Turning a tree into lumber using a homemade Alaskan Mill 

Why would anyone dislike this video? Hardworking guy showing a useful method.

The woman was an excellent interviewer. Well done!

This is a man that knows what he’s doing. Wisdom is rarely caught on video.

When I was a kid one of the best summers I had was running a homemade sawmill with my ex gfs dad out in the woods. I had no clue someone my size could move such massive logs with a simple come along. The scenery, animals, and aroma of each type of wood left a long lasting memory which I hope to give to my niece and nephews someday. Excellent video

The technique is so basic yet very ingenious. The interviewer asked the right questions for the unfamiliar yet didnt take away from the important aspects of the processes. This man has some very valuable expertise most undoubtedly handed down from generations.

This was the best wood cutting video I have seen on You Tube. I got into cutting trees on a ranch (dead hardwood trees) when I was about 60 years old, and found my greatest tranquility out there. Had I found out about cutting trees when I was much younger, I know I would have made it my life's work. You have a great life, and are quite a craftsman! Great job!

Use of the standing trees in the background as a cut wood storage racks was perfect (BEAUTIFUL in its efficiency and simplicity)! - Very well done!

Love Julie asking questions, wish more videos had someone that didn't know asking for more clarification. One of the better videos I've seen. Don't know if this is the usually setup but it works really well, you guys are a good team.

Julie’s questions, observations and curiosity add a level of entertainment and interest not often found in most RU-vid videos. A great piece of work.

Soft spoken, humble, and hard working. Now that is a "Man's Man". I really enjoyed the camera lady as well.

What a nice person he is. I bet he's happier than most of us!

Your videographer’s epiphanies were expressed so beautifully. Great vid, thanks for sharing.

This man has got it going on. He is safe to his self and, thinks of the safety of others. Great job on all accounts. Nice video.

That saw mill is one of the absolute finest examples of bush engineering I have seen to date!Great video, very informative, thanks for sharing!Greetings from Germany

I've been a woodworker all my life, but this was new to me! I love this whole video! Thanks to both of you! David, you worked your butt off for that! Nice job!

Ingenious Alaskan Mill setup. Incredibly informative about how, why, and even learned a bit about drying. Thank you for sharing!

I saw lumber for a living. I press a foot lever to kick the log onto the carriage. I push a lever to run the log through the saw. I saw thousands of board feet a day. I sit in a chair, and drink coffee. Seeing this kind of old school work makes me happy.

Ms. Julie Joynt is obviously very intelligent. It's easy to tell that none of this is above her. Thank you Ms. Joynt for your patience and time.

The Lady served as photographer at the same time asking questions what a good job. I loved this Milling method especially if you're in rural area without electricity around.

I love how relevant videos like these find themselves five short years later. Five years ago, this was a "hobby". Post pandemic/wild fires life has this being the way of life for a lot of people now.

Your knowledge about yield optimization was most impressive; you have just passed your skill on to the next generation. The flexibility you demonstrated with the triangular heart crack slab was - wow. Many videos show homemade sawmill jigs, but none demonstrate the setup and reasons for it as well as this one. Thank you for sharing this. And +1 for the videographer's sexy voice!

Great video, the questions from the interviewer (Julie I assume) really made the video for me. The interviewer is clearly thinking about the task and asking relevant questions which get some interesting insights into the process that you don't normally hear.

The ingenuity and the patience and the work ethic all on full display. Very very good job man.

Excellent video. I am the 9,632,907 viewer. It is a teaching for novice to expert and apartment dweller to a woodsman. Thanks to Julie for asking the "simple" questions on behalf of myself and perhaps others.

terrific video. Very clear and informative. The conversation with the intelligent but non expert lady added another dimension. Julie has a beautiful voice.

I am an indigenous person of the States and I grew up with grandparents who went out and cut their own wood in their 70s... I use to stack it and split the rounds. I miss the sound of the chainsaw and smell...I’m now almost 60 yrs old myself. God Bless this man and His love in making something by his own hands. Awesome 🤔🔑🙇🏻‍♀️💕

So refreshing to see a true blue tradesmen with a lifetime of skill beautifully presented .thank you!🎖

The quality of this video is amazing. This man was very ingenious with his milling tool. I will remember to copy it when cutting trees back home.

