Lumber mills

From
Project: Lumber mills
Designers: Timothy Schmidt
Tools: Wrenches
Parts: Frames, Nuts, Bolts, Plates, End caps, Chain saws
Techniques: Shelf joints, Tri joints

Introduction

A sawmill or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensional lumber). The "portable" sawmill is of simple operation. The log lies flat on a steel bed, and the motorized saw cuts the log horizontally along the length of the bed, by the operator manually pushing the saw. The most basic kind of sawmill consists of a chainsaw and a customized jig ("Alaskan sawmill"), with similar horizontal operation.

Challenges

Square profile raw material suitable for producing frames is widely available for a price. Lowering cost and increasing availability requires sourcing raw material from the environment.

Approaches

Most chainsaw motor shafts appear to be 3/8 inch (0.375 inch or 9.525mm) in diameter. 0.404 inch also appears to be available. Clutch drum sprockets can be adapted to 3/8 inch shafts, mounted in collets, in standard spindles.

Chainsaw mills are relatively simple and have the advantage of reusing the chainsaw already needed for felling and limbing the tree. Disadvantages of chainsaw mills typically include more wasted wood than band or circular saws, intense amounts of manual labor, and increased danger compared to automated mills. The Replimat lumber mill attempts to combine advantages of a typical chainsaw mill with increased automation and safety offered by expensive bandsaw mills.

Chainsaw bar mounts

Waste flows

Wood sawdust can be processed by pellet presses for burning in an automatic wood pellet stove.

References