When the master gets bored: DIY chainsaw crafts

Today, many residents of the private sector have old saws with internal combustion engines, such as “Ural” or “Druzhba”, gathering dust in their closets. This is not surprising, because progress does not stand still; modern equipment is much lighter and more convenient to use. Today the editors of Seti.guru have prepared a review for those who know how and love to give seemingly old things a second life. The material will tell you what homemade products you can make from a chainsaw with your own hands, how to do it and what you will need for the work. Along the way, it’s worth looking at ways to make your own equipment in short step-by-step photo and video instructions.

The good old chainsaw “Friendship”: they are still in service

What can be made from a chainsaw

Homemade chainsaws belong to a very wide class of devices. This is a hand-held tool with a motor drive, such as:

• Bulgarian;
• motor drill;
• cultivator;
• snow blower;
• stationary machines and devices: sawmill;
• electric generator;
• motor pump;

And these are probably not all the possible homemade chainsaws.

Rework principle

The principle of alteration is very simple and combines the entire range of home-made devices and assemblies. A chainsaw is used as a drive. The unique qualities of the chainsaw motor, capable of operating at very large tilt angles, perhaps not upside down, allows this universal drive to be used in many designs. In the case of using a chainsaw as a drive for a homemade hand-held power tool, most of the parts of the original chainsaw are retained, and only the working part is changed.

Walk-behind tractor from a chainsaw

If, on the basis of a chainsaw, you make a stationary machine or vehicle with your own hands, the alteration becomes deeper. A gearbox, variator or belt drive is added to the design, the fuel tank is replaced with a more capacious one to ensure long-term operation without refueling.

Chain sharpeners

It doesn’t matter what kind of chainsaw you have, homemade or factory-made, in order for it to cut wood like clockwork, you need to regularly sharpen the chain. To do this, you can use various auxiliary devices.

For example, for the convenience of sharpening a chain, we recommend using a fairly easy-to-make device - a homemade stand with a clamp for fixing the bar.

This chainsaw clamp is U-shaped and the ends of the legs are pointed. This makes it possible to use the device even in hiking conditions, installing it in a place convenient for you.

We also recommend reading how to make your own chain sharpening device, which can be used both in the home workshop/garage and outdoors.

To make this homemade product, you will need a minimum of materials: strips of metal of different widths, nuts and threaded rods. You will need a standard tool: drill, angle grinder, welding.

Transport

Based on a chainsaw engine, you can make many homemade vehicles. It is important to remember that transport is a means of increased danger and the author and owner of the homemade product bears full responsibility for its safety.

Snowmobile

Structurally, a snowmobile is one of the most complex homemade products. The following components will need to be made:

• Support frame.
• Frame.
• Caterpillar.
• Front ski.
• Steering wheel with controls - gas and clutch handles.
• Suspension.
• Transmission.

The supporting frame is welded from a square steel profile 20*20 or 20*30, it is necessary to provide a swing arm for the shock-absorbing rear suspension and install a motorcycle-type steering fork for the front. There are options with two skis - here the design of the front suspension will be more complicated - the steering wheel will not turn the axis of the ski, but pull the levers to control the steering linkage. This option is more difficult to manufacture, but guarantees better controllability and stability. For a snowmobile, a centrifugal clutch with a V-belt and chain is suitable. To increase the traction force, a gear is installed on the working shaft of the caterpillar, which is larger in diameter than the drive gear on the chainsaw shaft. For the caterpillar, you can take ready-made drawings from a light snowmobile with an engine of the same power as a chainsaw.

In order for a homemade product to confidently carry one or two people, the engine power must be at least five horsepower.

Snowmobile

A snowmobile is much simpler in design than a snowmobile; according to the principle of its operation, it resembles a small propeller-driven airplane moving on the ground. The load capacity, maneuverability and stability will be noticeably lower than that of a snowmobile with equal engine power. The advantage will be simplicity of design, greater reliability and greater speed in open spaces. The pusher type screw is installed in the protective casing of their mesh behind the driver's back and pushes the device forward. The device is controlled by turning the ski, the gas lever and the snow brake.

