Thread: Portable saw mill suggestions

There are several portable saw mills available in Australia new and second hand just Google portable sawmills.
Hodgo

Google Lucas Mill, they work very well.


Cheers Greg.

There's a US bloke on Youtube who has a channel devoted to this kind of stuff.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...U-fcimrVjv-9c6

I recall a video where he had a aluminium jig which could be attached to the log and it allowed a carriage on his chainsaw to mill it to timber.
Might be a starting point for some reviews and techniques etc before spending the coin

As mentioned, probably a Lucas, but I'd join and ask here http://www.arboristsite.com/communit...thread.175005/
There are a couple of pro millers and fallers on that thread, as well as a couple of semi pro users with a wealth of experience, as well as just being all round top blokes.
But don't tell them I said that.

Originally Posted by rick130

as well as just being all round top blokes.

OMG,,,
one Latte too many this morning?

A Lewis or a Lucas saw is what you require.
Would stay clear of the copies.
A mate worked for a bloke with a Lucas saw many years ago,it was a licence to print money if you had the trees for it.They too mainly cut fence and yard posts.
Problem with your decking,and roof timbers for that matter is the timber needs to be straped and dried before use as it twists and bends.They ended up buying a strapping tool,strapped them a 2 foot intervals and also hosed the strapped timber daily to help dry it out.It draws the sap out apparently.
They did cut dead trees up for furniture,i think the main issue with dead trees was they were full of borer so not much good for roofing timber.
ENJOY
Andrew

Years ago when I was building the house I constructed a jig to convert logs into planks (beams) with a chain saw. There are a couple of types. One method uses a rail and has the saw vertically, the other a carriage set up that slides along a plank. Both methods remove a lot of timber due to the thickness of the chain, so you will loose about 5mm per pass. On hardwood it is slow, dusty going. You will need a big saw, specialist bar and multiples of chains. Mine is the largest Dolmar in the range, the bar is nearly a meter long and in the jig will take a width of around 800mm through which I have passed in Yellow Box. Any of these type of saws are up over the $2000 mark before other components.
A better option may be to contract the cutting out to someone with the Lucas style mill. They will drop up to the farm and cut on site. This type of set up is more efficient time wise. Either way timber will need to be seasoned(dried) prior to use. Put it in stack, off the ground and seal the ends with a wax product like Mobile cer m and cover with tin.
It depends on the scale of your work. If you are talking in the thousands of acres and ongoing work then taking the initial purchase hit may be more beneficial long term.

Originally Posted by Pedro_The_Swift

OMG,,,
one Latte too many this morning?

Not one !

Only a couple of spiced 'erbal teas