SAWMILL REVIEW

The Logosol M7 is some-thing of a hybrid mill. Al-though it is powered by achain saw, it consists of arigid framework with a bed for thelog to rest on and a track for thechain saw. It has the advantages ofextreme portability (one person caneasily move it, and it fits easily onthe back of a pickup truck—or evenon the roof of a car) and low cost.Another benefit of the frame is thatthe sawyer cuts the log at a comfort-able height. The track allows thesawyer to set the precise location ofthe cut in the log. The saw iscranked through the log by a ropethat pulls against the end of the log.This balances the forces, and helpskeep the log from moving. To adjustthe location of the cut, the kneescan be raised and lowered inde-

pendently in 1/8 inch increments.While the frame accommodates logsup to 8 feet 3 inches long, multipleunits can be combined to cut logs ofvirtually any length. To emphasizethis, Logosol lined up eight mills tocut a 114-foot-long 2 x 4, which wasentered in the Guinness WorldRecords.

The Logosol mill is manufac-tured in Sweden, where it was de-veloped for small woodlot owners toprovide them with the ability to uti-lize small logs. The mill is popularthere, and it is not uncommon forseveral families to share a mill, tak-ing it out to the woods on the roofof a Volvo for a day of sawing. Herein the United States, the mill isfinding its way into the new marketof urban forestry (see the Oct/Nov2004 issue of this magazine). Trees

that are cut for development or dis-ease, or are blown down, are typical-ly chipped or go to the landfill.Many tree services are willing to de-liver logs to a mill at no charge, justto avoid the landfill charge. Theselogs present special challenges.Grown as shade trees, urban logs aregenerally rejected from conventionalmills because they are too short, andbecause of the high probability thatthey contain metal or other foreignobjects. A small mill that can be setup quickly in a parking lot or adriveway is ideal for “recycling”

The chain saw is an essentialtool for every logger orsawyer. While many peopleare quick to dismiss the ideaof milling with a chain saw astoo slow, too inaccurate, andtaking too much kerf, manysawyers find unexpected usesfor specialized cutting. Forsome, chain saw mills are alow-cost alternative to a bandmill where high volume is notan issue. For others, they area valuable addition to a bandor circle sawmill, providing away to cut odd sizes orshapes of logs that wouldnormally be trimmed off orleft in the woods.

By David Boyt

10 • Sawmill & Woodlot

The Logosol M7 Chain Saw Mill

Above: The M7 sawmill does an excel-lent job on odd sizes and shapes for spe-cialty cutting. Note the board clampedto the knees to support the log. With alittle creativity, the mill will cut justabout anything.

these logs into lumber.While it is slower than a band or

circle mill, the difference is muchless than one might think. The keyhere is in the chain and bar. Themill works best with a rippingblade. Typically, this is a chiselskip-tooth chain with a shallow 10-degree cutting angle. For bars short-er than 26 inches, a Pico chain andbar are an option. These take a nar-rower kerf than a standard chain,but will not stand up to the stressesencountered on longer bars. Andwhile a logger can get by with aworn bar, the length and width of acut made by the chain saw millmakes bar maintenance critical(more on that later). When every-thing is set up correctly, and thechain is sharp, expect a smooth,straight cut.

Giving It a TryThe Logosol showed what it coulddo at the 2005 Great PortableSawmill Shoot-Out in Youngstown,Ohio. Ignoring the diesel band sawson either side of him, Rob Bjork-lund and Martin Hall consistentlycut one board after another. Theduo sliced their way through 422board feet in just over an hour and ahalf, and achieved a recovery yieldof 82%.

Having seen the M7 mill in ac-tion at the Shoot-Out, I was eagerto give it a try for myself. A lot ofwalnut grows in my part of thecountry, and most of it remains inthe brush piles after a harvest.Some of it is large diameter, but tooshort for sawmills to use. Largecrotches are also left behind. Prop-erly cut, these can become gunstock blanks that bring anywherefrom $40 to $800, depending on thefigure of the grain.

