I GOTTA get that! I’ve been crying over the stuff I’ve been cutting up incredible lumber for firewood.
I cut up a branch that has been sitting on the ground for over five years and it was pure black walnut chocolate color inside. It was spectacular, and I have no way to cut it except for logs. I have 25 acres of woods with a lot of walnut, hickory, maple and oak not to mention a ton of cedar. I have a very good Stihl chainsaw.
I’m gonna google alaska mill.
Stihl is the best. Hasqvarna a close second.
Some say you should get a ripping chain for the mill but I cut a lot of sweet gum, which can have a grain running in different directions (and is more likely to twist when drying) so the regular chain is better. I haven’t had much warping at all on this wood so it’s not always true.
Beware of logs lying on the ground. Make sure there’s no rot.
Alaska milling is harder work than using a band saw, IMHO, but cheaper. You just don’t want to put in a lot of effort only to find soft rot halfway through your milling process. And yes, that has happened to me.
Best thing you can do is cull some of those hardest logs now and put them in a dry place with a tarp or under roof cover. Some logs can remain good for decades that way.
I had a ton of extra gravel and crush and run so I smoothed it out and built a roofed curing rack and roof. 6 upright logs in holes and a framed, tin paneled roof over the rocks worked like a charm.
If you see mushrooms growing on the logs, those are probably already rotted as the mushroom is the sexual organ of the fungus and comes out later in its lifespan. It’s already got into the log.
I have a Granberg Mark IV Alaska mill that I’ve been using with my Stihl MS-461. It takes a little getting used to but once you get the hang of it it’s awesome.
My only hangup so far is that if I want to use it for near furniture grade board I have to store it flat, under weight which I am fortunate enough to be able to do indoors and then I only have a planer that will accommodate up to 12” wide.