planing a mobile swinger

[maineman]

what would i need to build a frame that could support a 5' diameter bye 20' log, frame would be supported on six posts wood type would most likely be pine or maple. these are extreme cases but if i had the capacity to do the job i could take the job. thanks for any input.

[dgdrls]

go to the tool box and use the weight calculator to get you in the ballpark.
I'll add this, even white eastern cedar will weigh-in at #10,000 plus.

curios, where you heading with this??

Best
DGDrls

[maineman]

my idea is to make a mobile swinger that i can saw dam near any thing i look at, hook on to it with my pickup and drive away, park it at a sight and saw away. just want as a hobby not to make money but maybe help the less fortunate ya know get some lumber saved up and if some family needs some for a addition for a new one or what ever i may be able to help a little. not every one is as fortunate as other's. not saying this is what it is going to be about just if i come accost some one that needs the help at least ill be there to give it. where I'm headed with this is to do as much good as i can in my life before i die so that maybe if i influence enough people to do the same just maybe i know its a twinkle in my eye but just maybe we can make this place better for the next generation.

[PC-Urban-Sawyer]

I think if you examine the typical swing mill design you will find that the frame does not have to support the log, rather it supports the saw as it maneuvers around (and through) the log.

[Ianab]

Like was said, the portability of most swing mills is because the log is not supported by the mill at all.  This means that the mill frame only needs to support the saw head assembly, and move that around. A few hundred pounds of weight. So you can use aluminium rails, and simply move them into place.

Why is this such an advantage? Moving a 5 ft  dia log? It's a mission without some serious machinery. But because the mill is basically "hand portable" you can carry and wheel the mill into some ones back yard without even messing up the grass. So you can get to those oddball yard trees that no one else can handle.

By making the mill one piece you limit your ability to manoeuvre it into place in a tight spot, and you probably wont have the ability to move a 4 to 8 ton log either.

[dgdrls]

"Time and money spent in helping men to do more for themselves is far better than mere giving."
- Henry Ford

I think you have a lot in common with Henry Ford.

Beauty of a swingmill 
Portability!!


  
And can saw this without moving the heavy part


 

Best
DGDrls

[longtime lurker]

A lucas or other swinger needs no help with big logs. It's where they shine. And as everyone has said you don't want to have the support equipment to deal with big logs because believe me.... when you start shifting 966 class wheel loaders around it becomes a headache of its own.

It's the little logs where the entire trailer thing has merit. My experience with swingmills is that they struggle with smaller logs - thats where you want to be able to roll and clamp a log during sawing for best results. By all means build a trailer with hydraulics to do that - copy any decent mid level bandmill - but build it so you can remove the mill from the trailer for the odd big log that comes at you. That would be the best of both worlds.

[Ianab]

It's the little logs where the entire trailer thing has merit.

Agreed. Swing mills can handle small logs OK, but you kill the production because you have to manually load, position and dog down each small log. While you are doing that, the saws not cutting. Then you cut a handful of boards, and get to do the whole dance all over again.

So I can see where an automated log bed similar to a hydraulic band saw would be useful. Load, position, level  and clamp the small log down in seconds and you are back to sawing.

But I would want that as a totally separate unit, and the mill just sets up around it, or even clips on it. Then when you come across that 4ft log, dismount the complete mill and set it up around the log. Doesn't matter if you spend 15 mins setting up and aligning the mill with the log if you are going to be cutting without interruption for the next couple of hours. 

If you are building a mill as originally discussed I would be doing it in 2 stages. First a fully  portable mill, and the trailer is just to carry it about and haul sawn boards home. Now you have working mill. Stage 2 would be the log handling system.

I'm guessing that the main reason you don't see these build commercial would be the cost? Probably more to manufacture that part then the mill itself. But for a dedicated DIY type, it could be done, and should work well.

[maineman]

i understand the concept of the swinger mills to be as portable as possible but that is not so much here. portable is looking more like bring it to a sight and the equipment there will bring you the logs. i live in northern maine where wood is well plenty and there are people that would love to have stuff sawn in trade for parting with some of the material.

Ianab I like that idea but I am not so good at making things strong and light weight lol hsla-70 4x2 x 1/4" is about 8 lbs a foot.

[maineman]

dgdrls thank you.

[maineman]

i am going to sketch up some ideas here over the next few days and post em any one willing to help me just give me a few days.

[longtime lurker]

i understand the concept of the swinger mills to be as portable as possible but that is not so much here. portable is looking more like bring it to a sight and the equipment there will bring you the logs. i live in northern maine where wood is well plenty and there are people that would love to have stuff sawn in trade for parting with some of the material.

Ianab I like that idea but I am not so good at making things strong and light weight lol hsla-70 4x2 x 1/4" is about 8 lbs a foot.

I have a fixed frame for under my Lucas, and happen to own a 966 class wheel loader which is why I was aware of what it takes to handle logs 5' in diameter when they hit 20' long. Let me tell ya... my old loader is struggling to handle logs at that size, the only reason I don't run a bigger loader is that an 18t machine is a headache to shift, but anything bigger can be a nightmare.

You don't want light in any sawmill. Light  = flexible, and anything that can flex will either bow or break eventually, and give you a whole heap of grief along the way. Any sawmill bed - be it carriage, rack or bunks - has to be stiff enough to take its design load plus a generous allowance because when you start rolling logs in there they stop being a static load and become dynamic. Otherwise the bed sags under the log and as the weight of timber on it reduces during sawing it comes back up. Might not seem like much but if the goal is dimensional accuracy it matters. Inaccurate dimenion lumber is rarely the result of "just one thing"; mostly its a whole heap of minor things all cumulatively effecting the final product. A bed that sags under the log would be one of those things.
Mine is based on 6" x 3" channel - weight in that is around 12lb/foot, and it's on 2'6" centers. Guess what - it ain't stiff enough.  Mk11 will be built this wet season and this time I'm going direct to 8" universal beam.

[redbeard]

 

  

  

  FF member Steve Geschwend built a really stout log deck for his Brand X swing mill. It had everything the hydraulic band mill log decks have. You could search his posts for more ideas.

[maineman]

channel iron is designed to flex. if big rig trucks had tubing frames they would be constantly needing to be repaired do to stress fractures. tubing is the way to go if you want stiffness. just my two cents.