Anders is the New Record Holder

Logosol has held the world record for the longest plank for more than ten years. Double records, that is. But now the last record is beaten. In next year’s edition of Guinness Book of World Records the record-holder’s name is Anders Nykvist from Onsala in Sweden.

The record was broken sooner than planned. Due to that, this is one of the few photos that show the event. The press of the world did not make it in time.

With the help of five other sawmill owners and a total of ten Logosol Sawmills, Anders Nykvist succeeded in breaking Logosol’s world record in the event ‘the world’s longest plank’. The new record is 38.9 metres (127.6 ft).

It was Logosol that initiated the event ’longest plank’ in 1995 at Elmia Wood Fair in Jönköping, Sweden. According to the rules, which have been approved by the record book, the plank must be of the dimensions 2x4” all along the plank. The part of the plank that does not come up to the mark is deducted. Logosol’s first world record was a 34.1 m (112 ft) long plank. Two years later, it was time for another go when Logosol’s US office in Mississippi was inaugurated. The earlier record was surpassed by more than one metre (3.3 ft), and up to now the world record has been 35.2 metres (115 ft). 
Since then, no one has been able to break the record. At Logosol it has been speculated if anyone else would be able to succeed. The guess has been that a new record would be set in the US, where there are much taller trees than in Sweden and they have the helicopter lifts needed for lifting the giant log.
What no one expected was that a guy from Onsala in Sweden would break the record after having seen the first record plank hanging in one of Elmia Wood Fair’s exhibition halls in Jönköping.
“When I saw the plank, I decided to beat the record,” Anders Nykvist remembers.
He worked as a carpenter on the East Indiaman Gothenburg, and took part in making the floor timbers, which were sawn with the help of a Big Mill from Logosol.
”I knew how to do it, and a couple of years ago I bought a Logosol Sawmill,” Anders says.
But one Logosol Sawmill is not enough for breaking any world record. And furthermore, you need a tree of extraordinary length. Anders works with felling trees in a residential area, and he knew of some really tall and straight spruces in Tulebo, south of Gothenburg.
”I contacted the land owner, who probably thought I was out of my mind. But he gave me his permission,” Anders says.
Then, he put an ad in the local paper announcing that he wished to get in touch with other Logosol Sawmill owners who were interested in lending him their sawmills to take part in breaking the world record. The newspaper thought the idea was so funny that he was allowed to insert the ad for free. Some twenty Logosol Sawmill owners announced their interest.
When everything was pieced together, Anders contacted the record book, and they were interested in sending out a controller. The intention was that the preparations for the sawing should be made in good time, but when the controller phoned at the beginning of May in 2007, Anders had to skip that plan.
“It was a Friday, and he asked what I had planned to do the day after. He was in Gothenburg and thought that it was about time to saw the world’s longest plank,” Anders says.
He accepted the challenge, and the same evening he went out to fell the record spruce. The sawmill owners were contacted again, and at six o’clock in the morning, on Saturday the 12th of December, there were ten Logosol Sawmills and five sawmill owners at the site in Tulebo. Anders had prepared himself by cutting new aluminium profiles into lengths, which were then used for rebuilding the sawmills. He removed the lifting devices from the sawmills and joined the guide rails together. What was left was a 50 metres (164 ft) long guide rail, which was placed on the road, and then adjusted straight with the help of a string.
The tree was lopped and lugged out in the road with the help of a tractor and an excavator. It was placed on a number of garage jacks beside the guide rail. The preparations took four hours, and ten o’clock in the morning the sawing of the first slab began. The cut was taken deeply in the log so that the first board would come in the centre.
“We cut the slab in one metre (3 ft) long pieces to be able to lift it away,” Anders explains.
In the next stage, the log was lifted up with the garage jacks, and a four inch beam was cut out. The beam was then turned over, resting on the part of the log that was still lying on the garage jacks. After this another slab was cut from this beam, and finally it was time to cut the record plank.
“I wore out two chains before everything was finished towards evening. Since we had dragged the log on the ground, the bark was full of sand and dirt,” Anders says.
The plank was well over 39 metres (128 ft), but on the last part of it the measurement was not correct. The accepted part of the plank measured 38.9 metres (127.6 ft), which will be the new world record that Guinness book of records presents in the edition of 2008. And the record holder is Anders Nykvist.*

Both butterfly-nets and chainsaws are required to save the rainforest!

