My Milling Band Saw

I have two different types of saws that I use for converting tree trunks into planks, a milling attachment for a powerful chainsaw and this large band saw. Hopefully I shall make some videos in the future showing them working. For very large trunks, or if they are somewhere other than home I use the milling chainsaw which I’ll describe in another blog. If the wood is small enough and at home I have the band-saw. This was originally designed for sawing metal but has been adapted now to saw wood.

Most milling band-saws do the moving through the wood and are portable, which has its advantages. With this one the saw is static and the wood is pushed through it. This enables the saw itself to be sturdier. So does the fact that it is not designed to be portable. We felt that the chain saw mill could be used when there was a need for it to be portable and that the advantages of a sturdier saw in situ. outweighed the advantages of portability. The trolley the wood sits in can rise and fall with a scissor action so that the wood can be planked to any thickness. The trolley then runs on rails through the saw. It runs on electricity rather than diesel but because it needs a powerful motor it is three phase. Sadly I am not on three phase but the convertors nowadays are very good. Don’t ask me to explain the principles behind three phase rather than single phase electricity, which is what most standard domestic supplies use, but three phase is needed for more powerful motors (at least to keep the size of the motor reasonable)