Is this how this saw is designed to be used?

Joe Hillmann · February 15, 2015, 12:55:50 PM

I've seen this type of saw before but assumed they were meant for bucking logs to length or firewood. In this case he is using it to rip a log. Is this how they are normally used? And if so what is the final product usually used for? It seems like it wouldn't cut very accurate lumber or beams.

http://youtu.be/QSuKf-qHH4s

hunz · February 15, 2015, 01:05:56 PM

Ya....I think I'll just use my chainsaw.

sealark37 · February 15, 2015, 01:06:44 PM

"Making do with what one has on hand."

terrifictimbersllc · February 15, 2015, 01:14:59 PM

Some things I remember better than others. :

:

Not sure how closely "design" matched "use".

Search "death on wheels" in thread title:

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,45654.msg656703.html#msg656703

Can also search "Darwin award". :D :D

Peter Drouin · February 15, 2015, 01:23:23 PM

Nice, But I think the blade needs to be sharpened. :D :D ;D

Southside · February 15, 2015, 04:18:29 PM

Great - I found the mill I have been searching for!!! :D No need to worry about upgrading to hydraulics in the future, and I can do on site sawing down the road!!!

sawyer2015 · February 15, 2015, 07:04:48 PM

I would build a giant jig (straight edge). and run the saw down it instead of plunge cutting every 12 inches

thecfarm · February 15, 2015, 07:11:46 PM

I know things can be made to look good in a 4 minute video,but that first log popped right open. Must have a good eye.

sawyer2015 · February 15, 2015, 07:14:06 PM

Its not his first time

drobertson · February 15, 2015, 07:44:36 PM

I reckon it works,

pineywoods · February 15, 2015, 08:43:24 PM

Saws similar to that were quite common here in the south from ww2 up till the sixties. Used to buck pulpwood to length after it was skidded out to a landing with a mule or 8n ford tractor. I knew more than one person who lost fingers from them, not from the sawblade, but from the exposed belts. If the blade pinched, they would kick like a mule. I had an after-school job sharpening and hammering the blades, $5 per blade.

RayMO · February 15, 2015, 08:48:16 PM

The old saying "poor people have poor ways" comes to mind.

longtime lurker · February 16, 2015, 01:48:06 AM

Yup, that's how it's supposed to be used.

It's a (very underpowered) Hagen Saw. I say very underpowered because most came out with a 500cc BSA motorbike engine, and the repower of choice was the motor out of a Volkswagon beetle, or later on a 900cc Kawasaki bike engine or a Toyota Corolla motor. That 20HP Honda is a lot gutless by comparison.

Still the best saw around for busting out split fenceposts, and as accurate as the operator. I worked for a guy who could cut 10" x 5" x 10' railway sleepers (ties) with one of them and using only his eye could consistantly be accurate to within 1/8". Me, I'm rough enough for fenceposts, but if you drop a chalk line down it to follow I can get pretty close.

A rather dangerous beastie though... you strap yourself to it nice and tight because if it kicks you need it to take you with it. Being towed down the paddock by a runaway hagen isn't on the list of fun things you might do... but if you aint strapped up close it can turn around and take your legs out from under you which is a whole lot worse. Used to be a variant of the same called a Mobilco Swingsaw... basicly the same thing but the sawhead would pivot to do a horizontal cut too. Nothing new under the sun in sawmilling, and sure as hell Carl Peterson and/or David Lewis - whichever of them made the first of the modern swingmills - would have been familiar with those.

Wanna buy one? I got one you can have for cheap, for some reason or other I never get time to play with it no more and it sure could use a good home. Engine runs good, two spare blades, and she's only chopped one guys leg off at the ankle. ( NOT Kidding)