Homemade snowmobiles

In order to properly accelerate a homemade snowmobile or drive not only on the smooth ice of a frozen river, but through fields and small snowdrifts, you will need a chainsaw engine with a power of at least 10 horsepower.

Moped

A homemade summer vehicle with a chainsaw engine is unlikely to compete with industrial designs. Home craftsmen often assemble it as a test of their strength or as a training session before more serious designs. In addition to the chainsaw, you will need an old bicycle, or at least the main components from it, including bearings. Craftsmen weld the frame themselves from pipes or square profiles. It looks scary, but it is reliable. The drive is carried out to the rear axle by a bicycle chain.

The most advanced home craftsmen use a mountain bike with high-quality brakes and shock-absorbed suspension as a basis. A gearbox with a gear ratio of 1:15-1:20 and a variator are added to the chainsaw. With such a homemade product you can already travel quite comfortably at speeds of up to 30 km/h.

Homemade kart based on a chainsaw

What else can be made from a Ural or Druzhba saw? For example, a go-kart is a maximally simplified car model designed specifically for circuit racing. It is devoid of a body, shock absorbers, and sometimes even brakes - everything is done to make the design as light as possible to increase speed. The homemade kart frame is made from profiles or steel pipes. DIY wheels are often taken from industrial carts for transporting small loads. The drive is carried out to the rear axle by a bicycle chain, the steering linkage is taken from a minicar. To assemble the card you will need intermediate level metalworking and welding skills. It is better to take ready-made drawings as a basis and adhere to their basic parameters - although karting is considered a “children’s” sport, the speeds developed are quite adult, and you can seriously injure yourself.

Using a similar scheme, based on a chainsaw motor, craftsmen assemble the kart’s older brother, the buggy. This carriage has a reinforced suspension with large strokes and is designed for racing over rough terrain. The homemade center of gravity is located low to improve stability; the driver and passenger seats on top are protected by a powerful roll bar. The process of making a children's ATV will also be very similar.

Homemade scooter with a chainsaw motor

Despite the fact that this device looks like a children's toy, it can be a serious help to a postman or courier. Even though the scooter's maximum speed is low, 10-15 km/h, it has excellent maneuverability and incomparable efficiency. If the working day consists of many short trips from point to point, you couldn’t ask for a better option.

DIY scooter

Almost the entire structure of the chainsaw is preserved; you only need to remove the bar and the saw chain, replacing it with a bicycle chain that transmits torque to the rear wheel of the homemade scooter.

boat motor

Homemade boat motors first appeared in Southeast Asia after the Second World War. Poor fishermen and peasants built their own wooden boats, but they could not afford to buy a factory-made boat motor. Chainsaws were quite affordable. Without further ado, they put a bamboo stick on the saw shaft, secured it with a wooden cotter pin and, leaning it on a sawhorse with two oarlock pins, lowered it into the water from the stern at a slight angle. A screw cut out of wood was attached to the lower end of the pipe so that it was under water. The entire structure required only bamboo trunks and ropes, and it was assembled in a couple of hours. As the bamboo shaft and crossbar of the trestle wore out, they were replaced with new ones. Such a boat was steered by simply turning the pole behind the engine in the desired direction. The simplest version of a homemade boat motor will repeat the Indo-Chinese design, with the difference that instead of a pole, a steel pipe is taken, a screw from an old boat motor, and the goats are welded from a corner and equipped with a thrust bearing on a rotary support.

Boat motor made from a chainsaw

A more advanced version uses a vertical propeller shaft and a sealed gearbox that changes the direction of rotation by 90 ⁰. A bearing with a device for lifting the propeller shaft and a control handle, to which the gas regulator is connected, are placed under the engine. The propeller is also selected from a boat motor. This option repeats the kinematic diagram of a factory-made outboard motor. It is capable of ensuring that a small boat travels at a modest speed over a considerable distance with enviable efficiency. It is important, however, to remember that not all saws are designed for long-term continuous operation, so you need to monitor the thermal conditions of the motor and periodically let it cool down.

