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SAWMILL REVIEW The Logosol M7 Chain Saw Mill The chain saw is an essential tool for every logger or sawyer. While many people are quick to dismiss the idea of milling with a chain saw as too slow, too inaccurate, and taking too much kerf, many sawyers find unexpected uses for specialized cutting. For some, chain saw mills are a low-cost alternative to a band mill where high volume is not an issue. For others, they are a valuable addition to a band or circle sawmill, providing a way to cut odd sizes or shapes of logs that would normally be trimmed off or left in the woods. By David Boyt he Logosol M7 is some- pendently in 1/8 inch increments. Above: The M7 sawmill does an excel- thing of a hybrid mill. Al- While the frame accommodates logs lent job on odd sizes and shapes for spe- though it is powered by a up to 8 feet 3 inches long, multiple cialty cutting. Note the board clamped chain saw, it consists of a units can be combined to cut logs of to the knees to support the log. With a T little creativity, the mill will cut just rigid framework with a bed for the virtually any length. To emphasize about anything. log to rest on and a track for the this, Logosol lined up eight mills to chain saw. It has the advantages of cut a 114-foot-long 2 x 4, which was extreme portability (one person can entered in the Guinness World that are cut for development or dis- easily move it, and it fits easily on Records. ease, or are blown down, are typical- the back of a pickup truck—or even The Logosol mill is manufac- ly chipped or go to the landfill. on the roof of a car) and low cost. tured in Sweden, where it was de- Many tree services are willing to de- Another benefit of the frame is that veloped for small woodlot owners to liver logs to a mill at no charge, just the sawyer cuts the log at a comfort- provide them with the ability to uti- to avoid the landfill charge. These able height. The track allows the lize small logs. The mill is popular logs present special challenges. sawyer to set the precise location of there, and it is not uncommon for Grown as shade trees, urban logs are the cut in the log. The saw is several families to share a mill, tak- generally rejected from conventional cranked through the log by a rope ing it out to the woods on the roof mills because they are too short, and that pulls against the end of the log. of a Volvo for a day of sawing. Here because of the high probability that This balances the forces, and helps in the United States, the mill is they contain metal or other foreign keep the log from moving. To adjust finding its way into the new market objects. A small mill that can be set the location of the cut, the knees of urban forestry (see the Oct/Nov up quickly in a parking lot or a can be raised and lowered inde- 2004 issue of this magazine). Trees driveway is ideal for “recycling” 10 • Sawmill & Woodlot SPECS these logs into lumber. Logosol M7 Chain Saw Mill While it is slower than a band or Type................................chain saw mill Base price ................................$2,395 circle mill, the difference is much Stationary or portable ............portable Contact: less than one might think. The key Cutting capacity ...............up to 56 in., Logosol Inc. here is in the chain and bar. The depending on the bar PO Box 660 Madison, MS 39130 mill works best with a ripping Length and width of mill......9 ft. long Phone: 877/LOGOSOL (877/564-6765) blade. Typically, this is a chisel by 4 ft. wide Website: www.logosol.com skip-tooth chain with a shallow 10- Note: Mills can be attached to each degree cutting angle. For bars short- other for unlimited length er than 26 inches, a Pico chain and Size and construction bar are an option. These take a nar- of frame .......rail track 2 in. by 5-1/2 in. rower kerf than a standard chain, by 9 ft. long but will not stand up to the stresses Track......................................aluminum encountered on longer bars. And Replacable tracks? ..........................yes while a logger can get by with a Carriage worn bar, the length and width of a support system .....................aluminum cut made by the chain saw mill Power Plant .......................as reviewed makes bar maintenance critical Husqvarna 372 chain saw (more on that later). When every- Recommended................85cc or larger thing is set up correctly, and the chain saw chain is sharp, expect a smooth, straight cut. Optional...6.6 kw 3 phase 220v electric ..................11 kw 1 phase 220v electric .................6.6 kw 1 phase 220v electric Giving It a Try The Logosol showed what it could do at the 2005 Great Portable frustration of cutting into the logs, Allen wrenches. Be patient, and fol- Sawmill Shoot-Out in Youngstown, logs rolling while being cut, and low the instructions. Assembly is Ohio. Ignoring the diesel band saws miscuts, I decided to give the M7 a not complicated, but there are a lot on either side of him, Rob Bjork- try. I was not disappointed. of parts. Once assembled, the mill lund and Martin Hall consistently First of all, the mill arrives in has a sturdy frame capable of hold- cut one board after another. The pieces. The manual is clear and ing a 1,100-pound log. duo sliced their way through 422 well illustrated. While there was no The independent knees made it board feet in just over an hour and a problem in assembling the M7, it possible to angle the log at the pre- half, and achieved a recovery yield did take about six hours. I strongly cise angle for the cut. The ratchets of 82%. recommend that it be built in a allow adjustment in either 1/4-inch Having seen the M7 mill in ac- garage where parts can be laid out. or 1/8-inch increments. Short pieces tion at the Shoot-Out, I was eager The nuts and bolts are all metric, so require some special clamping, or to give it a try for myself. A lot of you will need metric wrenches, and even attachment to a support board walnut grows in my part of the country, and most of it remains in the brush piles after a harvest. Some of it is large diameter, but too short for sawmills to use. Large crotches are also left behind. Prop- erly cut, these can become gun stock blanks that bring anywhere from $40 to $800, depending on the figure of the grain. I have had limited success cut- ting the crotches on my band mill. For one thing, there is just no good way to clamp down a 20-inch piece. The other problem lies in lining up Slicing a walnut crotch for a gunstock, Logosol factory representative Rob the wood to get the precise cut that the sawyer stands behind the saw with Bjorklund demonstrates the inversion gives the figured grain prized by one hand on the throttle and the other cutting technique for cutting the big hand cranking the saw through the logs. The entire sawmill frame is bolted gunsmiths. After experiencing the wood. upside down on the log. May/June 2006 • 11 SAWMILL REVIEW with deck screws, but this is According to Guner, “Santa not difficult. Once the log was Barbara has a lot of potential in place, I was ready for the for wood, in trees that are be- first cut. With a freshly sharp- ing cut down due to develop- ened ripping chain on the bar, ment or to disease. We’re the saw cut smoothly through finding that we can take those the log. The crank feed was and mill them ourselves, and nearly effortless, requiring only take it to the next level, and a light touch on the crank and actually make a product out of the throttle. With the guide rail it.” To get the logs, they con- supporting the saw, cutting tacted several area tree servic- took almost no physical exer- es. Rather than pay to leave tion. About three-fourths of the them at the landfill, they are way through the log I drove in happy to set them aside to be a wedge to hold the top of the used by Seaborne. Customers log off the bar, and then fin- Guner and John of Seaborne Designs show a counter- are generally pleased to know ished the cut. top made from a slab milled with their M7 sawmill. that their trees will be used The results were amazing. for furniture instead of thrown The cut was smoother than a band he left commenting that he thought out as trash. “We call our vision ur- saw mill, revealing the beautiful he’d stick with his band mill. I’ll ban tree restoration,” says Guner. grain inside. I cranked each of the keep my band mill, as well, but I’m “We’ve gotten some amazing logs. knees up 1-1/2 inches, and again also going to keep the M7. It will on- We document where the tree was, put the saw to the wood. The next ly take a few dozen gun stock blanks and the process of turning it into cut was nearly as easy as the first, to pay for it, and I have no doubt furniture.

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