Mini Sawmill?

[logger]

Does anybody know how to make a mini sawmill for 1-5" diameter logs?  I was thinking about making it out of a table saw some how.  But I couldn't figure out how to keep the log from turning on the mill, or shoving it through safely?  I was wondering if one of you guys would help me figure this out? 8) ;D

[Furby]

An end dogging sled will work for short stuff, but green "logs" are hard on table saws.

[brdmkr]

I have seen a number of articles in woodworking magazines that built a sled for a bandsaw.  Something like that might work for you.

[Radar67]

Logger,
    Have you thought about a jig for your fence? I've seen one before, it is basically a flat piece of 1x stood up on edge, you screw through the board into the log for the first cut. (The screw should just go in far enough to hold the log against the board securely). Make your first cut to get a flat surface, then remove the screws and board. You should now be able to use your existing fence with the flat surface down, don't forget the push stick for safety.

[logger]

I seen a guy one time at a logging show and he had a "mini" actual sawmill, it had a about a 10" sawblade on it and I asked him how he made it.  He said that a company made them at one time.  It had a log sled on it and everything.  I was thinking of how to build one but I couldn't figure it out.  That is why I was thinking table saw.  And I have a buddy that has an old tablesaw that just needed a electric motor.  And if I root around in the barn I have an old tablesaw that works.  All I really need is to figure out how to build a logsled for a tablesaw, and maybe bring the sawblade up more?  Thanks! 8) ;D

[MemphisLogger]

Check out this one on ebay right now . . .

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7559603560&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1

[logger]

Do you think if I turned the blade up all the way and just pushed the log through the saw with a push stick, would it be okay?  ;D

[Fla._Deadheader]

You will need way more set in the blade than it has now. Wet wood just don't saw well. Ya gotta hold the log REAL steady too. It would not be difficult to build a small mill, band or Circle.

[Tom]

You will need some kind of mechanism to lock the log.  It could roll and take your hand into the blade.  A push stick would keep your hand out but you still might make a grab for the log if it rolled.  It's just human nature to stop something that's trying to get away.

At the very least you will have to make a flat spot on the bottom of the log so that it doesn't "roll" as easily and also so that it is not rocking up and down as it goes through the blade.

If it were me, I  wouldn't want my hand anywhere near the thing.

Burying a raised blade in a log will cause it to try and rise over the top of the spinning blade.  If you are climb cutting (a no-no) then it will leave the premises at a high rate of speed and probably tear up whatever it hits.  Hopefully it isn't another person.

If the blade is turning toward you, the log will tend to be pushed against the table, but, if it climbs, you are the one that is in the way.  I'm not talking about getting a knot on your head, I talking about the possibility that the piece of wood could impale you.

Don't do anything haphazardly.   If you want to build a little mill, put a lot of thought into it and do it right.  You will need safety devices as well as log dogs and the means to adjust the log relative to the blade without endangering yourself.

An accident only has to happen one time.

[logger]

I have a basic idea on how to build the circle saw part.  The only thing I am really struggling on is the log sled or something that slides and holds the log down to keep it from rollong? :-\

[Tom]

I think you need to be considering a real "carriage" rather than a sled.  Sleds are OK for cutting boards but a round log is a different animal. 

Go look at some.  Go to a Circle mill and sit and watch.  Study some pictures.  We have some on the forum and there are many on the WWW.

A Carriage is a work of art in itself.  It is a real piece of engineering and much more sophisticated than the saw blade.

[alha]

Hi there, I've been lurking for a while, and am thinking about (possibly) getting into the sawmill business. I've been getting mailers from Timber King for the last year or 2, and each time I've gone Hmmm... Unfortunately, I live in the suburbs of Mpls, MN, and don't have any acreage, barns, etc. I am just finishing up building a woodworking workshop, my 1st purchase for it was a Woodmaster 725 to make molding, I am going to start small, basically learning it as a hobby, and will move on from there. It would be nice to go from tree to trim, with no middleman, more profit (and admittedly more work) that way.

The reason I jumped in on this thread was to let Logger know about a product that may be just up his alley, though probably not the cheapest. There is a produce made by Laguna Tools, called the Logmaster.  http://www.lagunatools.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=47  Take a look, maybe it would work out for you?