Types of sawmills

The most widespread today are the following three types of devices for sawing logs with a chainsaw with your own hands, which differ in their design:

• Tire.
• Tape.
• Disc sawmill.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=XR_TrDiAqQU

Disk installations

The relatively simple design of disc installations makes them easy for most homeowners. Due to their ease of assembly and versatility, these types of woodworking machines are most widespread and are found everywhere. The basis of this design will be a circular saw, which is mounted on the spindle of an electric motor. Additionally, a strong base is made, above or below which a shaft with a saw and an electric motor are fixed.

A durable and reliable frame for a disk unit can be made of metal or wooden parts that are welded or fastened together with nails and screws. The work table can be made of sheet metal; you just need to ensure the ideal geometry of the structure, which allows you to guarantee the highest possible quality of wood cutting.

The use of disc saws allows you to make slats of various sizes, produce timber, veneer, and cut boards to the required length and width. Thanks to the high rotation speed of the saw, it is possible to ensure that logs are cut with smooth, high-quality edges and cuts.

Band sawmill

Belt-type installations combine simplicity of design and excellent performance. Accordingly, they are popular not only in everyday life, but are also widely used in sawmills and enterprises that produce lumber. The advantages of this type of equipment include its high productivity, as well as the ability to cut large logs weighing more than 300 kilograms.

To make a band sawmill you will need the following:

• Pulleys.
• Channel.
• Metal corners.
• Pipes with different diameters and sizes.
• Metal structures for the production of sleepers.

The production of such a sawmill begins with the construction of a frame, which has the shape of the letter P and is made of a corner or channel with dimensions of 50 by 100 millimeters. The standard dimensions of the frame are a length of 8 meters and a height of at least 15 centimeters. To increase the strength of the base, the channels are additionally tightened with pipes and angles, which will allow the base to withstand the maximum possible load.

Next, they begin to build the mobile cart. For this, a steel plate is used, the thickness of which is 40 millimeters. An electric motor will be responsible for driving the trolley, the power of which should be 10-12 kW.

A saw is attached to the trolley with a chain drive, which is fixed to the electric motor shaft through a pulley. A handle-steering wheel is welded to the side of the movable cart, which will be responsible for moving the mobile structure along a fixed base.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=MVx1lq1COng

Tire sawmills

Tire sawmills or logosols differ in their design from other similar devices. Using this manual technique, you can longitudinally saw logs, producing high-quality slats and veneer. Thanks to its compact dimensions, logosol can be installed both outdoors and inside a small workshop or wooden shed. At such a sawmill it will be possible not only to cut logs, but also to produce small-sized workpieces with a non-standard shape.

Having a high-quality sawmill diagram in hand and choosing the correct length of the chainsaw blade, you can independently create a machine that will provide high-quality sawing of logs. It will be possible to decide how to make a sawmill with your own hands, saving on the purchase of components for equipment.

Chainsaw for aircraft

Having conquered land and water, the inventors turned their gaze to the sky. The media is full of reports that another inventor has taken off from the ground on a homemade gyroplane or a homemade backpack helicopter with a chainsaw engine. In Australia, there is even a prize for a pilot who manages to fly one mile. However, aerodynamic calculations showed that the engine power is clearly insufficient to lift a 100 kg load off the ground and achieve confident, controlled flight. Four 5 horsepower motors operating synchronously can theoretically cope with this task. The question is synchronization and configuration of the control system.

With the development of quadcopters, there was a chance to adapt their control system to a homemade helicopter.

boat motor

The saw set is removed from the chain saw engine and the drive sprocket is removed. The clutch is remade by grinding out a smaller cup and replacing the tension spring, which makes it possible to reduce the mass of the unit and reduce the adhesion force. The motor shaft and gearbox are connected through a coupling.

For installation use a channel:

• in the top shelf the necessary holes are made for mounting the engine with the gearbox;
• The lower shelf is equipped with a hole, a tube is welded into it coaxially with the output shaft of the gearbox.