I love Julie's narration. You, sir, are a great example of industriousness, and self-reliance!

When I used to mill wood with my alaskan mill I always used a single section from a aluminum extension ladder and you can use long wood screws and plumbers tape with holes in it to secure the ladder section to the log and that makes a very nice stiff straight guide.

I so enjoyed this video but for a different reason. I moved away from Montana 27 years ago. I was living an outdoor life and cutting my firewood (12-15 cords every fall) with a Husqvarna 65 saw with 26" bar. Watching this video brought back the wonderful sounds of a "Husky" firing up and cutting endless piles of wood to keep me warm during the winter. Thank you for letting me relive a special time in my life.

Larry Woods here. Good to see you old friend. 71 years old now. Been since high school at McKinleyville CA. Good to see you alive and well. Good work.

Mad respect for this gentleman. I admire his patience.

Talk about a LABOR OF LOVE for this man. A literal tree hugger. God bless you sir. Amazing and genius process.

Ingenious. There are many videos out there like this, but what sets this one apart is the attention to detail, the tips for avoiding pitfalls, and the imaginative manner he approaches this skill.

What an interesting guy. He enlivened what could be a dry topic. And extra points for beautiful setting! The warm light in his woodlot is cheerful and his Koi pond is gorgeous!

This man is just impressive. So much knowledge. So much experience. Great respect!

Thank you so much David. You have ended my dilemma of how to slice my 26 inch tree trunk. I am going to be very busy very soon!

I am in complete awe So simple and seemingly easy. I will probably never do this myself bit now I have watched areal pro do this. Thank you so much.

You are such a huge inspiration to me. I have lots of wood to deal with, and making lumber for projects sounds like a great option to it.

You inspired me to buy my own 60cc chainsaw and start milling my own lumber from the chestnut oak trees on our property. Props for inspiring me to do what seemed like the impossible several months ago. Although i will say, i wish i bought electric chainsaw grinding sharpener when i bought the saw, because i spend HOURS trying to learn how to sharpen right and never got it even with a file angle guide. As soon as i bought the sharpener my chain was factory sharp going into every slab cut.

Julie did a great job. The mill work was ingenious.

Whoever was asking the questions did a great job. Little things are hard to remember when you've been doing it for so long. Seems so simple but it's what makes a good base to do this. Thanks for such a good video.

David Groth, aka MacGyver. I have never seen this video before,but I was mesmerised watching Mr.Groth cutting up his tree making it in to good pieces of lumber,and doing it with a Swedish made chainsaw !!! In the early seventies I worked in the forestry industry working with that Husqvarna chainsaw,a nice job. I also want to say thank you so much for the lovely women behind the camera,her way with the camera is excellent. I want to see much more of this. :) :) :)

Appreciate the girl asking questions and allow the man to share his skills to us proudly, smart girl....

I like the simplicity. You've got to be pretty smart to make something this simple.

I love your wife's added commentary. It gives this video an added element of explanation, entertainment and wholesomeness.

the video disclosed everything I wanted to know, very good idea, Im gonna try this and you didn't push a product down my throat, thanks for the the video

the only reason this video get a thumbs down is because there are too many asses on RU-vid. This hard-working man deserves a big thumb up no matter what

I watched this wonderful video 4 years ago. All in it is still relevant, highly instructive and awesomely entertaining. Thank a lot David!

I watched this awhile back, and I had forgotten about this method. I may have chance to use this on immense amount of wood we have from tornado damage in the area. Thanks for putting this up,

I absolutely love this set up. It is simple and wasn't over thought. Great setup

Dude! MacGyver could learn a thing or two from you! Great vid, loved the commentary and the end product! Props to the camera-lady, epic interview skills! Thanks for 30 minutes well spent!

I had no idea how much I needed to see this until youtube randomly recommended it. This is brilliant.

The women filming, is so positive and supportive as this man does what he is passionate about. That's very rare. Love the video!

