The Forestry Forum

When I was frequently chainsaw milling logs I got tired of the effort involved with pushing the saw day after day, so rigged up a crank handle to feed the saw though the log.  I got the idea from seeing hand cranks on big chainsaw rail rigs, didn't want to build one, and decided I just wanted to add a hand crank to the mill itself.  Pretty simple to use, just throttle the saw up and start cranking.  Since then, I've had a few friends ask about the modification so I figured I'd pass it on so others might use it, if they wanted. 
It's a very simple mod, made a huge difference, and I never ran the mill without it once I got it figured out.  No more pushing, just an easy hand crank will move the saw down the log with ample force and smooth feed control.  It also allowed me to get a little away from the noise and sawdust.

I drilled two clearance holes in the upright posts and inserted a smooth, strong rod through it to serve as an arbor.  The end of the rod is bent to form a simple crank handle and a couple cotter pins and washers are inserted into the rod to keep it centered and to give a place to tie the cord and keep it from spinning. 



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Then I used a piece of nylon cord and wraped it around the rod, passed it under the cross bar to bring it close to the log to keep the mill from tipping, and then pulled the cord down the log.  I tied a loop in the end of the cord and attached it to a screw or nail in the far end of the log. 



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It's important to use a nylon cord so that it has some stretch and applies a constant spring tension force to the saw as it moves through the log.  A wire cable doesn't work as well.  Using a relatively small diameter rod will allow more mechanical advantage and allow a smoother cranking motion.  I hope somebody finds this useful
YH 

Looks great to me!  My friend has a chainsaw slabbing mill that he keeps talking about the difficulties of keeping a constant forward pressure on.  I'll share this with him.

Looks like a great idea that I'll try next time i get out the Alaskan mill. Thank you Peder

Now that is some smart thinkin!  Thanks for posting 8)

Nice thinking!  8)