Longitudinal sawing of a log with a chainsaw. How to properly cut a log on a band sawmill. Tools and equipment for sawing logs

Timber and boards are common materials used in the construction of houses. In the absence of funds for finished materials, you can make them yourself using a chainsaw. Before you cut a log into boards with your own hands, you should learn more about the features of this process.

Benefits of sawing logs with a chainsaw

Plank sawing can be done with tools such as an electric chainsaw and accessories designed to make the job easier. When choosing certain products, it is necessary to focus on the amount of expected work. Stationary sawmills are expensive and are purchased only if you plan to organize a business to create boards.

The most accessible tool for the job is a chainsaw. Such devices have several advantages over electric ones:

the chainsaw can be used anywhere, regardless of the presence of the mains;
the tool is suitable for work in conditions of high humidity;
professional chainsaws are significantly superior to electric ones in terms of power;
You can use the chainsaw continuously for an hour.

For sawing logs into boards, together with a chainsaw, a special frame is used, which is fixed on the device and allows you to create boards of the same thickness. You also need a device to secure the log in one position. In addition, you will need a guide.

Since household gasoline saws are not designed for heavy loads, it is worth using professional tools to cut logs. When choosing, you should pay attention to devices with a capacity of more than 7 horsepower. Before work, the fixed frame is adjusted in accordance with the selected width of the boards. To create a frame, you can use the legs from a school desk or metal corners.

Types of working nozzles

The choice of nozzles for work depends on the volume and type of work being done. The following accessories are used with a chainsaw:

drum debarker, which is necessary for removing bark from logs;
lightweight nozzle for sawing logs;
standard nozzle used to create boards.

Related article: How to zoning the living room and bedroom?

Longitudinal cutter

When using such a nozzle, sawing occurs in a horizontal direction. It is fixed on the tire with special clamps and allows you to create boards of equal thickness. After the work, the boards are dried, and after that they can be used in construction.

Lightweight nozzle

Such devices are often used, but they should only be used when creating boards for fences or sheds. This is due to the fact that the attachment of the nozzle on the tire occurs only on one side.

rounder

The nozzle for removing the bark from logs is used due to the clinomeric transmission. Attachment occurs with belts - special pulleys are used for this. It is worth noting that the performance of the nozzle can be changed, since the speed of rotation of the shaft depends on the size of the pulleys.

Features of sawing logs when using a chainsaw

Creating additional equipment for sawing logs is quite simple:

To create a support, a frame is used, which can be created from the legs of a school desk. The most suitable are pipes with a square section of 20 × 20 mm.
When constructing the frame, it is necessary to create 2 clamps, and fix the cross member at one end. This element must have holes for the tie bolts. A protrusion for the tire is created in the middle.
In order to cut a log along, it is necessary to construct a support frame, the width of which must be at least 8 cm longer than the length.
For the convenience of work, a handle must be welded on the frame.
Before carrying out work, it is necessary to carefully check whether the frame is securely fixed to the tire.

Using a homemade tool is quite simple. Before sawing, it is necessary to install 2 goats - they will be used as a support for the log. In addition, a metal rail or a flat board is being prepared, which will serve as a guide element.

All photos from the article

The construction market is replete with a huge amount of modern materials, which, unfortunately, do not differ in naturalness. That is why wood is still the most popular - due to its versatility and availability, it is used in various construction industries. Any lumber, whether it be timber or boards, is made from logs, so our task today is to understand how to make the necessary building material out of it.

Instead of a preface

Logs can be sawn with hand tools, or on various professional equipment used on an industrial scale.
The cost of finished lumber has a direct impact on its characteristics, namely the thickness of the materials and the amount of waste remaining as a result of the production process.

At enterprises engaged in the production of lumber, sawing lines are used. This equipment is highly productive and allows you to get a quality product.

Sawmill - a machine for cutting logs into boards

One of the types of sawmill equipment is a sawmill - a woodworking machine on which frame saws are installed. After processing, a timber and an edged board are obtained as a result.

Logs of only a certain size can be used as raw materials:

length should not exceed 7 m;
the diameter size range is much wider and ranges from 150mm to 800mm.

Round timber is also sawn on circular saws called circular saws or circular saws. These machines are divided into:

Most often, logs are processed on band sawmills, which allow sawing round timber both horizontally and vertically. Due to the high quality of sawing logs, very little waste remains after obtaining the final material.

But this is not the whole list of equipment used for large-scale production of lumber. There are also highly specialized machines that are used only in certain branches of woodworking.

The main types and methods of cutting wood

The method of sawing logs is selected depending on the type of wood and what kind of workpiece should be obtained as a result.