This is just the sorta thing one finds when going down the RU-vid rabbit hole. I would have NEVER searched for something like this...but being a voracious learner/student of all subjects...I chanced upon “Alaskan Mill.” Having no idea what that was, I watched...all 30 minutes...and learned. That really was interesting. Well done and thanks for sharing that knowledge.

Great video. And I thought Julie was good. Sure, some of the questions she asked were things that I knew, but some other things she asked helped me understand better. I think she had an idea that some people in her audience would want to know certain things, so she asked about it. Maybe some of the questions she even already knew the answers. It is an interview technique. You guide the narrative for the benefit of the viewer. Anyway, there are not very many 30 minute how-to videos on youtube that are worth watching. This one definitely was.

Loved the video and especially appreciated all the questions the interviewer asked and the thoroughness of your answers. I like the simplicity of the way your top beam and mill is made.

Wow....great job...you camera gal has a lovely voice...really adds to the video...asks questions we all would ask if we were there.

Awesome work!!!!! I’m going to have to make one of these!!!!

Fascinating, I wish You Tube was around when I was a younger man say thirty years ago. A real joy to watch thank you.

Thank you so much, Julie, for asking great questions and the great video. And thank you, David, for answering in such a way for a beginner to understand and showing so much. This might actually come in handy for me despite the fact I will never make such large pieces. The drying information and the boards shimming to keep from binding your blade are awesome! I have never seen that part of it. Nor the covering boards. I am so appreciative. Now I am glad I left that wood so long. I would have been so sad if the wood had been ruined because I did not process/stack it right and I would have been so frustrated with the blade getting pinched. That has happened before.

I love the video, it's very informative and the cameraperson's questions are timely and appropriate. As someone who works in manufacturing it makes me cringe to watch someone use heavy machinery without PPE (chainsaw protective clothing) but I appreciate these folks sharing this technique to the world.

Total Old School - A great example of what can be done when you meld a good mind with a strong body. Fantastic video, I could almost smell the saw dust. Thanks

Ahhhh; OK! I like the woman; she asks the same questions that I would. She really helps with further understanding what he's doing. Amazing job, dude. Ohhhh.

Truly admirable. Thank you for posting.

Great video! Like others, I can't imagine ever being in a position to do something like this, but it was still fascinating. However -- some years ago I did buy a rail of some sort that I attached to my plain old circular saw in order to cut a long straight piece for some reason. I have very little experience working with wood but I managed to get this to work. Kind of gave me a "poor man's table saw" for the one use I had. The principles it used remind me of what you did here, although on a microscopic scale of course. I live near the redwoods in northern California so it was especially interesting watching you deal with one of those beauties without a whole crew and mill, etc. Nicely done. Thanks for a great video.

I could watch this guy for hours! I learn so much.

Really nice and informative video and totally enjoyed it. Reminds me of a similar project I did (being a city boy) in a cabin I helped build in Maine. Made a 20ft cedar staircase (with 4 winders) using 5in wide stringers and 4in treads. The newel post was an amazing old old 18" or so wide cedar tree and hand mortising the joints for the winders. Just peeled the bark on the face of it and left it live. White wash stain and poly and looked fabulous. Somehow it ended up in a log home magazine not sure how. Anyways, wooden dowels and tenon joints and not a single screw or bolts used. Oh...almost forgot why I started this comment. My neighbor down the way had a 52" circular mill with a big ass diesel engine that ran the blade and it is how I cut my slabs for the project. The cedar came out of a cedar swamp that was on the property. Really proud of myself (me being a city boy and all) and amazed at how it was done a looong time ago.

Superb video. Very nicely done. Intelligent queries by Julie, each answered succinctly and clearly by David. Purely excellent, folks!

Thanks for sharing I'm in the lower states and I am getting ready to start my own Alaskan. Mill the center of the log was something that I would have ignored .thank you once again.

Great job Julie with the great filming and great questions! The saw milling was great too!

Gawd you remind me of my wife's grandfather as a younger man. "Hang on while I drink my coffee and then let's go do some amazing s&*t." Among other things he's my inspiration for growing old....he was thin and always watched what he ate but more importantly he never stopped moving, I mean never sat still..through his 80s. There was no job he wouldn't tackle. I've adopted that strategy. Loved Julie's camera work.

