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Chain saw mills havefound niches as specialtymills for wide slabs andquartering big logs so

that they can be cut on a sawmill.Milling these large logs is preciselywhat I had in mind when I ordereda Logosol Big Mill Basic.

Working with big logs is often achallenge for sawmill operators.One sawyer I know uses blackpowder to blow them apart (youcan see videos of this onyoutube.com). Even though thiswastes a lot of wood, it allows mostof the log to be converted to lum-ber. Chain saw mills offer a moreefficient, albeit slow and lessentertaining, option for paringdown the size of these logs.

Logosols Big Mill Basic is dif-ferent from other chain saw mills,in that it uses a guide rail to the

side of the log for the chain saw,with no support for the tip of thebar. The good news is that thisallows the sawyer to bury the tip ofthe bar in the log, and then comeback from the other side to finishthe cut. This makes it possible toslab out a 60-inch-diameter logwith a 36-inch bar. This featurealso makes it possible to quarterthe log and finish cutting it on aconventional sawmill, reachingonly halfway through the log foreach cut. The bad news is that thetip of the bar can flex during a cut.This is a serious problem if the sawis not properly sharpened or itnicks a nail or hits a stone. Usingthe shortest possible bar minimizestip deflection.

Logosol offers 16-inch, 20-inch,or 24-inch thin kerf pico barsand ripping chains, sharpened at a

Chain saw mills providean interesting combina-tion of trade-offs andsawing options. Theyoffer the ultimate inportability for remotelocations, and low-cost

milling for occasionaluse. Since the sawyercan use the same sawpower head to bothcut and mill the lum-ber, the initial invest-ment is low. But so isproduction.

4 Sawmill & Woodlot

SAWMILL REVIEW BY DAVE BOYT

LOGOSOLs Big Mill Basic

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10-degree angle. The pico bars andchains require less power and cutmuch faster than conventionalequipment, though they are notheavy duty enough for bars longerthan 24 inches. If you need toreach through a 6-foot-diameterlog, youll need a full-kerf bar andchain. In addition to a 24-inch pico,I keep a 42-inch bar with a semi-chisel skip tooth ripping chainready to cut custom wide slabs forcustomers who have tabletops andother furniture in mind.

Either way, the saw needs to beon the high end of the powerrange. Charlie Griffin, customerservice representative for Logosol,recommends that the saw be nosmaller than 6 hp, and bigger isdefinitely better. My 5.3-hpHusqvarna 372 is underpowered,but with time and patience, willchew through anything I have. Asmore customers request wide slabs,I will likely find a more powerfulcutter head.

Setting Up theBig Mill BasicLogosol combined its Timberjigmill with the guide rail from theWoodworkers mill, and added abracket that screws to the ends ofthe logs to hold everything inplace. Assembly instructions aremostly in the form of break-apartdrawings. It took the better part ofan afternoon to put it together, butall the parts were there, and every-thing fit perfectly.

The kit also included bolts thatadapt the chain saw to a bracketthat rides on the track. Conversionis quick and easy, requiring only achain saw wrench. Remove the twonuts that hold on the side plate ofthe chain saw, and put the adaptingbolts in their place. At this point, itis a good idea to check the chaintension, since you need to removethe bracket to adjust the tension.

The nuts from the chain saw holdthe saw to the bracket. The mostcumbersome part of converting asaw from logging to milling ischanging the bar and chain. If youthink the chain for a 22-inch barcan get tangled, wait till you try towork the kinks out of a 42-inchchain! Once you get that mastered,it is a 10-minute process.

Operating theBig Mill BasicFor a test cut, I attached the guiderail to a catalpa log that had beenlying in my yardone of thoseprojects I intended to get aroundto. The log was 4-1/2 feet long, and34 inches in diameterjust the sortof oddball that I had in mind whenI purchased the Big Mill. Slabbingit might yield some nice tabletops.The first order of business was toscrew a bracket onto each end ofthe log. This required a reasonablysquare cut on both ends of the log.The first step is to determinewhere to mount the brackets on thelog. The bracket mounts so that

when the track is on the highestsetting, it is an inch below the lineof the first cut. For a straight cut,the brackets must be lined up witheach other. To do this, Logosol rec-ommends the user put in one 3-inch deck screw (a good cordlessdrill saves a lot of time and effortwith the deck screws), then levelthe bracket with a spirit level.Once level has been established,drive in the remaining three deckscrews to hold it in place, and thenrepeat to attach the bracket to theother end of the log. These thenline up the two brackets for astraight cut.

The height adjustment, whichdetermines the width of the boards,is a notched shaft on each bracket.Notches are a 1/4 inch apart, so youcan only adjust the thickness of theboards to the nearest 1/4 inch,unless you use shims. With thetrack in place and all adjustmentstightened down, it was time for atest run. The track, I found, pro-vided several advantages. This is atrue one-person mill, with no need

May/June 2009 5

Logosol Big Mill Basic

SPECS

Left: Cutting with the Big Millrequires a big saw, a long blade,and plenty of persistence. Max log diameter ......................depends on chain saw bar size

Max width of cut (throat) .........depends on chain saw bar size

Track length ........................................................................9 ft.

