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I get a huge amount of emails and phone calls concerning double
ended sawbars using 2 chainsaws on 1 bar.
I did extensive testing some years ago on this issue and most people
think that they will double the amount of power so they can cut faster.
This is a wrong assumption as you are still using only the power equal
to 1 chainsaw.
I used several combinations for my testing, 2 - Stihl 090's 2 - Stihl
088's 2 - Husqvarna 3120's, tachometers, lumber cut, speed of cut,
fuel used, oil used, cost of 2 saws, special sawbar and the replacement
cost of the special sawbar. I used the above combinations for several
months at the same time I ran my regular Procut sawmill cutting beams
large and small, and lumber.
I found that unless both saws are running at exactly the same r.p.m.
there is not much advantage. The saws transfer power from saw to saw,
in other words 1 saw running a little faster is actually driving the
other saw because they are interconnected by the same sawchain. It
only starts to help a little in very large logs, but be advised it
definitely is not worth the extra costs associated with running 2 saws.
You would have to cut a huge amount of lumber to even make back the
extra initial cost, plus the operating expense and that is selling
the lumber, plus the extra man on the other saw.
I have asked several customers that were previously running an Alaskan
sawmill with 2 chainsaws to check this out themselves. These customers
had an extra regular sawbar and rip chain available and they ran 1
saw and bar on the Alaskan sawmill they had at the time, and what they
found amazed them. They had been using the double saw for quite some
time and they found they could have saved themselves a huge amount
of cost in fuel and oil and an extra saw. They ended up selling the
extra saw and the double ended sawbar and just using 1 saw and regular
sawbar because they found not much difference in the amount of lumber
they had cut.
They did this for a period of time and it was not much slower in cutting speed
but they had saved themselves a lot of cost, plus using the other man on the
saw. They even checked using a helper handle with another man on a single saw
and the results nearly matched the double ended 2 saw run.
I have also had several customers that built my Procut sawmill from
the plans check this out also, and the results were the same. Not
Worth The Extra Cost Of The Chainsaw and Special Sawbar never mind
the operating costs and the maintenance of 2 chainsaws.
All of this was done several years ago and I wish I had kept the records
to the above in a safe place, but it was so long ago and they are no
where to be found after 2 very big changes of location in the last
20 years.
So my advice to you. Unless you are going to cut very large logs say
over 36" it just is not worth it. You would be far better off putting
the money for the extra saw and sawbar and the operating costs into
a bandmill or circular sawmill of at least 25hp or better that can
cut those very large logs. I know the initial costs of a sawmill of
this size is probably out of the reach of most people that just want
to cut their own lumber. You still have the option of building Procut
that will expand to cut a log UP to 36", but be advised that you can
cut a log this size but it is rather slow with the chainsaw. This is
still the most affordable option though, unless you have around $8000
or better sitting around for the bandmill or circular sawmill.
I wish a happy and productive sawmilling day to you all
Allan at Procut |
