Homemade 5’x18’ chainsaw mill

[Klie]

For the past few months we have been working with the idea of a sawmill and have crunched the numbers, the rough design of the bed and are about 90% there. The final cut capacity will be 58" but for now we are using a 42" bar. It's being powered by a salvaged 13hp briggsandstratton off my ride on, rip rideon lol and some other odds and ends off the machine.

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[welderskelter]

I like to see someone that is dedicated to an idea. Looks like you know how to build things. Good job. Although I thought the idea of a chainsaw mill is to be able to pack it back in the woods where you cant get a sawmill. I run an 066 and have tried and succeeded at ripping but I cannot see ripping a log that is even 4 ft. wide. But you will have the makings of a band mill if you change your mind. I have never tried a ripping chain and maybe they are faster than a regular chain. But dont mind me keep up the good work. Keep us posted. Lets see some boards.

[Klie]

I like to see someone that is dedicated to an idea. Looks like you know how to build things. Good job. Although I thought the idea of a chainsaw mill is to be able to pack it back in the woods where you cant get a sawmill. I run an 066 and have tried and succeeded at ripping but I cannot see ripping a log that is even 4 ft. wide. But you will have the makings of a band mill if you change your mind. I have never tried a ripping chain and maybe they are faster than a regular chain. But dont mind me keep up the good work. Keep us posted. Lets see some boards.

We will be using a skip tooth 3/8 sthil rip chain, also after using a chainsaw power head mill before and talking to some locals that run them nearly daily this 13hp briggs will definitely have more torque then a chainsaw powerhead to eat through the wood. The speed of the chain will also be able to be adjusted with different sized pulleys which is one of the things we will be playing around with, I run a woodworking business and over the years I've found the finish is better from an alaskan chainsaw mill then a lot of these big branded bandsaw mills, or the guy who I get my lumber from is some sort of god lol I find way less tearing in the faces of the boards from a bar compared to a band, also less waves from flex. We will be putting money we make straight to a better cannon bar that should help even more and is a proper ripping bar.

[JoshNZ]

I was gonna say that photo of the carriage sitting on the bed looks identical to how my band mill looked up til that point!

Not to plant a seed of doubt..

[Hilltop366]

Welcome! 

[mike_belben]

I personally found that a good chain finish on that style of saw is all in keeping the bar rails dressed well and the bar kerf fitted good to the driver gauge.  my carriage can lift right off the track at any time, and it floats side to side.  still makes a good cut when the bar is in good shape.  If the chain can rock on the rails much, the dive will make a rougher finish that takes a lot more push to advance.  












On your mill bed you will probably experience warpage during welding.  And you may also experience racking and cogging in the legs of the carriage because they are so long.  I suggest letting the wheels float a bit side to side.  Once the teeth pull into the wood it will ride one face only and stabilize but this extra float will help avoid sticking in place if your bed isnt exactly true from end to end. You could be 1/4" wider in the center and a looser trolley setup wont care where a tight fit may try to bind or step up off.  mine only tracks on one rail, the other is just a wheel riding on a flat to maintain the bar being parallel to the bed, and its obviously fine.


If youre gonna have power carriage feed power both sides not just one.  


Lots of bar lube, both ends.  They make a lot of heat.

[trimguy]

Welcome Klie. Take more pictures when you get your bar/chain/pulley setup.

[Klie]

So yesterday we tried to start the engine with zero luck. This was a donner from my old ride on so I knew it may be iffy. We picked up a brand new 17.5hp briggs I know there are some issues with them but I think I fixed them so we wont over rev it. We placed the top cross supports on the carriage and we mounted the pulleys for carriage lift. Excited to get the pillow bearings and the shaft in hopefully this week

 

 

 

 

 

[Klie]

Gotten the winch and cable on and also the motor tensioning for the belt all together, this evening. We are successfully moving the carriage up and down and it is staying level. Next is the pillow bearings and the main shaft drive that will drive the chain. Id say we are coming up to the most difficult portions next but we got this lol doing good for 98% on the fly and in our heads 

[Klie]

 

 

 

 This evening we gotten the chain drive shaft in place, I can pretty much taste the wood chips

  now 

[aigheadish]

This is really neat and seems like something much more in line with my budget. Thanks for sharing!