Forgot, model is the SB816 8 deep 16 wide possible if 2 passes for 16. Also added my own drill-gearbox to lift / drop carriage, crank-chain cross feed adjust and power feed. Sometimes these mills need a pretty good Viking….
Swingblade Mills
- Thread starter Keder
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Same with the Lucas, the whole setup looks a bit wappy initially and had me worried in the beginning , but I think mainly due to the huge centrifugal force on the blade it cuts amazingly true. The blade is similar to the D&L having only five teeth which work well for ripping and make sharpening a pleasure rather than a chore with the dedicated electric sharpener.
I never had the option of an electric start on mine here in the UK in 1998 but I find that the Briggs Vanguard 20 hp will start easily using my Bosch cordless drill.2
Best thing I did was rig up a feed. Most people don’t realize 3/4 hp electric will drive the hydro gear ride on mower differential - transmission. Tech told me as long as input shaft to the hydro gear was always above 1600 RPM.
Took a bit of extra fabricating due to left and right shafts, had to tie together by shaft and chain. To do again I would use one wheel small unit from a zero turn mower. Absolutely perfect variable smooth feed and reverse. Power enough to drag you behind the carriage. Actually used it to pull 10-12 inch logs in at first.
Added a homemade winch later.
Shaking left-right is always in horizontal blade position so it does not affect accuracy , same with the Lucas I’m sure.
I do not have any trouble pulling the Lucas in the vertical axis even at full depth of 8 inches or pushing it back in the horizontal
I used a winch on the slabber as it takes some pushing through a five foot log but generally I like to” feel” saws working through timber. Firstly in case there is a bit of metal in there or a knot and secondly because I need the exercise and to keep warm in cold weather! This applies to chain saws and circular saws
The Palax Combi I use for 10” diameter logs I find perfect in this regard
I use boat rollers to shift the 10 foot logs sideways which needs little effort and then manually push the table gently to the circular saw to cut the log which falls into a hopper
It did have an automatic trigger for the splitter but I converted it to a foot operated lever because of the habit of logs falling sideways or other issues.
The logs are split into four and then conveyed to either a one ton wooden box or a two ton telehandler bucket.
The Lucas frame has a centre post to stop or minimise at least the side wobble, but I have never seen it affect the accuracy of the cut, unlike some bandsaw mills I have used where you can develop a wave in the wood if everything is not set up properly.
Can you post a video of your feed perhaps on YouTube as videos sometimes do not appear on here
I used a winch on the slabber as it takes some pushing through a five foot log but generally I like to” feel” saws working through timber. Firstly in case there is a bit of metal in there or a knot and secondly because I need the exercise and to keep warm in cold weather! This applies to chain saws and circular saws
The Palax Combi I use for 10” diameter logs I find perfect in this regard
I use boat rollers to shift the 10 foot logs sideways which needs little effort and then manually push the table gently to the circular saw to cut the log which falls into a hopper
It did have an automatic trigger for the splitter but I converted it to a foot operated lever because of the habit of logs falling sideways or other issues.
The logs are split into four and then conveyed to either a one ton wooden box or a two ton telehandler bucket.
The Lucas frame has a centre post to stop or minimise at least the side wobble, but I have never seen it affect the accuracy of the cut, unlike some bandsaw mills I have used where you can develop a wave in the wood if everything is not set up properly.
Can you post a video of your feed perhaps on YouTube as videos sometimes do not appear on here
Ignore that last request as your video has miraculously appeared! Very impressive bit of engineering!
Here is my simple winch assisting the slabber
Sawyer Rob
Addicted to ArboristSite
Depends on what log and what you are trying to get out of it.
You can't grade saw without turning the log! That alone takes the swing mill off the list for me.
Also, you can't get near as wide of lumber out of a log with a swing blade, unless you only need one board.
Swing blade mills are a specialized mill, they just don't do enough things really well, to be a good general-purpose sawmill.
SR
It is horses for courses.
The Lucas can be taken into the woods and set up around a five foot diameter tree that even my 3ton lift telehandler would not look at or even be able to drive to and the timber taken away in small pieces or slabs.
The log can be cut into lap boards, and the timber is produced accurately in two passes and does not need to be re sawn. You can see defects in the log and avoid them as well as signs of metal by staining or a detector. If you do hit metal it is not the end of the world or the end of a blade, just have new tips brazed on.