A shaft is passed through the tube, which transmits rotation to the propeller, and is connected to the output shaft of the gearbox. A fastening and rotating unit is attached to it, which is used to install the motor on the transom of the boat, raising and lowering the propeller into the water.

A gearbox is installed at the lower end of the tube, which receives rotation from the vertical shaft and transmits it to the horizontal one. A propeller is installed on the latter, which will move the boat.

snow blower

If in the previous design you replace the shaft with plowshares or harrow spokes with an auger mechanism, add a casing, an intake device and a pipe for throwing out snow, the cultivator will turn out to be quite a decent snow blower. Many home craftsmen design their homemade products with replaceable attachments for different seasons. Motor from a Shtil saw with a power of 3-5 hp. It will cope quite well with cultivating the garden in spring and autumn, and with removing loose snow from a summer cottage in winter. The most important unit is the screw mechanism.

Homemade snow blower

If you are not a professional designer, then it is better to download ready-made drawings from the Internet. The auger blades are made of thick rubber, for example, from a conveyor belt. The intake device is made of galvanized steel. A plastic sewer pipe is suitable for the snow disposal pipe.

Motor drill

During the construction season, a motorized drill made from a chainsaw will do an excellent job of digging holes for posts or screwing in screw piles, and in winter it will delight ice fishing enthusiasts. The design of a homemade motor drill will require a speed reduction gearbox, since piles should be drilled and screwed at a speed of 30-60 revolutions per minute. It is better to take the auger from a ready-made motor drill made of good steel. An auger for a hand drill or a homemade one made of simple structural steel will not last long with active use.

Let's start attaching the drill

Of course, like the engine, the drill must be firmly fixed. But it's much easier to do. To attach it, you can take a pipe and connect the gearbox and drill with such a pipe, and then fix these connections. The big advantage of this design is that the drill can be replaced if necessary (for example, you may need to drill a hole of a different size).

You can try to make an “advanced” drill, which will have the ability not only for horizontal, but also for vertical drilling. To do this, you need another frame (made of a metal pipe) with a welded piece of vertical pipe.

More metal rings need to be welded to the body, which was made first. These rings must fit onto the vertical pipe without gaps. Now the entire updated structure is put on the drill pipe. You can start drilling.

There are two advantages to such an “advanced” drill: firstly, vertical drilling becomes possible, and secondly, drilling becomes much more convenient. However, there are also two disadvantages: firstly, it becomes heavier, and secondly, when drilling very deep, the drill pipe will interfere.

You can get rid of the second disadvantage if you make a drill guide pipe from parts that slide out from one another. Of course, these parts should not have a gap, but they should move within each other. Yes, and the structure will become even heavier.

You can also make it so that you can drill at a given angle. But the need for such drilling arises so rarely that it is better not to think specifically about this problem.

The device of a grinder from a chainsaw

In reports about the work of rescuers, everyone saw how the building structures of destroyed houses or a crumpled car after an accident were cut with a hand-held device that produced beautiful sparks. A lightweight version of a professional device can be made by any home craftsman. In weight and dimensions it will significantly exceed the well-known electric angle grinder, or grinder. However, the homemade product is independent of power supply, and the engine power allows the use of cutting wheels with a diameter of 30 cm. Such a mobile device will allow you to cut and clean metal structures before welding or painting, treat the surface of wood and stone, and even cut concrete blocks along with reinforcement. The device will require welding a small frame on which the engine and the working shaft bearing will be mounted. The torque is transmitted to the working shaft pulley by a short belt, and at the other end of the shaft it is necessary to attach a mandrel for grinding wheels or a clamping device of sufficient diameter from an old grinder.

It is important to remember that when working with a homemade grinder, you must use personal protective equipment: goggles or a transparent shield, thick overalls, durable shoes and protective gloves.

Moped

The procedure for converting a bicycle into a self-propelled unit is as follows:

1. Remove the cover and remove the tire from the motor housing.
2. A creeper is made in the form of a shaft, on which small and large sprockets from a bicycle are attached at different edges.
3. Install a small sprocket on the engine output shaft, and a large one on the bicycle wheel, next to the existing one.
4. The motor and creeper are mounted behind the seat on an additional frame.
5. Put on the chains, connecting the smaller and larger sprockets of the engine with the speed reducer and the latter with the bicycle wheel.
6. A lever is attached to the handle of the bicycle handlebar, which regulates the supply of gasoline in the power unit.

