Figure 49. Portable sawmill.
location of the logs, to ascertain the accessibility by truck,
and to check the skidway. A skidway is a platform made
11. Operating the Sawmill
of skids on which logs are piled for loading. If possible,
skidways should be made on a gentle slope where there is
11-1. Now that you have erected the sawmill and have
enough space to pile lumber, slabs, and sawdust. A
built the log skidway, you are ready to operate the mill.
skidway is shown in figure 50. Skidways are installed on
But before you attempt to operate the sawmill, you should
gentle slopes so that the lumber and slabs are carried
acquaint yourself with the operator's or sawyer's position
downgrade. This procedure decreases the labor involved
and stance on the carriage. This familiarization will give
tremendously. It is also advantageous to have logs piled
you the feel of the moving carriage and allow you to
on one rollway, because most portable sawmill carriages
make the movements most natural to you.
are not equipped to take on logs from two rollways. Logs
11-2. You must also acquaint yourself with the relative
are usually received on the carriage with the butt-end
dimensions of the sawmill carriage.
Give special
toward the saw.
attention to the length and distance between the head
10-2. Sometimes a tractor with a fingerlift can be used
blocks (blocks under the head of the log to raise it),
to great advantage with a portable sawmill. It can be used
because this information will help you position the
to load and even turn large logs at the skidway, and load
carriage properly to receive the log that is approaching on
lumber on trucks. In large commercial operations, or
the skidway. This positioning of the log on the carriage
where the timber stands are thick and the logs large,
cannot be overemphasized. No set rule can be given,
portable sawmills can be used in pairs. A tractor with a
because all logs are different, but you should always
fingerlift can be kept busy at the skidways, at the slab
strive to work with the center of the log in the center of
piles, and loading lumber at the trucks. This is a good
the carriage. You will feed the saw from the operator's
method to use when you are short of personnel, because
position on the carriage. The carriage moves forward and
the need for quite a few men can be eliminated by this
backward past the
method.
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