Research Brief #12

Applicability of the Wood-Mizer or Other Portable Sawmills to Produce Dimension and Lumber
Louisiana Forest Products Development Center
Louisiana State University
Baton Rouge, LA

Research Objectives

Determine the applicability of the portable saw-mills in terms of usage as a primary conversion center. The Wood-Mizer has gained a lot of popularity in recent years, and the necessary means of evaluating this technology need to be performed.

The Wood-Mizer was compared in terms of its sawing accuracy with conventional conversion systems. The Wood-Mizer appears to perform very close to a conventional head saw system, in terms of lumber production, but in terms of time required to break a log into lumber, the Wood-Mizer falls staggeringly behind conventional systems.

Synopsis of Results

A number of logs were Cut on a Wood-Mizer by three different operators. Data was gathered to perform sawing variation studies of the resulting lumber. Both 4/4 hardwood lumber and nominal 2 x lumber was produced.

Currently, the tests are being performed and are not yet complete. The results of this project will be available in the near future.

Conclusions

It appears that the Wood-Mizer is a viable tool when used a a breakdown center in lumber manufacturing. Although all tests have not been fully conducted, the Wood-Mizer appears to provide acceptable tolerances for lumber manufacturing, but not acceptable manufacturing times for full-scale production of lumber.

Researchers

O. Victor Harding, Assistant Specialist, Forest Products Utilization
Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service
Louisiana State University

Elvin Choong, Professor
Department of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries
Louisiana State University

Robert Mills, Specialist, Forestry
Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service
Louisiana State University

Target Group

Louisiana secondary wood products manufacturers

Methodology

The Wood-Mizer was used to produce lumber in both 4/4 and 2 x dimension. The lumber was measured to determine the sawing accuracy and applicability of the Wood-Mizer as a primary breakdown conversion center.