Self–propelled Chainsaw | Turning Logs into Perfect Boards

Hello friends you are looking at a chainsaw that  is moving along the guide and sawing the board   out of this log almost without the need for human  intervention nothing unusual the lumber milling   device I'm presenting here is the simplest DIY  semi-automatic sawmill for turning logs into   perfect boards right in the woods I've tried  many methods for milling logs into boards with   a chainsaw so I have something to compare this  method with I will highlight the main advantages   and disadvantages of this semi-automated milling  technique due to the fact that the chainsaw moves   along the guide mechanically without any human  intervention the milled board is perfectly flat when I tried to push the chainsaw along the guide  manually I could not achieve such a quality cut   even after multiple attempts while changing a body  position or making a step one applies slightly   unequal force to a saw's handle in different  directions and this is enough for the appearance   of flaws in a deep cut a self-propelled  chainsaw is devoid of such drawbacks   the second advantage of such milling technique is  safety during the chainsaw's operation a person   stands aside in the safe zone in case a chain  snaps a saw's tank ignites or a sawn log jumps   moreover since the vast majority of my  injuries are associated with fatigue and   this work is not tiring the fatigue factor that  increases the likelihood of injury is negated   in addition while the chainsaw is automatically  milling lumber you can do other chores such as   stacking the sawn boards preparing a new portion  of a fuel mix or sharpening a spare chain however   this semi-automated method has its drawbacks  while using such a sawmill it is advisable to   mill only in a vertical plane and of course any  automated devices uses additional accessories   that have to be made installed on a chainsaw  attached to a log and then carried from one   log to another so think for yourself if those  additional preparations would be worthwhile in   your particular case however it should be noted  that the self-propelled sawmill has its advantages   friends you might have seen my old video two  chainsaw secrets turning a tree into perfect   boards where I showed and explained in detail  how any two-handed individual could cut a log   into boards with a short bar chainsaw without  using any special devices just following a set   of simple instructions over the past eight years  I've milled countless logs into boards and slabs   with such an extensive experience I can saw a  log into boards faster and even save fuel without   using any additional milling accessories why do  I need this adaptation then? the fact is that one   summer go just as the whimsical Baron Manchausen  I accomplished the feat I built a bridge across   the stream near my log cabin to do this I had to  cut a record number of boards from the heartwood   of wind blown pines I was milling lumber for 20  days 9 hours a day I can't say that I was overly   tired but such enthusiasm played a cruel joke on  me my tenons turned out to be a weak link I got   epicondylitis on both hands and hadn't been fully  recovered since so this past summer I couldn't   physically mill enough boards with injured hands  for my pirogue construction project therefore   I tried to make my boatbuilding task easier  using a semi-automated sawmill in other words a   self-propelled sawmill can save health for people  like me who tend to get carried away at times   Hadn't I had the semi-automatic sawmill back then  it would have kept me in a better physical shape   and one more consideration you may  have noticed that I made an extra   long chainsaw bar to mill boards for my  bent good bridge at the log cabin camp   short logs say three to four meters (10 to 15  feet) can be easily sewn with a long bar without   using the swinging motions milling technique but  it is a pain to cut an 11 meter (35 foot board)   from a log even with an extra long bar I think you  can guess why but this is a topic for another day so using such a semi-automated carriage with  a chainsaw anyone even those who picked up a   chainsaw for the first time could cope with  the task of course there is no innovation in   the chainsaw's carriage setup itself what's  new here is the rubber band that pulls this   carriage and I have to admit that this design  was a bit a problem though in other words I   didn't plan to make a self-propelled sawmill it  just happened that way and here's the story how   I initially planned to cut the widest and longest  boards for my pirogue from a thick crooked log   which meant I needed to mill it from the root of  the wind blown tree to the top unfortunately that   tree fell in such a way that its crown remained on  the top of the slope I didn't risk to cut the log   from its root and roll it down so I had to mill  it moving uphill which was physically draining   I started to look for a technical solution  to facilitate the task using a counterweight   with a block or a thick bungee cord was the  simplest solution I had a few thick rubber   bands cut from an old tire that I've been using  on my treadle lathe and they never failed me for   the past few years cutting a long elastic band  from a tire is a matter of several minutes but   as practiced has shown the rubber band cut from