AFRICAN MILL

[Angolan_Andrew]

Hi everybody,

I am an Australian and have recently obtained a licence in Angola(Africa). I dont have experience and I would like to set up a commercial mill specially producing boards for which there is a good demand in Angola.
However I must do it with a portable sawmill as the roads here are awful and almost impossible to transport large logs, my idea is to transport the boards in smaller trucks.
Need help as regards the equipment I would need, from the sawmill( although I am in contact with various US suppliers) to other such as a tractor to open roads and pull large logs.
Any help more than welcome
Andrew

[Kevin]

Welcome aboard!
How large are the average logs?
How long a distance to get the logs to a good landing?
How long of a period of time would you set up at one location?

[woodbeard]

Andrew, welcome to the Forestry Forum!
Sounds like a job for a swing blade mill.
Have you looked at Petersons? They are in New Zealand, and specialise in this type of application ( remote location, rough terrain, large logs, etc. ) Their link is on the left on this page.
What species of wood do you have there?
Good luck,
George

[Angolan_Andrew]

Thanks George and Kevin,

Average lenght of logs is beteeen 15 to 20 meters.Diameter is 1 to 1,5 meters. Its an area that has never been worked.
We will have to move the sawmill quite a bit as we enter the forest, but the distance logs will have to be moved will be maximum 50 meters, it is a very dense forest.
My guess is that we will be moving the sawmill once a week to distances of about 1 km.

I have looked at Petersons and I am in contact with them,I will post the species that we have in the area I will work some time this week, I will get their international names and post them here.But it seems like we are supposed to have very good types of wood there, before the war started in 1975 the portuguese were exporting and qualities were supposed to be very good and commercial.Since then we have had war and no timber until now.

[shopteacher]

Hi Andy,
    Welcome.  It sounds like you got your work cut out for you. Best of luck with your endeavor.

[ohsoloco]

Wow, if the average diameter of the logs is 1 to 1.5 meters, I would look seriously at a swing mill like the peterson.  

[Tom]

Welcome to the forum Andrew.

A swing mill does sound like a good choice since you are confronting an area that may contain such varied and unknown sizes.  Most other styles of mills have definite size limitations.

You might talk seriously with WoodMizer for their thoughts.  It could be that your second mill would have different uses.  Woodmizer has delt with installing operations in emerging countries for years and pride themselves in building machines that can produce in rough country.  They may be able to show you where their mills would fit into your plans whether you got one now or later.

[Minnesota_boy]

If you reall only have to skid the logs for a  short distance, I'd consider an engine driven winch.  You won't have to get much farther and a skidder becomes much more effective.