Timber log consumption by two portable sawmills with horizontal blade saw

Abstract

A field study was carried out to evaluate the performance of 2 portable sawmills with horizontal blade saw, in the first transformation of small dimension logs. From January 1998 to December 2003, personnel of the Research and Forestry Services Institute (INISEFOR), worked in commercial manner with 2 Wood-Mizer® sawmills, models LT40HD (A) and LT40SH(B). For both sawmills, the timber logs consumption in “pulgadas madereras ticas” (tico wood inches) (PMTr), the workable time in days and machine productive hours (HPM) were registered. Additionally, the blade-change frequency was
registered. It was determined that sawmill B log consumption was 40% bigger than sawmill A, with annual averages of 291000 and 208000 PMTr, equivalent to lumber theoretic productions of 333 and 238 m3 year-1, respectively. In the same order, maintaining uniform the effective time conditions, it was estimated the normal logs consumption in 376000 and 331000 of PMTr year-1, and the normal theoretic lumber production in 330 and 290 m3 year-1.