a  tire is noticeably inferior in elasticity to the   usual braided bungee cord therefore I went to the  shore where my inflatable boat was kept borrowed   a bungee cord from the awning and installed it  on the sawmill instead of the DIY rubber band I'm glad that I did not complicate the design  by using a block system rearranging the bungee   cord's hook is a matter of a few seconds unlike  rearranging a system of blocks for each new log   after all I needed to save time to be able to  build the boat in 20 days so I rigged the rubber   band to pull the chainsaw uphill the setup  works just as well on horizontal locks the   rubber band contracts and moves the carriage  with the chainsaw and of course to prevent   the carriage with the running chainsaw from  going too far and potentially dulling the chain   I installed a screw which serves as a stop  for the carriage kind of a foolproof device it is impossible to share all the  nuances in one video but here's   an interesting observation pay attention to  this phenomenon this chainsaw does not have   a rubber band attached to it but it is still  moving along the log and mills the board it   is showing the last pass and only build about  60 millimeters (2.5 inches) of wood but still   Carriage loaded with a chainsaw can start  the milling process just using its weight   even when there is two degrees of slope while  the battery powered chainsaw requires a slope   of more than 10 degrees to get going on  its weight it's probably due to vibration   gas-powered chainsaws scream vibrate and nil while  battery-powered saws rustle they also cut the   log but require more effort to move the carriage  which is especially noticeable when milling uphill I hope I managed to interest you in my sawmill  and if so it is time to tell the story of his   creation and reveal the secrets of its simple  design it is worth noting that I spent most   of these projects time making a collapsible  guide rail in my case it is a long pine beam   I needed this guide to be divided into two parts  so it would fit into my boat and could be easily   carried through the woods at the same time when  assembled the guide must be perfectly straight   without changing its dimensions in width and  height this means that the joinery assembly must   be flush with the guide beam the simplest  solution for this goal is to mill grooves   for two holding planks as you can see I hastily  assembled this milling jig from scraps of plywood   it is important to make two passes when  milling a groove the second pass should   be made turning the router jig 180 degrees this  way the groove is a guaranteed to be perfectly   centered regardless of the jig's accuracy I  have to confess I messed up the first blank by   milling a groove deeper than planned so I just  glued in an insert and milled the groove again   practice has shown that it is more convenient  to move the router by holding on to the jig   what remains is to make the side holders from  hardwood and one can assemble and disassemble   the guide the only requirement is that the holding  planks must fit snugly into corresponding grooves   I also made short plugs so that the grooves are  not damaged during transportation to assemble   the guide beam you just place the inserts into the  grooves and reinforce them with screws that's all the sawmill's carriage can be manufactured even  faster than the guide I use laminated plywood   leftovers I saw two pieces of equal length and  drilled countersunk holes every 10 cm (every 4   inches) then I attached this plywood side parts  to the leftover piece of the beam that was used   to make the collapsible guide and connected these  three parts with self-tapping screws the beauty of   this design is that the carriage is immediately  calibrated to the width of the guide as both   corresponding sliding parts of the guide and the  carriage are literally made from the same board   now the carriage needs to be  connected by a movable joint   to a chainsaw's guide bar it is best  to use a rotary axis for this purpose   it is important to drill holes strictly  perpendicular to the side face of the carriage   this will ensure the coaxility of the chainsaw's  guide bar and the sawmill's guide beam hence it   will determine the success of the entire event  therefore I first drilled three 10 millimeter   (3/8 ') holes using my drill press and only then  did I finish them manually using a long twist   drill bit it is technically possible to attach a  chainsaw to this carriage in three places front   rear and in the middle although I ended up using  only one carriage's attachment point in the future   a 10 millimeter (3/ 8') threaded pin will connect  the carriage and the chainsaw and the second hole   is now needed in the chainsaw's guide bar which  is easily drilled with a step drill bit using a   little oil as you understand for full-fledged  sawmill tests it's not enough to have only one   guide bar so I prepared three chainsaw bars at  once one stock guide bar and two DIY long bars   I had to weld on an attachment  nut on one of my homemade guide   bars because the rational attachment point  happened to be inside the void of this bar so now it remains to paint the  carriage and get to the field trials as I said earlier I decided to attach the chainsaw  bar to the carriage through the rotary axis but it   shouldn't be too close