Power cutter with wood blade?

[Sawdusty]

Has anyone ever tried to use a power cutter (like a husky 371k or 3120k) with a wood blade on it for milling?

I am thinking of mounting one to my CS mill carriage for edging and possibly making small boards and beams from cants. Or has anyone experimented with using one of them in a home made swingmill set up? Any idea if you can run a slightly larger blade in them (they are rated for 16" which is the same depth of cut as the entry level Peterson swingmill, a 20" would give a much more useful cut depth)?

 

[BobL]

Are you talking about a circular saw mounted in a chainsaw?

 

[Sawdusty]

Yes, one of these:

It should give 6" cut depth and if I use a 3120k it has a similar HP to the Peterson junior. RPM is about 5k on these. Just seems like it would make a great edger/ platform for a swing saw attachment. I already have the mill bed and dogs and carriage and it would make cutting some of the special stuff easier (quartersawn from small logs, clapboards, edging slabs in place). Any thoughts or fatal flaws?

 

[Fundyheather]

I have a similar old Stihl rig I use to cut rock; maybe 60cc. Mine and the ones I've seen destroyed (ran over with the excavator) have timing belt-like blade drives. Mine binds in rock and slips; so the belt drive might need to be swapped out for a chain drive. Might have to look at how it is geared to get some more speed out of it. With all the bolts holding the handle and base on, it looks like it should mount on a carriage kind of well. If you have a generator and a skill saw (or 2) they might ride on another saw carriage to do the same trim job; maybe even a router, depending on your mission.

 

[lps8]

What about some thing along these lines: http://turbosawmill.com/weekendwarrior/

Larry

 

[chaugnar]

you could change the ignition for more rpm/hp just dont exceed blade rated rpm.i think its a good idea.it would have a limited depth.what i want is one with carbide replaceable tooth inserts.o dont think wood binds like stone and metal.

 

[Sawdusty]

One of the applications that I want the circular blade for is making blind cuts in a cant that are 6" deep which seems like too much for a skill saw or router. The cut off saw seemed like a natural fit but I couldn't find anyone else doing it and figured I would ask before putting a bunch of money into it. The RPM on the saws is just about right with the stock belt set up, I read 5k rpm somewhere and the blades I saw were around 4k rpm. I might have to slow it down a little - any thoughts? Anyone know if there are different gearing options like how you can put a 7 or 8 pin sprocket on a regular saw?

The turbo saw is pretty cool, clever idea and some impressive design work. I dont need true swing mill capability out of the cut off saw, I will mostly be running in one orientation and working off cants that I have cut with the conventional chainsaw mill set up. For things like quartersawing it would get me more yield and I would not have to lift the quarter up after each cut to return the mill for the next cut (the up / down on the mill is slow). If it cut faster than the chainsaw it would also help with cutting boards from cants.

I like that the drive for a circle blade is already there, I just have to swap blades and mount it on the existing carriage, but if it is that easy I am not sure why I cant find anyone that has done that before.

 

[Fundyheather]

Maybe nobody thought about it. Wood people don't talk to rock people for the same reason cat people shouldn't marry dog people.

This has to work on some level. If you can't 6" cut once, go for 3" cut twice. The older rock saws I see are industrial machines with great big filters. They look superior to the same class chainsaw (to me.) The crucial decision might be with blade availability, chip ejection and pitch handling rather than the saw.

Restraining the saw or perhaps the cut off trim after hitting a knot could be tense. You might be on the way to make a 6" rip cut with a radial arm saw type rig, cutting from a carriage on rollers, while the vibrating saw head and blade slightly wobble in all possible directions. The radial mill folks have this all worked out somehow, but the cabinet makers who still have fingers left to point with could give you some pointers and cautions on ripping with a radial arm saw. It's almost not done anymore, as I understand it.

If you think you can borrow a 'right' blade from a rental shop say; get on all the safety gear you own and do a light test cut with the grain and see what happens. Probably the saw will tear out of your hands; but you will get an idea of what forces you are up against. Maybe the carriage just needs extra mass, inertial brakes, go for a lighter cut or try cutting uphill instead of down.

(the sub text is: nobody knows; hope you try it and it works; if you live to tell us how you did it, that's way, way better.)

best luck,
jim

 

[Nato]

Try this guy for a custom made circular saw blade. I stopped in his shop about a year ago just to look around and he ended up giving me a 30 minute tour of his place. Super nice guy, and he knows his trade. He has some high dollar equipment. His secretary doesn't look to bad either!
CAMMEL SAW CO. 330-477-3764 (canton ohio)

 

[Leroy in Kansas]

It would seem that you could do the same with the industrial rock saw with the proper blade on it that the weekend warrior is accomplishing. It may be necessary to secure the carrage to the rails in some fasion. I'm interested in knowing how this turns out if you proceed.

 

[Jim Timber]

Do you need gas or would electric work for you?