Best portable sawmills & Edging mills | Alaskan sawmill?

Best edging mill

Anyone who takes pride in their woodworking knows what a chainsaw mill is. Also called ‘Alaskan Sawmills’, these serious pieces of equipment basically transform any regular chainsaw into a portable lumber mill.  

Wood has always been an important building material with sawmills processing large quantities.

But by the 20th century, portability had slowly become a trend for keen DIY enthusiasts with a new option to bring milling down to local levels, birthing the apparatus you now know and love, as a chainsaw mill. 

These bad boys come in many shapes and sizes and are highly distinguished by seasoned lumberjacks.

While not being a tool for beginners, these tools definitely have a sense of finesse to them. In this guide, we’ll be looking at the best chainsaw mills money can buy.

This tool is another must-have for DIY projects like building a personal table and home furniture or simply trying to earn from woodwork. 

Economic.

Chainsaw mills allow you to cut and process your own timber, especially when your property has an abundance of wood for furniture and crafts, potentially saving you a lot in terms of production expense on your projects. It virtually eliminates the need to use pricey commercial services or purchase other more expensive wood cutting equipment.

Convenient.

Being portable means that you can technically bring a chainsaw mill anywhere, allowing you to get work done regardless of your location.

Efficient.

The best chainsaw mills work in tandem with a well-operating chainsaw.

Having a variety of chainsaws and blades for different job sizes will not only make your mill more versatile but will also allow you to achieve better quality results with less effort.

1. Know your brands.

The chainsaw brand you choose should offer top-notch quality as they do cutting prestige. It’s important to be knowledgeable about a tool’s brand before you make a purchase.

To save you time and precious money, validate a brand’s track record and only select from those who already have an established name in the industry.

3. Consider the construction and design.

The mill should look and feel right. It has to be oriented in such a way that allows you to get the most out of it as possible.

All connectors and locks should be properly placed and have a tight fit once set.

The apparatus should not wobble or shake at any point in your operation.

2. Check the durability.

Assessing durability mainly boils down to knowing what materials your mill is made from.

You’d want a chainsaw mill that is made of steel, aluminum, or both; something solid and is sure to repeatedly withstand the stress and tension of bearing a full day’s work, regardless of the weather and the user.

Chainsaw mills

Chainsaw mills are great if you want long, horizontal accurate cuts from a fallen tree to create perfectly sized timber slabs from any wood type.

The portable chainsaw mills operate by lining up a tree log you want to plank up with the jig.

These mills do well even with large pieces of hardwood, gifting near-perfect pieces of timber slabs from 24-36” diameter trunks.

Edging mills

An edging mill is a type of chainsaw mill that’s oriented to cut vertically to clean up the edges later.

It operates in roughly the same way and is compact and great for cutting logs into beams and/or into finished lumber.

You can also use edging mills for refinements; and fine-polishing planks that were already cut prior but need a new edge. 

Light work. Light applications are mostly confined to working with small trees. The wood is thin and rather easy to work with. 14 to 16” bars and a 45 cc motor are enough to take on these kinds of materials. 

Large to medium work. If you intend to cut medium or average-sized logs. You’ll benefit from using at least a 65 cc motor and 16 to 36” bars to be able to smoothly handle these pieces.

Heavy work. Some kinds of trees can also be very dense and thick, possibly causing a chainsaw to bind if it’s underpowered. You can avoid this by using an even bigger 90 cc motor and a chainsaw with a bar 42 inches or longer.

The title says it all, the Carmyra 48″ is the best overall pick. It has great flexibility as it is able to mount any chainsaw, even those with the longest bar lengths.

While it does have some heft to it, you can still easily carry it around. It cuts the widest out of all the mills – beams 13” thick and up to 48” wide – but also narrowly, capable of cutting at 0.50-inch depths.

A less expensive alternative to the Alaskan Grandbergs, this mill is sure to hasten the completion of even your biggest and most demanding projects in the future as well as medium to large-sized jobs now.

The Grandberg G777 is the best value chainsaw mill available on the market.

If you are keen on portability, then this beauty is a perfect fit, one with its mix of aesthetics, easy assembly, and straightforward handling.

The G777 is able to house up to 20” bars, which is perfect if you’re a local builder or homeowner.

