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Mil-Rite chainsaw mill....

Started by mrcaptainbob, September 03, 2013, 11:04:03 PM

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mrcaptainbob

Just acquired it today. I got but one track section with it. Where can I dig up info on it? It's made by Harriston, but their site shows they make seed crop machines. No mention of saw mills. I'd like to know whatever I can about it. I can fab up more track, so that's not a problem.

steve466x

Hi there from what i have seen and read it looks like these units were manufactured in the mid to late 80s
i have seen a fella on youtube (jc'sbees)? who has been using one and it looks pretty solid
i did a patent search and they are often referenced but i have yet to see if there was a patent.. you might try contacting the harriston company i did see the names of the owners tom and tony oswoski (spelling)
there was also an article written in a magazine called chainsaw age dont think its in print anymore
i was looking to build myself a chainsaw mill and have looked at many designs but the mil rite looked pretty decent.
if you are milling about your mil (no pun intended) id be curious to see some close up pics and any possible measurements and steel dimensions to see if i could re reproduce it.. steve

sandhills

Welcome to the forum Steve, great place to be to find out anything and everything about, well, everything I guess  ;).

Magicman

Hello steve466x, and Welcome to the Forestry Forum.   :)
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

thecfarm

What's the plan for the mill?I don't think I have ever seen one of those.
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

mrcaptainbob

I'll take measurements Monday. I'd post pics, but have a big problem doing it....

dmszyszk

I have a Mil-Rite sawmill as well that was purchased at a county fair from a vendor in 1994.  Not much info on the web so I wanted to add some.

I've scanned in my owners Manual : http://szyszkoski.com/p/manuals/Mil-Rite-Sawmill-Owners-Manual.pdf

Couple videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsRhq-q_bdc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jv-2lcto4yk

Power unit is a 1983 Jonsered 920 with a 36" bar.

Cons
-Large kerf compared to band saw mill, leads to a lot of sawdust, wasted fuel, and extra time cutting
-Chain needs sharpening quite often.  It takes a bit of time with 105 teeth.
-Over the years, the bar will eventually wear down (the grove the chain runs in - one side wears faster than the other).  This leads to the cut diving and the mill is rendered inoperable, so you need to flip the bar and then once that side is worn out, change out the bar.  I bought a bar and brought it to a local machine shop and they drilled it out for me.

Pros
-Doesn't cost as much as a band saw mill
-Simple construction and operation, great for hobbyist use
-Makes usable rough lumber
-Simple to fabricate an extension
-Great for making beams or larger rough lumber that require few cuts
-If you had means to make wood pellets, you would have plenty of sawdust

General notes:
I blew up my saw because I was using cheap 2 cycle oil mixed at the recommended 40:1 and cheap fuel (standard ethanol laced 87 ocatane).  This doesn't provide proper lubrication for the saw because it is running at a full throttle all the time - not what the saw is designed for.  I found a piston and head on-line and had the saw repaired.  Now I only use name brand chainsaw oil and mix it at 24:1 as well as use ethanol free premium fuel.  This has kept the saw happy so far.

The carriage provides easier operation than an alaskan chainsaw mill, but you still have to put some effort into pushing the saw through the logs, especially if they are nearing the 20" maximum that the carriage size will allow. 

I enjoy it, I'm able to make use of the trees on my property rather than just let them die and rot.

thecfarm

dmszyszk,welcome to the forum. What are you using the lumber for?


Watch this video on YouTube.
Playback on other websites has been disabled by the video owner,is all I got.
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

dmszyszk

Thanks for the heads up, I've enabled embedding.

I've built a lean-to for my tractor, a shed, a pull-behind trailer for a snowmobile and several beams and rough lumber for various projects.

thecfarm

Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

steve466x

Great stuff to see the manual and vids! Couple of questions when you extended the track  what size angle did you use looks like its 1 1/2 x 1 1/2  1/8 th thick?
Is the same size metal  used for track also used for the carriage assembly ?
Very nice I've been looking around up here canada for a simple chainsaw mill but haven't come across anything that I think is as good as the mill rite at least without paying an arm and leg for...

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