GRANBERG Alaskan Mark-IV Chainsaw Mill - (36") (G778-36)

So far, this Granberg chain saw mill has totally exceeded expectations, although admittedly, I haven't used it yet. As such, I cannot rate "Durability" at this time, but I'll update this after I've used the mill to saw up a few logs. The reason I wanted to give them a shout out today is because of the exceptional instructions and packaging and the quality of the mill. Hopefully this will help another buyer. When I ordered it, I was a little bummed about the price since there were other models that looked very similar that were $150 less. But the reviews of those products were mixed in general, so I thought it might be worth it to go for this unit since the reviews were very good. Immediately upon receiving it and opening the box, I could see why folks regarded the Granberg units highly. The parts are high quality. Cleanly machined, scoring on the gauging and also on the markings across the unit is excellent. The attention to detail in the design is very noticeable. Everything fits together well, and they have put features into the mill in order to ensure that during and after assembly, there are no misalignments, nothing is flimsy, etc. It's just really solidly constructed. Completing assembly took me under an hour, and I could have done it more quickly, I was just really following the instructions carefully. Speaking of the instructions, let me say that having assembled dozens, if not a hundred or more things in my life from online orders, IKEA, etc., the instructions for this mill were THE BEST that I have ever used. Well written steps, lots of pictures, side notes that remind you what you should be looking for, etc. So refreshing. The ease of assembly alone makes it worth the price in my mind. It is easy to get the saw into the unit, so I am leaning forward and rating this as a 5 star ease of use. While there may be alternatives to locking the saw in place that might simplify/speed up putting the saw in, I kind of think that the safety aspect of having to tighten four nuts to ensure the chainsaw bar stays in place is a good idea. Assuming the unit is durable, and I don't see how it couldn't be given the manufacturing, I think this is going to be a great saw mill. I would highly recommend this even though it is pricier than other units on Amazon.

Amazing!

Very sturdy. Cane o n time. Easy to assemble

I chanced upon a variety of logs as my neighbor was having many trees taken down. His tree guys left em in 8-12' lengths for me, around 8-15" diameter. I have been turning them into beams and planks for about a month. I have a rancher 460 and bought 2 oregon 24" ripping chains. I'd say a 24" bar will cut up to 18" for sure, maybe 19" diameter logs. The Alaskan mill works very well, can be setup right or left handed, was easy to assemble and felt sturdy during many hours of operation. Tips from me and some I looked up: (A) sharpen sharpen sharpen, as soon as it gets slow sharpen chain; (B) I increased oil mix ratio to 40 to 1 to help engine during high use; (C) oil sprocket, bar and chain between changes; (D) since logs were smallish I setup 2 areas, one for first cut that I was able to roll logs under set mill and cut first cut (a leveled ladder on supports that I could adjust) and 2nd, a area with 2 4by4s I would lift logs onto for planking/beams since bending over all the time was tiring. I probably should have made a video, made a nice rustic purgola with the wood so far. Ok, so wood was oak, black cheery walnut and pine. The difference in speed and how hard the chainsaw worked was really noticeable (not surprising) between them all but most of all, how often I needed to sharpen. Also, I started 1 month after they were felled and found that the black cherry outsides dried fast and became very hard and wore down the chain fast (very annoying). Oak was next toughest and then, this was surprising to me, walnut was nice to cut and didn't overwork my chainsaw. The 15" Pine was well within the Rancher's ability and I expect I could put a 30" bar on it and cut up to 24" diameter pine. I wouldn't go past 18" with walnut and black cherry was a bog fest at 14". So for hardwoods of any good size, 75cc and up! As for drying, it is working out pretty well, trimming the outsides off the hardwoods with a table saw seems a must as soon as you have them in planks. (I did paint ends of logs as well with poly as soon as I got them) Still, some splitting but I think that is to be expected. The walnut also held up the best in this area wtr hardwoods I had. PIne doesn't split often but gotta get it setup well so it doesn't warp. Still learning but hope that helps any would be new owners of this. Finally, the ultimate plan is to get a small sawmill and just cut logs downto size as needed (to fit inside mill parameters and/or ligten for transport). For that the chainsaw mill will be perfect. It also worked very well for making beams, which I will continue to use it to make. Planks all came out pretty well and if you keep chain sharp and move at a nice pace, they only need touch up sanding if you want a good finish, but ultimately it is a bit of work/effort and time to make planks. (update: just cut up into lumber a 17" diameter black cheery log, 7' long. Slow but the rancher got the job done. Needed to sharpen chain after 2.5 cuts, but the lumber is a great reddish from a very straight section. Now, will it dry well... seems slower is better so maybe will cover it) *** my first batch cracked more than it should because I had some of it in more sun than the other part, consistent overall temperature is important (makes perfect sense, kilns do this) *** may have had to sharpen a little more than is typical due to no extra oiler and thus chain getting hot *** tried a standard 25 degree chain instead of ripping. Cut about the same speed, maybe even slightly faster. Finish was noticeably rougher. I had dulled my ripping chains over a number of cuts and wanted to finish off all the logs, not disappointed since I was making 6 by 6 or bigger beams. So finish did not matter.

It was exactly what I was looking for.