Take into account:

parameters that determine the size;
form;
surface quality;
requirements.

Logs can be sawn according to the location of annual rings.

In total, there are three types of sawing:

Radial - along the radius of annual rings, while the work is carried out with particular clarity.
Tangential - the log is sawn to the growth rings tangentially, parallel to one of the radii.
Parallel-forming - cutting occurs parallel to the direction of the fibers.

Depending on the direction in which the logs are sawn, the methods of sawing them are also divided:

In collapse - involves sawing a log in several places along its entire plane. At the same time, they should be parallel to each other. This is the easiest processing method, which ultimately allows you to get a pair of slabs and an unedged board.
With slabs, it allows you to first get side boards and a beam, which, if necessary, is sawn into identical edged boards. This method allows you to cut a little more than half of all raw materials. The disadvantage is that the processing of round timber requires the use of two sawmills.
Segmented - a beam will be cut from the center of the log. This name is due to the fact that two segments remain on the sides of the log, which are subsequently cut into tangential boards.
Sector - round timber in this case is sawn into sectors. At the same time, their number depends on the diameter of the log and varies from 4 to 8. Further, the resulting fragments are sawn into radial or tangential boards.
Circular - designed for individual cutting of logs. In this case, healthy wood is separated from the affected one.

Tip: sawing off the next board, the trunk must be rotated 90˚ around the longitudinal axis.

It should be noted that the last three methods, unlike the previous two - the main ones, are used quite rarely.

Sawing at home

It is unprofitable to purchase sawmills for use at home both from an economic point of view, the price is quite high, and from a practical point of view. For these purposes, a conventional chainsaw is quite suitable.

However, you can also use electric, but gasoline is much more powerful and does not require electricity, which is very useful when working far from civilization. Despite the complexity of this process, with certain skills, labor costs can justify themselves.

All work related to cutting requires special tools:

a device that fixes the log in a stationary state;
nozzle frame designed for chainsaws - if you want to get boards of different thicknesses, they are fixed on the tool tire, but in such a way as to be able to adjust the distance remaining between the nozzle and the chain;
guide lines. It can be successfully replaced with a metal profile or an ordinary board of the required length, as long as it is even and rigid.

Tip: for a chainsaw, you need to purchase a special chain that allows you to make longitudinal cuts. Its distinctive feature is a special angle of sharpening of the teeth.

Process

The operating instructions will be as follows:

Free the logs from bark and branches. The less waste you get, the more finished material will be.
Determine the cutting pattern that will be the most optimal. Why inspect the log for possible defects.

Saw in an east to west direction or vice versa. This is due to the fact that obtaining high-quality material is possible only if the density of the boards is the same across the entire width. Please note that the density of the tree trunk on the north side is much higher than on the south.
Remove the slabs located opposite each other.
Saw the double-edged timber formed as a result of this operation into lumber.
Remove the edges from the resulting .

Tip: if any defects are found in the log, for example, a false core, it can be rotated as in circular sawing by 90 and 180˚.

Conclusion

If you decide to dissolve the log at home, you will have to use a sawmill, a chainsaw, or a regular saw. The first two options will show the best results, in addition, the process will be much faster and better.

Before starting work, it is advisable to draw a diagram for sawing round timber. The video in this article will provide an opportunity to find additional information on the above topic.

The chainsaw is intended for carrying out various works with wood. With its help, you can fell trees of various diameters and cut them into boards or bars. In addition, this tool is used for figured wood carving - carving. In order to properly use a chainsaw, you need to familiarize yourself with the technology of various works and safety rules, the neglect of which leads to very disastrous consequences.

Felling trees is enough traumatic process, because at the slightest mistake, the trunk of a sawn tree, which has a huge mass, can fall on a person working with a chainsaw. Therefore, it is not enough just to have this unit and the desire to cut down a tree. Before you start working with a chainsaw, you should know the basic rules for working with this tool. So, the safety precautions for felling the forest contain the following points, which must not be ignored.

How to cut down a tree with a chainsaw

When felling trees with a chainsaw, it is necessary to choose the right blade: it must match the thickness and type of wood. For example, if you need to fell thin trees, then it makes no sense to use heavy and powerful units. After all, they have a large consumption of the fuel mixture and lubricant, and it is much harder to work with them. It is recommended to adhere to the following rules:

for trunks with a diameter of 600 mm or more, a heavy canvas (650 mm) should be used;
for trunks with an average diameter of 300-600 mm - a medium-sized canvas 350-650 mm;
felling of thin trunks (up to 300 mm) can be carried out with a blade up to 350 mm.

