A Wood-Gas Fuel Powered Sawmill

By The Mother Earth News Editors
Published on November 1, 1982
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The complete gasification unit and motor . . . including the experimental preheater and the moisture trap.
The complete gasification unit and motor . . . including the experimental preheater and the moisture trap.
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Here is our sawmill's inline six-cylinder powerplant (with its new carburetor setup) and the truck transmission that drives the saw.
Here is our sawmill's inline six-cylinder powerplant (with its new carburetor setup) and the truck transmission that drives the saw.
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Diagram: Wood-gas generator. Click here for a downloadable version of this image.
Diagram: Wood-gas generator. Click here for a downloadable version of this image.
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One of our staffers controls the wood-gas throttle and the sawmill power feed.
One of our staffers controls the wood-gas throttle and the sawmill power feed.
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Diagram: Cooler/filter and circulation system. Click here for a downloadable version of the cooler/filter and the circulation system.
Diagram: Cooler/filter and circulation system. Click here for a downloadable version of the cooler/filter and the circulation system.
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This tube bender is effective with tough jobs and inexpensive to build.
This tube bender is effective with tough jobs and inexpensive to build.

Learn about the wood-gas fuel powered sawmill designed by the editorial staff at the MOTHER EARTH NEWS Eco-Village. (See the sawmill photos and diagrams in the image gallery.)

In spring of 1982, the MOTHER EARTH NEWS editorial staff took on a project that not only tested the mettle of wood-gas fuel under constant (and sometimes demanding) conditions, but also gave the editors an opportunity to carefully monitor the engine and the fuel-production system, and to make alterations as needed to improve the effectiveness of each component involved.
 

Power from Lumber Scrap

Our latest undertaking is a wood-gas fuel powered sawmill that runs on wood . . . specifically, a Belsaw Model M14 with a 40-inch blade, which — until a year or so ago — had been driven by a steam engine.

The new setup relies on a 250-cubic-inch Chevrolet six (the engine we pulled from our wood-gas truck when a large-displacement V-8 was installed prior to the alternative fuels auto rally) mated to the transmission from a junked Chevy truck. This team, in turn, is connected to the main shaft of the sawmill through the rear axle assembly of a GMC van. A rubber shock coupling, installed between the saw and axle shafts, helps to absorb any backlash that might occur while the system’s in operation.

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