to the carriage so that  the chain would not saw the carriage itself for   this purpose I made two spacers from the same  laminated plywood using a whole saw bit and then   a large the central hole to 10 millimeters 3/8'  diameter using the edge of the first washer it   is convenient to lay out a cut and then secure the  guide's position on the log with the regular screw   as you can see it takes one and a half minutes to  assemble this sawmill prototype from parts and it   would seem you can now mill a log into boards but  there are some nuances as you know the devil is   in the details next there will be an educational  story about a cascade of reckless assumptions and   then a search for a way to correct the mistakes  using available means everything is as usual   as I said earlier during the first minutes of  testing it turned out that pulling the chainsaw   up the guide on the slope was extremely tiring I  bent the hook from a wire and attached the band   to the carriage with this hook it immediately  became clear that for stable operation a load   was needed to stabilize the carriage of the guide  testing this idea I realized that the load was   too small and that the rubber band's attachment  point had to be moved up from under the chainsaw   as it turned out the best option was to make  removable mounts that would be attached to the   rotary access pin on both sides I insist that it  is necessary to pull the carriage precisely at the   place where the chainsaw is attached to this  is the place where the main forces are being   applied during milling so in order to increase  balance and not to accidentally veer off in the   cut it is necessary to pull the carriage by the  rotary axis it is not easy to mule a 50 cm log   with a 40 cm guide bar this is why I brought  two extra-long guide bars that I made at home   now it would be nice to choose a proper weight for  a carriage and find a way to secure it on the top   and you don't have to go far to find some pieces  of wood to keep the weight in place remember   last year I made a lot of huge wooden clamps to  glue my bridge's bent supports now the clamps   are not in demand and there are a lot of leftover  pieces left from their production around the camp   before I even started to think what to use  as a weight my eyes fell on the toolbox the   toolbox is heavy and has a convenient shape if  desired you can feel it with sand or lead shot   its weight can be easily regulated as a bonus  a toolbox is similar in size to the carriage   it is only necessary to make side supports to  secure it on the carriage so that it wouldn't be   cut by accident which could also damage the chain  perhaps I'm talking about my spontaneous decision   to use a toolbox as a weight in too many details  after all the choice of the weight and how it is   secured on the carriage has almost no effect on  the operation of my self-propelled sawmill just   like an underlayment made from a plastic bottle  under the chainsaw's body which reduces friction   and facilitates the movement of the saw along the  guide by the way a drop of oil on the carriage's   sole will not hurt the process as you can see  the first trial cut disappointed me I could mill   boards freehandedly getting a way better result  this board's quality is simply unacceptable for   boat building you might think that the problem  was caused by a crooked guide bar indeed last   year I bended a little during transportation  but replacing the bar did not fix the problem   it was assumed that the guide bar clutched between  the two wide plywood washers of equal thickness   and attached to the carriage's side chick through  them will automatically be positioned parallel to   the guide beam it would only be logical I was so  sure of these arguments that before starting work   I did not even check the geometry of the chainsaw  bar and the guide beam assuming they were parallel   I sawed off the first board with some problems and  with the next cut the difficulty is only worsened   only then I decided to check the geometry of the  saw's bar and the guide they were not parallel   suddenly it became obvious to me where the  error crept in the threaded pin's whole at   the bottom of the carriage was unevenly  morphed by the metal pin which slightly   shifted the saw's bar mount enough to alter  the jig's geometry and affect the performance   I'm in a deep forest far away from my workshop and  I can't make a metal insert for the carriage to   house the rotary axis to prevent the hole drilled  in the wood from being distorted however one can   always install the spacer made from a plastic  bottle under the crumbled edge as a temporary fix   as you know there's nothing more permanent  than a temporary solution these spacers have   served me well for a year now and I won't be  replacing them with the metal bushing anytime   soon unless I have to saying that I consider  it my duty to draw your attention to the fact   that it is extremely important to ensure  that the saw's bar is parallel to the guide   after fixing this error everything  started to work fine for me   I want to draw your attention to the  quality of the shavings that are produced   by the chainsaw that was mounted on the carriage  undoubtedly those are real shavings not sawdust   the abundance of the long fibers suggests  that the bulk of the material is removed   along