Sawhead vertical adjusting friction winch and self-locking/braking system for sawmill

A sawmill carriage for use on a sawmill base and with a saw head, comprising:

• a horizontal base having an assembly which provides planar horizontal movement when fitted onto a set of rails of a sawmill base;
• a vertical saw support having a horizontal base and extending vertically therefrom;
• a cross rail attached to a first vertical saw support;
• whereby the vertical saw support and the cross rail form a rigid frame;
• a rotate rod extending horizontally from said vertical saw support, said rotate rod being capable of axial rotation;
• at least one lift cable configured to raise or lower the saw head when said rotate rod is rotated;
• and
• a friction winch/brake assembly capable of frictionally imparting an adjustable resistance to the axial rotation of the rotate rod;
• said saw head being slidably affixed to said rigid frame and affixed to the lift cable such that rotation of the rotate rod displaces the saw head in a generally vertical direction.