If you have work to do with hardwood(oak, beech, cherry, apple, pear, etc.), it is better to use medium blades for thin trunks, and heavy blades for trunks with a diameter of 300-600 mm or more.

Preparation stage

Felling trees with a chainsaw will be difficult and sometimes dangerous without a preparation step.

Make sure that there are no people, animals, buildings or other trees in the area where the tree is expected to fall.
Requires very careful preparation for felling trees near water bodies. If the sawn object falls into the water, then it will take a lot of effort, including the use of technology, to get it and cut it.
If you want to lay the cut tree in a certain place, then you can tie a cable to the top of the trunk or to its middle, and use a winch or other mechanism to force it to tilt in the right direction.
Before cutting down a tree, take care of escape routes, if an unforeseen situation arises (if possible, remove all obstacles that may prevent you from leaving the danger zone).
Provide the possibility of access to the sawn and chopped tree for transport for loading and removal.
If to be big tree felling, then at first it is necessary to exclude the possibility of large branches falling in the process of work. It is recommended to rent a lift or use the services of industrial climbers to cut problematic branches.

In amateur practice, it is allowed to fell trees using a single-pass cut, only when low plants with a trunk diameter of not more than 150 mm are to be felled. But sawing thick trees is required, observing standard technology.

The very first, upper cut should be done from the side of the plant into which it should fall in the end. It is done at an angle of 45 °, with a recess of ¼ of the diameter of the trunk. Second, bottom notch is carried out horizontally, until the joining of the undercuts.
The third notch is called felling and is the most responsible. It is performed on the opposite side of the previously made wedge-shaped cut, parallel to the second file (see the figure below), but 5 cm higher than it. Also, according to the technology, the felling file should not be finished to the end, that is, to the wedge-shaped cut. It is necessary to stop without finishing about 1/10 of the thickness of the trunk, so that the remaining whole part acts as a kind of hinge.
To prevent the saw from jamming in the cut, it is necessary to use wooden wedges. Metal wedges should not be used as the chain could be damaged if the saw kicks back.
When making a felling cut, carefully monitor the vertical of the trunk. A sudden gust of wind can make its own adjustments, and it will not work to cut down the tree as you planned.
After the felling cut, even before the plant begins to fall, it follows quickly, without fuss, remove chainsaw bar and move to a safe distance. It is extremely unsafe to be near a tree at this moment, since the lower part of the trunk, when falling, can jump to a height of about 1.5 meters.

If the rule of underdrinking is ignored, as well as the guide and felling cuts are incorrectly positioned, then it will be impossible to predict the direction of the tree's fall.

After the plant turned out to be dumped in the right direction, it should cut all branches on his trunk. For convenience, a flat piece of wood 100-150 mm high should be placed under the barrel. If this is not done, then there is a high probability that you will hook the ground with the saw. When the equipment hits the ground, where there is always sand, the latter falls on the tire, namely in the groove along which the chain slides. As a result of exposure to abrasive particles, not only the chain shanks, but the entire tire begin to wear out quickly. Therefore, the question that builders often ask - is it possible to cut foam blocks with a chainsaw - is inappropriate.

How to cut a log correctly

The next step after felling a tree is sawing it. It is required to conduct it, following certain rules and according to the scheme.

Longitudinal sawing on boards

As you might guess, the boards are obtained by longitudinal dissolution of the log. Since ripping is required, the saw chain must also be of the correct type. To ensure that the cutting of the trunk into boards is accurate, a special Big Mill log sawing device is used, shown in the following figure.

Can be used to cut logs diameter up to 500 mm. The thickness of the resulting board is set according to a special ruler applied on the racks of the device. You can buy it ready-made or do it yourself by looking at this video.

To dissolve the log into boards of equal thickness, do the following.

To cut logs across the grain, a crosscut saw chain must be fitted to the machine. Basically, a cross cut is used for sawing firewood. Small cylinders are obtained, which are further split into firewood. To make it convenient to cut firewood, the log is laid on goats with a height of 600-800 mm.

In the same way, it is carried out beam trimming.

Log sawing scheme

Below is a diagram that shows how the logs are properly cut into boards and beams.

This operation can be performed in several ways.

Sawing a square beam occurs from the sound part of the log.
To get 2 rectangular beams, a square beam is sawn into 2 parts.
Sawing a log crosswise, you can get 4 beams.
This type of sawing is called "tossed" and is used on sawmill frames. All boards are unedged.
With this type of log sawing, you can get a two-edged beam, as well as several unedged boards and a pair of slabs.
Difficult in its execution radial sawing. A characteristic feature of boards with such sawing is vertical growth rings.
The double-edged timber is disbanded into edged boards and 2 wane.
For boards with a horizontal arrangement of annual rings, the front side is called the one that is turned to the center of the log (core), and the back side is turned to the sapwood (the so-called periphery of the trunk).

