Any Self Respecting Woodsman needs a sawmill.
A portable sawmill is a key to self sufficiency, and a doorway to self employment.
The idea of owning a sawmill is one I have always had. As a young boy I could picture myself with a small sawmill, selling boards to folks who wanted them. Back then my Mom rented a field for summer horse grazing, next door to that field was a guy who had stacks of lumber and a small portable band saw mill. Needless to say I caught the sawmill bug. After a few attempts at building a sawmill from scrap and a few go arounds with chainsaw milling, I found that I was ready to purchase a mill.
Bandsaw, Swing-Blade, or Chainsaw mill. All have their benefits and all have their drawbacks. After years of pouring the forums, and hours of Youtube videos, I was leaning more towards a small bandsaw mill. I wasn’t a huge fan of the tooth setters and grinders required for sharpening but it seemed like the best option for my log availability and the timber products I want to produce. The thinner kerf, shingle and lap siding attachment capability, and purchase cost were all things I was looking for. But before I was ready to make my purchase, along came the Covid-19 pandemic with the factory shutdowns and high lumber prices that followed. Here I was ready to buy a sawmill and there were none available. That was when I remembered the Logosol Chainsaw Mill.
The Logosol F2 is a Swedish made sawmill that utilizes an aluminum frame and mid to large sized chainsaw to produce lumber and beams from logs.They recommend using a saw such as the 64 cc Stihl MS-391 up to a Stihl MS-661. An Electric Speed Saw powerhead is available outside of North America. When paired with a chainsaw fitted with a low profile ripping chain the Logosol F2 is designed to make short work of sawing lumber. After a phone call to the Canadian Distributor and a few evenings watching videos on Youtube I decided to make the purchase. I ordered the F2 sawmill with bar-nose steering kit, low profile twenty inch bar and five loops of the low profile ripping chain.
The Logosol F2,Bar Nose Steering Kit, Guide Bar and five ripping chains arrived on one pallet. The instructions included were well written with drawings of how the components fit together. It took a few evenings after work to assemble but I was satisfied with how it went together. The real test was going to be how well it would cut. The saw kerf when equipped with a low profile ripping chain is ¼” (roughly twice the thickness of a bandsaw mill) but without the blade tracking and blade breaking issues that are common with bandsaws. With the stock clutch drum cover and drive sprocket replaced with the ⅜” low profile sprocket/clutch drum and twenty inch bar installed on a Stihl MS-660, the Logosol was ready to cut. The only room for improvement that was noted throughout the assembly process was the lack of access to tension the chain once the ripping chain once the saw carriage is mounted on the chainsaw. A hole sized to fit a bar wrench, drilled inline with the holes for the bar studs would permit tensioning the chain on a Stihl chainsaw without removing the saw carriage.
With the Logosol F2 screwed to a couple 2×6 studs as per the instruction manual and two logs placed perpendicular to the log lifters as an infeed table, the first log was rolled onto the Logosol. The logs are there to permit loading multiple logs with a tractor then roll onto the log lifters as needed. The Logosol F2 is designed to lift the log being cut in place of raising and lowering the saw head. The log is supported at each end and is raised by two handcranks. The handcranks operate a ratchet system that lifts the log with ease. As the log is lifted, the ratchet clicks for every ¼” of lift. The first logs cut yielded a few live edge slabs, various dimensional lumber and two 6”x6” timbers. The Logosol paired with a Stihl MS-660 cut through the logs with ease as the hand crank on the saw carriage was turned to advance the saw through the log. The cut speed matched a comfortable walking speed and improved as the log was squared. After a few logs were cut, the spring that maintains tension on the ratchet broke but a bungee cord was a quick fix. Logosol has shipped a replacement spring under warranty. Upon being checked any loose bolts were re-tightened and the lumber produced inspected. The ripping chain left a desirable finish requiring minimal sanding or planing and produced uniform lumber.
With every log cut the Logosol F2 is proving itself as a well built and productive sawmill that requires minimal maintenance or fine tuning. When milling logs free of excess dirt and foreign metal objects, the chains last quite a few logs before the cut begins to slow and the finish roughens. The fuel consumption is a bit high but that is to be expected with a two stroke engine. With that being said the Logosol F2 exceeds expectations and is a great choice in a small sawmill.