I've have never used an Alakan mill,but have had several thousand feet of cedar pine ash maple and cherry cut by several dif sawers with WoodMizer band saws.
The bandsaws are very fast cutting depending on the width of the plank,and you only loose about an 1/8 or3/16
also the cuts are straight(if the sawer is any good)
I've tried ripping with saws before and you need to adjust your cutting teeth angles to get good chips,also you loose 3/8-1/2 .and I found it slow,but I did not have a proper set up.
If you can get a mill in your yard,you get a whole lot of lumber in a short time in what ever consistant thickness ,width and length.Should be able to get a good sawer around Kingston for anywhere from $50 -$100/hr.
And when the job is done the saw is gone,best of all no maintenance or large intial outlay for for new equipment.
But if you occasionally get nice logs it's nice to have a rig sitting in the shed...
