Procut Sawmill

[Dave T]

Hi,   Has anyone built one ?

I'm in the process of building a Procut chainsaw mill.
I have already built the main frame and saw frame.
My question is what tips or modifcations would anyone suggest ?
It seems to me that the log bunks and log dogs leave a little to
be desired.

Also any tips on using the mill .

Thoughts and comments are appreaciated.

I'm a new guy here ( only guy here ) from S.C. according to your member map.

Great forum.

Thanks  Dave T

[Jim Shockey]

 Dave;
  When I built mine I made it wider than the prints and shorter. I also added a little hand winch to pull it along . The bunks are to shot to turn the bigger logs on so I'm going to lengthen them out as much as I can. I use a  12V winch to role my logs on to the mill. I've got everything I need to put a hydraulic loader on the mill but I don't know if I am going to, at least  now. I've cut 4-5000 BF with it and there is not anything I would do different with it except the bunks as wide as I could put them. The biggest saw you can get and good ripping chain makes the difference.          Jim Shockey

  P.S. I was going to build another carriage for a band saw to go on the same frame but that might wait now to.

[Bibbyman]

Welcome to the Forum New Guys!

[farmerdoug]

Welcome to the Forum, Dave and Jim.

Dave, I am sure you are not the only one from SC.  You will no doubt get all the info you need on your mill just I am no help there. :D :D :D :D

[buck_lake]

I built a Procut a year ago and cut about 1000 BF of maple, cherry and birch with it.  I have a large pile of spruce, tamarack, hemlock and pine logs freshly cut this winter to mill this year after the snow disappears.

I wouldn't change much on the mill except the log bunks and dogs are a b**** to get used to.  This year I intend to modify the dogs so you don't have to adjust them with a wrench....use a handle of some kind, I think. I have the mill set up in a bit of a hollow and use long logs laid level as a loading ramp to the mill and horse the logs with a peavey and a cant hook. The mill is no good for short logs...They can be done but you need to jury rig some way of holding the logs.
You need a powerful saw and a sharp ripping chain. I use a Husky 395XP w/ 33" bar.
It is a good arrangement albeit very hard work and comparatively slow compared to a manual band mill.
Don.

[Carl_B]

We built a procut mill three years ago . Things that we changed  the log dogs we made some that were on the style that are on a woodmize L.T. 15 they work better. We add  jacks on all four  corners easer to set up. Shorten the mill up to saw a 12 foot log. Add a set of loading ramps for log loading. Only problem sawdust will get in your blood. We bought a woodmizer L.T.15 a year latter now we just bought a woodmize L.T. 30 .  The procut will cut  good lumber for you.

[rebocardo]

Getting to saw the last bit of wood without turning it into a trapazoid is tough, especially on small pieces. What I am working on is a clamping system where the clamp only sits .75" above the log bunk and holds the final cut from both sides (like a vise) on both ends of the board. That way you can take 1x lumber and easily make stickers.

Make the saw frame from aluminum to save weight.

Make brackets to hold the saw frame and log ramps to the trailer for easy transport.

Dogs on the inside of the frame that fold down and up so when you are turning logs on the mill, the log does not roll off by accident.

A hydraulic jack with a curved plate, placed towards the end of the trailer, so you can lift up and level a log while making a cant so the natural taper of the log does not effect the sawing of a grain pattern or having a board a mixture of sapwood/heartwood at one end.

Also, you can use the jack to help lift the log for turning it for a cant.

Winch and battery set up to pull logs up the ramp. I use a come-a-long, it can be a painful process on larger logs.

Put two angled steel tracks together, so it looks like an L and then a L flipped upside down. So you have a track on the top and bottom. Then have a swing down wheel that goes unto and is forced up into the lower track and is adjustable. The idea being to force the saw to cut straight and level all the way down the log without lifting up on one side or up in the kerf, even if the saw gets jammed into the kerf from a knot or what have you. Especially if the smaller pieces get drawn into the saw and move on the log bunk.

A handle on the saw frame.

A box around the end of the saw bar, with an opening so it can eject chips, but, prevent people from walking into the end or getting hit by the saw while they are helping you move the saw frame down the log.

[rebocardo]

A tongue jack with a really big turf tire so it does not sink into the mud when moving the trailer around off paved surfaces. I put a jack on mine rated for 700 pounds, but, the little plastic wheel (5"?) sinks into the mud/grass too easy when moving the trailer around on anything other then pavement.

A handle on the trailer tongue to make moving it easier.

Make the  trailer and saw frame 48" wide so you can do slabs, which is good for this trailer because you can get it along side trees that are in accessible and turn them into lumber. Which makes moving them easier.

Make sure you can get the saw frame down the whole length of the trailer without hitting the log ramps if you leave them in place. They are a good place to stack wood without putting the cut lumber directly on the ground.

If the saw frame is 48" wide, then there should be a way to easily mount a smaller saw bar to use once the larger part has been turned into a cant or slab. 

[Dave T]

Thanks for the replys.

I'll keep everyone posted on this project.

Dave T 

[rebocardo]

John, (answering an e-mail)

>  I mean i was creeping pretty slow and it seemed like there was alot
>  of resistance

I am using a Husky 365 with the Bailey's 3/8 low profile ripping chain on a 28 inch bar. It works much better then the converted Stihl chain I was running.

What I have found is being dead on level and square with the bar/bar support/trailer makes a big difference in speed. The first couple of times I cut logs it seemed to take forever. When bolting the bar down, make sure you are not giving it a slight U or bend flexing it. You can be going along a level line, but, the chain can be dipped downwards (tilted forward/backwards) or cocked slightly left or right and that will slow it down a lot.

What I found helpful was to level it off at its lowest level and then crank it all the way up and see if it was still level. Then checking the cut boards with a framer's sqaure. I found my set screws were slipping on the gears so I replaced them with 1/4 bolts instead.

Another thing is to make sure the log is level and the saw is going through the middle of the grain and not taking an angled course from the sapwood towards the heartwood, if you know what I mean. When you run that way, or into a crotch, or into figured/burl/curly wood you can feel the saw start to slow down and grab and the saw dust changes.

How you can compare this is take a 24 inch long round, place the saw on top of it evenly, and rip it by hand. With that saw you are running it should rip it in 1/2 without thinking about it. Counting 1001, 10102,1003,1004,1005 it should be all done on a 16" wide piece of pine.

I have only cut one pine it was pretty easy on the chain and I spent more time rolling the cant then I did cutting the mantle (3"x12"x7') pieces. The only bad thing was the clean up afterwards under the clutch cover and some of the resin burned onto the chain.

I usually cut on the push side of the chain, it goes much faster and you do not have to force the chain in the cut at all. I put a small downward angle on the trailer using the jacks so the push chain has gravity help it along.

I file the Bailey's at 10 degrees with 10 degrees down and the rakers at 0.030. It makes cuts smooth enough where people think the wood was planed. I demoed my mill to a neighor's father that runs his own bandsaw mill and he was impressed with the smoothness.

[Shamus]

Add a handle and throttle control for the saw, so you can work at a comfortable walking height (no stooping), a set of log dogs with rollers on the tops (for turning larger logs), and an auxilliary oiler. I use canola oil for lube, works great until it freezes.