Why This Logosol Mill is Awesome…And Why it Isn’t

Hey it's Brock here with Rock Hill Farms And today I want to give a review on the Logo Sol portable chainsaw Mills the one I'm using right now is the logo Sol M8 They've recently replaced that with the Logo saw F2 Functionally they're very similar Although there are some advantages to The newer version and I'll go over that Towards the end I think this could be The perfect product for a certain group Of customers but other customers Probably wouldn't be very happy with it So it all depends on what you're doing And what other equipment you have one Advantage to this type of Mill is the Portability I already had this log setting here and Today I'm acting as if I didn't have any Log moving equipment because that's a Draw that you don't necessarily need any Heavy equipment to use this Mill so I Had the mill set up down by the pond I Just carried it up here and set it next To this log now for the first time I'm Going to try loading a log with their System Of of ramps and resting spots and see if I can roll this log up the log I'm using Today probably isn't an ideal log to put On this Mill Because I had to cut it pretty short To make it work and so it's just barely Hitting the ramps every log is different

And presents its own challenges I had Chosen this one and I was going to cut This end off with a bad spot but then I Noticed that the other end had kind of a Curve to it and wasn't going to work Very well so I ended up having to cut This down to eight feet Which is about the width of our loading Platform so this would be easier Probably with a longer log But it is a good size diameter this end Is 18 inches And that makes it pretty heavy so I'm Going to see if I can roll it up and Roll it up to here and let it stop you Roll it up again and then roll it up Here Let's find out Foreign So I was not able to get this to roll up These ramps so I stopped and I looked on The logo saw website I watched a lot More videos I've already watched videos On On this Mill quite a bit And I'm not seeing a lot of people doing What I was trying to do I did see previously and saw again Several people who had smaller diameter Logs and they would set one end up on There then set the other end up here and Walk it up like that Using the length of the log as a

Counterbalance sticking off over that Way makes it easier to lift but there's No way I can lift this up on there Without any kind of rigging that would Take more time there's obviously there's Always ways to do things manually but For me I can't get this up here I looked This up with a log weight calculator This log weighs 600 pounds and so I'm Not going to try to lift one side So that's a little bit disappointing but I'm going to set this up in place with The tractor and then we'll move on [Applause] So now that we've got the log loaded I Want to see how far it is from the rail To the pith to determine if we want this Log to set level or if we want it to be On a little bit of an incline that's one Thing about this Mill That's very convenient is it's it's Really easy to offset your log for the Pith The pith here is six inches On the other end the pith is at five and A half I was anticipating having a two Or three inch difference there because This log has a lot of taper but in Actuality that damaged spot on this end Has equalized that Because it's dropped down about two Inches onto that bad spot now if there Was a third spot if this log was Supported in three or four spots like on

A regular sawmill It would not be touching the end on this End So just accidentally it kind of Self-leveled itself with that bad spot Now there's a lot more height above the Pith on this end We have eight and a half inches above The pith down here And surprisingly again we've got about Eight inches above the pith on the other End That's another coincidence that's Working out for us because the pith is Not centered on that end so now all we Have to do Is raise the log table until our cut Height is where we want it and we know That cut height is about half an inch Above this stop right here So I'm at 13 inches right now I'm going To set the other side at 13 inches and See how it looks The way we're set right now We're just barely skim anything off Right about here and we we that doesn't Serve any purpose for us so I'm going to Go up another full inch So now we're cutting it right about here And that should give us a nice flat Surface if we want to roll the log over Because in my last video I had a little Bit of trouble with the log wanting to Roll

Because my clamps weren't holding it Tight enough So one solution to that is make your First cut roll it 180 and then clamp it All right I think that looks pretty good Probably need to sharpen this chain Before making a cut Foreign The time spent sharpening chains And the amount of fuel used are Definitely concerns with this Mill So we're going to start out With a sharp chain And Full of bar oil and Gas or fuel mix And see how far that goes Three takeaways from the clamping issue From last time make sure it's tight Check it after every cut Tighten it after every cut and flip your Log when you have the opportunity to [Music] I averaged between a minute and a half And two minutes per cut and turning this Entire log into One bi-dimensional Lumber required nine Cuts so there was 18 minutes of actual Logging time That tells me that if you really had Your process down you could do a log in 30 to 40 minutes including your setup [Music] So this actually made a really nice cut

