New portable sawmill a gamechanger for Albany MenShed

Albany MenShed christened a new portable sawmill and celebrated the recent expansion of their facility on Thursday.

The Frontier OS27 sawmill will help volunteers transform fallen trees of up to 3.4m and discarded wood into marvelous creations.

The group is close to finishing a new 8sqm expansion of their Sanford Road shed which is home to 175 volunteers, with final touches on the expansion set to be completed later this month.

Albany MenShed vice-chairman Mike Taylor said the new sawmill was an exciting addition.

“It can output boards to any thickness and can produce boards as thin as a laminate,” he said.

“The saw will be able to utilise fallen trees from local farms and the other areas within the City of Albany.

“Being portable, the sawmill can be brought to the tree, making processing much easier.

“It is a versatile machine and can cut many types of wood from soft pine to harder woods such as jarrah.”

The purchase of the new saw and improvements to the shed were made possible by a $15,000 grant from the State Government.

Albany MLA Rebecca Stephens said she was proud to see the success of the local group.

“Their creativity and passion know no bounds,” she said.

“This new machine will allow members to create even bigger and better pieces and will save the shed money as they won’t have to rely on purchasing new wood for projects.”