You are an unbelievably talented individual. True craftsman! Great video.

This video is a thing of beauty - I have some experience of working with large pieces of oak, and am full of respect when watching this. Thank you (and to the lady commentator).

I have no business watching a technique like this, but Im watching anyway, very impressive.

Enjoyed being with you. Good emphasis on the heartwood cracks. Applies to all lumber - observe the piece from all angles. A really nice presentation. Oh, and your home made rig is a pearl. Greetins from the forest (ca175yrs old here).

That was an incredible 30 minutes! Simple concept executed perfectly and you explain the steps very well all along the way. I especially like the final comment summarized here "Sure, it's a lot of work, but you wither go to work and earn the money and then buy the wood or you skip all that in between stuff and mill your own." THAT is how you gain experiences! Thank you for all facets of this video.

This is so awesomely interesting. Thank you ever so much for producing this vid. I'm a city living senior citizen who will never do what you are doing but I definitely learned something. A day we don't learn something is a wasted day!

Great old school method . . .your cut puts you in personal contact with your work . .nice to be able to see anything before you cut . . .your style of cut allows you time to appreciate your work . . .

this is one of the best videos i have watched on this system thank you

Old School Alaskan Mill Demo, Online and forever available, Top Job Mate, I've an Aluminium set up, use an Al ladder to help set the depth distance, for my own 395 Husky, A good mate uses 'skate board' truck set and wheels to carve organic, near parallel to outside bark line flat surfaces. Watching known chainsaw cut through 'Northern hardwoods' like stiff cheese, is very cool. 'Southern Hardwood' such as Australian native 'gum-tree', yeah and holy crap, They arn't called 'iron woods' for nothing. Even with the best chain saw on the planet, an Huskqvana : a few meter would blunten two chain in an Aussie 'gum-tree'. First settlers preferred to work and build with 'stone' rather than the local tall timbers ! Thanks for keeping the knowledge alive, Peowulf

This is by far the simplest Alaskan mill i have come across. Well done. I'll be copying this to slab an english elm to make a front door for my house this year.

this men has so much knowledge, my eyes and ears are glued to what he says :)

Thoroughly impressed, great video sir

very informative and interesting. & she did a good job asking questions for those of us who have no background in this. and you explained very well. nice work!

Brilliant, it’s great to see someone who knows what they are doing. And I bet the smell of fresh cut timber around there is amazing. 👍👍👍👍👍👍

I love this video,me an my wife are building a cabin on our property,an I have a chainsaw mill, giving to me from a man I built a house for,I love milling the wood myself,an I particularly love watching a video of someone that has experience and a knowledge in the craft of milling,which you sir convey,into wisdom and,I will use your video as tool ,thank u for this video,and thank u mam,for being a good narrator,be blessed an safe.........

The interviewer's questions were exactly what I needed. I feel like I learned a lot from watching this (and as a city dweller will never use anywhere).

David, as someone who loves chainsaws, and cuts firewood, cant tell ya how much I appreciate you taking the time to make this video. Very cool!!! Thanks from Washington State.

This is very interesting to me! I have never seen anything like this, I live in Iceland, and we don't have trees like this here. There is a joke, what should you do if you ever get lost in an Icelandic forest? Stand up straight and look around! ;) Great video, thank you!

This is a calming and amazing video. Sometimes things just come together without effort

David, You are an inspiration! I have been milling logs as you do and still learned new things watching this vid. Great info!

David, the knowledge I gained in the 15 minutes I watched this on double speed was immense. Thank you!!!

When an artist works, he has to have patience. In turn there is perfection! Really enjoyed watching this video! Job well done from both of you.

That is a man who is more confident than I am with a chainsaw.

A very talented and rare breed of man. I doubt there are more than a couple of hundred in the entire country that can do what he did. I would have liked to have helped just to have learned from his experience.

This is brilliant, they should include this feature on all long length chainsaws.

You don't know how much you have helped me with this video thanks a lot for sharing this.

Hello from Turkey...... This is the best informative video I've ever seen. Thank you both.