Big advantage over a chainsaw Mill is it Doesn't feel like work pushing that Through It's on its track you don't have to Worry about stabilizing it you don't Have to mount a ladder to it or set up Any kind of rails or anything like that And I took of user advice and I put the Mill slightly downhill So that Gravity is helping it walk down That made a nice clean cut And I should be using a ripping chain But I'll get to that when I cover the Differences in the three type of Mills But I was counting in my head and Estimated that took about a minute and a Half to make a cut It's a narrow cut too but that's not bad At all so let's go ahead and flip this Over and make our next cut As I flip this halfway over and the flat Side hit the log stops that brings me to Another question someone asked Can you Fully square a cant with this yes you Can I've got a 90 degree against a 90 degree Right now all I would have to do is lock My clamps in and cut the top as a matter Of fact that's not what I had intended Today but let's just do that All right so we're already straight to The next cut when I squared a cant with A regular chainsaw Mill there's a lot of

Hassle trying to figure out how to get My 90 and this is not [Music] Thank you I was just putting the cart way out in Front of the horse here Because I was only thinking of the fact Once I flipped this I would not need to Measure for the second cut because as Long as the first cut and the second cut In that scenario are parallel to each Other you've got straight Lumber in this Scenario I've got to actually Center the height On it and we're a lot higher on this end We're nine inches off the pith The other side has six inches so there's A three inch height difference So there's three inch difference in the Pith height Full log difference 16 and a half And 13. so there's three and a half Inches difference so I think I need to Offset this an inch and a half and I Think I'll bring that side up an inch And a half and leave this side where it Is I split that and went an inch and a half Instead of three inches because in this Scenario we'll take an inch and a half More off the top than we do the bottom Then when we flip this over the other Way We will not offset the tables and once

Again we should be taking an inch and a Half more off of this end than we do That end seems in in my mind like that's Going to square it up with the pith in The center [Music] You can tell me if I'm right or not but It seems to me Like I have two Square sides 90 degrees to each other it Doesn't really matter which way I turn It for that next cut I think the only way it does matter Is I don't want to turn it two more Times So when we're done which way am I going To slice the planks off So in this direction We're 12 inches here Ten and a quarter there Other direction I don't think it's really going to Matter I think it's going to end up being Pretty much square so I can turn it Either way so we'll just turn it 90 Degrees This is making a nice tight 90 and a Nice tight fit on these backstops Which is fantastic that's not always Easily accomplished So let's start by going up the four Clicks that we already went on that side Just to even the table out

All right both sides are at 11. But with this set at 11 we're going to Take almost nothing off down there So probably going to come up an inch We're down to about a half a tank of Fuel or less normally I would refill This but I want to see how far it goes On a full tank All right [Music] I wanted to jump back in here and point Out a couple of things that I think I Overlooked in my summary at the end of The video one is that the replacement For this is the logo Sol F2 which is Very similar but it has some features And improvements with the biggest one Being it quickly and easily breaks down To be even more portable Another thing I didn't mention is that You do not have to run this with the Chainsaw They have an electric Milling head that Still runs a chain so it's very similar To putting an electric chainsaw in this But it's a feed head that's specifically Designed for this Mill Another feature that's built into this Mill that I'm not using is what they Call a winch It's basically a spool of line that you Can use and crank that handle to pull The saw forward my friend who loaned me The mill said he didn't really care for

Using it with that winch so I haven't Used it they also have their own Thin Milling chains that remove less Kerf but I don't have one so I can't Test it out [Music] I just did something stupid And nobody likes to look stupid So my first instinct I turned around and Shut the camera off I'm like I just Won't show them that but that's kind of Selfish Because this is a good chance to remind People not to do stupid things so in General that's not like uh Reflection on the mill I guess it is because it only has the Two supports one on each side and that's Probably the way it needs to be with the Design but I put a log on here that's only two Inches longer Then the resting table which made it a Dangerous situation and gave it a risk To fall off So Be more thoughtful than that On the website their recommendation is If you're using short logs to take a Couple of two by fours or two by sixes And set across here for a platform Actually show you using a couple and and Building a little frame to support the Wood so anyway we'll lift that back up

