
Mobile sawmilling has come a long
way since the days of the ‘saw pit’.
Taking the saw to the timber is
not a new idea; in fact it dates back
to Egyptian times. The term saw pit
comes from the days when pairs of
men took their saw into the forest
where the trees were to be felled,
and dug a pit. The luckier of the
two was the top man who, as the
name suggests, stayed on top of the
pit. It was his job to lift the saw and
guide it along a mark made in the
log. His unlucky partner was the pit
man and he was actually in the pit
pulling the saw down to provide the
energy to cut the wood. The saw
only cut on the down stroke. As you
can imagine he got the short straw
as he would be covered in the fall-
ing sawdust.
As with all things the technology
improved over the years but the
saw pit in some form remains even
today in some areas.
Thankfully bringing timber to a
central location for processing is
now very much a mechanised oper-
ation and the new ‘portable’ saw-
mills of today are only updates of
mechanisms that have existed since
the days of pyramid building. The
many portable sawmills available
can now cut timber with speed and
accuracy on site, a vast improve-
ment from the days when sawing in
a pit and hoping to process a single
log in a day was the goal.
Davies Implements Ltd have been
distributing the LumberMate and
LumberLite sawmills, manufactured
by Norwood, since August 2006.
The LumberMate Pro MX34 is a
successor to the very well known
LM2000 – a proven, reliable, accu-
rate, versatile and easy-to-use mill.
The concept behind the design of
the Pro MX34 was to make mill-
ing easier, faster, bigger and more
productive.
The LumberMate Pro MX34 has
a maximum diameter capacity of
34” with a maximum board width
of 28”. The track length is 20 feet,
but the bed can be extended to 40
feet with 4-foot extensions.
The Pro can quickly be assem-
bled onto a trailer package and,
thereafter, can be transformed from
a mobile to static mill, and static to
mobile, in a few minutes. The Pro is
supplied with several power options
including single- and three-phase
electric and 16 and 23hp petrol.
There are many new automated
features that have been designed
on the Pro such as the single action,
four function operator control
which automatically operates the
sawhead locking, blade-lube flow,
clutch engagement and blade-brake
engagement. In addition, the Pro
boasts Quick-Lock log clamping and
Quick-Click 1” indexing. At a small
additional charge, there are Quick-
Click
3
/4”,
6
/4” and
8
/4” indices.
The other noticeable change
is the new ceramic blade guides.
There are many reasons for the
change, the main advantages being
that they are more durable than
bearings and rollers and blade life is
extended by 40%. The Pro is com-
patible with 1¼” and 1½” blades.
Norwood has also changed the
track, providing a super strong con-
struction that uses twin double-plat-
ed commercial-grade rails. Prices
start from £6,530 plus VAT for the
basic Pro MX34. There are many
optional extras including the trailer
kit that comes with support legs,
levelling feet, toe boards, lapside
and shingle kit, log loader and rota-
tor kit, sharpener, tooth setter and
more.
Mills are delivered to the end-
user in a kit format but the mills can
be supplied pre-built at an addi-
tional charge. Video footage can be
viewed at www.daviesimplementsltd.
co.uk.
Davies Implements 01267 237726
Exclusively available throughout
Europe from Just Saws, the Hud-
Son range of portable sawmills pro-
vides four machines with cutting
capabilities of 18” to 36” wide,
allowing them to mill raw timber
into any bespoke size. Being very
simply constructed, these machines
can easily be transported allowing
them to be manoeuvred into posi-
tion close to the worksite. The mills
come with appropriately powered
Briggs & Stratton engines.
The smallest band mill, the Oscar
18, is so portable that most quad
bikes can tow it almost anywhere.
The top of the range Oscar 236
uses a 12-volt winch to control the
height of the sawmill head and
features a 23hp Briggs & Stratton
V-Twin overhead valve engine,
allowing wood up to 900mm (36”)
in diameter to be cut very quickly.
Optional road trailer packages are
available for all models.
Just Saws 01428 661222
Wood-Mizer continues to invest in
improving the productivity of its
range of band sawmills – all based
on thin-kerf blade technology for
less waste and higher yield.
The LT15, for logs up to 70cm in
diameter and 5.4m in length (extra
bed sections can be added to allow
virtually unlimited log length), is
now available with power feed for
forward and return movement of
the head, providing better produc-
tivity compared with manual feed
where the head is moved by the
operator turning a handle.
In addition, the company’s elec-
tronic ‘Setworks’ control can be
added, which allows desired board
thickness to be preset by the opera-
tor, after which the head moves
automatically to the correct position
for each cut through the log.
The LT15 and smaller LT10 can
be equipped for further processing
with the addition of Wood-Mizer’s
moulder-planer on the same bed.
The moulder-planer can be fitted
with straight or profile knives for
machining straight sided or shaped
beams and boards for construction
and other applications.
Now, an advanced model of the
Forestry Journal 5/11
28
www.forestryjournal.co.uk
Mobile Sawmills
Taking the sawmill to the log
(Left) The 6.5
metre single-piece
framework is
incorporated in all
of the Pezzolato
range of sawmills.
(Right) The Oscar
236 uses a 12-volt
winch to control
the height of the
sawmill head and
has a 23hp Briggs
& Stratton V-Twin
overhead valve
engine.
Wood-Mizer LT70 arriving ready for work.
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