Cutting with the Rail Mill page 1

Farmers can use chainsaw mills to turn surplus and plantation logs into fencing or structural timber with minimal fuss. Chainsaw mills can be set up using standard chainsaws and many of the larger chainsaws used by Australian farmers will be suitable for attachment to a mill. Au s t r a l i a n - m a d e chainsaw mills are gaining widespread acceptance in countries such as South Africa and Papua New Guinea as a means of producing usable structural timber in small volumes. The mills are inexpensive and are portable which means that timber can be produced on site without having to transport uncut logs to a sawmill.

The first step in setting up a rail chainsaw mill is mounting the rail to the log. Inspect uncut logs carefully to find the best position for the rail and set the track to produce the most useable timber.

A simple way to mount the rail is to use long self-tapping roof screws. Use packing pieces to maintain a straight alignment to the rail along the length of the log.

To mill long logs, join additional lengths of rail. Precision ‘dovetail’ joints, between rail sections, ensure a continuous alignment of rail over the full length of the log.

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