With some straps and get back to the Video I think I was overconfident because Those three Cuts had went so smoothly I'm like wow this is just flowing along Really happy with the way it's going got Careless so Be smarter than me On a positive note I'm really happy we Are three for three on squaring up sides And having it fit tight on the bottom And against the backstop What that tells me is that I'm going to Get square Lumber or pretty darn close Now because We're squared off The idea of centering this with the Height is out the window because We now need to just make cuts that are Parallel to the bottom And go with it so we need to set both Sides at the same height Providing that we are removing any Material at all from the low end so I'll Set the height off the low end and then Adjust this end [Music] [Applause] [Music] Thank you Foreign Clicks after each cut draw the saw back Then go up five clicks then make sure my Clamps are still tight

[Music] That is fantastic dimensional numbers Nice and straight Beautiful [Music] Foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] I bet that was the soil running out of Gas if I killed it real quick before it Finished So we did almost one full log on a tank Of gas That is one two three four five six Seven we were on our eighth cut And it is out of gas [Music] That last piece there is two and a half Inches thick It's really pushing it I've set it where It's going to clear that stop the piece I'm going to have on top is about three Quarters of an inch which after drawing It's gonna be half an inch and if it Warps it'll be almost unusable and then I'd have one piece left that was An inch and a quarter I don't think it's worth it to cut that I'm going to keep that and use it as a Thicker piece I would say when you get down about Three inches you can cut that in half But that's about the limit two and a

Half seems like it's pushing it Let's talk about this product and what I Think of it One thing I see a lot is Throwing out that everything is only Good or bad there's never a Nuance to Anything When there a lot of things these Conversations deserve nuance Because not everyone is doing the exact Same thing Right off the top this is not the Product for me Because Let's just take a look over here That's my property that's where I Primarily get my logs Everything up there is three foot What I the logs I get At or have readily available or three Foot diameter they're gonna be four Thousand pound logs I wouldn't want to set one of them on This I think This might be limited to around 28 inch Wide I want something bigger That doesn't make it a bad product so I've milled with a chainsaw probably 10 Or 12 times now I think I've got probably six videos on Milling with a chainsaw this is the

First time I've ever liked doing it In general Milling with a chainsaw is Miserable It's awkward it's hard to do it standing Up you're mostly on your hands and knees I built a little platform that didn't Really solve it You have to negotiate the log trying to Move you're trying to keep the saw even If you're using a ladder or whatever a Gramberg mill it's hard to keep it flat On there and the wider the better for That So it's a fight and then you're down at An awkward angle and you really have to Push on the saw And There are advantages to a regular Alaskan chainsaw Mill so first let me Cover what those are There are legitimately people who have Nice expensive bandsaw Mills and still Go out and run a chainsaw Mill that's Because you can you can Mill four five Six foot wide with them I've seen people Running two saw heads and a seven eight Foot long bar And no other setup there are super wide Slabbing Mills but those are high dollar So Advantage to a chainsaw Mill you can Mill really wide stuff another Advantage Giant tree falls at your neighbor's House they said hey I got this big tree

Down I can't do anything with it do you Want it you say yeah but I don't I don't Have a way to transport it the log is Going to be super heavy or my little Tractor can only lift half of what that Log would weigh I'd put the Alaska Mill in the bed of Your truck drive over there Mill it Where it sits and then you can haul the Lumber That's an advantage so you're not Necessarily just settling for a chainsaw Mill Now I hate running them big big Disadvantage right you don't want to be Miserable while you're working next Thing you say well what if we had a Better chainsaw Mill something that Allowed you to stand up allowed for Accurate adjustment a smooth sliding saw Track You would design something like this and I think logo Soul did a phenomenal job Designing this It even has things I like about it Better than a bandsaw mill you still Have portability this one I can pick it Up and just carry it around The new version of this Is the F2 it has Several advantages over this one it cost A little more I think you're paying 1500 Base price for these But it's fully collapsible just by