Timber waiting for shipping. Felling timber without damaging the forest is the key to environmentally friendly forestry in rainforests,” says Joakim Byström, who invented the Jungle Mill.

Bengt-Olov Byström demonstrates sawing in the Solomon Islands.

Logosol’s small-scale technology is still used to create more environmentally friendly forestry. Here is a photo from Peru.

Mattias Byström, Logosol, is following bulldozer tracks in the jungles of Costa Rica.

After a trip to the Solomon Islands Logosol developed the Jungle Mill, a sawmill that can handle large-diameter timber.
“This product is a tangible contribution to environmentally friendly forestry in rainforests,” says Joakim Byström, one of the owners of Logosol.
But small-scale technology is hard to promote in this context, and today the sawmill is mainly sold in Europe, the US and Russia.

The story begins in 1996, when the founder of Logosol, Bengt-Olov Byström, and his son Joakim were phoned by CDI, a humanitarian aid department within the EU.
“They had heard that we are good at small-scale wood processing and wanted us to help them develop a sawmill project in the Solomon Islands. We travelled to the other side of the world, and were welcomed by the Forest Agency of the Solomon Islands,” Joakim Byström remembers.

A revolution for the villages

The sawmill they already had in the Solomon Islands was not working well, the saw blade only had four teeth – the motor was not able to run more than that. Nevertheless, ”the Walkaboutsawmil”, had been a revolution for the villages out in the rainforest. Now they could saw the logs on the spot in the forest and, without using any heavy machines, carry out the cut timber to sell it. The alternative was to sell standing timber, and this alternative meant significantly less money to the villages and large bulldozers that damaged the forest when driving in to bring out the valuable trees.
Of course, the Byströms thought that the villages definitely should have had a Logosol Sawmill. And here an almost incredible coincidence happens. 200 metres from the sawmill in the Solomon Islands there was a local Stihl dealer, who had a Logosol Sawmill in stock!
“We had travelled 10 000 km and ended up 200 metres from a Logosol Sawmill! The Stihl dealer had got it from Australia and had never unpacked it. We assembled it and could straight away demonstrate what a revolution the Logosol Sawmill is for small-scale wood processing,” Joakim Byström says.

The Jungle Mill was developed

But rainforest trees are not like Swedish spruce. The Logosol Sawmill was unable to manage the large logs. Here they had a problem to solve!
”Already on the plane home, Bengt-Olov and I were designing a new type of saw – a lightweight sawmill with which it would be possible to cut really large-diameter logs.
The Jungle mill would open the door for environmentally friendly forestry in the rainforest.”
“We really wanted to do something about the problem, and the Jungle Mill felt as the best solution,” says Joakim Byström, who together with his brother Mattias registered for a course in tropical ecology to learn more.
The course was ended with a trip to Costa Rica. In the luggage the brothers had a Jungle Mill prototype and a Stihl 064.
”At the airport we met the other course members, botanists with butterfly-nets. And there we were with our chainsaw – it was a veritable culture clash,” Joakim says.

No support for small-scale technique

In Costa Rica the brothers tested the Jungle Mill, while the botanists were studying how the villagers could earn money from selling rainforest butterflies and insects to Europe.
“The Jungle Mill tests went really well, and we also became more aware of the destructive forestry that is going on in the rainforests,” Joakim says. “We also succeeded in convincing our course members that, if rainforest is to be saved, you need both butterfly-nets and chainsaws.”
That simple truth was, however, harder to promote in a wider context. The support for small-scale echotechnology turned out to be non-existent:
”It seems that environmental and humanitarian aid organisations either invest in democracy education or high technology, such as hydroelectric power projects. There is no interest in small-scale technology.

