Sawmill Carriages For Sale

About Sawmill Carriages

A sawmill carriage, or log carriage, is an automated, moving framework that feeds a log horizontally through a sawmill blade to make boards and other lumber. The wheeled carriage clamps a log firmly in position as it rolls along rails, tracks, or grooves parallel to the face of the saw. A carriage may also rotate the log (which is called a “cant” after it’s been cut lengthwise at least one time) and repeatedly run it through the blade (usually a vertical or horizontal bandsaw) until all usable lumber and byproducts have been cut from it.

Types Of Sawmill Carriages

Most sawmill carriages are linear, or straight-line carriages, which roll horizontally past the head rig (saw) on its rails or tracks. Its wheels may be made of ultra-high molecular weight (UHMW) polyethylene plastic or wear-resistant steel. A standard linear carriage has its knees oriented straight upward at a right angle to the ground, but some lumber mills use carriages with a 17-degree tilt, which helps sawdust fall away from the teeth of the blade during sawing. Cutting at a 17-degree angle can improve efficiency, accuracy, and blade longevity, and can make recovery from larger-diameter logs more efficient.

A carriage used to make the first lengthwise cuts on a log is called a “head saw carriage” or “head rig carriage.” Other types of carriages include a rotary carriage, which can rotate the log along its axis as it’s fed into the saw for curves or special cuts. A sharp chain carriage pulls smaller logs or low-grade wood from underneath to feed into a sawblade or between tandem blades in a scrag saw. Other specialty sawmill carriages are made for custom applications involving angle cuts or very large logs.

Benefits Of Using Sawmill Carriages

To get the most benefits from a log carriage, it’s important to select one that will fit easily into your sawmill with the features and capacity you require. Special features may include extensions for greater log lengths or support for advanced computer control of the carriage. A carriage’s capacity ratings will list the minimum and maximum log diameters they can handle, such as 9.5 to 48 inches (24 to 122 centimeters).

Sawmill carriage benefits include:

• Increased cutting accuracy and consistency
• Greater productivity and efficiency
• Better safety for sawmill operators (sawyers)
• Ability to recover more material from logs of various sizes and shapes

Where To Buy & Finance Sawmill Carriages

You may find some new and used sawmill carriages for sale on TreeTrader.com and in Tree & Landscape Equipment Trader magazine, either as standalone units or included with stationary sawmills for sale. Leading manufacturers of sawmill carriages include Cleereman, Corley, HewSaw, McDonough Manufacturing, Salem Equipment, TS Manufacturing, and USNR.

Other types of sawmills offered for sale on TreeTrader.com include portable, stationary, bandsaw mills, resaws, and board edgers. If you already have a machine in mind, check out your sawmill carriage financing options with CurrencyFinance.