Dale Kessler 
Lumber statistics tend to fall into two camps: market numbers that go stale fast, and drying rules of thumb with no source behind them. Price headlines from 2021 still circulate, and so does the idea that lumber air dries at one year per inch. This page collects the lumber, sawmill and wood drying numbers that ... Read more
If you mill your own lumber, air drying (letting lumber dry slowly outdoors in a stacked pile) gets you most of the way to usable wood, but it has a ceiling. A DIY lumber kiln closes the gap between air-dried lumber sitting at 15 to 20 percent moisture content (how much water is in the ... Read more
Fresh off the mill, a stack of green lumber is heavier, wetter, and less predictable than anything you buy at a lumberyard. Lean it against a wall or pile it on the shop floor and it cups, twists, and picks up moisture unevenly as it dries. The best lumber storage rack for milled lumber fixes ... Read more
Log turners rotate a log already resting on the mill, a different job than a cant hook. Manual timberjacks, hydraulic kits, and how to pick between them.
Every chainsaw mill guide rail has a fixed length, and sooner or later a log shows up that's longer than it. A 5-foot or 9-foot rail handles most firewood-length rounds, but a straight, knot-free log worth milling into full boards is often 10, 12, or 16 feet long. A chainsaw mill rail extension is how ... Read more
A felling wedge is a small piece of gear that solves a big problem: a tree that wants to sit back on your bar the moment your back cut opens up. Drive one in behind the chain and it holds the kerf (the slot a blade or chain cuts) open, adds lift, and keeps the ... Read more
At a glance, a cant hook and a peavey look close enough that most first-time buyers assume they are the same thing with two names. They are not, and the difference is a single detail at the working end that decides which one does its job well. This guide covers where the two tools came ... Read more
Log tongs are the tool most people reach for only after they have already hurt their back rolling a round across the yard by hand. A good pair turns a log you can barely budge into something you can drag, lift, or load with one motion. The design is very simple: two curved jaws, a ... Read more
Learning how to sharpen a chainsaw mill chain properly will save you more cutting time than any other maintenance habit. A dull chain is the most common reason a chainsaw mill starts cutting slowly, wandering off line, or burning the wood instead of slicing through it. Milling puts a chain through more linear feet of ... Read more
The best ripping chain for chainsaw mill work is not the chain already on your saw. Standard crosscut chain works fine for felling and bucking firewood, but drag it through a chainsaw mill, and you get a rough, slow, splintery cut that wears out your saw faster than it should. Ripping chain is ground at ... Read more