A big success in Europe

The Jungle Mill, which was originally designed for the large-diameter logs of the rainforest, became instead a big success in Europe, the US and Russia. But now it is used for cutting stubborn oaks, large-diameter aspen and huge spruces. Today, this sawmill is one of the packages that make up the Big Mill System, which Mattias Byström has designed. The Jungle Mill is now called the Timberjig, and it constitutes the base of the system, which can be adapted to the sawyer’s particular needs.

Logosol cut the first FSC marked log in Sweden

The log arrives from Brazil.

The log that was cut with Logosol’s Jungle Mill weighed over 4 tonnes.

The sawmill is mounted!

Bengt-Olov Byström poses next to the log.

The first FSC sawn board in Sweden was cut by Logosol!

Logosol was one of the first Swedish companies to join FSC, an international organisation that work for environmentally friendly forestry. At the Elmia Wood Fair in 1998, Logosol cut the first FSC marked log in Sweden.

“In connection with our commitment to village forestry, we encouraged the eco-labelling of the forests of the world that was introduced at that time. Together with the Worldwide Fund for Nature we wanted to show that it was possible to conduct environmentally friendly forestry also in the rainforest,” says Joakim Byström, one of the owners of Logosol. 

Environmentally friendly forestry

After having been in the Solomon Islands, Logosol had developed the Jungle Mill, a sawmill that can handle large-diameter timber.
“This product is a tangible contribution to environmentally friendly forestry in rainforests,” Joakim Byström says.
A large-diameter log was transported from the jungles of Amazonas to Elmia Wood Fair in Jönköping, Sweden. The log of high-grade wood weighed 4.5 tonnes and the diameter was 1.3 metre (4 ft)!
“We had a big audience when we cut up the log using the Jungle Mill. After that, the boards were auctioned, and the money went to the Worldwide Fund for Nature,” Joakim Byström remembers.

A successful cooperation

The wide boards were impressive, and as a memory of the event some boards were used for making a large conference table to Logosol’s Swedish head office in Härnösand. The table is used every day and it is a real work of art!
”The project was a successful cooperation between the Worldwide Fund for Nature, Stihl, Elmia Wood Fair and Logosol,” says Joakim Byström, who still remembers the scent of sawdust from high-grade wood that he felt when he was cutting the first board from the 4-tonne log.
”It was an amazing feeling, moving from abstract discussions about environmental problems to a practical demonstration of a solution to how the rainforest can be used environmentally friendly.

Facts, FSC

FSC, Forest Stewardship Council, is an international organisation which promotes an environmental, socially responsible and economically viable use of the forests of the world.

Joakim’s work also attracted the attention of His Majesty the King of Sweden. For his achievements in ”combining research, environmental commitment and private enterprice” Joakim Byström was awarded an environmental grant of SEK50 000 from King Carl XIV Gustav ‘s 50th Anniversary Fund.

Modern Vikings’ voyage to Vinland starts here

It is early morning on the island Visingsö in Sweden’s second largest lake, Vättern. With the exception of the persistent whirring from a chainsaw, this could just as well be a scene from a thousand years ago. Here, the keel is being shaped for a 52 feet long Viking ship, a knarr, which will sail all the way to America, or “Vinland”, as the Vikings would have said.

Members of the association Vittfarne are making the keel using a sawmill from Logosol, a Big Mill LSG. The log is as straight as an oak can be. When the slab is lifted away, something is revealed that few are privileged to see: Meter after meter of beautifully patterned oak, completely free from knots.
"Are we really going to build a boat of this?" Rickard Zetterqvist asks when seeing what has been hidden under the bark.
But it is for building a ship. The Swedish State has given the association permission to cut down oaks on Visingö.
"The oak wood was planted in the 1800s to meet the navy’s demand for building material. The trees are intended for building ships," says Håkan Altrock.

