Gloat- "my saw's bigger than yours.." :)

[Lynn Kasdorf]

Well, now I've gone and done it. Not being contented with a 20" bandsaw and a 12" table saw, I just closed a deal on a Mobile Dimension sawmill!

http://www.mobilemfg.com/frames_company.htm

Here are a couple pics of the type of machine (not mine):

http://www.curlykoa.com/logstolumber/pictures/umumamango/Umauma_Buttlog7.jpg

http://www.curlykoa.com/logstolumber/pictures/pauilomango/mangocut01.jpg

http://www.curlykoa.com/logstolumber/pictures/sawmill/mill02.jpg

Mine is on a trailer (about 24' long!) so it is theoretically portable. We'll see. The saw has a vertical 30" blade, a 12" horizontal blade aligned to the bottom of the big vertical, and a 3rd 12" blade coaxial to the other 12", and adjustable in height.

The blade carriage runs along the rail and is powered by a 67hp VW engine. The rail can be adjusted precisely left to right and vertically.

You set the top edger to give you the width lumber you want, and set the left/right posn for the thickness, and let 'er rip. It cuts 3 sides at once and hands you a dimensioned board.

Since you don't cut all the way through the log like a band mill, there is pretty much no limit to the diameter of log you can mill. Mine comes with extensions that will let it do a 36' log.

I'm in Leesburg VA, if anybody needs anything sawed up! I pick it up tomorrow, and it is going to take a bit of restoration and familiarization. This sucker looks pretty scary, but not nearly so as a traditional circular mill with the huge exposed blade. Mine looks like Paul Bunyan's skil saw on rails...

[Bruce Page]

I’ve never seen one like that before and look forward to more pictures of it in action. Congrats!



I no longer prepare food or drink with more than one ingredient. -- Cyra McFadden

[David Klug]

Lynn;

I sure wish I lived closer to you. I would love to see that machine in operation.

Dave

[Dr. Zack Jennings]

I give up !

That's a really neat Volkswagon. Is it a 4 speed ?

[Bob Lasley]

Lynn,

That is quite a saw. I'm looking forward to seeing some pics of yours before and after restoration and then, of course, in action!

Bob

[Lynn Kasdorf]

According to the mfr and others, this is about $15k worth of sawmill on the used market. I picked it up for about an order of magnitude less...so I couldn't pass it up.

My big issue now is working out how I'm going to get and move logs, lumber, and sawdust!

I plan to make a pole barn for it, and I'd like to keep the whole thing indoors. However, it would also be good to have unrestricted access to the side of the mill- which woudl mean a 20' opening in the building. I'm not sure how to do this.

[John Schreiber]

. . . . . and I been worrying about if I should get the 1 1/2 horse saw or go for 3 horses . . . .

. . . . I've had cars with less power than that . . .

[Jay Kilpatrick]

Originally posted by Lynn Kasdorf
I plan to make a pole barn for it, and I'd like to keep the whole thing indoors. However, it would also be good to have unrestricted access to the side of the mill- which woudl mean a 20' opening in the building. I'm not sure how to do this.

Lynn,
A 2 word answer for your problem "Engineered Beam". If you're planning on building this thing yourself here's some starter info:

Calculating Loads on Headers and Beams (http://www.umass.edu/bmatwt/publications/articles/calculating_loads_on_headers_and_beams.html)
Sizing Engineered Beams and Headers (http://www.umass.edu/bmatwt/publications/articles/sizing_engineered_beams_headers.html)

Otherwise, talk to your GC or builder.

[Tom Sweeney]

>>>I plan to make a pole barn for it, and I'd like to keep the whole thing indoors. However, it would also be good to have unrestricted access to the side of the mill- which woudl mean a 20' opening in the building. I'm not sure how to do this.<<<

Lynn - Just a thought but if you used timber frame or engineered beams like Jay said - maybe you could make the pole barn big enough for the saw & then have a large (20')sliding door on the side you need access to. When you need to use the saw just slide the door open & go to work. That way you won't need as big of a building - you could put a roof over the open part - sort of like a car port in case you have to work in the rain.

[David Ripley]

Lynn, I don`t know what to say, other then nice saw, I mean nice
big saw.Good luck with it. David

[Kevin Gerstenecker]

.................is OFF THE PORCH! Man, that is the Binford-Big-Cat-Daddy Saw! I have never seen a unit like that, but I really like the setup, and the ability to cut BIG logs. Should be very interesting setting it up and putting it to use. A machine like that can no doubt be very dangerous to use..........please be careful.......we would like to see ALL of you posting here in the future. Can't wait to hear how it works, and perhaps see some photo's of you and the new BIG toy in action. Congratulations............it's going to take some doin's to outdo the size of this Gloat! ;)