Logosol owners

Howdy,

I've posted once before about economical saw mills, which lead me to ponder the Logosol mills, specifically.

I'd like to ask the M7 owners among us to comment on their mills. Have you run into limitations while using your mills? For example, is it common practice to use another mill type -- say an Alaskan, a G&B or other CSM type mill -- to slab your saw logs prior to raising them up on your M7s?

We will be milling some fairly decent sized Red Oak saw logs in the near future -- knock on wood -- so the specifications of the M7 are a bit of a concern for us. We're fortunate enough to have some fairly straight, large diameter timber to choose from (20"+ dbh), so some of the saw logs will be quite heavy. In short, I was wondering how some of the M7 owners out there are dealing with logs such as these.

By the way, I have seen video of the M7 being inverted. Is that how heavy logs are normally handled when employing this type of mill? Also, we plan to have equipment on had to drag the logs around with.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts ...

I've got an older M5 logosol and I've milled both 25" dia X 12 ' ash and cherry logs. Probably at the limit or a bit over capacity but it handled them fine. I've also done 20 " X 15.5' ash, again no problem.

I think I could do 30"ers if I kept the lenght down to 8'.

M7 with 36" bar

Posts #3586-3589.

Thanks for the posts

Thanks to the Professor and Jonsered for the information.

Man, that massive Western Cedar saw log the M7 milled was really something to see. It must have been a real rush for the sawyer just after he sprayed down that great grain. Beautiful photos!

Any other M7 owners care to join in? opcorn:

Have a great Sunday ...

Logosol Australian price list

Logosol Australian price list pdf

HandLogger said:

Thanks to the Professor and Jonsered for the information.

Man, that massive Western Cedar saw log the M7 milled was really something to see. It must have been a real rush for the sawyer just after he sprayed down that great grain. Beautiful photos!

Any other M7 owners care to join in? opcorn:

Have a great Sunday ...

Click to expand...

Did you notice the concrete blocks!!! Don't squash it.

I have been wondering just how long a bar can be used like that without too much bend. It obviously works for this guy pretty well. Beautiful indeed!

Matildasmate said:

Logosol Australian price list pdf

Click to expand...

Thanks mate. I did'nt know they were downunder! Close enough to freight to NZ.

Right, don't squash it!

Jonsered: Yep, I did notice the guy's "block" supports. Simple yet effective is often the best way to handle difficult problems, and this is no exception.

I've got a question, however ... Considering that the M7 design raises and lowers the log and not the saw, how did the sawyer in question mill that log any further? I guess I should read the rest of the thread -- perhaps the answer is there.

Have a great weekend ...

Good question...

HandLogger said:

Jonsered: Yep, I did notice the guy's "block" supports. Simple yet effective is often the best way to handle difficult problems, and this is no exception.

I've got a question, however ... Considering that the M7 design raises and lowers the log and not the saw, how did the sawyer in question mill that log any further? I guess I should read the rest of the thread -- perhaps the answer is there.

Have a great weekend ...

Click to expand...

Maybe manually? Raise and chock.



If I make one like the Logosol it will be made from steel. Not very mobile I know. But solid.

Raise and lower of the log? I don't know yet. Hydraulic maybe. But must be solid.

Already had a great weekend... :biggrinbounce2: I'm in NZ.

HandLogger said:

Jonsered: Yep, I did notice the guy's "block" supports. Simple yet effective is often the best way to handle difficult problems, and this is no exception.

I've got a question, however ... Considering that the M7 design raises and lowers the log and not the saw, how did the sawyer in question mill that log any further? I guess I should read the rest of the thread -- perhaps the answer is there.

Have a great weekend ...

Click to expand...

He said the top section was 1100 lbs. That's within the range of the M7.

Rodney

Jonsered2095 said:

Maybe manually? Raise and chock.

If I make one like the Logosol it will be made from steel. Not very mobile I know. But solid.

Raise and lower of the log? I don't know yet. Hydraulic maybe. But must be solid.

Already had a great weekend... :biggrinbounce2: I'm in NZ.

Click to expand...

Look at MatildasMates Avatar above. He uses two hydrualic jacks to raise and lower the logs.

Even using a CSM I always raise the log off the ground because I hate bending down and because I find it easier to use the CSM on a slope. I use a fork lift to place the logs on blocks or sometimes a couple of serious saw horses. I usually place one end about a ft of the ground and the other about 2 ft off the ground. After every couple of slabs I lift the high end using the fork lift and place a couple of 4"blocks under the long, This increases the slop of the log and make milling easier. The forklift is not always available so I am modifying a hi-lift jack to do the lifting.

What I use to lift log

What I use to lift log . Decent pic's hard to get , these are ok . 8 ton chinese jack's were cheap , about $60.00au ea , overkill but cheap and simple . Cheers MM

Ir you look at my posting on 1/22/2007 you will see how I answered my wants for a mill that was reasonably portable, cheap and still does a good job. due to other things that I had to do, I have not been able to do much cutting, however, I am planning to make some more improvements to it, such as adding an attachment to put water on the chain and better locks for holding flitches to be edged. Hope to get some of this done before long and to do some more cutting. lester (lmbeachy)

winch's

I had a look at Imbeachy's wooden mill design , I love the winch idea for lifting the log's , gunna have to work on getting them on my mill , I reckon they will be quite a bit faster than my jack's . Exellent job mate . Cheers MM ............ http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?p=777275

BobL said:

Look at MatildasMates Avatar above. He uses two hydrualic jacks to raise and lower the logs.