What is carving

The word “carving” came into our language from English and means “cutting”. This is the name of figured woodcarving with a chainsaw. This art of skillful use of the instrument is beginning to gain popularity in our country. For carving, ordinary light chainsaws, for example, such as Husqvarna 135.

Chainsaw Husqvarna 135

The chainsaw has small dimensions, develops the necessary power, has a weight of 4.4 kg and is easy to start the engine. The tire needs to be installed in a medium size, about 14 inches. The chain is selected in 3/8 inch increments. It is recommended to immediately purchase special chains. For example, the STIHL Carving Rapid Micro Spezial (RMS) chain has a ¼ inch pitch, shortened teeth, and is specifically designed for shaping wood. The Husqvarna 135 saw is well suited for beginner carvers.

Chainsaw Husqvarna 450e II

As you gain experience, you can use more powerful units.

Sculptures created from wood using a chainsaw are very widely used in amusement parks, on city streets, near cafes, restaurants and other public places, and always attract the genuine attention of passers-by.

For example, having seen such a product in the park, few people walk past it indifferently.

The fantasy and skill of professional carving artists sometimes cause surprise and admiration.

To achieve such results, you need to make great efforts, it will take years of practice to hone your skills. After all, even if you try to make some simple product with your own hands, you will immediately understand that wood carving with a chainsaw is not an easy process. But if you are overwhelmed with the desire to learn this art, then, undoubtedly, you will be able to realize all your plans and decorate your site with unparalleled products.

What can beginner carving masters do

If you want to try your hand at wood carving with a chainsaw, then first you should choose some simple shape, for example, you can cut outmushroom or cube

Take your choice of wood seriously. If it is wet, then the finished product will crack after drying, and the result of your work will be spoiled.

So, at the beginning it is necessary to make a blank from a wood chainsaw, that is, to give the product a general outline. At this stage, special accuracy is not needed. It is only important not to remove too much. Hold a drawing of the object or a reference in front of you to more accurately represent the proportions of the finished sculpture.

Finished wooden sculptures are polished with sandpaper and covered with a protective layer, paint or varnish. As you acquire skills, you can already take on the manufacture of more complex figures. Log crafts, namely poles depicting people or animals, are very popular among chainsaw carvers. They are installed vertically (buried in the ground). The photo below shows the manufacturing process of a simple log bear figures which is suitable for beginner carvers.

To create birds more experience and skill are required, since very small details of the sculpture (head, feathers, etc.) will be processed.

Has your band sawmill been installed and made all the necessary adjustments? So it's time to proceed directly to the sawing process itself. In order to get really high-quality material, it is necessary to correctly install the log and fix it with special clamps.

The quality also depends on the correct calculation of the amount and type of material that you want to get from this log.

Having gained experience in the future, one glance at the log will be enough, and you will already know how much and what kind of material can be obtained from it. Learn to accurately determine where the top is and where the butt of the log is. The butt, as a rule, is larger in diameter than the top. And this largely affects the thickness of the slab.

How to calculate a log

So, you have measured the diameter of the log, and it is measured from the top. We calculate the approximate amount of material according to the diameter and proceed to further actions.

First of all.

We pay attention to all the bends and bulges of the log - a perfectly even trunk is rare. Therefore, we try to turn it so as to get as little waste as possible from it, such as slabs. When the log is laid and fixed, it is worth making sure that it passes freely between the guide rollers.

Set the size on the ruler of the sawmill according to the diameter, and to this size add the greatest height of the bulge of the log. This is that bulge that is higher than the diameter of the top or narrowest part of the log.

Using a regular tape measure, measure the height of the highest part, and from this size you start counting the dimensions of the required material, taking into account the size for the cut, which is from 2 to 5 mm.

Secondly.

As soon as the width of the cut reaches the required size, and the remaining height of the log has reached the desired size, it is turned over. That is, if you saw a beam, for example, at 150, then both the width of the cut and the height of the rest of the log should correspond to this value, even be larger, taking into account the removal of the slab.

To do this, after turning the log over, start the calculation from the final size to the full use of the log height, but do not forget to take into account the size of the cut, which, as we already know, is from 2 to 5 mm.

For example - you have a log on the flyover that you cut to a size of 260 mm. Let's flip the log and continue.

