Portable saw mill frame

A portable sawmill frame comprising, in combination:

• (a) a plurality of rigid, rectangular frame-shaped base sections rigidly but releasably secured to each other in an end-to-end fashion, to thus define an elongated, rigid base which includes a pair of elongated guide rails, one at a first side of the base, the other at a second side of the base, said rails defining a normally generally horizontal plane;
• (b) each base section having a first transverse end member and a second transverse end member, and a pair of straight, parallel, opposed, longitudinally extending guide rail sections comprised of a first guide rail section and a second guide rail section;
• the first and second guide rail sections being parallel with each other and being spaced apart a predetermined distance in excess of a predetermined log width;
• (c) said first and second guide rail sections, and thus the guide rails, defining each a straight, narrow, longitudinal, roller guide top surface and an undersurface portion adapted to rest on the ground when the base sections are assembled to form the base;
• the top surface and the undersurface being normally generally horizontal and being arranged at a vertical distance from each other of about two inches or less to allow rolling of a log aligned with the elongation of the rails transversely over said rail sections to an operative position in which the respective log is generally coextensive with the rails and is supported by the respective end members of the base sections;
• (d) a carriage, comprising:
• (i) rollers complementary with said rails to allow a movement of the carriage along the rails;
• (ii) said rollers being mounted each at a lower end of a respective one of two upright members transversely spaced from each other a distance in excess of said predetermined log width;
• (iii) said upright members having upper end portions rigidly secured to a cross-beam extending transversely of the carriage;
• (e) a chain saw support slidable along said cross-beam and adapted to support a respective chain saw in a position with a saw bar thereof depending generally vertically downwardly from the cross-beam to a level disposed closely above a normally generally horizontal plane of coincidence of said end members, for cutting the respective log along a vertical cut extending in the direction of movement of said carriage along said rails;
• (f) said support being provided with a displacement device for moving the support to a desired position along the cross-beam;
• and
• (g) a mounting device for securing to the base of the sawmill frame a pair of longitudinally spaced apart, normally generally upright columns of log clamping devices adapted to fixedly secure a respective log, resting on the end members, to the respective base section and thus to the sawmill frame.