Turning a few knobs you can take the Whole thing apart and Put it in the trunk of your car I Literally saw a woman who has the F2 and She does on-site milling and she puts it In the trunk of a car and drives to the Job and Mills four people and they pay Her and they keep the lumber And you can't do that with anything else You can get a trailer set up for your Bandsaw mill and there's pros and cons To that and it adds to the cost and But portability is a huge benefit for This the fact it's comfortable is a big Benefit in fact you can work up high as A big benefit the downside is to some Degree you lose your ability to handle The big material You cannot set a five thousand pound log On this I think it might be rated for two to Three thousand though and that's getting Pretty big when you're putting two to Three thousand pounds on it Other advantages to this this entire Thing is aluminum it will never rust you Can just leave it setting out here it's Not going to hurt anything that's also Why it's so lightweight those are big Advantages The ability to level one side separately From the other Quickly and easily that's an advantage Downsides to this

The engine on a bandsaw mill I would expect it to be good for five or Ten thousand hours there's a wide range Of different engines on different Bandsaw Mills but just didn't Generically in general cheap bandsaw Mill you should get a lot of hours out Of it I can't answer it but my guess is You will burn up your chainsaw a very Long time before you put those thousands Of hours on it Now does that matter It's all about the customer if you on Your property have access to a bunch of Logs the size I just dealt with longer Preferably but that diameter This is going to be cheaper and let's Say you might only do four or five a Year I don't think you're gonna burn your saw Up doing four or five logs and if you've Already got the saw That's a big difference too so it all Comes down to your situation and what You're trying to do Vantages of a bandsaw mill like I said The engine should last much longer it's More precise it doesn't waste as much Wood this has a wide kerf you're wasting Some of your wood Those are real and legitimate what what Do I want I want a big hydraulic Mill One of those 60 70 80 000 Mills that

Just does everything for you and it'll Read you a book while the logs being Sewn but I'm not there's no way I don't Have I can't see myself processing enough Lumber Without getting access to somebody Else's property I don't know how I would Process enough lumber to pay for that Mill So the ideal thing for me is to get the Widest Mill I can get without paying a Fortune and I will definitely sacrifice Some of the fancier attributes so I'd Like to have Something like the Woodland Mills 130 Max Something in that range that that gives Me a little bit wider cutting head and Even in that scenario I might have to Square my log up with a chainsaw Mill Before I can get my logs onto that but I Think that's the best scenario but man If you could say pick one of these up For used for a few hundred bucks and you Already have the chainsaw and you're Just going You know you can't When you look at this and this costs two Thousand dollars And Let's say with accessories and stuff you Spend 2 000 2200 I don't know what they Are

Minimum fifteen hundred so let's say you Spend two thousand dollars on this And someone says well for three thousand You could have got a bandsaw mill that's True but it would not be able to handle As big a log as this can And it's not portable I can take this I could put a hoist on my ceiling just In the shop something cheap Simple rope hoist chain hoist and I Could hang this up on the ceiling I could hang it on the wall I could put Hooks on the wall just carry this in the Shop hang it on the wall never in the Way again you got a bandsaw mill you Have to set up a dedicated spot for it You have to clean out under it you have To move it to clean that under it or You're shoveling out from under it with This I'll just move it and scoop the Sawdust out with a bucket So It's a bigger commitment having that Bandsaw mill because it's not aluminum Ideally you keep it under a roof And like that's a lot of extra I mean You're adding more to the cost if now You're going to build a building to House it in So It's not a straightforward conversation It has Nuance it deserves nuance and I Think for what this is logosol logosol Did a phenomenal job engineering it

And it was pleasant for me today The weather's perfect there's nothing in The world I would have rather be been Doing today than sawing this log into Boards on this logo sawmill So I really Have a feeling this was a long video so I appreciate you if you stuck it out to The end I'm going to put links on the Screen to a couple more of our videos And I'll see you next time