The end result we want to achieve is a gun carriage with a thickness of 150 mm. Further, in a simple way, considering that 260 mm-150 mm \u003d 110 mm. We get as much as 110 mm of additional material thickness. And that is exactly what needs to be calculated.

We take this additional size and calculate, in order to obtain a chopping block, which has a size of 50 mm, 110-50=60, do not forget to cut, and in our case it is 2 mm, 60-2=58 mm, then the cleft, equal to 25 mm, 58 -25-2=31 mm, slab 20 mm, 31-20-2=9 mm.

As you can see, from our calculations, it turns out 9 mm slab, 20 mm slab, 25 mm cleft and 50 mm chopping block. And the final size will be 150 mm.

Possible mistakes

As you can see, there is nothing complicated here. Often, inexperienced sawmillers make a mistake in the calculations when they start counting from zero. For example, if the final size of the material is 150 mm, then there is no need to add 2 mm to the cut to it, otherwise it will turn out like this 150 + 2 = 152. There should not be such an error, the cut is calculated only between the material, for example, a 50 mm board and 150 mm carriage, we obtain as described above, 150 + 50 + 2 \u003d 202 mm.

If necessary, to obtain edged material, turn the log 90 degrees and perform the same manipulations that are described above.

So you sawed your first log, look at the quality of the material and the accuracy of the dimensions. Make sure your calculations are correct. The main mistake in the calculations is that they forget to take into account the size of the cut. Try to take into account this fact. And don't make those mistakes.

In the future, when you gain experience, the calculation will take place automatically in your head, it will be enough to look at the log.

We are confident that everything will work out for you, we wish you success in your work.

Blogger Egorov decided to make a bench from birch logs. In general, the idea is not new. The novelty is only in the method he used to cut the log evenly. In this case, improvised means were used.

He created the simplest sawmill from a chainsaw, two boards and 6 self-tapping screws. Perhaps he is not the first who has already made such a device, but there is currently no material about this on the Internet. It is not clear why no one makes such devices, but uses complex attachments.

Used a small low power chainsaw with a short tire. It is impossible to cut lengthwise with such a saw. The solution is obvious: either sawing by eye, which is unacceptable for carpentry, or make an alternative design by using the tire mounting cover, which is parallel to the plane of the tire.

For this, 2 boards were taken, with the help of self-tapping screws a corner was made from them, which was screwed to the log. A chainsaw was placed on the corner. According to this peculiar guide, a wonderful even cut of logs was made.

The main work is done. Now you need to prepare 4 platforms for holes for attaching legs on the cylindrical part of the block, make holes and insert 4 legs. For greater stability, you need to drill these holes at an angle. Drill spiral with a diameter of 52 mm.

So that the legs do not dry out and do not fall out over time, they need to be dried for several days and planted extremely tightly in the holes.

The second chopping block can be adapted as a backrest.

Homemade sawmill from a conventional chainsaw

A simple device for self-cutting round timber is a sawmill from a chainsaw. Any DIYer who knows how to use a welding machine is capable of making such a device.

The resulting fixture is easy to use, but ordinary chain sharpening will not work. But more on that at the end of the article.

The sawmill consists of the following components:

As you can see, the device is simple - let's get down to manufacturing!

First of all, we make a bed with guides. Its dimensions:

We cut out the bed platform from sheet material and make a hole for mounting on a saw

We make guides from steel water pipes. We weld them to the frame strictly at a right angle.

We boil everything thoroughly

Drilling holes for saw bar clamps

To fasten the frame, we replace the standard nuts (in the middle) with elongated ones with welded washers.

We twist and fix the bed

We manufacture tire clamps. All sizes in the photo below

The clamp is not difficult to make, it consists of a profile pipe and a pressure plate. Clamp assembly

Here the clamp works

We make a carriage. It is necessary in order to smoothly slide along the guides and be fixed in a given position. It sets the thickness of the future board. This is what the card looks like

The carriage consists of round and rectangular tubes. Cutting pipes in half

From the rectangular one, we select the grooves for the round one, and assemble it on the guides

We scald

This is how the clamp attaches to the rails. The bolts are relaxed, the distance is set and tightened.

We make a support platform. It slides over the log and creates a reference plane.

Support pad dimensions

We make blanks in size, put them on a flat surface, try on the saw blade

We weld and clean the seams

For the convenience of working with a homemade sawmill, you need to make a handle. We make a handle from a pipe. For easy bending, we burn the pipe at the bending point with a blowtorch

Gem according to the pattern

This is what the base plate looks like with a welded handle

We weld the support pad to the carriage. It is necessary to observe the same planes of the saw bar and the support platform. To do this, lay a flat, dense gasket. Chipboard fits perfectly.