Home-Built Bandsaw-Type Sawmill

Home-Built Bandsaw-Type Sawmill WOODLOT EQUIPMENT Miscellaneous 21-4-11 When Gary Mesiner went into the custom wood cutting business two years ago, he soon realized he needed a high capacity sawmill with a lot of built-in conveniences in order to serve his customers. So the Grahamdale, Manitoba, mechanic designed and built a mill to suit his needs. He won $2,000 for first place in the Agriculture/Industrial Division of Princess Auto's first-ever Inventors Fair held in June in Winnipeg. "Bandsaws are nothing new, but some of the ideas incorporated in mine make it stand out from the rest," says Meisner. "For example, it features an automatic depth lock to make every cut identical. The system consists of 1/2-in. dia. redi rod with 1/ 2-in. nuts spaced 1 1/2-in. apart on all four corners. It allows me to make 3/4 or 1 1/2-in. cuts perfectly. "Also, my electric over hydraulic log clamp, which operates off a power window motor out of a car, is faster and easier to operate than anything else I've seen on the market." The 23-ft. long by 6-ft. wide sawmill has a heavy-built frame made of railroad rails. A 4-cyl. engine out of a 1968 Chevy car powers the mill's 1 1/4-in. wide by 42/1,000-in. thick blade. It spins at 1,000 rpm's. The hydraulic system, which handles the log, is driven off a pump out of an old Deere combine. The sawmill, which Meisner pulls behind his 1/2-ton pickup, rides on a pair of 14-in. tires. When in use, Meisner operates the mill from an operator's seat. "Only the most ex-pensive commercial mills have them," he notes. "It comes in handy after eight or 10 hours of cutting wood." Meisner says he can cut up to 500 board feet per hour from good logs. "It handles logs up to 27 in. in dia. and 18 ft. long with no trouble," he adds. He built the mill over a period of a year in his spare time, using mostly salvaged materials. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Gary Meisner, P.O. Box 33, Grahamdale, Manitoba, Canada ROC 1CO (ph 204 449-2177).

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