homemade chainsaw mill

[jpm]

i have a complete head unit with chain saw availible because i went to bandsaw .all you need is the tract

 

[smiley]

I saw a homemade mill designed around a vertical shaft engine with a harvester sprocket driving a harvester bar and .404 chain.

YouTube - Sawmill homemade / home built chainsaw mill
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This is a pretty neat rig and what I envision building if the other more important projects ever get built, or like the one Simplicityguy92 built at http://www.mytractorforum.com/showthread.php?t=73710
There are also several other examples of homemade rigs there on youtube.

You can say what you want about it being more expensive to build than to buy the lumber, but lumber is something you have a continuing need for unlike the trailers mentioned. Once you buy a trailer, it's there and earns it's keep by using it, but produces nothing. A sawmill on the other hand keeps on producing for a lifetime. Every time I have to go buy a board for 5 or 10 dollars, I wish I still had my mill. I could buzz that board and several others like it out in about a minute. Even if you don't have your own logs, there's free ones on craiglist all the time for hauling them away. The only thing you have to watch out for with those is hardware. A metal detector is a good investment.

Besides that, there's the fun and satisfaction of building it yourself. Cost-wise, if you go out and buy everything new, you'll have some bucks in it, but with some forethought and constructive scrounging, you can do it on the cheap, whether it's a trailer, sawmill or most anything.
I'm going to have to live to at least 100 to do all the projects I have planned.
Smiley

 

[6sunset6]

I agree with Eddie and Chris . What Eddie said was IF you can buy it. there are times when you need or want something unique or different enough that you have no choice but to build it yourself. Sometimes the mental health aspects of a successful build far outweigh the costs. Then there is the size of the junk pile and how much time you have on your hands.
I guess ultimately it depends.

 

[s78wingrider]

Right about buying, I bought my slightly used lumbermate for $1200 :thumbsup:

 

[jpm]

thats a real nice price on the lumbermate :thumbsup:

 

[podieroe]

i understand that there are cost concerns, but i have a 12 hp briggs vertical new n unused, and i do not have a 1000$ stihl or whatever, so i do consider your advice and i will study it further costwise. but lumbermate i believe makes a "slabber" that is essentially a lawnmower engine, with a 52 inch chainsaw bar attatched and a typical lumberbate or alaskan type frame.Once again it is very high priced ! not sure its gonna be worth it, so i thought i'de ask about homebuilt.

 

[s78wingrider]

This is where my lunbermate came from-http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0oG7nyuQedMuh0BRX9XNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTE1azRuN3ZwBHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDMQRjb2xvA2FjMgR2dGlkA1NSVDAwMV8xODc-/SIG=12i9i3thl/EXP=1290310446/**http%3a//www.norwoodindustries.com/en/Home_Norwood_Sawmills.aspx= Maybe can buy mill to put your engine on

 

[s78wingrider]

sorry, search Norwood Sawmills

 

[piller]

I've been looking at sawmills for a looooong time, I hope to be getting one before too long.
At the moment I am hewing a large log with an axe ....

I've used an alaskan chain saw mill, would not do that again.
I've seen Logosol saw mills in operation, they are good. If I was going to have a chain saw mill it would be a Logosol.

After selling the Logosols for several years the company now also offers Lumbermate bandsaw mills for those who want more production. Check out their website and videos:
Wood planer, moulder and sawmills - Logosol

 

[podieroe]

got a panther mill, not exactly what i wanted but i'll try to post a few pics for those of interest, just as soon as the weather warms a bit, its 25 for a high today in tennessee mtns