The story is probably true

He is the president of the association Vittfarne. It was founded in order to carry out a scientific expedition in 2004. The aim was to look into the veracity of the story about Ingvar Vittfarne’s (Ingvar the Far-Travelled’s) eastbound passage. The voyage is described on some thirty rune stones and in one of the Icelandic sagas.
Ingvar reached as far as Särkland (the land of the Saracens), the Vikings’ name of the Muslim countries. Archaeological finds indicate that he and his crew travelled through Georgia and Azerbaijan, all the way to the Caspian Sea. Ingvar and the majority of his crew died in battle or succumbed to diseases.
Historians have doubted the veracity of the story, since the route means that you have to drag the ship a long way on land, on narrow tracks and over high mountains.
"There is nothing that contradicts that Ingvar really travelled this route," says Håkan, who was the leader of the expedition and took the ship as far as the Caspian Sea.

They build as the Vikings

But there are other Viking Age passages worth examining, especially the theory that the Scandinavians discovered America several hundred years before Columbus, and that Vinland, which is mentioned several times in old stories, was eastern Canada.
The present-day voyage to Vinland on a Viking ship starts with cutting the keel this autumn morning on the island Visingsö.
"We will as far as possible build the ship using methods from the Viking Age," says Håkan.
The Vikings cut the keel and other rougher details using axes, and they cleaved the logs for planking. This meth-od is too time-consuming for the project. For this reason, a chainsaw and the Big Mill LSG are being used instead.
Håkan expects that they can produce sawn timber of the same quality. The timber becomes stronger if you follow the grain, which is one of the reasons that the Viking ships were so sleek and hardy.
According to the preliminary schedule, test sailings will be carried out in seven years. In ten years, the trip will begin starting from Stockholm, then via Norwegian Bergen to Iceland, Greenland, Labrador, Newfoundland and Nova Scotia.
The crew will navigate using Viking Age methods. Present on the voyage will be archaeologists, who will look for settlements along the way on which the Vikings once came.

Logs before and after the Timberjig

The difference between the photos is a Timberjig. Earlier, all trees became firewood, now Goran Sahlqvist cuts lumber and has, among other things, built this fence. Photo: Birgitta Sahlqvist

‘It’s insane that I didn’t buy this thing earlier.’ It is not only Goran Sahlqvist that is satisfied with the Timberjigg. Also his wife Birgitta and their neighbors are pleased.

Birgitta was so satisfied with her husband’s work that she sent some photos of the result to Fresh Cut with the following message: ‘Look what a beautiful fence and gate we’ve got. All thanks to Logosol. I have also sent you a photo of the firewood that was what we got before my husband found Logosol. He is delighted! And what else can I be but satisfied with these products?’

Needed a new fence

Goran and Birgitta had access to timber from some vacant lots in the neighborhood. Before the Timberjig was purchased, all the timber became firewood. It was the need for a new fence that brought about the purchase. Goran thought that buying lumber when you have access to trees was foolish. He had a chainsaw and the Timberjig is reasonably priced.
‘The old chainsaw was too weak. I bought a bigger Stihl chainsaw, and now I can quickly cut the lumber I need,’ says Goran. The fence became a success, and he has received a lot of admiration from his neighbors.

Better than TV

As a result, Goran got hooked on cutting lumber and has felled a number of trees and cut them for future projects. Even though the sawmill is of the smallest model, he has succeeded in cutting spruces that have been close to three feet in diameter on the root side.
‘I just can’t sit still. Sawing lumber is fun, and at the same time relaxing. In addition, you save a bit of money,’ says Goran, who warmly recommends sawing to everyone that wants to fill his or her life with something more than television.
 

The Harpmaker Found the Perfect Tone in the Logosol Big Mill!

Harp builder Dave Kortier recently added a chain saw and Logosol  Big Mill to his shop in Minnesota. "This mill is the perfect tool", he claims. "I can get everything lined up before the cut".

Dave Kortier´s harps have been sold around the world. "The internet has made the market a global business."