Winch

A homemade winch will be an excellent help in construction and lifting loads to a height, dragging a cut tree, rescuing a car stuck in a puddle, or pulling a boat out of the water. The thrust of such a homemade winch depends on the engine power and the gear ratio, and can reach one and a half tons. For specific applications, the unit is equipped with additional components: blocks, pulleys, hooks, sling belts and anchors for attachment to the ground or to a tree. To make a winch from a chainsaw with your own hands, you will need to weld a strong frame on which to place the engine, gearbox and drum with a stopper. The frame is provided with holes and lugs for various methods of attaching the device to the ground, a wooden or concrete foundation, or to a tree trunk. The drum can be taken from an old winch, or you can make it yourself according to the drawings.

Gasoline winch

You should follow the safety rules when carrying out lifting and rigging work:

• Cables, hooks and slinging accessories must be strong and periodically tested to tensile strength.
• The stopper must securely fix the drum and prevent spontaneous unwinding of the cable under load.
• When lifting heavy loads, the winch must be secured to a permanent or temporary foundation, the weight of which must be five times the maximum weight of the load being lifted.
• It is strictly forbidden to stand under the load and in the area of ​​its possible scattering when falling, as well as to the side of a tensioned cable when moving objects horizontally.

Application of cultivators

Since cultivating even a small plot of land requires a lot of effort, summer residents are thinking about making a motorized hoe. These workers come to the idea of ​​making a homemade walk-behind tractor with their own hands because factory-made walk-behind cultivators are expensive.

Homemade walk-behind tractors are used to carry out the following procedures:

• plowing;
• hilling,
• mowing,
• application of fertilizers.

Also, a do-it-yourself motorized plow will help with snow removal and weeding, and if you add a trailer, you can use it to transport cargo weighing up to 200 kg. A light walk-behind tractor usually includes only a cutter and a weeder. On a medium-weight product you can find a milling cutter, a plow, a mower and a hiller. Heavy products are reliable, have high maneuverability and non-removable wheels. With this design of the walk-behind tractor, it is possible to use the following equipment:

• cutter;
• plow;
• harrow;
• rake;
• mower;
• semitrailer;
• snow blower.

Power station

For a mobile power plant with a power of up to 5 kW, there is a time-tested solution: a homemade generator based on a motor from a Druzhba or Ural saw. They are actively used on expeditions and in remote logging operations. The device includes a steel frame welded from a corner, on which an engine, a generator and a waterproof electrical distribution box with sockets for connecting electrical equipment or an extension cord are mounted. Through the gearbox, torque is transmitted to the generator shaft.

For low-speed generators, there is an option for a homemade power station with a belt drive. This design is smaller in size.

Generator

A chainsaw with a 2-stroke engine with a power of 2-3 liters is suitable for production. With. Electric motors from old washing machines are often used as electric generators. The combination of these devices makes it possible to obtain an output voltage of 220 V. The power of such a gas generator is sufficient for lighting, powering electrical appliances and tools, and household appliances.

Order of operations:

1. A bracket is made and the electric motor is attached to it. Install the resulting structure on the outer end of the chainsaw bar. At the same time they provide:
   perpendicularity of the electric motor axis to the plane of the tire;
2. the location of the pulleys of both devices in the same plane.
3. The output shafts of the engines are equipped with pulleys of suitable diameter.
4. Put a belt drive on the pulleys.
5. A device is made to regulate the speed of a chainsaw motor. A bolt is used, which is attached to the handle of the latter using a clamp. Tightening it leads to an increase in the number of revolutions, unscrewing it leads to a decrease.
6. The external starting winding of the electric motor is supplied with 2 capacitors, which are designed for a voltage of 400-450 V and have a total capacity of 10 μF. Their connection is parallel.