Click to expand...

Yep. This would be a solid option.

Matildasmate said:

What I use to lift log . Decent pic's hard to get , these are ok . 8 ton chinese jack's were cheap , about $60.00au ea , overkill but cheap and simple . Cheers MM

Click to expand...

I prefer overkill so many things are under engineered I think.

From your pics it looks like you jack up the log table/ insert dressed timber chocks for board thickness + a thin strip of say ply for the kerf/ then drop the table back down/ then cut. Is this correct? How well does it work for you?


I like 'Helmet Cam'...HAha...excellent!


Nice looking rail and carriage system too. Is that a cantilever support for the bar? After seeing a 36" bar unsupported I was wondering [have been for some time] whether it is, or at what length it is necessary. Do you use it?

Thanks for sharing

Chock's

Jonsered2095 said:

Yep. This would be a solid option.




I prefer overkill so many things are under engineered I think.

From your pics it looks like you jack up the log table/ insert dressed timber chocks for board thickness + a thin strip of say ply for the kerf/ then drop the table back down/ then cut. Is this correct? How well does it work for you?


I like 'Helmet Cam'...HAha...excellent!

Nice looking rail and carriage system too. Is that a cantilever support for the bar? After seeing a 36" bar unsupported I was wondering [have been for some time] whether it is, or at what length it is necessary. Do you use it?

Thanks for sharing

Click to expand...

Hi Jonsered 2095 Yeah the chock's are basically dressed pine with the ply piece's nailed to them , I have other chock's with and without the ply attached also , yes this system work's very well and very accurate . When I first started using my mill , I made plenty of mistake's and found a number of thing's about the Logosol type mill . Bar support . I found that without bar support the bar can wander up and down , if the chain is getting blunt , or you put too much pressure on chain , or chain not sharpened correctly , I only mill with a bar support unless bar is 18" or less , that's what that aluminum bit is for , it just has a slot in the end , that the bar just rest's in , no bolt's , rest's right on the center rivet of the sprocket nose , no bolts used or needed to maximize bar length . Also the table is just a ladder with ply screwed to it , this is to support the log especially when the cant get's thin , without support a thin cant , log start's to bend and flop around , also ladder excellent for short log's , I made some real sheet at time's , when I didn't use a support . also the ply backing is there to stop any protrusion's blocking the carriage path and I also use the backing board to hold timber against to keep it square when edging it . The rail , is just the other halve of the ladder , with some extra's . I need to modify the bar support yet , it is not adjustable yet , I only use a 36" bar at the moment , but will modify it to suit bar's from 20" onward's . Cheers MM

Thanks MM

I did not notice the convoluted rungs. You have done a nice job on the rail system none-the-less. Very professional looking and well executed.

I guess all projects have teething problems. But you have addressed a lot of concerns I have about this style mill and once I have addressed them also (still at design stage) I think it will be my mill of choice too.

Well done.

Backing board

Jonsered2095 said:

I did not notice the convoluted rungs. You have done a nice job on the rail system none-the-less. Very professional looking and well executed.

I guess all projects have teething problems. But you have addressed a lot of concerns I have about this style mill and once I have addressed them also (still at design stage) I think it will be my mill of choice too.

Well done.

Click to expand...

Also when setting up backing board , I made the ply higher than the saw bar and just ran the carriage along the rail and cut off the excess ply with the chainsaw , so there will be no gap under bar , otherwise , I found that if I am cutting a thin slice off the bottom of a cant , it get's pulled through the gap and become's a pain . Cheers MM

Matildasmate said:

Also when setting up backing board , I made the ply higher than the saw bar and just ran the carriage along the rail and cut off the excess ply with the chainsaw , so there will be no gap under bar , otherwise , I found that if I am cutting a thin slice off the bottom of a cant , it get's pulled through the gap and become's a pain . Cheers MM

Click to expand...

Excellent info. Great drawings. Thanks.

Log rolling on Logosol type mill

Anyone got any idea's on log rolling on logosol type mill's? beside's using a cant hook , which is what I use , get's a bit hard on 36" log's , I am looking for a better manual handling idea , small log's are no problem , may have to get BobL to make me one of his flash cant hook's only a 10 footer . Cheers MM

What about 1/4 sawing first

MM, What about using a boat winch and a set of rollers to pull logs up onto your mill?

Also, unless you plan to saw 36" wide slabs or boards, what about cutting large diameter logs into quarters using a CSM (maybe even on site) then you can haul the 1/4 log up onto your mill and if you set up a clever 1/4 log holding jig you can even quarter saw boards from it.

A 900 mm diam x 2.4 m long log (density of 1 ton/m^3) will weigh about 1.6 tons. 1/4 of this is only 400kg which is significantly more managable.