Another way to saw

You don't say? Challenge accepted.

Reinvention of a common saw from the 50's. It had a larger blade, larger wheels and was used with the blade horizontal for cutting down trees for pulpwood and the blade was turned vertical for limbing and cutting the lengths. It was replaced by chainsaws and went extinct here in Georgia. I will post a picture in ABPW.

A good sharp chain saw would turn that into "butta" That saw the fellow is using is a literal "widow maker" Although it is inventive.....imagine if it got caught up in the blocks holding the log up. Anyway, I do like ingenuity, and experiment.... I do know this fellow is hard core, and knows how to handle his tools. john

I like this saw, it looks like a lot of work to use. Not sure if it removes less wood than a chain saw. Doing the same chore with a chain saw would be difficult if not impossible.

The ladder made from that timber came out nice and was made for an exhibit.

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Worst thing I see on that is the lack of a chain guard -- if a link were to break, he's got a pretty good whip coming at him...

I will post a picture in ABPW.

His saw is going counter clockwise. I would feel safer, using it, if it went clockwise.

For any swing saw, as these, I wonder what happens when they hit metal - fencing, a big nail or spike.

Sonny

Not a good comparison. If you can't see why it doesn't matter.

Possibly not a reinvention but a hold-over. Were the ones from the 50's pushed by hand too? I have a vague memory they were motor driven.

I think it would be much harder, more dangerous and the final product not as clean. The goal in this video was to maintain the rough timber twists and turns and also to retain as much of the timber as possible.

You mean a belt guard? I didn't see the chains but maybe I missed them.

I guess on enlarging it they are belts...didn't watch much of it; 5-10 secs pretty much was the whole story and at first glance thought was link chain drive. Broken belt would do less damage for sure, but still wouldn't be fun to be flailed by one...

Pushed by hand. The large bicycle-type tires had no spokes to catch on brush, but had a solid metal plate.

Sonny wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@googlegroups.com:

It's belt drive, so most likely the blade stops and the belt slips. The weight of the engine, etc, has so much leverage on the blade that it's unlikely to jump around.

That said, it still looks like an absurdly dangerous piece of equipment. A regular circular saw mill, where the saw is stationary and the log moves thru it, is bad enough.

Seems to me you could get the same result, a lot more safely, with a portable bandmill like a Woodmizer.

John

It might but would not be easy and I still think it'd be more dangerous.

It dulls the blade, makes extra noise, kicks a little? But I'd guess that he knows enough to run a metal detector over things he's cutting.

One part of the story you may have missed was that he hit the chalk mark right on the money at the end of the cut.

Agreed, although some people like getting flailed by belts apparently. \^:

Interesting solution, a lot stronger I'd guess.

From what I've seen these portable saw mills don't handle crooked timber well or at all. At least the demos I looked at didn't show them cutting twisted timbers. I always noticed they were cutting logs that were generally straight and cleared of all branches, etc.

It is cool and I'd guess by the fellas age that he knows what's best for that saw and him. That old saying comes to mind "The skills of the survivors are passed on."

Electric Comet wrote in news:m62av2$c0i$7 @dont-email.me:

Well, typically they're used for making lumber. For that purpose you want a straight log, otherwise the boards you get from it will warp, cup, and twist in every direction when they dry.

I understand boat-builders do use bandmills for cutting knees and other compass timbers. Other than for weird ornamental purposes, that's the only case I can think of where you'd cut a non-straight log, and that's a pretty specialized application.

John