I have had limited success cut-ting the crotches on my band mill.For one thing, there is just no goodway to clamp down a 20-inch piece.The other problem lies in lining upthe wood to get the precise cut thatgives the figured grain prized bygunsmiths. After experiencing the

frustration of cutting into the logs,logs rolling while being cut, andmiscuts, I decided to give the M7 atry. I was not disappointed.

First of all, the mill arrives inpieces. The manual is clear andwell illustrated. While there was noproblem in assembling the M7, itdid take about six hours. I stronglyrecommend that it be built in agarage where parts can be laid out.The nuts and bolts are all metric, soyou will need metric wrenches, and

Allen wrenches. Be patient, and fol-low the instructions. Assembly isnot complicated, but there are a lotof parts. Once assembled, the millhas a sturdy frame capable of hold-ing a 1,100-pound log.

The independent knees made itpossible to angle the log at the pre-cise angle for the cut. The ratchetsallow adjustment in either 1/4-inchor 1/8-inch increments. Short piecesrequire some special clamping, oreven attachment to a support board

Slicing a walnut crotch for a gunstock,the sawyer stands behind the saw withone hand on the throttle and the otherhand cranking the saw through thewood.

SPECS

Logosol M7 Chain Saw MillType ................................chain saw mill

Stationary or portable ............portable

Cutting capacity ...............up to 56 in., depending on the bar

Length and width of mill......9 ft. long by 4 ft. wide

Note: Mills can be attached to each other for unlimited length

Size and construction of frame .......rail track 2 in. by 5-1/2 in.

by 9 ft. long

Track......................................aluminum

Replacable tracks? ..........................yes

Carriage support system .....................aluminum

Power Plant .......................as reviewed Husqvarna 372 chain saw

Recommended................85cc or larger chain saw

Optional...6.6 kw 3 phase 220v electric..................11 kw 1 phase 220v electric.................6.6 kw 1 phase 220v electric

Base price ................................$2,395

Contact:Logosol Inc.PO Box 660 Madison, MS 39130 Phone: 877/LOGOSOL (877/564-6765)Website: www.logosol.com

Logosol factory representative RobBjorklund demonstrates the inversioncutting technique for cutting the biglogs. The entire sawmill frame is boltedupside down on the log.

May/June 2006 • 11

with deck screws, but this isnot difficult. Once the log wasin place, I was ready for thefirst cut. With a freshly sharp-ened ripping chain on the bar,the saw cut smoothly throughthe log. The crank feed wasnearly effortless, requiring onlya light touch on the crank andthe throttle. With the guide railsupporting the saw, cuttingtook almost no physical exer-tion. About three-fourths of theway through the log I drove ina wedge to hold the top of thelog off the bar, and then fin-ished the cut.

The results were amazing.The cut was smoother than a bandsaw mill, revealing the beautifulgrain inside. I cranked each of theknees up 1-1/2 inches, and againput the saw to the wood. The nextcut was nearly as easy as the first,though the saw was working notice-ably harder since it was cuttingthrough a wider part of the log. Al-though smooth, there was somevariation in thickness. I called Lo-gosol for advice, and spoke withRob Bjorklund (the sawyer at theShoot-Out) about the problem.

Rob explained that a chain sawmill pushes the machine to themaximum. “The type of millingwe’re doing is more demanding onthe bar and chain than what profes-sional loggers are doing,” he ex-plained. They can get by running asharp chain until it gets dull. Whenmilling, you need to run a razor-sharp blade until it gets sharp.When it is merely sharp, you needto file it back to a razor edge.” Theother culprit, as it turned out, wasthe bar. Uneven wear on the barcauses it to either climb or dive.Again, this is more evident whensawing a board than when felling atree. Rob described the process fortruing the bar. Once I did this, it cutmuch straighter and, if possible,smoother.

While I was using the M7, asawyer friend stopped by to watch.While he found the mill interesting,

he left commenting that he thoughthe’d stick with his band mill. I’llkeep my band mill, as well, but I’malso going to keep the M7. It will on-ly take a few dozen gun stock blanksto pay for it, and I have no doubtthat there are other niche marketsfor which it will prove useful.

