneys worth on cutting the first log which was a 14 inch x 5 foot spalted maple which I used to make a table with.

[ottofumbler]

Good to see an honest first attempt using one of these cheap jigs. The pro's make it look too easy, and use expensive kit. Was curious if the average DIY'er could create something with one of these mobile mills. 👍

[BlackCat_]

Looks neat. :) I found my preferred ASMR at the end of your video when you were working on the chainsaw chain. The sound of the water running in the background combined with the lovely scraping noise really calmed me. :) I haven't been able to enjoy any ASMR yet so glad I found something that worked for me. ;) - Heidi

[offgridsweden]

Awesome video. Got a Logosol chainsaw mill. Its a lot bigger but I love it. Have an amazing weekend, Andreas 🇸🇪

[jsmythib]

Sold! ...Wish I had one back in 2009...Turn some dead downtime into something useful. :)

[floyd]

Thanks this looks like a very honest video. I say that with sincere gratitude.

[sutashiku]

your video is extremely useful. thank you a lot

[jdram]

I guess theres a learning curve for everyone what kind of chains if a milling chain or normal n Ive seen different ways of starting using boards or ladders or steel tube or ALUMINUM with end plates depends on your needs or situation n how many logs you need to cut n where you are in a remote location or a place you can buy supplies.

[zedacruja]

the way a se it, put your wedge in, in that link you do not need to pound it much just to keep de bar free because you kind twist the Lumber so the next one its not gone stay straight

[iguanapete]

I have a Husky like that. Beautiful machine.

[eliancienthealing]

Nice recovery from your first failed cut. Wanted to let you know your setup is a bit wrong. The top middle guide with the handle is 180 wrong. Also, you are cutting forward with the back of the housing of your unit. Turn it around and the handle would be correct and the inside height bar closest to your saw is flipped 180 as well. The flairs on the ends of that clamp on the saw are supposed to face away from the log. This way they can help guide you along the log edge. As you have it right now in the video, they would hang up against the log edge and cause you to fight the cut more. Someone also mentioned a milling chain. It would help with the cuts, but if you have a planer as well, that will do the trick also. I firewood a lot and decided that some of the logs I have been chopping up for firewood were way to good to be firewood, but I didn't have anything to cut them into lumber with. I decided to buy one of these chainsaw mills and will use it on my Husqvarna 460 Rancher saw. May have to buy a bigger bar for it as well as chain, but it would be worth the purchase for all the wood I could make from these hardwoods I chop up.