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Thread: Twin Saws
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20th March 2014, 09:32 AM #1GOLD MEMBER
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Twin Saws
Anyone here ever actually worked with a twinsaw - Mahoe, Mobile Dimension, Mighty Mite, or similar - or know someone who has? I need to talk with someone whos actually had first hand experience with them, particularly in eucalypt species. Got a couple of questions to ask...
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20th March 2014, 11:40 PM #2GOLD MEMBER
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John, there was a chap in Taree NSW had a Mahoe. He was a Kiwi and I think has moved back across the ditch. I did spend a bit of time with him to see how it performed, but wouldnt say I was any sort of expert. One thing I will say, it seemed to have trouble with hard timber. It was a while back, so I dont know what they've done with the blades since. The blades he was using looked more like softies to me.
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21st March 2014, 12:33 AM #3GOLD MEMBER
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They're the one type of mill that I know nothing about... never seen one running. Seems from what I'm seeing a lot of them run F tooths or 2 1/2's when I'd be thinking a B would be more appropriate here.
I think the Mahoe/Rimu designs with the horizontal blade leading would make more sense backsawing as we do... be a lot of weight on a trailing horizontal blade when it's coming out under a springing 12 x 10 beam at the end of a cut. But I don't think 42 HP is enough for fast cutting either.
The north American models all have the vertical blade leading and I could see blade pinches happening... but they have some serious grunt.
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21st March 2014, 08:28 AM #4GOLD MEMBER
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JoHn, What I saw I wouldnt think of them as a large size cutter. Particularly in springy stuff. As you said, the drop at the end and pinch would give trouble with dense wood. A larger motor would be necessary also. I guess they keep the size down for portability. The one I saw was cutting tallow the first time and I was quite impressed. The next visit he was running Spottedgum. Now that was a different story. Some of it was pretty springy and he couldnt do a thing about it, except tell me Aussie timber is s#*t.
The blades, as I recall, would have been F's if my memory serves me correctly.
All in all, I felt as much of an asset the extra blade was, it was also the units biggest handicap, if you know what I mean.
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21st March 2014, 09:38 AM #5GOLD MEMBER
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If the rule of thumb is 5 HP for every inch in the cut... and I'd say cutting the hard stuff 6 is better... 42 HP should be good for 8 inches... a 6 x 2 say.
The big Mighty Mite runs a 12 x 10 configuration on a 120HP Perkins, which should be able to hack it's way through most anything. A Duncan runs a 12 x 12 configuration with 30HP three phase motors direct coupled to each blade, and another 30HP motor to drive the hydraulics - as much power available per inch as a grey bench.
I really only am looking at this for something to cut sized cants with, then feed them to a bench... but I've never seen a sawmill that was too fast yet.
Springy logs are going to spring regardless of the mill used. Just some make it easier to straighten then others.
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21st March 2014, 07:18 PM #6Senior Member
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John
I ran an old Macquarie forestmill for a little while doing what you you want to do. We flitched up cants until the log was small enough to go through a karasaw,it worked well enough but it was slow partly I think due to the forestmill having an old VW motor on it
definately wasn't "cutting edge" sawmilling if you pardon the pun.cheers pat
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22nd March 2014, 09:17 AM #7GOLD MEMBER
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That's exactly what I'm trying to do. I've been on again/off again trialling breaking down in the bush with the lucas for a couple of years... taking off a mix of scantling timber and cants, then trucking it back home to cut the cants and do any resaw work on the bench. (We often cut a long way out from home, and seem to be going further out each year)
Results... I cut my freight bill back a hell of a lot, found I didn't need to drag the big loader with me everywhere because I was only handling billets and packs, and found that any flattop trailer could do the cartage because I didn't need bolsters to keep the load on. The only real downside is output capacity on the Lucas... it's done a job for me and I'm not getting rid of it but it's way too slow, and far too manual to do the kind of volumes I'm talking, and I'm getting to the point in life where manhandling 10 x 4's hurts. The other was double handling stuff... I keep eyeing off one of those Kara F2000 portables
So the question is: would it have worked as a system for you if the Macquarie had more grunt? What kind of volumes a day were you getting, and what size/kind of logs?
You're the man I need to talk to!!!
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25th March 2014, 07:57 AM #8
john this is what we are doing untill the breaking down saw is operational, (waiting on parts)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGMh...ature=youtu.be
sorry about qulaity i had to make it wile operating the saw.
a twin saw is proble not going to help much unless you have verry large logs, they all still rewuire someone to picup/carry the cant,
www.carlweiss.com.au
Mobile Sawmilling & Logging Service
8" & 10" Lucas Mills, bobcat, 4wd tractor, 12 ton dozer, stihl saws.
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25th March 2014, 11:18 AM #9GOLD MEMBER
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That's pretty much what I've been doing, except I've been taking off the bark and sap/shorts, downgrade/landscape out bush, and my cants gets a truck ride to the grey bench.
Our major issues are distance - we're getting too far out to truck logs recovering <40%, and wet season - its not viable to situate a mill where it can't work 5 months a year. A mill could work that 5 months and could harvest: the problem lies with road transport.. logs can't get from ramp to mill, timber can't get from mill to market.
Twins can handle small logs as well as any other mill if set up right I reckon... chain infeeds, hydraulic turners and dogging. Same could be said for swingers. I don't move to often anymore without a loader and skidder anyway to do the lifting... Lucas mill was killing me just with 6 x 3's.
A big twin... Duncan or a w series Mighty Mite, set up on a float with lowering infeed chains, turner and dogs should easily do what I want. Outfeed would be the dragback on the mill head directly to the infeed chains on a float mounted linebar or rack bench (kara). I looked at the modular linebar primaries like the Hurdle/Meadows etc but they didn't do it for me
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