Ashley M Owen wrote:
>
> A number of years ago I saw a article about a fella who made relatively
> small wood slab tables. He cut his own 50mm slabs using a long bar chainsaw
> and homemade jig.
>
> Does anyone know of any plans/diagrams for this "style/type" of device?
>
Have a look at Logosol's Timber Jig at
www.logosolusa.com
click on Timber Jig "button" in the left frame.
Ordered one today and should have it by the end of
this week. Have a 20 inch diameter, 4 foot elm
mini log that's going to be the first test of this
unit. Figure at $165 US it's worth a try. Will post
first impressions once I've got this mini-log sliced
up.
charlie b
On Sun, 02 Nov 2003 23:22:08 GMT, "Ashley M Owen"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>A number of years ago I saw a article about a fella who made relatively
>small wood slab tables. He cut his own 50mm slabs using a long bar chainsaw
>and homemade jig.
>Does anyone know of any plans/diagrams for this "style/type" of device?
Search around on "chainsaw mill" or "Alaskan mill". They're pretty
crude things (wasteful of timber, as they take a big kerf and leave a
poor surface) but they'll make beams or a table slab. OTOH, a few
phone calls to portable bandsaw millers would still be my favourite.
You need a powerful chainsaw engine and a long bar. Needs to be a rip
chain too. Some machines use two engines, but I'd avoid this if
possible, because synchronising their speeds is a pain.
If you've seen pictures of one of these, or even better if you've used
one, then you know pretty much enough to make one. Get an aluminium
ladder as the initial guide bar, and make a carriage to slide upon it.
The ladder (for the first cut) sits in level notches cut in the top
face of the log. Some people take most of the rungs out, to avoid time
notching, but only do this if your ladder is stiff against warping.
After you've cut the first cut, you can ditch the ladder. The sliding
carriage uses four wide rollers - try to find some scrap conveyopr
track. You need at least four, otherwise the carriage tips at the end
of the cut. There are also some small adjustable guide rollers to keep
things centred in the log.
The carriage is height adjustable, with screwed studding on each side
and a bike-chain link between them. If you're cutting beams, then
this height adjust needs to have a big range. If you're just slabbing
though, you only need a shallow frame and this is easier to make and
more rigid.
--
Die Gotterspammerung - Junkmail of the Gods