Thought I would add this, hope it helps. Looking forward to more posts in the future, you guys are a great bunch of folks.   ;D

[logger]

Sorry Tom, I meant to say carrage but I said sled, sorry to mix you up.  I don't know what I was thinking. ;D  How would I build something like that on a small scale?  

[Tom]

the first thing is to go look at a real one and think in the terms of building a model.


My Uncle made one by building a device with wheels that ran on V tracks.  I don't know what he did about the log dogging devices.

Skate board wheels might work but think more of railroad type wheels.  They may not be affected so much by sawdust or slivers.

log locking devices could run the gamut from spikes being driven into the log to screwing the log to a board that will carry it.

There must be some way of advancing the log into the blade.   By this, I mean that, once an inch board has been removed, the log must be moved an inch to allow for another inch board to be removed.   All this without redogging because you want to keep the sawed surfaces in the same plane as the previous pass.

It just sounds like a large project to me without having some idea of previous working designs and a whole lot of mechanical talent.        :P :P

[Fla._Deadheader]

Wish I could draw. A carriage would be fairly simple to build. You need a track section. That could be as simple as Angle Iron with one edge pointing up, for each of 2 rails. Steel wheels can be turned on a metal lathe, and 1 groove cut in to straddle the Iron track rails. Use small pillow block bearings to run the axles through, and pin the wheels to the axles. Mount them UNDER the carriage frame, which can be wooden beams, like 3 X 4's. On top of the carriage frame, you make 2 sets of Headblocks and bunks. These are what you set the log on.
  Use channel iron with the "C" 's of the channel facing each other. They hang out over the track a little. Adjustments come later. They extend to the back of the carriage frame, which will be wider than the largest diameter log you will saw. Space the channels apart about ¾", using bolts and pieces of tubing to run the bolts through.

  The ¾" spacing is where the headblocks will slide in the slot and set down on top of the Channels. Make all this with ¾" steel. An upside down "T" shape will fit up through the slot and ride against the bottom of the inside channels, keeping the headblocks from falling over. A piece of steel welded on the top side of the uprights, will keep the headblocks from falling through the slots, and will ride on top of the Channels. The headblocks should be about 15" high. From there, you add rack and pinion type clamping system up one side of each headblock. Then you add the dogging spikes. A movable advance system to slide the headblocks forward and back, for the logs, and yer nearly ready for the rest of the mill.

  Now, ain't that simple ??  ;D ;D ;) :D :D :D

  As Tom said, look in the Gallery and you now have a mental picture of what I described. Once you see a carriage, you will get the idea.

[Furby]

Uh, Harold.......... isn't that a bit over kill?
He's talking about 1 - 5" dia. logs.

[Ianab]

Sounds a bit hairy to me  

Tablesaws are know for launching things into the air as it is, without trying to cut small logs with suspect support and unknown tension in the 'log'

Look around for an old workshop bandsaw that you can put a decent wide resaw band on then build a sled or carriage to suit.

I just have a bad feeling about feeding sticks into a circle saw, but with a bandsaw you are about 1000 times safer  :

Cheers

Ian

[Fla._Deadheader]

Furby, have you always stayed within the specs for YOUR mill  : :

  I was giving an example. His design can go from there. ;D ;D

[Corley5]

There's a pic of a mini mill at Rollag at http://www.rollag.com/  Go here click on exhibits then sawmills and there's a pic of it.  They run it with a scale model steam engine pretty  8) 8)  When I was there they were sawing red pine bolts into 1x2s and handing them out to kids for walking sticks.  It worked good

[Furby]

Furby, have you always stayed within the specs for YOUR mill : :

I was giving an example. His design can go from there. ;D ;D

Um......... so far.......... yup! ;)
I know what you were saying, just seemed like over kill. :D :D

[Fla._Deadheader]

Ya just KNOW he won't be satisfied with a "Mini" mill.  ;) ;) :D

[Furby]

True...... verrrrry true! ;D :D

[Captain]

Stay tuned, Sawmill fans and hobbyist woodworkers everywhere.  A mini mill just may be on the way....soon...from one of our sponsors 

Captain

[Furby]

Well I know Eco Saw was working on a small one.............

[SAW MILLER]

If  you get em hooked on a mini mill it's only a matter of time till they need one more bigger and badder...kinda like drugs that sawdust is. :D :D
I wonder if anyone ever tried a 12 step program to try quitin sawmilling? ???