Track extensions .................................1.5 ft. 3 ft., 9 ft. sections

Track material ..........2 in. x 5 in. anodized aluminum box beamSetworks .......................................................................manual,

adjusted at each end in 1/4 in. increments

Lubricant tank.......................................chain saw bar lubricant

Power........................chain saw (5 hp recommended minimum)

Base price...................................$885 (chain saw not included)

Options ..................................additional rail supports, extensionarms for processing bigger logs, upgrade to

Big Mill Pro., for larger diameter logs and precisionslabbing, upgrade to M7 or Woodworkers Mill

Manufacturer

Logosol Inc.116 Sollefta Drive, Madison, MS 39110Phone: 877/LOGOSOL (564-6765)Fax: 601/856-9535E-mail: info@logosol.com www.logosol.com

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6 Sawmill & Woodlot

for a second person to help controlthe tip of the bar. Another advan-tage is that the track holds the sawfar enough away from the log thatthe exhaust gasses from the saw arenot blocked. The saw is held onthe track by the sawyer. It can bepulled out at any place in the cuthandy if you hit a nail, or need totension the chain.

The instructions and video indi-cate that the log should be rotatedabout 30 degrees. This allows eachslab to slide off, and puts thesawyer in a more comfortable posi-tion. However, for larger logs thatare too big to turn, cutting in a hor-izontal position is a perfectlyacceptable solution, provided youput in a wedge or two when thesaw is about 2/3 through the log sothat the board does not pinch thesaw. This technique keeps the cutlevel so that if you need to reattachthe guide rail for a subsequent cut,you can do so and keep the cutsparallel. It also makes it possible toalign the track to the other side ofthe log to make slabbing cuts widerthan the length of the bar.

Cutting with a chain saw mill ismore demanding on the machinethan felling and limbing. It doesnot take long to understand theimportance of a well-sharpenedchain. This includes both thesharpness of the teeth and filingthe rakers. I would have preferred aslightly more aggressive cut thanthe file guide provided so that lesspressure would be necessary, butthat little 372 was using all it had tognaw its way through. Whenmilling with the chain saw, thechain needs to be sharpened at thefirst sign of dulling. This mightmean touching up the chain aftereach cut, or even stopping in themiddle of the cut, if it is not cut-ting right. Otherwise, youll wastetime and put unnecessary wear onthe equipment.

The first slabbing cut produceda clean, straight cut. To lower thetrack for the next cut, each end ofthe track has to be adjusted inde-pendently. With practice, this takes

a couple of minutes. The notchedheight guide is positive, and theslotted keepers held it securely. Fora 2-1/2-inch slab, place the keeperin the notch that corresponds to 2-3/4 inches (to allow for the 1/4-inchkerf), loosen the bolt, and the trackdrops into its new height. Repeatfor the other end, tighten down theset bolts, and start the next cut.

Once the track has been loweredas far as it will go on the bracket(12 inches total travel), you mustremove the track, unscrew thebrackets from the log, and eithermove them down or flip over the

log to work from the other side.Either way, the leveling and attach-ment process must be repeatedfor a good 10 minutes. When thelog is cut to the center, it is neces-sary to turn the log 180 degrees andcut from the other side. The brack-ets also require a 3-inch minimumthickness on the last cut, though Iwould recommend keeping it to 3-1/4 inches, to give a little extraclearance. This means one thickslab will be left.

Since the tip of the bar is notheld in place, the flex in the bar,added to the flex in the bracket

SAWMILL REVIEW

Two advantages of the guide rail system are that one person can easily use themill, and that the bar does not need to reach all the way through the log. A sharpchain is critical for any chain saw milling.

Adjusting the height of the cut. Thebracket allows 12 inches of verticaltravel. The slots allow movement in1/4-inch increments, and must beadjusted on both ends after each cut.

Attaching the bracket to the end of thelog. The Big Mill uses a bracket boltedon to each end of the log to hold theguide rail. These must be leveled atboth ends so that the chain saw cuts astraight line.

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8 Sawmill & Woodlot

itself allows considerable move-ment. This was a serious problemin one cut, when the saw decidedto dive down; however this wascured by resharpening the chain,and I did not have this problemagain. As with any kind of sawing,the sawyer needs to pay attentionand learn the warning signs thatthis mill provides when things arenot quite right.

ConclusionThe ability to cut large logs inplace is appealing. According toLogosols representative, the BigMill works best for high-value logsthat come down in places whereyou cant take the log out. Forexample, quartering a massive wal-nut log in a yard so that you canremove it without damaging thelawn may open up new sources oflumber.

The Logosol representative alsoemphasizes that many sawyersmodify the mill to meet their

needs. Track extensions are avail-able for longer logs, and the web-site provides plans for building awork stand that holds logs securelyat a comfortable height.

Logosol has some other productsthat might prove useful, dependingon the application. Their Big MillPro allows the option of putting atrack on both sides of the log sothat the tip of the bar is also con-strained. The Big Mill LSG elimi-nates the track. The saw follows

the flat created by the first cut sothat there is no need to reset thetrack height. This saves time insetting up for subsequent cuts, andkeeps all cuts parallel. TheTimberjig is a useful companion tothe Big Mill, allowing quick setupfor making vertical cuts when quar-tersawing the large logs.

The Logosol Big Mill Basicdescribed here is a simple devicewhich fills a need in many sawmilloperations. Do not expect high pro-duction, or precisely machinedlumber. What you can expect is thecapability to work with logs thatyou may have otherwise passed by,and to produce wide slabs for mar-kets that would not be possiblewith a conventional mill.

Dave Boyt has a BS degree in ForestManagement and an MS in WoodTechnology. He manages a tree farm(2006 Missouri Tree Farm of the Year),and operates a band saw sawmill.

The Big Mill Basic setup, ready to startcutting. The Husqvarna 372 is a littleon the small size, but managed to cutthe catalpa log with no problem.

SAWMILL REVIEW