Seaborne Design Rustic FurnitureTo see another application of theM7 mill, I traveled to Goleta, Cali-fornia, home of Seaborne Design.There I was greeted by GunerTautrin and John Birchim. Locatedin the California hills within sight ofthe Pacific Ocean, Seaborne Designspecializes in unique rustic furniturethat retains much of the character ofthe trees from which it comes. Theworkshop houses only the basictools of the trade—a table saw, plan-er, jointer, router—and the sawmill.Seaborne started out building con-ventional cabinets. “We came intothe business as cabinetmakers. Wewould go down to the local HomeDepot and buy 3/4-inch birch ply-wood and do custom cabinetry. Wegot tired of using plywood,” recallsGuner. Then they got hold of a wal-nut log, which they cut and used forface frames. They were soonhooked on the idea of using locallyavailable logs and milling them forcustom furniture, and purchased anM7 mill.

According to Guner, “SantaBarbara has a lot of potentialfor wood, in trees that are be-ing cut down due to develop-ment or to disease. We’refinding that we can take thoseand mill them ourselves, andtake it to the next level, andactually make a product out ofit.” To get the logs, they con-tacted several area tree servic-es. Rather than pay to leavethem at the landfill, they arehappy to set them aside to beused by Seaborne. Customersare generally pleased to knowthat their trees will be usedfor furniture instead of thrown

out as trash. “We call our vision ur-ban tree restoration,” says Guner.“We’ve gotten some amazing logs.We document where the tree was,and the process of turning it intofurniture. This gets people more intune with where the tree came fromand how precious the wood is.” Thesawmill allows Guner and John tomake use of the natural attributes ofthe log in their furniture. “We thriveon character. We don’t promote per-fectly grown trees. The gnarly logsare the ones that surprise you themost.”

The day I was there, they werepreparing to cut a 38-inch-in-diame-ter, 8-foot ponderosa pine log.“We’ve been pushing the envelopeon diameter,” says Guner. “We’veworked with logs that required a 42-inch bar on these mills. It’s prettyimpressive. We only use the 42-inchbar when we have to on the centercut. We quartersaw the logs, thenswitch to the shorter bar, then slabthem. Cutting logs this size calls foran unlikely looking setup called ‘in-version cutting.’ Instead of loadingthe log onto the mill, the log isnotched and the mill is turned up-side down on the log and bolteddown to it! The saw rides on thetrack in the normal fashion. Thismeans that the log can be cut whereit lies, instead of lifting it onto themill.”

Once the mill was in place and

Guner and John of Seaborne Designs show a counter-top made from a slab milled with their M7 sawmill.

12 • Sawmill & Woodlot

SAWMILL REVIEW

May/June 2006 • 13

the depth of cut was set, Guner firedup the saw and proceeded to crank itthrough the log. About three-fourthsof the way through the cut, hestopped and drove a couple of plasticwedges into the cut to hold the top ofthe log off of the bar and back side ofthe chain. He then finished the cut.The saw cut smoothly through thelog in about six minutes. Impressivetime for a chain saw. He made twomore cuts before unbolting thesawmill from the log. With the mill inthe normal operating position, he fin-ished cutting the remaining boardsfrom the slabs.

The end result was four slabsroughly 36 inches wide, plus nar-rower boards from the slabs. Itwould be nearly impossible to pro-duce comparable boards with a bandor circle mill. Guner has nothing butpraise for the mill. It has given themthe ability to produce furniture thatwould otherwise be difficult tobuild, and has opened up new de-

sign possibilities. And even thoughthey only work locally, word hasspread around the Santa Barbaraarea, and demand for their furnitureis increasing. Customers not onlylike the design of the furniture it-self, but also the idea that it wasmade from salvaged logs that were

saved from chip-ping or the land-fill.

Although thebusiness is enjoy-ing success, Gunerand John keeptheir work in per-spective. “Wehave a uniquelifestyle that does-n’t require a lot ofoverhead, whichmeans havingmore time to dothe things we en-joy,” says Guner.“Surfing is our

passion, and we drop whatever we’redoing when we have good waves.We’re having a good time or wewouldn’t be doing any of it.” n

Based in Neosho, Missouri, David Boyt isa frequent contributing writer to Sawmill& Woodlot magazine.

The author cuts a walnut crotch for a gunstock blank(or possibly a guiter neck).

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