the grain not across it this ensures a  more productive operation of the chainsaw when   sawing logs longitudinally which means such  milling technique saves time fuel lubrication   and prolongs the chainsaw's life I dwelled on  this issue in my other video about two secrets   of milling a log into perfect boards using a  chainsaw without any attachments I will add   only one thing in my experiments as evidenced  by such long shavings the chain's sharpening   angle of 5 ,10 or 30 degrees does not noticeably  affect the quality of the cut and milling speed   when sawing along the grain however the quality  of the chain sharpening makes a big difference   after sawing the first log into boards and making  sure that the carriage could move along the log   on its own I realized that I needed the guide  bar's attack angle adjustment mechanism with   preset positions an attempt to secure the guide  bar's position by using a wedge or a piece of   wood placed under the chainsaw's body proved to be  a failure I decided to approach the problem from   another end and to use a pulling rather than  pushing mechanism to implement this idea any   improvised means are suitable I managed to find  perforated tin tape some wire and a piece of rope   a piece of tin tape can be secured with a screw  at the end of the carriage opposite from the   chainsaw it is easy to bend the hook from a wire  then tie it to one of the rope's end and then   fasten the opposite end to the chainsaw's handle  using a secure knot such a sawmill works most   productively when cutting lumber with its toe  part of a guide bar therefore it is advisable   to mill boards from a log in several passes  the adjustment looks somewhat flimsy which is   actually good as the aawmill's weak link becomes  its safety feature the rope can be easily torn   off in case something goes wrong preventing the  sawmill's damage when it comes to milling lumber   any additional safety feature is not excessive  as you can see the design of my sawmill is not   devoid of some nuances but at the same time  it is very simple in use and manufacturing of course it can still be improved you can  add a handle to it for better mobility or   you can use something more compact than  a rock for example a railroad tie plate   but in general this self-propelled  sawmill does not require refinements   although perhaps in the future I will  make a more technologically advanced   version of this carriage and guide but  that's a completely different story friends let's go back to the woods  to watch the first field trials   I want to draw your attention to the quality  of the board if the first milled boards were   somewhat of a mediocre quality say grade 3 these  ones are first-grade boards for a chainsaw-milled   lumber surface texture is at the highest level and  the flatness is impressive along the entire length   this statement may seem like an exaggeration to  you but look at where and how exactly these boards   were used and you will no longer have doubts  it was from this butt-jointed boards that I   assembled the sides of my boat as always I milled  them from a wind-blown log right in the woods the very method of making a pirogue by bending  its sides into an arc is extremely demanding on   the material most likely it simply wouldn't  be possible to build the boat using lumber   of irregular thickness or curved boards but my  pirogue came out quite strong and seaworthy which   means the lumber milled by my self-propelled  sawmill met the increased quality requirements   from the first grade 3 boards I assembled a  less material-demanding bottom of the pirogue   I think you will agree that the result of the  work speaks for itself I'm sure after seeing all   of my mistakes in building and using my sawmill  you will also be able to assemble a floating   craft from a wind-blown lumber and I believe  that you can do it just as well note I built   this pirogue when I wasn't fully recovered from  epicondylitis and I have no doubt that without   the help of this sawmill I would not have had  time to build a boat from scratch in 20 days   a self-propelled sawmill was a great  help at my log cabin camp lately considering that my free time for editing has  noticeably decreased and the queue of filmed   projects is only growing leave your wishes in  the comments which video you would like to see   first a video about my pirogue a video about  building a bridge from curved glued arches   or maybe a sequel on my bottle-hive bees that  I was thoroughly filming during the last year thank you for your support both  here on YouTube and on Patreon   it has freed up a lot of time so I  could focus on filming my projects this is Max Egorov and let good people watch good  videos I hope to see you back on Advoko MAKES...

Channel: Advoko MAKES

Views: 1,707,234

Keywords: cutting logs into lumber, cutting logs into lumber with a chainsaw, how to cut logs into boards with a chainsaw, how to cut logs into lumber, milling lumber with a chainsaw, how to make chainsaw mill, turning a tree into lumber, chainsaw mill homemade, how to make boards from logs, making boards from logs, milling slabs with chainsaw, slab cutting, how to cut slabs from a log, how to cut lumber from logs, lumber from logs, lumber from trees, advoko makes, max egorov

Id: 5AkXJSxOTzI

Length: 23min 22sec (1402 seconds)

Published: Tue Dec 20 2022