Incredibly light and made of zinc-plated steel, this little guy is sure to last you a long time, save money, and get your wooden beams and slabs cut smoothly.

Go with the RCTEC 36” if you absolutely need a chainsaw mill. It’s a must for those working on a tight budget.

For what you pay, you get a sturdy aluminum steel mill that’s capable of cutting very narrow depths up to 0.20 inches.

It’s big and efficient, and able to fit bars 12-36 inches long while capable of sawing through wood up to 12 inches thick.

Tackle any job at a fraction of the cost with this robust and adaptable mill.

The Haddon Lumbermaker is definitely the best edging mill, bar none. It’s lightweight and compatible with any regular chainsaw, making it able to take on virtually any kind of job.

To add to its versatility, it comes with a heavy-duty lumber guide to easily make 2×4 and 2×6 planks and slabs. 

The Lumbermaker is simple to assemble and use. Its pivoting saw can make plunge cuts and allows for depth-adjustment on the fly.

Couple that with its amazing lightness and surprisingly high-quality construction, and you get a portable sawmill that’s as effective as it is convenient.

A ripping chain is a specialty chain that’s used for specific milling purposes.

As opposed to other types of chains, ripping chains cut, at an angle, along the wood grain instead of across the veins and pores. 

Use ripping chains if you want your pieces to have a more polished/refined finish.

Their semi-chiseled nature ensures that they remain sharper for longer and their damage-resistant construction saves you money from replacements in the long run.

1st and foremost, the best tool to have along with these portable sawmills is of course a  chainsaw.

You’d also want a quality chainsaw that really is responsible for the end result, a model that will serve you well and last you a long time without maintenance.

If a sword is only as good as the one who wields it, then a chainsaw mill is only as good as the chainsaw that it wields.

To make things easier, check out my thoughts on the best husqvarna chainsaw.

And my cordless chainsaw guide if you’re looking for a safer trimming machine for around the home.

If you want the bee’s knees set-up, it’d also be good to have the best thickness planer just in case you want to make a smooth surface and set lumber to an exact thickness for furniture making.

Use thickness planers to remove small excesses of material to end up with an even thickness slab.

1. Follow the instruction to assemble all the necessary components.
2. Plan the 1st cut as it is the most vital.
3. Set up the jig along with the selected piece, then level and secure.
4. Clamp the chainsaw onto the guide bar. Make sure it’s tight and secure.
5. Start the motor and give it a few revs to warm it up.
6. Adjust cutting-depth, then mount onto the jig.
7. Move along horizontally (vertically for edge mills) until you reach the piece’s end.
8. Repeat with the next cuts. 

Dos

• Always wear the appropriate protective gear. 
• Work in single strokes for best results.
• Use your body weight to push and control the guide bar, rather than force.
• Get a second person to help if you need it.

Don’ts

• Never work with just either gloves or goggles, regardless of task size.
• Don’t go back and forth between segments, you’re not carving.
• Don’t overexert force on just 1 side of the guide bar. Distribute pushing evenly on both ends.

Safety concerns

• Protecting your face is a priority. Wear safety glasses and a mask to avoid inhaling sawdust [2] and to guard against small flying wood chips.
• Make sure that the logs are secure and that the bar is properly positioned to reduce risk in the event of a chain break. 
• Always use the appropriate chainsaw for the job, too little a saw on too big a piece increases the risk of the bar sticking, possibly causing major kickback which can lead to injury or worse.

The Carmyra 48″ is the best chainsaw mill, period. It’s big, solid, flexible, and can cut really wide pieces of wood. I mean, what more can you ask from a sawmill right?

Up the next alley is the Grandberg G777. This lightweight, zinc-plated mini mill is the ideal choice for casual woodworkers and budding milling enthusiasts for its nice mix of function and portability. 

Of course, we can’t leave out the most affordable RCTEC 36”. It cuts really narrowly and can support some of the longest bars for the biggest logs.

Lastly, the Haddon Lumbermaker does wonders as the best edging mill thanks to its compactness and efficient design.

And that wraps up our guide about the best chainsaw mills.

With the correct one, your pace and production will surely increase.

Meanwhile, you can check out my recommended top-performing gasoline chainsaw here.