Building musical instruments requires extreme skill and precision. So what place does a chain saw and the Logosol Big Mill have in an instrument builder’s shop? Dave Kortier of Duluth, Minnesota has the answer. "I have always been involved in music", Dave explained. While his instrument of choice is a bassoon, he has repaired all types of instruments, and now specializes in building authentic reproductions of antique Irish harps. Recently he added a new tool to his shop—a chain saw and Logosol Big Mill.

By David Boyt

It started in 1991 when he met a local harp teacher, who complained that it was extremely difficult for her students to find suitable instruments at a price they could afford. Not one to turn down a new challenge, he used her harp as a pattern to build one, and immediately sold it to one of her students.
Dave now builds harps full time, in a variety of sizes and styles.  "I build about thirty instruments per year,"  he says.  Most of these are for students. Accurate reproductions of authentic Irish harps take much longer to build, and are more expensive.
The sounding boxes of the antique Irish harps were built from a hollowed-out block of maple or willow measuring roughly 5" thick, 18" wide an d 48" long. "I just couldn’t get blanks commercially," he recalled.  The solution appeared in front of his house when he watched a truck from a tree trimming service haul off two huge silver maple logs. "I just stepped out the door and there they were on a truck. One was about 42" diameter by 8’ long, and the other was 36" diameter."  Convincing the driver to leave the logs in his yard instead of hauling them to the landfill was easy. Now Dave was faced with the challenge of cutting soundbox blanks out of them.

The right equipment

"I started doing research, and decided that I needed a way to move the saw through the wood, instead of moving the log through the saw."  Through an internet search he learned about Logosol, and decided that the "Big Mill" would do the job. He says that the video on Logosol’s web site convinced him that this was the right equipment.
His next task was to locate a suitable chain saw. "I had run a chain saw maybe ten minutes in my life", he recalls. Dave went to a local Stihl dealer, and requested the biggest chain saw they had. "They kept trying to sell me smaller saws before I convinced them to special order an 880 with a 36" bar." "This mill is the perfect tool", he claims. "I can get everything lined up before the cut."
Once he has a slab cut to the desired thickness, Dave traces around a template to mark the outline of the sound box, then cuts out the rough shape with a smaller chain saw.
"I feel really good about this [investment]," he says.  "I spent about $2,000 on equipment to saw these two logs, but when I get them cut up, I’ll be looking for more." He should not have a hard time finding them. Many of the old silver maple trees lining the streets of Duluth are being removed.
Dave’s replicas of Irish harps are the product of years of careful study and research. In 2002, Dave traveled to Ireland to study first-hand some of the traditional harps. With the assistance of the Historical Harp Society of Ireland, he arranged to examine the Trinity College harp, the national treasure of Ireland. It is the oldest known Irish harp, built around the year 1400. "It was quite an honor to be allowed to handle it and examine it closely," he says. Dave has also examined a number of other antique harps housed in museums in Ireland and Scotland. This has enabled him to create accurate replicas of these harps.

Global business on the Internet

While Dave mostly builds for the U.S. and Canadian harp players, his instruments have been sold around the world. "The internet has made the market a global business." I have shipped harps to Ireland, Sweden, Austria, and Japan." One customer shipped Dave two blanks of willow from Ireland for her harp.
The internet is not the only modern technology to creep into Dave’s business. Strings are a fluorocarbon polymer plastic. In addition to the traditional harps, he now has an electric model with MIDI interface, allowing it to connect to a computer to produce the sound of any of 256 different instruments (including, of course a harp).
While chain saws and Logosol mills were not available to the original harp makers, there is little doubt that they would have put them to good use. Dave has demonstrated that modern techniques, combined with traditional craftsmanship can create instruments that accurately reproduce the sound and feel of these ancient treasures.
For more information, check his web site: kortier.com. It contains more photos of his harps, as well as information on purchasing the different models. The web site also contains sound tracks from a CD of harp music by Siobhan Armstrong, played on one of the harps he built from the Irish willow.