# M5 logosol sawmill- novice qs



## oqdos (Mar 2, 2010)

Hello,
I am new to the forum and I consider buying logosol M5 sawmill. I am going to need it 6-8 times a year on up to 28" hardwood. I was wondering what is the minimum CC chainsaw I need to make it a pleasure to cut the wood. I had in mind Husky 181 or 385 or Stihl 440? Any other suggestions?

I have also been told not to put more than 1/2 tonne on the mill. Apparently, heavy logs could be cut with sawmill upside down. Has anyone done it, what extra accessories would I need to do so?

Thank you very much.
Oliver


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## Manuka Jock (Mar 2, 2010)

Oliver , 
here are is a PDF for Inverted sawing with Logosol sawmill M7.

Jock


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## oqdos (Mar 2, 2010)

Manuka Jock said:


> Oliver ,
> here are is a PDF for Inverted sawing with Logosol sawmill M7.
> 
> Jock


COOL
Thanks, looks a bit complicated. Have you had a chance to do try it yourself?


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## Manuka Jock (Mar 2, 2010)

oqdos said:


> COOL
> Thanks, looks a bit complicated. Have you had a chance to do try it yourself?



I am about to , if I get the contract .
I think it will be easy . The mill can be used to side slab big logs too .

check out this site 
for some photos of it being done .

There are others on the net too. I found some on Google images .


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## mtngun (Mar 2, 2010)

oqdos said:


> Hello,
> I am new to the forum and I consider buying logosol M5 sawmill. I am going to need it 6-8 times a year on up to 28" hardwood. I was wondering what is the minimum CC chainsaw I need to make it a pleasure to cut the wood. I had in mind Husky 181 or 385 or Stihl 440?


Dunno about the M5, but 28" hardwood would be wanting a 90+cc saw.


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## Manuka Jock (Mar 2, 2010)

mtngun said:


> Dunno about the M5, but 28" hardwood would be wanting a 90+cc saw.


 Yep , the 066 (90cc) Stihl was the recommended saw for the M5 .


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## oqdos (Mar 2, 2010)

Manuka Jock said:


> Yep , the 066 (90cc) Stihl was the recommended saw for the M5 .



ALL GOOD ADVICE. THANK YOU ALL.
oliver


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## Rodney Sinclair (Mar 2, 2010)

I run the 385 husky on a M7 and it has taken everything I've thrown at it. I guess about 5 years now. Maybe 6 years. I've also used the MS310 and it worked OK. Not sure how well it would hold up though.

Rodney


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## huebi (Mar 9, 2010)

*Upside Down milling with the M5*

For this log size I use the Stihl MS880. If you don't mind about time you can use the MS660 but this is much slower. With the MS660 you can use a 48" low profile bar (38/" Picco) to cut up to ~41" logs.
I tried out the upside down milling with the M5 last summer on a 34" cherry tree with the MS660. Actually it works but not as good as I thought. The hight adjustment of the M5 is about 10" to 12". You lower the mill fixed upside down on the log. Then you make your fist cut and then the next cut until you reach the top of the log. Now you still have about half the log laying uncut on the ground. Now I would use an Alaskan Mill or similar to cut the rest of the log.


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## Manuka Jock (Mar 9, 2010)

After milling the first half of the log , I see no reason why the rest of it cannot be milled one slice at a time in the same manner , until the flitch is able to be either raised up on blocks to give clearance for the saw , or lifted up to be cut in the conventional manner .


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## huebi (Mar 9, 2010)

The only reason is convenience. With 25" diameter of the log that should still work fine. I just prefer larger diameters because nobody likes to make firewood of large logs around here in the area. So I can get the largest logs for quite small money. I cut them into quarters with the Logosol Big Mill and Big Mill Pro. After that I use the M5.
Here some pictures about the preparation:
http://www.nagios.us/wood/saegewerksarbeiten/eiche_2010-02-07/index.html
It an oak with 45" diameter and a length of 16'.
I hope this illustrates what I want to say.

Here an over one with 35" diameter:
http://www.nagios.us/wood/saegewerksarbeiten/eiche_2010-01-24/index.html

Perhaps I can find the pictures with the big cherry log again.
It was too big to use the M5 but it was worth a try.


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## Manuka Jock (Mar 10, 2010)

Excellent work there Huebi 
Nice set up too mate .
I will have to look in to that system .
Could you use two saws on a double ended saw bar with that ? 
We have macrocarpa logs here that are well over a meter in diameter , and many of them are in hillside places where the big portable mill rigs cannot be set up.

Jock


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## huebi (Mar 10, 2010)

Hello Jock.

Yes it's quite easy to use a second chain saw on the Big Mill. I think there is not much need for modifications.


huebi


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## Manuka Jock (Mar 10, 2010)

huebi said:


> Hello Jock.
> Yes it's quite easy to use a second chain saw on the Big Mill. I think there is not much need for modifications.
> huebi


I have used two saws on an Alaskan style frame , and the trick there was to have one (the larger) chainsaw as the primary , and the other as the slave. 
With the Big mill system that could be done easily with the operator on the big saw and a trigger clamp on the smaller one.


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## Manuka Jock (Mar 12, 2010)

Manuka Jock said:


> I have used two saws on an Alaskan style frame , and the trick there was to have one (the larger) chainsaw as the primary , and the other as the slave.
> With the Big mill system that could be done easily with the operator on the big saw and a trigger clamp on the smaller one.



I might have the primary and slave back to front there , it was many years ago that we did it .

The less powerful may have to be the primary , so as not to be driven beyond it's limits .
Perhaps someone has the correct answer.

If both saws are of equal CC rating , then the problem does not arise .


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## jandc (Mar 17, 2010)

Hello Huebi,

i really like your pictures.

what is the difference between what's on the logosol big mill pro site and what's on your bar end when milling ?

logosol seems to use the timberjig


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## huebi (Mar 18, 2010)

jandc said:


> Hello Huebi,
> 
> i really like your pictures.
> 
> ...



Hello jandc.

I use the saw carriage of the M5 saw mill instead of the Timberjigg on the chain saw side.




This is the bottom view of the saw carriage of the M5 saw mill modified for the use with the Stihl MS880.

On the tip of the bar I just use the bar attachment kit of the Big Mill LSG. I screwed a plastic cap on the bottom of the attachment kit to let it glide smoothly on the guide bar.
On the Logosol picture you see the Big Mill Pro (the guide bars on each side of the log). The moving part, the saw mill, is a Big Mill LSG. This is assembled of two Timberjigs and a Big Mill LSG kit.
I prefer my solution because I can use the hand winch to pull the saw through the wood easily. I have also two long guide rails at the bottom of the saw carriage which guides the saw much better on the guide bars than only one guide rail on the Timberjig.
I thought I do not need the Big Mill LSG and wanted to assemble a saw mill for myself with some nice aluminium bars. I decided last week just to buy a Big Mill LSG and not to spend too much time to build one on my own.

Regards,
huebi


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