With a slab, after you have cut it with the slabber chainsaw attachment, you can fit an optional planing disc, followed by a sanding disc
You can quarter saw as shown here
All this versatility suits my particular situation where a band saw would be too limiting
Also the ease of keeping the thing sharp with the dedicated electric sharpener which takes no time to deal with the five teeth
Sawyer Rob
Addicted to ArboristSite
Yes, you can set up on a big log, it's a specialized process, like I said above. I've been milling many years, and I get very few logs that big, and I split the big ones and mill the halves on my BSM.
As for bands, I can sharpen my own bands and yes, I've had to throw a few away because of hitting metal, I still get plenty of life out of them before it happens as I don't hit metal often.
As for quarter sawing, much of the lumber sawn in that vid you posted was "rift sawn" and by turning the log you will get a lot more actual "quartersawn" lumber out of a log. I've done quite a bit of quarter sawing on my BSM, it takes a lot more time to do it "right", and not all logs are good candidates for Q sawing.
Every kind of lumber you can make with a swing blade, can be done with a BSM, but you can't do the same as a BSM with a swinger. Swingers do some things faster, and BSM do some things faster....
AND we haven't even talked about the kerf! A BSM will get more lumber out of EVERY log!
Both mills have their place, the swinger is just too specialized to be a good general-purpose mill for most operations, including for me and my customers.
NOW, about that important grade-sawing!! lol
SR
The swing blade mill in post 1 has a track at ground level and the carriage can be moved to one end to load in a new log. If up to me I would create a durable track system for it as opposed to the light duty one. the Lucas in the above video I think the idea would be to crank it up as high as necessary and load the log under the beams. Or else set up new for each log. The one in post 1 looks like it is for level ground, I can see the carriage transporting wheels and carriage getting out of control on sloped ground.
This swing blade has a mechanism to turn the log easily
and cutting a 30 foot beam here, the limit being the length of the timber as you can keep adding rails
I have been able to mill a tree in someones garden by wheeling the saw carriage through a narrow gate and taking the lengths out in the same way.
The whole rig is easily transported in an average sized pickup
I will concede that there is more waste with the wider blade but that does not worry me as I have more timber than I need after the Winter storms here.
Horses for courses as I said but for me in a farm situation it is perfect.
and cutting a 30 foot beam here, the limit being the length of the timber as you can keep adding rails
I have been able to mill a tree in someones garden by wheeling the saw carriage through a narrow gate and taking the lengths out in the same way.
The whole rig is easily transported in an average sized pickup
I will concede that there is more waste with the wider blade but that does not worry me as I have more timber than I need after the Winter storms here.
Horses for courses as I said but for me in a farm situation it is perfect.
StihlPotlicker
ArboristSite Operative
I really like the Swing blade mills, I have a Logosol CM lol. how much to be able to mill 30ft with the extensions? to be able to mill 30ft with a bsm would you have more cost? and it is nice you can transport the mill to the log with the swing vs the log to the mill with bsm.
jolj
ArboristSite Operative
Petersons are impressive but perhaps not quite as cheap and portable as the Lucas , for the 10 inch cut blade the Lucas is about $16000 to the Peterson $40,000
StihlPotlicker
ArboristSite Operative
wow that's a big difference in price
Yes but you can see the extra things going on with the Peterson, the power flipping
of the swing blade and the power raising and lowering of the carriage
I find that the extra exercise with the Lucas keeps me warm and saves going to the gym!
StihlPotlicker
ArboristSite Operative
that's how I feel with my logosol LOL. don't need a gym for loading and flipping the logs lol. I could see spending the extra for the Peterson if you were into production milling and not just for yourself. but for a guy like me, that is just a hobby sawyer for milling my own boards, I couldn't justify the extra cost, I don't think LOL
Waste with the swing is pretty minimal as you edge on the fly (usually). I’ll try a picture of matching slabs and waste from a 16 inch yellow birch.
I’ll try this weekend to get a utube video posted. Been meaning to for quite awhile.
Beginning to learn there is a whole lot more to this saw work than thought. I tend to build all the related stuff regarding trade interests.
Made overhead hoist and track, slips, added a 60 x19 ft. Shed on the side of the shop, power feed and lift, homemade winch to pull logs in racks etc. Think I’d know better at my age! Sure is fun opening up a log. Burn a lot of slab, shavings go to the barn, bark into the gully.
Made racks to stack bundle boards. 6x6 holding up shed roof got drilled with 2 inch forstener and scrap pipe inserted, take lots of weight.
Put the bark in compost piles for fert next year on the homestead.
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